Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

Read: Acts 16:22-26 Gabby’s grandpa was in a lot of pain. His hands were nearly crippled, and he sat in a wheelchair when he was able to get out of bed. Gabby thought she would be miserable if she were in his place, but every time she visited him, he seemed to have a smile on his face. “How are you so happy all the time?” Gabby asked as she sat in his living room with him one afternoon. “God has b...

Read: John 14:1-6 Cadence and Izabel listened intently as Dad read the story of Finn, a very poor boy who lived long ago in a faraway country. “Everyone said the king was very kind,” Dad read, “so Finn decided to go see him and ask for help. “When Finn arrived at the palace, he was stopped at the gate. He explained that he wanted to see the king, but he was refused admission. Now what can I do? he...

Read: Acts 17:24-27 Allison sang out the words of a song. “ Yesu yana kaunar yara .” “What language is that?” asked her friend Gianna. “Like my grandma always says when she doesn’t understand something, it’s Greek to me!” Allison laughed. “It’s not Greek,” she said. “It’s Hausa—a language spoken in Africa. I learned that song from my Aunt Mary, who’s a missionary in Nigeria.” “What does it mean?”...

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:14, 21-28 Brighton watched as Mom tied the sash of Kayleigh’s sparkly new dress and handed her a basket of flower petals. “It’s not fair,” Brighton muttered. She had never gotten to be a flower girl, but her little sister had been picked for that job in Aunt Erin’s wedding. “All I get to do is stand at the door and hand out programs,” Brighton said. Mom frowned. “Brighton, p...

Read: Colossians 3:20-25 Daniel plopped down on the top step and scowled. His sister, Nia, found him there. “Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and we don’t have a gift for Mom yet,” she said. “Let’s go see what we can find.” “I can’t,” Daniel said. “Mom says I can’t go anywhere. I didn’t clean my room right away like she told me to, and then when I did do it, she still wasn’t satisfied. I told her it was...

Read: 1 Kings 17:2-9 Ingrid sat slumped on the couch in the empty living room. Her family was next door eating lunch before packing up the moving van. Aunt Kristin burst in holding a plate of brownies. “Nothing will cheer me up,” Ingrid declared, turning her back to her. “Not even my world-famous brownies?” Aunt Kristin cried. Ingrid shook her head. Aunt Kristin plopped down next to her. “I know i...

Read: Psalm 139:1-3 Ryan and his mom were having boiled eggs for lunch. Ryan watched the eggs impatiently as they rolled around in the saucepan. “How long do they take to boil?” he asked. “I’m so hungry!” “Well, that depends on how you like them,” answered Mom. “Three minutes for a runny egg, and around ten minutes if you prefer them hard-boiled. I like them somewhere in between.” Ryan nodded. “Me...

Read: Romans 5:6-8; 2 Timothy 1:9-10 Bax scooped the wet sand with as much care as he could stand, completing the last tower on his masterpiece. Finally , he thought. He sat back and admired his creation, but only long enough for his three-year-old brother Matt to run up from the water’s edge. “Mommy, I found a—” CRASH! Matt tripped over Bax’s bucket and fell headlong into Bax’s castle! “Matt! Loo...

Read: Psalm 75:4-7; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 HONK! Honk-honk-HONK! The horn on Jace’s tricycle was making an awful racket. Mya clapped her hands over her ears as she came in from school. “You’re hurting my ears with all that honking!” “Jace,” Mom said, “let Mya help you take your tricycle to the playroom in the basement.” “But I wanna ride up here!” Jace wailed. Mya picked up the tricycle and started...

Read: Matthew 7:9-11 Nathan typed an email to his dad, who was away on sea duty with the Navy. “The Carlsons next door have a litter of puppies,” he wrote. “Can I please have one? Mom says it’s okay with her if it’s okay with you. I wanted to have a dog just like Rex, Uncle Brad’s dog, but this one is free.” Nathan clicked send. He could hardly wait for his dad’s answer. When Nathan got home from...

Read: Ephesians 5:1-4 Brooke’s bag bounced against her back as she raced across the field. Her sister April stood on the sidewalk just outside the middle school. “I can’t believe you’re here!” Brooke squeezed her big sister. “How long will you be home before you have to go back to college?” “Two weeks.” April smiled and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. Kids poured out of the school an...

Read: Ephesians 5:1-4 Brooke’s bag bounced against her back as she raced across the field. Her sister April stood on the sidewalk just outside the middle school. “I can’t believe you’re here!” Brooke squeezed her big sister. “How long will you be home before you have to go back to college?” “Two weeks.” April smiled and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. Kids poured out of the school an...

Read: Psalm 119:97-105 After the church service was over, Cooper helped his mother straighten up the nursery. It was raining hard, so when they were almost finished Mom went to get the car while Cooper put the rest of the toys away. Just as he was about to leave, a crash of thunder shook the building and all the lights went out. “Oh, great!” Cooper said, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the black...

Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-10; Hebrews 13:5 When Rayna went into the kitchen, Mom was putting the finishing touches on her birthday cake. “It looks like the ants have decided to come to your party,” Mom told her. “Aunt Joyce and Aunt Linda?” Rayna asked. Mom laughed. “No, those ants!” she said, pointing to the floor where several ants were scurrying around. “Why don’t you get an ant trap from the closet....

Read: Ephesians 1:3-6 “Leo, it’s your turn to help with the dishes tonight,” Mr. Phillips said as the kids finished scraping up the last smudges of tomato sauce with their garlic bread. “Why do I have to do so much around here?” asked Leo. “Because you’re part of the family, and family members help with the chores,” answered Mr. Phillips. Leo looked down at his plate. “Even though you’re just my f...

Read: Luke 12:22-28 Nari sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at her math assignment. “You’ve been looking at the same problem for ten minutes,” said Mom. “Is something the matter?” “I’m worried about the game on Friday,” Nari replied. “What if we lose?” Mom stopped chopping vegetables and put down her knife. “Follow me,” she said. Mom led Nari to her bedroom and pointed to a cage on Nari’s d...

Read: Psalm 19:7-11 THUD. “Oh no! A bird flew into the glass!” Torin turned to his dad. “I hope he’s okay!” Dad and Torin went to the large glass window in the living room. “I don’t see him,” Dad said as they looked down at the ground. “I guess he must be okay—he probably flew away.” “Well, I think we should put up a poster or something to warn the birds that there’s a window here,” said Torin. “T...

Read: Psalm 34:13-14; Hebrews 12:14-15 “I know, but that’s what Bianca said.” Kaylee switched the phone to her other ear. “She told me she was sick of hearing you whine all the time. I can’t help it if she says mean things about you.” When the call ended, Kaylee went into the living room. “Who was that?” asked Dad. “Sounded like you were trying to stop World War III!” Kaylee sighed. “It was Emmylo...

Read: Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 4:6-9 Zachary leaned back and sighed. He couldn’t concentrate on his homework. He’d been worrying about next week’s science test all day, and then he’d overheard someone tell a bad joke and couldn’t get it out of his head. When the worries and bad thoughts just wouldn’t stop, he finally decided to talk to Dad about it. “I’m so sorry you’ve been going through that,...

Read: Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:35; 14:21-24 “Bye! Have a great time! Take lots of pictures!” Everyone was waving to Leanne and Logan as they left their wedding reception to go on their honeymoon. Charis noticed Leanne’s little sister Bryn sitting off by herself, looking unhappy. “What’s the matter?” Charis asked the little girl. Bryn sniffed. “I don’t want Leanne to go. I’m gonna miss her.” “But...

Read: Romans 3:10-12; 5:6-8 “Cade,” Mom said, coming into Cade’s room, “do you know where Ducky is?” Finley, Cade’s little sister, was wailing in the hallway. “Cade took him. I know he did!” “I don’t know where that dumb duck is, but I hope it’s gone forever!” Cade said. Ducky was a stuffed toy, and although the little duck was worn and ragged, Finley loved it dearly. She didn’t care that its fluf...

Read: Colossians 1:9-12 Hadley came running out of children’s church. “How was your class today?” Mom asked as they climbed into the van. “Mrs. Burton’s lesson was on intercession . When we pray, we need to pray for others too. Mrs. Burton explained that intercede means to act or plead on someone’s behalf,” Hadley proudly stated as she buckled in. “Praying for others is important,” Mom said. “It’s...

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:7-16 Amir rushed into the house and dropped his backpack. “Look at this!” he said, holding out a fossilized bone. “My teacher said I could borrow it to show Grandpa. Can I show it to him today?” Mom smiled. “We’ll go over to the nursing home after supper.” “Mrs. Patterson says only one out of millions of bones becomes a fossil,” Amir told his mother. “It has to be buried in j...

Read: Colossians 1:15-20 Judah stomped into his brother’s room. “You are not going to believe this, Isaac!” Judah was so angry his ears were red. Isaac closed the book he was reading. “What’s the matter?” “Just look at my new interactive robot!” The robot’s arm dangled from its side. “That’s the last time I ever let Sam use one of my toys. Do you know how much I paid for this?” Judah shook his hea...

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:12-19; 13:4 Anna came home from yet another lost softball game. As she walked past the living room cabinet, she saw her sister’s softball trophies. Macy’s team was undefeated. Anna sighed as she walked upstairs. “Macy, have you started your math homework?” asked Anna. “Started? I already finished. It’s easy,” said Macy. Macy was in the advanced track at school. Anna was not....