Bible Reading: Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 8:28-30

Alfie hoisted himself up onto a ledge of crumbling granite and collapsed on a small patch of mossy grass. "That was quite a climb!" he said as he rubbed his aching legs. "Aren't you tired, Uncle Don? We've hiked a long way."

"We'll catch our breath for a few minutes before we head back," said Uncle Don. He took off his backpack and set it down.

Alfie picked up some stones. "Look at this!" he said. Uncle Don knelt beside him, and they looked at the stone Alfie held in his hand. It was shaped like a triangle and came to an unmistakable point. "It's a real arrowhead, isn't it?" said Alfie.

"Sure looks like it to me," said Uncle Don.

Alfie brushed the dirt and dust from the stone and held it up so that the light glinted off its edges.

"You know," said Uncle Don, "the man who made that arrowhead carefully chiseled it, and he knew just how he wanted to use it."

Alfie looked at his uncle. "He would have used it for hunting, wouldn't he?"

Uncle Don nodded. "I imagine so. He would have had a specific purpose for that arrowhead, and I'm quite sure it accomplished its purpose. He probably used it to get food for his family." Uncle Don smiled. "Can you think of any lesson we can learn from that?"

"Hmm--shoot straight when you hunt?" Alfie said with a grin. "Though that's probably not the kind of lesson you're talking about."

Uncle Don laughed. "You're right. I think this arrowhead should remind us that someone made us for a special purpose."

"Yep," said Alfie. "God did!"

"That's right," said Uncle Don. "You're far more important than a simple arrowhead, Alfie, and God has a wonderful plan for your life. He created you with loving care, and He sent His Son to save you from sin and give you eternal life. He's using all your life experiences to shape you to be more like Jesus so you can serve Him the way He wants you to. Whenever you look at your arrowhead, remember that God has a purpose for your life and will be there to guide you every step of the way."

Alfie put the arrowhead in his pocket. "I will."

–Christi B. Kehn

Bible Reading: Luke 10:25-37; 1 John 3:16-19

After Baker and his mom got off the Ferris wheel, they joined a group of people crowding around a man with a painted face acting out various skits. Baker laughed with the crowd as the man pretended to be learning to ride a bike. But he wondered why the man didn't say anything. "Mom, why doesn't he talk?"

"Because he's a mime," Mom replied. "They never talk, but you can tell by their actions what they're doing."

Next, the mime pretended to wash a window. He acted as though he bumped his head on the pretend ladder. Later, he appeared to be eating an ice cream cone--and shot the crowd a look of dismay when the ice cream fell off. The crowd laughed and applauded as he acted out one scenario after another. The show ended with the mime making a sad face and waving goodbye to the crowd.

Baker turned to his mom. "Wow! He never said a thing, but I could figure out everything he was doing."

"Actions say a lot," said Mom. "Do you remember the story in the Bible about the Good Samaritan?"

"Sure," said Baker. "It's a story Jesus told about a man who needed help on the side of the road. Two people went by without helping him, and then a Samaritan came along and did all he could to help him."

"Right," said Mom. "And if the two people who had passed by earlier had said they cared about that man, would you have believed them?" Baker shook his head. "Jesus told that story to show how we should love others," Mom continued. "Saying you care about someone isn't enough--you also need to show them you care through your actions."

Baker's eyes widened. "So the Good Samaritan was really a mime?"

Mom laughed. "Well, I'm sure he didn't paint his face and perform funny skits, but he did communicate his love for others through his actions. Jesus did that too by taking the punishment for our sins on the cross so we could be saved. His sacrifice showed that His words of love for us were true. Let's let others know we care about them through both our words and our actions."

–Annette S. Bury

Bible Reading: Isaiah 48:17-18; Ephesians 5:1-2; 1 John 2:3-6

"Mom, I see the parade! It's coming!" Millie squealed with excitement and grabbed hold of her little brother's hand. "James, get ready, because they're going to throw candy right at us and we can put it in our bags, okay?"

James nodded and grinned. Millie looked down the street and hopped up and down in anticipation.

"Just be patient, honey," Mom called from her lawn chair. "It will be here soon."

Millie craned her neck to see down the street. The parade was still far away, but she could make out flags, cars, floats, and even a fire truck. She could faintly hear a drum and knew the band was marching her way.

Suddenly, she gave a little shriek of dismay. "It turned! They're going down a different street. They're not coming here!"

"What?" Dad jumped up and looked down the street, and Millie noticed everyone else getting up and looking around in confusion. "Come on, Millie!" Dad scooped up James, and they ran to the next block just as the parade arrived.

Millie forgot about all the confusion until they walked home afterward. "Mom, why didn't the parade go by where we were sitting at first? Were we in the wrong place?"

Mom laughed. "No, we were on the right street. I think the person at the front of the parade got a little confused and made a wrong turn. Good thing we caught up and didn't miss anything, right?"

"Right!" said Millie. "It was so much fun, and I got lots of candy!"

"You know, wrong turns like that can happen in our lives," Dad said. "The people in the parade all trusted that the person in front would go the right way, but they didn't. We can go the wrong way too by following people--like leaders or friends at school--because what they're doing seems right but isn't."

Mom nodded. "There's only one Person who can lead us the right way. Do you know who that is?"

"Jesus!" Millie and James both shouted.

"Right," said Mom. "When we know Him as our Savior, He forgives our wrong turns in life and makes us able to love others the way He does. We need to follow Him as He leads us in His example of love."

–Robyn Mulder

Bible Reading: Romans 3:22-26; Titus 3:5-7

Rosita wiped sweat from her forehead, then got back to scrubbing the pot in the sink. She was working as hard as she could to clean the kitchen before Mom got home. They'd had a fight that morning, and Rosita was sorry for the things she'd said. She sighed and scrubbed harder. I want this kitchen sparkling clean when Mom gets home from work, she thought. That'll make up for it.

She glanced into the living room where her little brother was watching cartoons. "Hugo, bring your plate and cup here so I can wash them. And I just mopped the floor, so be careful!"

But Hugo wasn't careful. He ran in and slipped when his socks hit the wet floor. His plastic dishes went flying into the air as he went sprawling across the kitchen, milk and crumbs raining down on top of him.

Rosita gasped. "Hugo!"

Just then the door opened and Mom walked in. "Wow," she said. "What a mess."

Rosita covered her face with her soapy hands and burst into tears. Mom and Hugo stared at her for a moment before Mom sent him upstairs to wash the milk out of his hair. "Rosita, what's wrong?" Mom asked.

"I--I've been working hard to clean the kitchen all afternoon. I wanted everything to be sparkling clean when you got here because I felt bad about what I said this morning. I wanted to make things right."

"Oh, honey." Mom gave her a hug. "You don't have to clean the kitchen to make things right with me. You're my daughter--I love you, and I'll always forgive you. But I know the feeling. In fact, I used to try to do the same thing with God. I thought I could make up for my wrongs by doing something right. But it wasn't enough."

"Because the only way to make things right with God is through Jesus, right?"

"You got it," said Mom. "When we trust Him to save us, He forgives our sins and makes us sparkling clean."

Rosita nodded. "I'm sorry for what I said this morning, Mom. Will you forgive me?"

"Of course." Mom grabbed a mop from the closet. "And now I'm going to make this kitchen sparkling clean!"

–Courtney Lasater

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:27, 159-160; 2 Timothy 3:14-17

The sun was just poking its head over the treetops when Savannah and her mother left for a walk in the woods near their new home. "I didn't understand what Dad read in the Bible this morning," Savannah said. "Why can't we just skip the parts of the Bible that don't seem to say anything important?"

Mom was about to reply when Savannah spotted some interesting bushes along the path. "Look, Mom. Those are some kind of berry bushes, aren't they?"

Mom stopped and peered at the bushes. "I think they might be, but I don't see any fruit on them."

Savannah reached out and lifted some of the leaves. "Here! Underneath the leaves."

"You're right!" said Mom. "Those are wild blackberries! They'd taste great on our cereal--or just as a snack. How about running back to the house and getting a bucket so we can pick some?"

Savannah eagerly ran home and returned with a pail, and she and Mom began to gather the ripe, luscious fruit. "I'm glad your sharp eyes noticed these," said Mom. "I saw the green leaves, but I didn't see what was hidden underneath them." She dumped a handful of berries into the bucket. "Maybe that's the answer to the question you asked a while ago."

"You mean about skipping parts of the Bible?" asked Savannah.

Mom nodded. "When we read the Bible, we don't always understand every important truth right away--just like I didn't spot those berries. But when we take time to think about what a verse or passage says, it can help us see how it fits into God's story of how He continues to love us even though we sin. Everything in the Bible points to God's gift of Jesus, who became human and died and rose again to save us. Every passage can teach us something about Jesus and our need for Him. That's why we read all the parts of the Bible."

"When we get back home, maybe I should read that Bible passage from this morning again," said Savannah.

"Why don't we read it together?" suggested Mom. "We can eat fruit from this bucket while we look for spiritual fruit in the Bible!"

–Judith K. Boogaart

Bible Reading: Matthew 11:28-30

Julian cheered in excitement at the tractor pulling contest. One of the contestants--a friend of Julian's family--revved the engine as his tractor strained to pull the heavy load. It inched along, then gathered speed to the finish line. "He made it!" Julian shouted, and he clapped along with others in the crowd.

"The next load he has to pull will be heavier," Grandpa said.

The driver revved the engine again, and it moved slowly forward. The load behind the groaning tractor was dragged at a snail's pace to the finish line. Julian shot up from his seat and cheered.

He grew anxious as he watched the workers add more weights to the next load. The driver powered up the engine, but nothing happened. Again the engine roared, but the load didn't budge. The driver hunched over the wheel as if to coax the tractor into one last try before time was up. Julian felt like he was in the contest himself, and he yelled encouragement as the tractor began to inch forward. Slowly, slowly it went, until at last it reached the finish line. It had moved a heavier load than any other tractor. The crowd went wild.

Over hot dogs and pop, Grandpa and Julian talked about the contest. "It made me think about the struggles we have in life," said Grandpa. "Sometimes our loads are almost too heavy for us to pull."

Julian nodded, thinking about the hard time he had in reading class at school. He just couldn't read as well as the other kids. After getting his last report card, Julian had gone to his room and cried.

Grandpa smiled at him. "Way back when I was your age, I found out that Jesus wants to help us pull heavy loads--the hardships we face in life. So I ask Him to help me whenever I feel like things are just too much. The problems don't always disappear, but they seem lighter when I remember that Jesus, who took the burden of my sin by dying on the cross, wants to help me with any struggles that are weighing me down."

Julian smiled back at Grandpa, knowing what he had to do. He would talk to Jesus about his struggle to read. He needed help with his heavy load.

–Carolyn E. Yost