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

Read: Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19 Dad closed the trunk of the car. “Okay, everything’s packed. Let’s go!” “Wait!” Mom called. “Aria and Nolan, please empty the trash in the bedrooms and kitchen before we leave.” “I’ll get the bedrooms,” Aria said. Nolan went to the kitchen and glanced at the trash bag. It wasn’t even full. I’ll empty it when we get back, he thought, and ran to claim his spot in the c...

Read: Romans 12:9-13 Hannah gave herself a quick look in the mirror while Faith twirled around in her new skirt. “Girls!” Mom called. “Our company is almost here!” The sisters giggled and raced down the hall. A few minutes later, Mrs. Kelly arrived with her daughter Brittany, who was about the girls’ age, and Brittany’s little sister, Samantha. The girls brought Brittany to their room to play, and...

Read: Mark 2:13-15; John 3:36 Reagan peered out the window, wearing her soccer uniform and munching on a sandwich. Dad’s car pulled up and honked. It was Dad’s week to watch her. “Bye, Mom!” Reagan hollered. She slung her bag over her shoulder and ran outside. “Dad! I learned something so cool!” Reagan said, plopping her bag at her feet. She balanced her sandwich on one knee while she buckled up....

Read: 1 Corinthians 3:5-8 “Tell me, kids—if something good happened to you, would you keep it to yourself?” Mr. Miller asked his class at church. “No!” came the answer as all the kids shook their heads. “We like to share our good news with our friends, don’t we?” Mr. Miller continued. “Yet when it comes to the greatest news of all—Jesus saving us by dying for our sins and coming back to life—we of...

Read: Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-17 “What a summer this has turned out to be!” said Leah. “When we moved to the country, I thought I’d be riding horses and wading in the creek. But lately it seems like all I’ve been doing is snapping beans, husking corn, shelling peas, and now peeling peaches for canning and freezing.” Mom smiled. “I think you’ve found plenty of time for fun things too, and...

Read: Psalm 103:11-12; Malachi 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 “Look, Bianca!” Mom was sitting on the couch with a big book on her lap. “Here’s a lock of your hair from when you were three months old—and look at your footprint from when you were born.” Bianca grinned. “Wow! It’s really tiny! That’s my baby book, isn’t it? It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at it.” “I wrote all these entries in...

Read: Genesis 50:15-21; Romans 8:28, 38-39 Kate squeezed sand between her toes as she watched a young mother swing her daughter around and catapult her into the water. The girl giggled and called out for more. Kate looked at her mom and remembered when she was strong and healthy enough to do the same thing with her. Now if Mom wanted to get in the water at the beach, she had to crawl through the s...

Read: 1 Peter 1:18-21 “Yum!” Hazel said as her mom set a bowl of bright red strawberries on the table. They had just gotten home from the Fourth of July parade and were enjoying a snack on the patio. “Can we go see the fireworks tonight?” Ollie asked as he popped a strawberry into his mouth. “And can Zane come with us?” “As a matter of fact, we’ve asked Zane’s family to join us for a picnic before...

Read: Psalm 139:7-12 Peyton loved her new baby brother, Josiah, but lately it seemed like Mom and Dad didn’t have time for her anymore. She and her mom used to do things together, just the two of them. But now all Mom seemed to be able to do was focus on Josiah. He had some health problems that required much of her parents’ time. When Dad got home from work, he and Peyton went outside to play ball...

Read: Daniel 12:3; Philippians 2:12-16 The dark sky over Star Mountain Camp rumbled with thunder. “Macaroni and cheese, everybody freeze!” Sam, the camp counselor, called out over the rowdy summer campers. It had been raining all week, and everyone was getting restless. “For this next game, I’ll need volunteers,” Sam announced. Hands shot up all over the rec room. “You and you,” Sam said, pointing...

Read: Jeremiah 18:3-6 “What are you making, Grandpa?” Elena asked, walking over to the porch swing where her grandfather was shaving slivers from a small block of wood. Grandpa held it up to show her. “There’s an eagle trapped in this wood, and I’m setting it free.” Elena looked closely at the block in his hands and then up at Grandpa. “I don’t see anything in there.” Grandpa smiled. “Oh, it’s the...

Read: Psalm 119:129-133 “How about this pair, Mom?” Lizzie asked. She slid the glasses onto her face and peeked in the eye doctor’s mirror. “Those look nice on you.” Mom held up another pair. “But try these frames on first before you decide which ones you want.” “Isn’t it funny,” Lizzie said as she stared at her reflection, “how much we care about how the glasses look when they’re actually just to...

Read: Psalm 37:3-7 Something was rubbing against the chain when Lyle tried to ride his bike, and with his mom’s medical bills piling up, there was no way his family could afford a new one. “Dad said he would fix that.” His sister’s voice came from behind him as he started to work on the bike himself. “He’s looking over the budget again,” Lyle said. “He never has time.” Lyle tugged on the wheel wit...

Read: Ephesians 4:21-25; Colossians 3:9-10 Camden and Callie grinned at each other as Mom pulled the car up to the sandy shores of the lake. They grabbed their shovels, raced to the edge of the sparkling water, and began to create castles with deep moats in the sand. Suddenly, Camden cried out in pain and covered his eyes. “What’s the matter, sweetie?” Mom asked. Camden pointed an accusatory finge...

Read: Proverbs 15:1-4; James 1:19-21, 26 Gemma looked in horror as her chocolate milkshake began to spread over the table. “Why can’t you leave my stuff alone, Elle?” she yelled at her sister. “I didn’t mean to spill it,” said Elle. Her lower lip was trembling. “I just wanted a taste.” Mom unrolled some paper towels and took them to the table. “No, wait,” Gemma said. “I want to drink it! We’ve got...

Read: Matthew 5:13-16 “What are you doing, Auntie Laura?” Deb clambered onto the stool for a better look at the lemon her aunt was grating. “You said you’d make blueberry muffins…but you’re putting in lemon peel?” Deb grimaced. “It’s my secret ingredient,” replied Aunt Laura, tapping strands of lemon skin into the batter. Deb’s grimace remained stamped on her face. “But no one eats lemon peels.” A...

Read: Romans 12:4-8 Dallon grinned when he saw the mascot of his favorite baseball team coming toward them near the stadium entrance. “Look, Alli!” he said. But Dallon’s excitement turned to anger when the mascot gave him a high five but didn’t even acknowledge Alli. “Hey,” he called after him, “you didn’t talk to my sister!” His aunt touched his arm. “Let’s go inside.” Dallon and his aunt walked...

Read: Isaiah 40:28-31 Liam looked out the window of his friend Michael’s house as they finished their lunch. “Look at those trees,” he said. “They’re bending over from the wind.” “So were we, a few minutes ago,” said Michael. “It’s too hard to play ball with this much wind. I’m tired. We’ll have to think of something to do inside.” Liam pulled a movie out of his backpack. Michael’s mom took their...

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 1 John 1:8-9 Millee grunted as she helped her aunt lift the heavy dog into the tub. Titan was a giant, and it took both her and Aunt Jodie to pick him up. Millee turned on the handheld sprayer while her aunt mixed the soaps. Aunt Jodie was a dog groomer, and a few times a year Millee would bring her long-haired dog over to Aunt Jodie’s house for a good bath and a brush....

Read: 1 Timothy 4:8-12 Abby was happy with herself for coming up with a good morning routine. Each morning before she went down for breakfast, she picked up her Bible from her nightstand and read a bit from it, and then she prayed. It felt good to connect with God before she even talked to anyone in her family. Abby knew her aunt had been doing something like that for a long time, and she was the...

Read: James 1:22-25 After a delicious lunch on Father’s Day, Ophelia joined the rest of her family to watch Dad open his presents. “Open mine first, Daddy,” Evelyn said eagerly. “I made you a picture.” “Don’t tell,” said Ophelia, but everyone laughed as Evelyn insisted on helping her father open the package containing the picture she had drawn for him. Then they watched while he opened the rest of...

Read: Psalm 143:8-10; Titus 2:11-14 Austin’s black Labrador tilted his head to one side and lifted his front paw. “No, not shake! Lie down! Can’t you learn anything?” Austin sighed. “Let’s try something else. Fetch, Baxter! Fetch!” Austin hurled a ball across the yard, and Baxter raced after it. Before it dropped to the ground, Baxter leaped into the air and caught it in his mouth. “Wow! Good dog!...

Read: Genesis 1:26-31 Layna held her position as she landed a pirouette, the final move in the dance. She pushed her bellybutton as far back to her spine as she could, gazing at herself in the mirror. Her eyes then followed down the line of girls. She stood a head taller than any of them, and though she tried, she couldn’t get her stomach in far enough. “Nice job,” said Miss Susan, the instructor...

Read: Acts 11:27-30 Caden tugged his mom’s sleeve in the church hallway. “I need some money for our offering.” “Okay,” Mom said, opening her purse. Caden took the money she held out and dashed off to class. “I’m guessing many of you get your offering money from your parents,” Mrs. Hallman said after the class had taken the offering. “I have a suggestion. For the next month, why don’t you only put...

Read: Psalm 61:1-8 Reid sighed happily at the sound of a mountain stream trickling nearby. “I sure love hiking!” he said. “Me too!” said his twin sister, Nicole. “It’s so pretty out here today!” “Yeah,” said Reid. “I’m so glad school is over for the summer so we can do this again!” “Hey, you two, don’t get too far ahead!” Dad called from further down the mountain. The twins decided to rest and wai...