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

Read: 1 Peter 3:3-4 Luca’s grandfather patted the tire of the four-wheeler he had purchased. “I found this quad online and got a good deal on it,” he said with a smile. Luca wasn’t so sure. The fenders were dented, and the seat had a tear in it. The rack behind the seat was bent, and a headlight was cracked. “It doesn’t look very good,” he said. “Why didn’t you buy a new quad, Grandpa?” “Well, thi...

Read: Ephesians 4:1-3; Philippians 2:1-4 Lisbeth was shocked at the amount of noise that hit her ears when she stepped into the animal shelter behind her best friend. She had never heard so much barking before. “It’s not always like this,” Jenna said. She had been volunteering for a long time, but this was the first time Lisbeth had come with her and her mom. They walked down a hallway lined with...

Read: Isaiah 61:10; Matthew 20:28 “Jordan, could you please put Athena’s toys away while I give her a bath?” called Mom as she carried Jordan’s little sister to the bathroom. Jordan groaned. He was right in the middle of a video game. He slammed his controller down and stomped into his baby sister’s room. “This is so unfair!” he said as he threw Athena’s toys into the toybox. “I didn’t make this m...

Read: Psalm 136:1-3, 23-26; Philippians 4:4-8 "I hate that we don’t have money to do stuff!” Don wailed when he saw his mom in the garden. It was the last day of school, a day he’d looked forward to, but he came home pouting. He sat down beside Mom in a huff. “I love summer, but I hate hearing about all the cool stuff my friends get to do. One of them’s even going to Japan, and his hotel room has...

Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 When he got home from school, Jason found his mom in the laundry room. “How was your day?” Mom asked as she looked up from a shirt she was ironing. “Terrible!” said Jason. “I failed a math test and have to take it over again. Then I found out my favorite teacher is moving away. And then I accidentally knocked down the principal’s daughter!” “Knocked her down? How did that...

Read: Psalm 1:1-3; 119:97-104 Naomi couldn’t wait! Any minute now the bus would arrive to take her and her dad to the chocolate factory. “Do you think we’ll get to taste any chocolate?” she asked eagerly. “I’m sure there will be some samples,” her father replied. “But don’t get too excited. We won’t eat more than a few bites, most likely.” Naomi’s face fell. “Oh.” She sighed. “Can we buy some to t...

Read: Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 8:28-30 Hope sat on the porch swing, staring at the blue cast on her arm. It stretched from her wrist to above her elbow and was covered in scribbled messages and doodles from her friends. She held out her arm and frowned. “This is not how I wanted to spend my summer.” Dad sat down beside her, holding two popsicles. He handed her the blue one—her favorite. “How are you...

Read: Psalm 18:28; John 8:12; 2 Corinthians 4:6 “We’re almost there!” said Jeff. He sprinted along the path toward the lighthouse in Peggy’s Cove. He crossed the large flat rocks surrounding the building. He didn’t notice his mom pause to help his little sister, Sarah, clamber onto a boulder. While his family admired the ocean, Jeff climbed a few concrete steps built into the rock leading to one o...

Read: Romans 12:10-15 Emerson angrily kicked a stone and sent it flying along the sidewalk. When he heard someone coming up behind him, he turned and saw that it was Isaac, one of his classmates. “You mad about something?” Isaac asked when he saw how upset Emerson looked. “What’s wrong?” Emerson sighed and kicked another stone. “I’m just so sick of being bald. Some of the kids at school make fun o...

Read: Numbers 13:25-33; 14:6-9 “Slug bug blue!” Zac exclaimed when he spied a blue Volkswagen. As he spoke, he slugged his brother Teague, who was sitting beside him. The boys were playing their favorite game on the way home from school—seeing who could spot a Volkswagen first and slug the other guy. They kept count to see who got the most. Violet sighed. She pulled down the mirror on the sun viso...

Read: John 1:44-49 “Hey, Tristan,” Antonio called as he caught up with his friend in the school hallway. “There’s going to be a special kids’ program at my church on Sunday. There’s going to be music and games and prizes and other cool stuff. Why don’t you come?” “Nah,” said Tristan as he stopped to get some books out of his locker. “I’m gonna watch the baseball game on TV. Nothing’s gonna get in...

Read: Hebrews 10:1-10, 17-18 “Mom, in Sunday school today we learned about Abraham and Isaac.” Myra climbed onto the stool and watched as Mom kneaded some dough. “Which story did you learn about?” Mom asked. “The one where Abraham almost sacrifices Isaac. God was just testing Abraham to see if he would give up his son for Him, so He didn’t let him go through with it.” Myra scrunched her nose. “But...

Read: Psalm 32:1-5 Asher looked up when he heard a knock at the window. Mom was outside motioning for him to join her. He pressed the pause button for his video game and ran out to the backyard. Mom was standing behind the garage, looking at the ground. “There’s something here I want you to see,” she said, pointing down. “Look at those plants.” There, almost hidden by tall grass, Asher saw a clust...

Read: Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 6:26-27; Philippians 4:6-7 “I’m worried I’m not going to pass my math test!” Clara told her dad as they walked barefoot in the grassy yard after dinner. “You’ve been studying and doing math problems for weeks, Clara,” Dad said. “I’m sure you’ll pass.” “But I’m not going to be good enough. I just know it!” Clara looked up and wished she was one of the birds soaring overh...

Read: Colossians 3:12-14 “Knock off that noise!” Mrs. Steele yelled in Lila’s direction. Lila was startled. She’d been curled up with a book, reading quietly on the porch. Surely Mrs. Steele wasn’t talking to her. But she was. Later, when Lila’s dad came home, he noticed that the small windchimes from the front porch were now on the kitchen table. “Did the chimes fall down?” he asked Lila. Lila sh...

Read: John 10:25-30 Brayan and his parents lived out in the country, right next door to the McNairs’ alpaca ranch. Brayan was fascinated with the alpacas. He would often sit outside and watch them grazing. “Brayan!” Mom called to him one day. “Mr. McNair invited you to come over at six-thirty this evening to help feed the alpacas.” “All right!” Brayan rushed through his homework and dinner and arr...

Read: Philippians 4:11-13 Moooooo . “Whoa!” Jordan shouted. He’d been so deep in thought that he almost plowed right into a large brown cow standing in the middle of the path. Uncle Tim appeared in the doorway of the barn. “Oh good, you found Clarice!” “Well, we kind of found each other,” Jordan said. “She wouldn’t moooove .” “Good one!” Uncle Tim grinned. “So tell me, how was your first day? I kn...

Read: Romans 5:6-8; 8:38-39 Cali opened her eyes. “Ready or not, here I come!” Her three-year-old sister, Nora, stood behind a scrawny tree hugging her teddy bear. Cali pretended to look around. “Where could Nora be?” she wondered aloud. Ruff, ruff! Cali’s dog ran out of the house and straight to Nora. Nora laughed. “Cocoa found me!” “Lunchtime!” Mama called from the porch. A wonderful aroma met t...

Read: Matthew 6:19-21 “Look, Malachi!” Nevaeh said as she pulled a small worn book out of an old trunk that had belonged to their great-grandmother. Her voice echoed a little in the big attic where they were cleaning. “This looks like a journal Grandma Baker wrote in. She gave it the title ‘My Trophies.’” “I wonder what kind of trophies she won,” said Malachi. “Was she an athlete?” “Well, let’s lo...

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; James 2:1-4, 8-9 “Look what I found!” Juniper called as she ran down the steps of her aunt’s house. She had been looking through a pile of old stuff in the attic that her aunt was going to throw out. “Look! This old fruit jar has 1898 stamped on the bottom!” Juniper said, showing her find to her aunt. “It looks like one I saw that was worth a lot on an antique show my d...

Read: Genesis 1:1-3, 26-31; John 3:16 “Good morning, Amelia,” Heidi, Amelia’s stepmom, greeted her. “Good morning.” Amelia rubbed her eyes. “What are you making?” she asked, noticing all the ingredients Heidi had out. “Breakfast cookies!” Heidi smiled and held up a bag of raisins. “Would you like to help? I need some eggs cracked.” “Sure,” Amelia replied, pulling over a stool. “My mom says I’m goo...

Read: Proverbs 16:19-24 “Milo, listen to me say this verse,” Joel said as he helped his little brother learn a memory verse for Sunday school. He recited each word slowly. “Okay, now see if you can repeat it.” Milo tried to repeat the verse, but he stumbled over the unfamiliar words. Joel tried to help him, but eventually gave up. “You’re hopeless,” he said. “Go practice on your own. I have to fin...

Read: Psalm 139:5-12 Tyler sat up in bed. What’s that noise? he wondered. He and his family had moved to a new house, and now he slept in a strange new room. Somehow he didn’t feel safe the way he had back in his old, familiar home. Tyler heard the noise again. I don’t like this room! I don’t want to sleep here! he thought. He jumped out of bed and bolted down the stairs to find his mom. “Tyler!”...

Read: John 15:13-15 Cara took her cookie and a glass of milk into the utility room where Mom was folding laundry. “Mom, can I invite Amber over?” she asked. “She’s my new friend.” Cara dunked the cookie into her milk. Mom added a towel to the stack on the dryer. “And you probably want to invite Jasmine too, right?” Cara shook her head. “No, I don’t want her over. We had a fight. Anyway, Amber is m...

Read: Zephaniah 3:14-17; Hebrews 13:5-6 Ding dong , chimed the doorbell. “Wyatt!” Mom called. “You have a package!” Wyatt galloped down the stairs. “Who’s it from?” he asked. Mom squinted at the return address on the package. “It looks like it’s from your Uncle Dale in Texas. I think it’s your birthday present,” she said, handing it to Wyatt. “All right!” Wyatt ripped open the package. A few minut...