adventure bible book of devotions for early readers, nirv

8/10/2019 Adventure Bible Book of Devotions for Early Readers, NIrV

1/51


2/51

forEarlyRea

ders

Revised Edition


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Other Adventure Bible ProductsThe NIrV Adventure BibleThe NIV Adventure Bible

NIV Adventure Bible Book of Devotions


4/51

written by:

Marnie Wooding

Revised Edition


5/51

ZONDERKIDZ

Adventure Bible Book of Devotions for Early Readers, NIrV

Copyright 2008, 2014 by Zondervan

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zonderkidz,3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

This edition: ISBN 978-0-310-74617-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wooding, Marnie.

The NIrV adventure Bible : book of devotions for early readers / by Marnie Wooding.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978 0 310 71448 4 (socover : alk. paper)

1. Children Prayers and devotions. 2. Devotional calendars Juvenile literature. I. Title.

BV4571.3.W66 2008

242.62 dc22 2008026353

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Readers Version,

NIrV. Copyright 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica, Inc.. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource to you. These are

not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these

sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmied in any form

or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed

reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Zonderkidz is a trademark of Zondervan.

Art direction: Sarah Molegraaf

Interior composition: Carlos Eluterio Estrada

Interior design: Mahew Van Zomeren

Printed in the United States of America

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 /DCI/ 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1


6/51

Contents

January 1. Angelic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. One Step at a Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3. Less Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4. The Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

5. Lip-Syncing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

6. Friendship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

7. First Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

8. Whats in a Name? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

9. Raging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

10. The Better Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

11. Beauty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

12. Service with a Smile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

13. Enjoy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

14. Money Troubles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

15.Useless or Useful?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

16. Say It. Do It. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

17. Moment by Moment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

18. Get Out! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

19. Just a Little Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

20. S.O.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

21. Mercy Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

22. Moves to Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

23. Did You Hear?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

24. Flattery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

25. Dont Draw a Blank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25


7/51

26. Time Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

27. Creative Creatures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

28. Feeling Sad? Not Me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

29. Red Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

30. Waiting Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

31. Wrong Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

February 1.

Doesnt Look Good on You. . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 2. Garden Walk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

3. Get Out There! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

4. What Do You Want to Do?. . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

5. Fair Play. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

6. Family History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

7. Growing Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

8. Watcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

9. In Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

10. Help Is Near . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

11. When to Follow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

12. Did We?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

13. Putting Yourself Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

14. Crushing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 15. Up Front . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

16. What about War?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

17. When In Trouble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

18. Houston, We Have a Problem . . . . . . . . . . . .49

19. Gods Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

20. I Wish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

21. So Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

22. Show Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53

23. Why a Story?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

24. So Many. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55


8/51

25. Right til It Hurts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56

26. Lonely at the Top. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

27. Missing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58

28. Me, Worry?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

March 1. Laugh Out Loud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60

2. Right Turn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61

3.I Reject Your Rejection! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

4. Action Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63

5. Word of Mouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

6. The Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

7. To Look or Not to Look? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66

8. Throw It Away. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

9. STOP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68

10. Do They Have to Live Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

11. Too Thin Is Not In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

12. Pssst, Want to Be a Christian? . . . . . . . . . . . .71

13. Fast Seems Slow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72

14. Talk Is Cheap. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

15. God Is Listening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

16. Science Needs Faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 17. Extreme. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

18. Dont Get You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77

19. The Reason Why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

20. Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79

21. Humble Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80

22. New Neighbors? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

23. Knockout Fear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82

24. Come on In. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83

25. Wave-O-Rama. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84

26. Whats Evil? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85


9/51

27. My Hero! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

28. Kids Rock. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

29. Family? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

30. Too Good for Whom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

31. First Impressions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

April 1. By the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

2.Easter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

3. Good Morning World!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

4. Pray for You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94

5. Ordinary People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

6. We Have to Talk! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96

7. What Is Heaven Like? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97

8. Girls Plus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

9. Smart Guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

10. All Dogs? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

11. Taking Care of Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

12. Wrong Move. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

13. Something Fishy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

14. Things Happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

15. Best Advice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 16. New Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

17. Take My Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

18. Too Much Yelling! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

19. People Notice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

20. Dont Go There!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

21. Wheres the Meat?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

22. Problems Can Be Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

23. Not Just One in a Crowd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113

24. The Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

25. A Lot to Learn. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115


10/51

26. The E Word. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

27. Ignore It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

28. Watch It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

29. What Do Heroes Do? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

30. Together at Last. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

May 1. Plan A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

2.Write Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

3. Dunking Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

4. No Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

5. Peoples Choice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

6. Not Your Fault. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

7. It Isnt about You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

8. Pals? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

9. Plenty of Room . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

10. Love You Lots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

11. How Many Times? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

12. Inspired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

13. Smile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

14. Next Floor, Please. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

15. I Am Me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 16. Let Me Get Back to You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136

17. The Ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

18. Little Thing or Big Mistake? . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

19. Junk Pirate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

20. Changing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

21. Salvation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

22. Ready? Go!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

23. Right, Wrong, Then, Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143

24. If Everybody Hated Them. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

25. Dead Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145


11/51

26. Helping Kids Be Kids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146

27. Never a Wrong Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

28. Polite Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148

29. Lords Prayer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

30. You Are What You Do. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

31. How Many Temples?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

June 1.

Courage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 2. Expect the Unexpected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

3. Miracles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

4. Stepparent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

5. Blasted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

6. Boring! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

7. Click . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

8. A Family Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

9. Root of the Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

10. Old Gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

11. Hello. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

12. Inside Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

13. Slow to Anger. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

14. List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 15. Gum Factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

16. King or Queen of the Hill? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

17. Harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168

18. Little Bit More! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

19. Prejudice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

20. Blessings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

21. Kick the Dog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172

22. Funny Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

23. Learn This. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

24. Get Going . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175


12/51

25. Thankfully Thankful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

26. Staffs with Stuff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

27. Now Thats a Whale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

28. Now You Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

29. I Cant Do Perfect! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

30. You in the Back! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

July 1.

Not Ever Alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 2. Meek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

3. Friend in Need?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

4. Giving Back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

5. Only Takes a Second . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

6. Peace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

7. Fear or Trust? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

8. Hassle-Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

9. Dont Do As They Do! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

10. Make It Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191

11. Yes Means Yes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

12. What Does It Take?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193

13. Pray for Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

14. Can You Hear the Love?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 15. Stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

16. What about Tomorrow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197

17. Pearls of Wisdom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198

18. Around the World in One Bite. . . . . . . . . . . 199

19. This Way . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200

20. All Together Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201

21. Rules Are Rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202

22. I Get It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203

23. Thats So Me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

24. Forgive? Yes!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205


13/51

25. Namesake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206

26. No Surprise. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

27. Wiser Than Most . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208

28. Doubt-Free. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

29. Critical Mass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

30. Close the Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

31. Grandma Sadie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212

August 1. Donkeys, Llamas, and Other Things . . . . . . . 213

2. Face It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

3. Flat Deal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215

4. Treasure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

5. Listening to Your Little Voice . . . . . . . . . . . 217

6. Secret Weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

7. Big Fat Hole . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

8. Measure Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

9. Just Ask A Lot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

10. Queen of Llamas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222

11. Right Moves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

12. Good Things. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224

13. The Biggest Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 14. Without Being Asked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

15. How Can I Help? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

16. Shining Through . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

17. No Room for Panic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

18. Laughing at Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

19. Good Reputation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

20. Prepared!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

21. The End. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

22. Promises, Promises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

23. Couldnt Wait . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235


14/51

24. Trusting Friends? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236

25. Godly Cupbearers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

26. Wasnt All Me! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

27. Master Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239

28. On Track . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240

29. Thats Big of You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241

30. Gods Man Job. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

31. Mistakes Happen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

September 1. Sing It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

2. Forget about It!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245

3. Snake, Be Gone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

4. P.I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

5. Cat Got Your Tongue?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

6. No Matter What!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

7. Speak Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250

8. My Room. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

9. Kids Place . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252

10. But Im Good. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

11. Stop, Already!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 254

12. Youre God, and Im Not!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 13. Do It Now! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

14. Jealousy Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

15. Driving Brainless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258

16. Foul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

17. One More Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260

18. A What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

19. Put It Back . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262

20. Bragging Not So Good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

21. Not Again!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

22. Mighty Friends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265


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23. Follow the Leader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

24. Secretly Glad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

25. Whats Best?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268

26. Mud Slinging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269

27. Treetop Wisdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270

28. Sharing Is a Big Idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271

29. No Call-Waiting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

30. Leave a Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273

October 1. Truth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274

2. Making Fun Not Fun. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

3. Just Doing My Thing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276

4. Star Treatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

5. Kind of Embarrassing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278

6. Epic Behemoth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279

7. A Little Fixing Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280

8. The Hook. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281

9. Water Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282

10. Just a Lot of Respect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283

11. Too Much of a Good Thing. . . . . . . . . . . . . 284

12. Big Prize . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 13. May or May Not. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286

14. God to the Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287

15. Greatest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288

16. Means What? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

17. Warning Signs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

18. Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291

19. Prayer Warrior. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292

20. Warning You. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293

21. Seriously Messed Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294

22. By Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295


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23. Making It Right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296

24. Blizzard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297

25. Falling Star. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298

26. Overreaction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299

27. Special Day. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300

28. Small Ride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301

29. Nice It Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

30. Not for Me? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

31.

Who Is the Devil?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

November 1. Not a Fake Kid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305

2. What Makes You Happy?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306

3. Rescue Me!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307

4. Boast the Most . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308

5. Two Too Many. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

6. Same Rule for Everybody . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

7. Be There or Be There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

8. More Bad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

9. You Jazz! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313

10. Time to Stop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314

11. What Did I Say?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 12. Play It.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316

13. Ill Do It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317

14. Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

15. Time Flies? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319

16. Faith Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320

17. Mystery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321

18. Tantrum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 322

19. Promise Keeper? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323

20. Huge Thanks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324

21. Rusted Out. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325


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22. Give It Up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

23. Record Clean. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

24. What About Me?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328

25. Using Your Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329

26. Just My Parents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330

27. Good Knight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331

28. Change of Mind. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332

29. Smart Shopping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333

30.

Dont Know Him . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334

December 1. Nobody Important . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335

2. And So On!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336

3. Name It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337

4. Haven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 338

5. Who Made God? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339

6. Looking Good! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

7. Be One!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

8. Is This Fair?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

9. What to Do with Sadness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

10. Christmas Indie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344

11. Problem-Solver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 12. Dont Stay Silent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346

13. Gods Favor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

14. Never Forget. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348

15. Christmas Glitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 349

16. Freedom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

17. Proof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351

18. The Right Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352

19. One Brilliant Idea! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 353

20. It Aint Easy! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

21. Baby Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355


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22. On the Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

23. Knock, Knock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357

24. Holy Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

25. The Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

26. Wont Last . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360

27. He Loves You More. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361

28. Tiny Church. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362

29. Keep Going!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

30.

Tell It Like It Is. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364

31. A New Adventure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365

Topic Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366

Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 388


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January 1

AngelicP

rincipal ONeil stared at the pile of snow and ice blocking the schools

front door. He looked around at the students responsible for this

prank. So whose idea was this?

Angelica dgeted. It had seemed

like a funny idea last night, but now it

wasnt so funny. She stepped forward.

It was me. It was my idea to block thedoor with snow.

Mr. ONeil raised his eyebrow.

Angelica? Not very angelic of you

was it? You and your par tners in

crime can spend the morning chip-

ping away at this blockade of ice and snow so we can use the front

doors. Angelica nodded and sighed. This was not the way to start

the new year. Shed try to do better.

If Angelica is no angel, what is a real angel? We do know from the Bi-

ble that angels are spiritual heavenly beings, but it isnt very clear what

they look like. Angels are cool, but were not to worship them. Angels

are Gods messengers, helpers, and worshipers in heaven. Angels help

us understand that God loves us. So, what does it mean to be angelic? If

you are helpful and protective of others and you worship God, you may

be called an angel.

Words to TreasurePraise the Lord, you angels

of his. Praise him, you mightyones who carry out his orders

and obey his word.

Psalm 103:2

Did

YouKnow?Did you know that two angels are mentioned

by name in the Bible? One is Michael, whoappears like a warrior angel. The other is

Gabriel, who acts as Gods messenger.


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January 2

One Step at a TimeM

organ felt her muscles burn as she counted. One thousand and

one, one thousand and rest. She sat down on a step. Her uncle

Ed pulled out the guidebook while try-

ing to breathe. The Eiffel Tower has

1,665 steps. Six hundred or so to go.

We can do that. He sat beside her,

wiping sweat from his face.Morgan inhaled, stood up, and

began to climb again. Just think

how much easier it will be to walk

back down.

Uncle Ed gulped more air. Walk down! What about the elevator?

Isnt going up enough? Morgan smiled as she continued counting

steps. Walking all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower was a real en-

durance challenge, but Morgan was ready for it. Every day after school,

she climbed up and down the hill behind her house.

Planning challenges is a good thing. Why? Because when we suc-

ceed in even small goals it helps build up our condence to take on

other things. God created us to be condent in the abilities he gave us.

So go out and see what you can do. And pray about what challenges

God has for you. God is cheering you on so go for it.

Words to TreasureHow you made me is

amazing and wonderful. Ipraise you for that.

Psalm 139:14

Did

YouKnow?God blessed Solomon with all kinds of

abilities. But he also gave Solomon the

challenge of building his temple in Jerusalem.

And that took Solomon seven years, even

with help. Thats one big challenge. (See 2

Chronicles 1 5.)


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January 3

Less TalkP

eters grandfather leaned forward as he talked. So, here I was, this

rookie newspaper boy on my bicycle speeding down a cliff toward

a highway. No brakes! My bike chain

had snapped and fallen off. Nothing to

stop me.

Peter leaned forward as well. What

did you do?His grandfathers face crinkled, I

crashed into a hedge. Broke my arm.

Peter looked at the scar on his grand-

fathers arm. I learned something that day. Take good care of your

bike, and it will take good care of you. I want you to remember that.

Peter nodded and picked up his video game controller but then put it

down again. Grandpa, do you want to help me check my bike?

Sure, Peter. Id like that a lot.

Talking is good but listening to other people is important. Not only

will you learn possibly life-saving advice, but youll also get to know

that person better. And youll make them feel special and needed. Ev-

erybody likes that. Learning to listen to others just might be one of the

most important things youll ever learn. Jesus often said, Whoever has

ears should listen. Now thats something to hear.

Words to TreasurePay attention and listen to

the sayings of wise people.Proverbs 22:17

Who has itchy ears? Well, the apostle

Paul says its someone who wants people

to say only the things they want to hear.Do your ears itch? (See 2 Timothy 4:3.)


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January 4

The PathD

avid and Noel walked along the worn dirt path along the river.

Not just any river the Nile River in Egypt, one of the oldest and

most famous rivers in the world! Noel

looked back at the ancient ruins they

had just explored. David, how many

people do you think have walked along

this path? Noel looked around. Thistrail could be thousands of years old.

David shrugged and said, Thou-

sands of people. The boys watched a

felucca sail by, a type of sailboat used

since the time of the pharaohs.

Noel climbed up on a rock. Maybe

Moses or Joseph sat right here. We

could have followed their footsteps on the trail.

Footprints would be long gone by now.

True! But the important thing to remember is that Joseph and Mo-

ses were real guys who lived in a real place called Egypt. And when we

read about them in the Bible, were learning important stuff such as

how they learned to have faith in God in every situation, good and bad.

Just because what they did happened a long time ago, doesnt mean it

isnt important today. They may be dead guys, but theyre still an ex-ample for us to follow. Cool, huh?

4

Did you know that when Joseph first arrived in

Egypt, the great pyramids of Egypt were alreadyhundreds of years old? Joseph could have been

another pyramid tourist.

Words to TreasureShe placed the child in the

basket. Then she put it inthe tall grass that grew

along the bank of the Nile

River. The childs sister

wasnt very far away.

Exodus 2:3-4


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January 5

Lip-SyncingT

he entire church was singing loudly, but Halley leaned over and

listened to Jen sing. It was the strangest thing. Jens mouth was

moving but she wasnt actually making

any sounds. Halley whispered, Jen,

why arent you singing?

Jen whispered back, I sing like a

frog. Nobody wants to hear me sing.

So I fake it.

Halley whispered back, Dont be

silly. God loves the way you sing.

Jen thought about that for a moment. Because he created frogs?

Halley pointed to the lyrics on the screen up front, No, because he

loves you.

When you sing a song at church, it isnt supposed to be for some tal-ent search on a television show. Its supposed to be about letting God

know how you feel about him. We write and sing songs to help us ex-

press our love for God. Thats called worship. God loves you, and he

loves to hear your voice singing just to him in a very personal way.

Theres nothing to worry about or be embarrassed about. Sing with an

Im-singing-right-to-God-and-I-dont-care-who-hears-me kind of attitude.

No lip-syncing with God.

Words to TreasureMy lips will shout with joy

when I sing praise to you.

Psalm 71:23

In ancient Israel, people sang songs together at the temple.

In fact, King David took time out from all his battles to helporganize the temple choir and musicians. He loved to sing and

play the lyre harp. He was a singing warrior king.


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January 6

FriendshipJ

udy sat on the street curb waiting for her friend to arrive. She watched

for her car to turn down the lane. She was watching so hard she had

to remind herself to blink. Catherine

was sleeping over, and Judy had every-

thing planned. She had bought snacks

and a movie they had both promised

only to watch together. Her mom wasmaking their favorite dinner. But what

Judy was most looking forward to was

talking with Catherine late into the

night. They would sit on the bed and

talk about everything important things and stupid things. It didnt

really matter what they talked about because they just liked being to-

gether. They were friends.

God is also someone you can talk to about anything. Important things,small things just anything. You can share your deepest thoughts with

God. Would it surprise you to know that the Creator of the entire uni-

verse, from planets to peanuts, wants your friendship? The Bible tells

us that when Moses talked to God, they talked together like human

buddies. Does that sound like a God who just sits around his universe

not caring about you? Nope. God is excited and waiting to spend some

time with just you. So what are you waiting for? Go talk to God hereally is the best friend you could have.

Words to TreasureThe LORDwould speak to

Moses face to face like onewould speak to a friend.

Exodus 33:11

Did

YouKnow?

Did you know scientists believe that peoplewho have close friendships are healthier and

live longer?


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7

January 7

First TimeT

his time when the drooling glob monster from Andromeda comes

into the space station, Andy wont open the escape hatch door, be-

cause he and the glob monster will both

get sucked out to certain outer-space

death. How does he know this? Be-

cause last time thats what happened.

Andy learned from his computer-world mistake the rst time around.

But is that always true in real life?

Do we always learn from our mistakes

the rst time? Sadly not. Although the

consequences in real life may not be

death by space exposure, thats not the point. Sometimes we do the

same wrong thing over and over again. We make the same bad choices,

such as not doing our homework, skipping our chores, not phoninghome, or worse. So much so that sometimes teachers, parents, friends,

and coaches may question our intelligence. Learning from our mis-

takes the rst time saves us future problems and is part of that impor-

tant thing called wisdom. Its okay to make mistakes thats life. But

making the same mistake over and over makes you just about as smart

as a glob monster. And God made you smarter than that. Learn the rst

time, just like you do in a computer game.

Did

YouKnow?Did you know the worlds most complex

computers would become overloaded if they

had to deal with the amount of information

your eyes, nose, ears, taste, and sense of

touch send your brain every minute? You are

an amazing creation.

Words to TreasureOlder people arent the only

ones who are wise. Theyarent the only ones who

understand what is right.

Job 32:9


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January 8

Whats in a Name?L

aurie tried not to listen to the older kids on the bus, but they were

very loud. She had heard swear words like that on television, in

movies, and at school. Sometimes

even famous people used Jesus name

like a swear word. That made her sad.

But why?

First off, some words are very rudeand wrong. When people use them,

they arent showing respect or care for

the people around them. And it doesnt

look good on them either.

Other words hurt God deeply and

are a sin. When people use the name of God or Jesus as a swear word,

they are disrespecting God and Jesus in the worst possible way. Think

of it this way Jesus would never do or say anything to insult, hurt,or disrespect you. When he talks about you or says yourname, it is

always with kindness, love, and friendship. Shouldnt we be that way

too? Gods name is holy!

But remember, you cant police what strangers say. You can only be

careful about whatyou say.

Words to TreasureDo not misuse the name of

the Lord your God. The Lordwill find guilty anyone who

misuses his name.

Exodus 20:7

Do you think God knows your name? There are lots of cases

in the Bible where God called people by their first names. God

called to Moses from the burning bush. When the prophetSamuel was a little boy, God called his name over and over again.

God doesnt need name tags; he knows who you are.


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January 9

RagingA

dam was ready to explode. His model plane was smashed on the

ground. His little brother had been in his room again. And now

everything was wrecked! Adam had

spent hours building that plane! Adam

wanted to do something like lock his

little brother in a closet for a zillion

years. His anger was making him wantto do something terrible.

Rage is a scary, scary feeling be-

cause it is so out of control. We see a lot

of rage on television, such as wrestlers

pounding each other with furniture

or good guys going ballistic on bad guys. But thats all make-believe

anger. Nobody really is upset, and nobody really gets hurt. Hurting

someone for real isnt the same thing. You can be upset with someone,but hurting him is never okay ever. Even when you know youre in

the right, that doesnt give you the right to hurt someone.

Words to TreasureFoolish people let their

anger run wild. But wisepeople keep themselves

under control.

Proverbs 29:11

God is often described as slow to anger. This means

it takes a whole lot to get God upset with us. It tells

us that God is very, very patient. Are we slow to angerwith other people just like God? When you feel

really, really angry, its time to walk away or talk to

someone who can take charge of the situation, such

as a parent or teacher. Give yourself some time to

calm down (see Numbers 14:18).


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January 10

The Better WayS

tacy and her mom were driving along a busy boulevard when sud-

denly a little dog ran out in front of their car. With brakes screeching,

they stopped just in time. The dog ran

back onto the sidewalk, but he was very

confused and frightened. Left alone, he

was going to get hurt for sure. Stacys

mom pulled over, got out, and called tothe little dog. The dog looked uncer-

tain but allowed her to wrap him in a

car blanket. Stacy held the exhausted,

trembling dog on her lap while her mom

phoned the number on his dog tag.

Stacy and her mom have something very important, and its called

compassion. Having compassion means seeing someone elses prob-

lem or suffering and then doing something to help. It isnt just enoughto see a problem and feel bad about it. Compassion is an actionword.

Words to TreasureWhen Jesus came ashore, he

saw a large crowd. He feltdeep concern for them. He

healed their sick people.

Matthew 14:14

Jesus told a story about an injured man on the side of the

road who was ignored by his own people and neighbors. But a

stranger from Samaria stopped, had pity for the injured man,and took care of him. Jesus asked who was this mans true friend,

or neighbor. The answer? The very cool and compassionate guy

from Samaria. And we can be just like him.


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January 11

BeautyM

olly walked beside her new friend Udo as they herded goats toward

the river. Molly loved being in Africa but hated to leave her new

friend to go back home. Time went so

fast. The girls sat down on the bank

and watched the goats drink.

Udo turned to Molly, You have

light skin, and I have dark skin. Youreyes are blue, and mine are brown.

Your hair is long and straight, and

mine is curly. Udo laughed, We are

both very pretty but very different. We

are different on the outside, but inside

I think we are like sisters we are the

same. I am very glad we are friends.

Did you know Gods kind of beauty is about the person you are in-side? It is about how you make people feel when they are with you. A

huge, gigantic part of being beautiful is liking how God created you

inside and out and liking how God created other people too. Being

happy about being you shows on the outside, and that is beautiful. And

thats how God designed it to work. Being a good friend is Gods kind

of beautiful.

Words to TreasureInstead, your beauty comes

from inside you. It is thebeauty of a gentle and

quiet spirit. Beauty like this

doesnt fade away. God

places great value on it.

1 Peter 3:4

Did

YouKnow?Did you know there are between

15,000 20,000 different types of butterflies?

Theyre all uniquely different and uniquely

beautiful. Just goes to show you God

wanted his world to be beautiful in so many

different ways. Just like us.


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12

January 12

Service with a SmileF

ynn put the entire galaxy-sized onion ring in his mouth. Half of his

friends were impressed, and the other half were kind of disgusted.

Then the sound of shattering glasses

made the group jump. Their waitress

had dropped an entire tray of plates

and glasses. Fynn jumped up and

started to help her clean up. The tiredwaitress looked surprised. You dont

have to help me; youre my customer.

Im supposed to be serving you.

Fynn smiled. Well, thats okay.

Next time I need help maybe some-

body will help me even though they dont have to.

Jesus said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. That means

what you do for others is more important than what others do for you.So, when you see a way to help someone, even in little everyday things,

go do it! Can you imagine a world where everybody is helping every-

body else? Our planet could be completely changed by an army of peo-

ple caring about each other. Imagine that.

Words to TreasureBe like the Son of Man. He

did not come to be served.Instead, he came to serve

others.

Matthew 20:28

Jesus wanted to show his friends

how much he cared for them. So he

decided to wash their feet. But this was

something a slave usually did, and his

friend Simon Peter didnt feel it wasright for Jesus (the Son of God) to act

like a servant. But Jesus explained that it

is important that we follow his example

by caring and serving each other.


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January 13

EnjoyJ

ason patted the surface of the water and waited. The bat ray swam

just below the surface of the pool with strong aps of its wing-like

ns. The strange sea creature sur-

faced right in front of Jason and stared

up at him with big eyes. The bat ray

allowed Jason to stroke its leathery

back just like a dog wanting a scratchbehind the ears. Jason couldnt believe

he was actually touching this amazing

animal. He would remember this for-

ever because it was crazy incredible!

Ever wonder why God created the world? The answer may surprise

you. God created the entire universe as a gift to us. This remarkable

planet was designed for us to explore and enjoy. But sadly, we often

take this incredible gift for granted. Sometimes we just forget to beamazed.

But, how can you not be amazed every day of your life? Just once a

day, take time out of your busy schedule to look around at the world

you live in. From the bugs crawling at your feet to the Milky Way gal-

axy above your head at night. The more you explore your world, the

more youll truly understand what a surprising and generous heavenly

Father you have.

Not only was King Solomon wise, but he was really into nature.

He loved to study plants and animals. Thousands of years later,this kings love of nature would inspire many scientists.

Words to TreasureYou made human beings

rule over everything yourhands created.

Psalm 8:6


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14

Before money was invented, people used to

just trade stuff with each other. If you wantedsomebodys cooking pot and they wanted one of

your chickens, you just made a deal with them.

January 14

Money TroublesL

ike a secret agent, Fred scoped out the landscape before he crossed

the street to the corner store. For weeks now, he had been avoid-

ing one of his best friends, Steven, be-

cause he still owed Steven the money

he had borrowed for popcorn and cold

drinks when they went to the movies

together several weekends ago. Fredswung open the store door. Oh no,

busted! Standing there by the cash

register was Steven.

Steven walked over, munching on some sunower seeds. Hey, Fred,

are you still my friend or what? I havent seen you in weeks.

Fred hung his head ashamed. He confessed, Ive been avoiding you

because I still owe you money!

Freddie, Freddie, Steven put his arm around Freds shoulder. Itsjust money. I really missed you!

You mean youre not mad?

Steven offered some sunower seeds to Fred. Youll pay me back

someday. Just dont avoid me anymore. Come on, lets go to the park.

People do a lot of stupid things over money. They let money destroy

friendships. Money can get in the middle of so many good things.

Friendship or money which one is more important to God? Money isa useful thing, but it isnt the most important thing.

Words to TreasureLove for money causes all

kinds of evil. 1 Timothy 6:10


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January 15

Useless or Useful?T

imothy looked out the window of his classroom and dreamed of

snowboarding, mountain biking, and other great adventures.

School was hard and boring. He won-

dered why he was learning this stuff

in the rst place. Would he really ever

need to know math or where stuff is on

a map? What was the point of schoolanyway?

Timothy isnt the rst kid to have

those thoughts. But stuff happens, and

we never know what God is training us

for in the future. Take King David. He

probably wondered why he was sitting around day after day guarding

his fathers sheep. What was the point?

The point is that David learned to use his shepherds sling, chasingoff wolves, lions, and bears with the rocks he threw. Actually, God was

preparing David for a showdown with a giant warrior named Goliath.

The future of the entire kingdom would depend on David and his sling!

Could he defeat Goliath?

He won the war and saved everybody with one throw of a rock. All

that down time as a shepherd was important! Who knew? Whats God

training you for in the future? Hard to say, but what you learn today justmight be very important in the future. You never know.

15

What David used was a shepherds sling, which

is basically two cords with a little pouch in the

middle to hold a stone. Swing it around andrelease one side to send the sling stone flying. Its

one of the worlds oldest weapons.

Words to TreasureStart children off on the

right path. And even whenthey are old, they will not

turn away from it.

Proverbs 22:6


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16

January 16

Say It. Do It.N

ick had walked several blocks away from home when he realized ev-

ery house on the street had garbage cans neatly lined up ready for

pickup. He sighed and groaned, Per-

fect. Today was garbage day, and he

had forgotten to take old Mrs. Myerss

garbage to the curb. He had promised

to do it every week. Now, hed haveto walk back just to take out her gar-

bage and then walk all the way back

to school. He looked at his watch he

still had time but. . .

Time to make an important choice. He could tell Mrs. Myers he for-

got or go back and do it. Nick gave a heavy sigh and turned around.

Garbage it is.

Everybody has moments when they have to make the choice to dowhat they promised or not. It could be big promises or little. But does

the size really matter? The question is: can people trust you to live up

to what you promised? God wants you to be someone people can count

on all the time.

One night Jesus was very sad, and he asked his friends to stay

awake with him. Three times Jesus asked them to stay awake

while he went close by to pray. Each time he came back, he foundthem asleep. He was very disappointed. Jesus always does what

he promises and never lets us down. And we should be the same

way. So if you say youll do something, do it.

16

Words to TreasureThey keep their promises

even when it hurts. They donot change their mind.

Psalm 15:4


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17

January 17

Moment by MomentW

endy wiped a tear from her face. Last week her kitten had got-

ten very sick, and it hadnt gotten better. It had died. She loved

her kitten and already missed him

so much it made her body hurt. She

wondered what she could have done

to stop him from getting sick. Or was

God punishing her for something badshe had done? This was the worst day

of her life.

Sometimes sad things happen for no

reason. The truth is, Wendy took good

care of her kitten, but he just got sick. It wasnt her fault, and it wasnt

because God was punishing her. God loves her just as he loves us

all very much. We cant avoid hard or sad times, but we can face them

knowing that Jesus is walking beside us every step of the way. Whenyou are having a hard time, pray and ask Jesus for the strength and

courage to get through it. He cares.

17

Wise King Solomon knew life is full of all

kinds of moments. Moments when you cry,

and moments when you laugh. Times when

you work hard, and times when you rest.Being sad sometimes is part of living the life

God has given you. You may be having a

hard day today, but there are lots of happy

moments waiting for you too.

Words to TreasureMy sadness has worn me

out. Give me strength as youhave promised.

Psalm 119:28


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18

January 18

Get Out!T

ed walked quickly, passing the other kids on the way home from

school. He couldnt wait to get home. Every day he and Troy got

together after school and played. Ted

knew everything there was to know

about Troy because they went on a

lot of adventures together. There was

just one problem. Troy wasnt actuallya real guy. He was a character on a

computer, game. Not to say that didnt

make him a nice guy, but he was the

only guy Ted hung out with. And thats

a global-sized problem.

If your closest friend is electronically generated, that might mean

its time to get out and talk to real people in the real world. Sure, real

friends cant ride dragons with you, but they can go swimming andeat pizza with you. Making human friends isnt easy, but its important

to go out and try to meet new people and do new things in the ordi-

nary world. So turn off the game and get involved in some activities at

school, church, or a recreation center. Youll never know what kind of

new friend youll meet and what youll have in common. Maybe theres

another human kid out there looking for a new human friend too and

some real life adventures.

People in Bible times played some of the same

games we play today: checkers, dice, hopscotch,mancala, marbles and, many believe, a type of

ancient chess.

Words to TreasureThe Lord God said, It is

not good for the man to bealone.

Genesis 2:18

18


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January 19

Just a Little HoleT

he shopping mall suddenly got very quiet. The only sound was An-

gelas own heart pounding loudly. She wondered if anybody else

could hear. Her aunt winked. Ill sign

the form if you want to get another lit-

tle earring in your ear. My treat.

Angela really wanted a cute little

sparkly stud on the top part of her ear.But she also knew her mom and dad

felt that having one piercing in each

ear was enough. But her aunt was an

adult, and if she said it was okay

then wasnt it? Angela stood in the

doorway of the shop torn between what she wanted and what she knew

her parents wanted for her.

Sometimes we make up a good reason to do something we knowisnt what we should do. Like doing something we know our parents

absolutely would disapprove of. And just because another adult will let

you, doesnt mean its a good idea. Remember, your parents trust you

to act the same way with other people as you would when theyre with

you. The Bible teaches to honor your parents. And honormeans to re-

spect. Doing stuff behind their back doesnt sound like a whole lot of

honoring going on. Respect is best.

19

Did

YouKnow?

Did you know that respect goes both ways?

The Bible also says parents shouldnt be

unfair or overly difficult with their children.

Really!!

Words to TreasureChildren, obey your parents

as believers in the Lord.Obey them because its the

right thing to do.

Ephesians 6:1


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20

January 20

S.O.S.J

erry looked at his hands; they were wrinkled and old-looking. He

held the duck while Uncle Drew washed it with soap. The smell

of oil was everywhere. All day long

people had been bringing in birds and

other wildlife found along the shore-

line, all covered in black oil. There had

been a terrible oil spill.There were too many animals and

not enough people to get them clean,

dry, and safe. So Jerry and his uncle

came to help. Jerry was completely ex-

hausted as he gently put a little duck in a warm holding cage with other

cleaned birds. He caught up another oily bird and brought it over to the

washing area.

Hello, everybody! The rescuers turned to see a team of remen en-tering the warehouse door. One big reman took off his coat and rolled

up his sleeves. How can we help? The entire room cheered.

Things dont always go as we plan. But just maybe this out-of-control

situation is very much in Gods control, and hes got the entire situation

covered.

Noah and his family stayed on the Ark helping the animals for377 days. Now thats pet sitting of the extreme kind.

Words to Treasurehold on to you tightly. Your

powerful right hand takesgood care of me.

Psalm 63:8


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21

January 21

Mercy CallingC

laire leaned against the wall, not lifting a nger to help. The entire

class was searching the museum for Brents lost notebook. As if she

was going to help! Brent was mean to

everybody. It served him right to have

lost his notebook. Why, even yester-

day he purposely hit her in the head

playing dodgeball. She had pretendedto laugh, but it had hurt. In fact, know-

ing Brent was going to get in trouble

was just a perfect ending to a fun day

at the museum. She wished everybody

would stop looking so they could go

have lunch.

Is that the kind of attitude Claire should have? What does the Bible

say? Actually it teaches that if you nd something that belongs to yourenemy, go return it. Or if the guy who is mean to you is having a prob-

lem day, go help him anyway. We dont get to pick and choose the per-

son we help. God wants us to help people no matter how theyve treated

us. Thats called mercy, or kindness, and thats something we must do.

God is kind, and we should be too.

Did

YouKnow?Did you know an ox is kind of like a smart

cow? Oxen are a large breed of cattletrained to understand commands to do

things such as pull wagons, grind grain,

plow fields, and pull other heavy objects.

Words to TreasureSuppose you come across

your enemys ox or donkeywandering away. Then be

sure to return it.

Exodus 23:4


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January 22

Moves to SuccessT

he crowd was silent as the chess pieces moved across the boards.

Fran looked at her chess pieces and frowned. She was in big trouble.

So soon?The Chess Master returned

to her board and smiled kindly. He was

actually playing ten players at once. He

moved in for the kill. Checkmate! He

reached over, shook her hand, andgave her a warm smile, Very good

game, young lady. She nodded, still

studying the board and searching for

the exact move where she had gone wrong. She found it and made a

mental note not to ever do that again. Fran had a dream that one day

she would be awarded the title of Chess Life Master. But that was a

long way off.

There were still lots of games to win and plenty more to lose. Buteach game, whether she won or lost, was building her knowledge and

moving her toward her goal.

Funny thing, sometimes we have to fail to win in the end. Being

afraid of failing is a sure way of stopping you from succeeding. Nobody

wins all the time, and sometimes what you learn when you dont win is

the most important lesson of all.

22

Did

YouKnow?A reporter once asked the inventor Thomas

Edison how it felt to fail seven hundred times

on his experiments with inventing electriclight. Edison replied, I have not failed seven

hundred times. I have not failed once. I

have succeeded in proving that those seven

hundred ways will not work.

Words to TreasureAll of us get tripped up in

many ways. James 3:2


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23

January 23

Did You Hear?J

ackson felt the air ow past him before he hit the pool water. The

world seemed far away as he swam back up to the surface. But Jack-

son knew already that he hadnt done

his best dive. He climbed out of the

water and saw the unhappy look on his

coachs face.

Coach placed a towel around hisshoulders. What kind of a dive would

you call that?

Jackson pulled away. Why do you

care? Youre leaving to coach in Florida anyway.

Coach looked puzzled, Im leaving?

Bobby said Pete heard that from Linda who heard Ms. Wong talk

about it on the ofce phone.

Coach gave him a disappointed look. If I were leaving, dont youthink youd be the rst to know? I thought you were smarter than to

listen to gossip.

Rumors should be ignored. Most rumors arent true, and many ru-

mors are spread just to be hurtful. And some rumors worry people for

no reason at all just like Jackson. So dont listen to buzz, and dont

spread it either.

23

Simple rule: If you dont know for sure something youheard is the truth . . . dont repeat it. Thats an easy

rule to follow.

Words to TreasureDo not spread reports that

are false. Exodus 23:1


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24

January 24

FlatteryC

indy read the clue again. She was really good at mysteries, and now

her treasure-hunting team was in third place out of twenty teams. A

toy store had hidden a secret treasure

somewhere around town. Marc walked

over to Cindy. Ive been watching you,

and youre really, really smart. Youve

got to be the smartest kid in this trea-sure hunt. I was wondering . . .

Cindy smiled as she gured out

the riddle and checked her map. She

looked up at Marc, Dont try to atter

me. Im not going to change teams in

mid-race and dump my friends.

Marc looked insulted. Howd you know I was going to ask you that?

Im smart, remember. Cindy jumped on her bike, and her team-mates followed.

Sometimes people say nice things for all the wrong reasons. You

cant stop them, but you can be careful. You dont need constant praise

to feel good about yourself. Be condent in who you are and how God

made you. Dont listen to attery or smooth talk, and never say nice

things you dont mean to get your own way or get what you want. Just

be you, and be honest all the time.

Samson was the strongest guy in the Bible, but he was weak in

the knees when it came to the flattery of a Philistine spy namedDelilah. In the end, Samson told her the secret of how to defeat

his God-given strength.

Words to TreasureWith smooth talk and with

words they dont mean theyfool people who dont know

any better.

Romans 16:18


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January 25

Dont Draw a BlankT

he wall was big, blank, and freshly painted white. Carson stood with

his friends in the dark, uncertain what to do. Daniel had just pulled

some cans of spray paint from his

backpack. He then pulled out a note-

pad with a sketch on it. It was a really

good drawing of a kid surng a wave,

but the wave looked like a street.Daniel showed the sketch to his

friends. This is theperfect wall for it.

I gure the four of us can paint it in a

couple of hours.

Carson knew the owner of the store he was a nice guy. This wasnt

right. Carson had never done this before, and he just decided he wasnt

going to do it now.

Going past the store the next day, Carson saw the owner out paint-ing his wall again covering up Daniels grafti. Carson put down his

backpack and picked up a paint roller. Need some help? Now, thats

making an impression of the good kind.

People have been displaying their art on walls

for thousands of years. Long ago, people paintedimages on cave walls. Later, people painted on

constructed walls, like those found inside tombs

or on the walls of their homes. Kind of like

ancient wallpaper.

Words to TreasureDo not follow the crowd

when they do what iswrong.

Exodus 23:2


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January 26

Time OutA

bel opened his eyes and stared at the pattern on the side of the bowl

on the table beside him. It was his chicken curry dinner. He had ac-

tually fallen asleep at the dinner table.

This was crazy. Between hockey, soc-

cer, church activities, school, home-

work, music lessons, and his paper

route, there didnt seem to be enoughtime in the day. Abel was exhausted.

Was he actually enjoying it all, or was

he just surviving?

Good question. God really enjoyed

creating the universe, but afterward

did he rush out and do something

else? Absolutely not. God took time out to relax, rest, and enjoy his cre-

ation. In fact, he told us that at least one day out of seven we should stopeverything and take a break from work. God knows the importance of

just hanging out.

In our busy, busy world we forget to stop. And that isnt good. If we

dont leave any time for rest, we make our minds, body, and spirit tired.

We can even make ourselves sick! Thats called burnout. If you cant

stay awake to eat dinner, maybe its time to rethink and reorganize for

some downtime. Its important!

Did

YouKnow?Did you know a big part of downtime is sleep

time? If we dont get enough of it, we get

sick. Have you ever stayed up really late and

felt kind of grumpy in the morning? Thats

your brain telling you, Hey! I need more

downtime. Sleep, got to have it.

Words to TreasureGod rested from his work.

Those who enjoy Gods restalso rest from their work. So

let us make every effort to

enjoy that rest.

Hebrews 4:10 11


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January 27

Creative CreaturesH

iro liked the feel of the clay through his ngers, the earthy smell,

and the sound of the pottery wheel as it turned. He loved working

in his grandmothers pottery studio in

Japan. Already he could make simple

pots, plates, and vases. He was even

earning some money selling his clay

work in his grandmothers shop. Shesaid that with more experience and

stronger hands he could become a

master potter.

God made us to be creative crea-

tures. He designed us to want to cre-

ate or make things. Makes sense because God himself loves to create

stuff you know, like absolutely everything in the universe.

Some people design mathematical formulas while others cook greatmeals. God put special creative gifts in each of us. What is your cre-

ative talent? Sometimes we have to explore the world a little before we

discover what we like to do. Dont be surprised if God has given you a

number of abilities, because he wasnt stingy when he made you. You

are amazing!!

In Bible times, it was a world without

plastics. Look around your house and see

how much of what you use is made of

plastic. Back then, clay was one of the most

useful materials around. Artists or potterscould shape it into all kinds of things such

as lamps, jars, bottles, and pitchers to store

oils, water, food, and perfumes. Clay was

the plastic of the ancient world.

Words to TreasureI have given ability to all

the skilled workers. Theycan make everything I have

commanded you to make.

Exodus 31:6


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January 28

Feeling Sad? Not Me!T

rish sat on the grassy hill overlooking the horses grazing in the pas-

ture below. Every day she came out to this spot to watch them. She

was working hard to save up to buy a

horse of her own. She was doing odd

jobs and helping her sister babysit, but

saving money was taking a long time.

It felt like she was never going to haveenough.

Trish looked up to see her grand-

father smiling down at her. Tell you

what. You save for the horse, and Ill buy the saddle and all the gear.

What do you think?

Really? Trish hugged him tightly.

God puts people in our lives to help and encourage us when we need

it. Just like Trishs grandfather knew she needed something special topick up her spirits. There are people in your life who want to give you

a helping hand or an encouraging word. Your family, friends, pastors,

coaches, and teachers are there when you need them. Just wait and see.

God could see that Adam was feeling a little lonely, so he made

Adam a friend named Eve. Adam and Eve loved each other andspent the rest of their lives together.

Words to TreasureI will make a helper who is

just right for him.Genesis 2:18


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January 29

Red CardT

revor knew that he went after the ball too hard and had accidentally

pushed an opposing player to the ground. Even though Trevor had

a breakaway, he passed the soccer ball

to one of his teammates, stopped, and

offered his hand to the player. Sorry.

The other player looked surprised.

Really?Trevor gave him a big smile. Sure.

He helped the other player up, and

they shook hands. They both contin-

ued to play a great game of soccer.

No hard feelings. After the game, the

other player thanked Trevor for his

sportsmanship. Then they talked and

found out they lived in the same neighborhood. This could be the startof a beautiful friendship even if they did play on opposing teams.

Jesus younger brother James wrote, Those who make peace plant

it like a seed. They will harvest a crop of right living (James 3:18).

Peace or making friends should always be your rst and best answer.

Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were four famous

friends who had an amazing adventure in a land far from home.Check out their story in the Book of Daniel in your Bible.

Words to TreasureThe LORDmakes secure the

footsteps of the person whodelights in him. Even if that

person trips, he wont fall.

The LORDs hand takes good

care of him.

Psalm 37:23-24


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30

January 30

Waiting RoomA

lita placed the newspaper by the door. It was early in the morning,

and her friend Carla was helping her with her paper route

Carla kicked at a rock as they walked

to the next house. How come youre

delivering newspapers? I thought you

wanted to be an actor. Youre taking

acting classes and going to all thoseauditions.

I do want to be an actor, and I still

take acting classes, Alita shrugged,

but waiting to be an actor cant be my

whole life. While Im waiting, I do other things too, like delivering news-

papers, playing soccer, and volunteering at the animal shelter. Thats so

much fun. She placed a folded newspaper by the next door.

Alitas right. Waiting for something doesnt mean you stop livinguntil that special thing happens. Keeping busy while youre working

toward your dream will make you a happier and more positive person.

Having a dream is good, but not if it takes over everything else in your

life. Things will happen in Gods timing so have fun while you wait.

Joseph knew that God had a bright future for him, but

sometimes his life seemed to be going in the opposite direction.He was sold into slavery and later thrown into prison. But no

matter how bad things got, Joseph always worked hard and did

his best while waiting for his big break.

Words to TreasureLet everything she has done

bring praise to her at thecity gate.

Proverbs 31:31


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January 31

Wrong AddressH

e didnt know how it happened, but when he looked at the computer

screen he knew he was at the wrong internet site. This was not

the type of site he should be looking

at. Davids nger tapped the keyboard.

He should exit. But maybe he could

take just a quick look around. He was

tempted. Who would know?He wouldknow. David exited the site.

Temptation is wanting to have

something or do something that you

know you should avoid. Temptation

can sneak up on you when you least

expect it. And when it does, it is up

to you to decide whats right. Other

people arent always going to be around to tell you what to do. It is astruggle, but a struggle you can handle by wanting to do what is right.

When you get that funny feeling inside that tells you not to do some-

thing, thats the Holy Spirit giving you a little alert that its time to walk

away from a wrong situation.

In ancient times you couldnt just send an

email to a buddy in a second. If you wanted to

communicate long distances, you had to write itdown and then send someone to deliver it. The

Romans, using their good roads and horse teams,

could send a message 500 miles in a single day.

Words to TreasureMy son, do not let wisdom

and understanding out ofyour sight. Hold on to good

sense and the understanding

of what is right. They will be

life for you.

Proverbs 3:21 22


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