Maya and her little brother River watched ants scurry up and down the tiny tunnels in her ant farm. "Look!" said River, pointing to one of the ants. "What is that one carrying?" After a moment, he added, "And why is that one digging a new tunnel? Oh! Is that one cleaning up? Did God make ants too?" "So many questions!" teased Maya. "Yes, God made ants too." "Are these ants just like the ones outside?" asked River. "I guess so. I'd say they're cousins, at least." Maya stood up. "I have to go study, but you can keep watching my ants. Just don't touch the ant farm." A little while later, Maya heard River run outside. Minutes later, she heard the screen door slam and River scurried by on his way to his room. When she went to check on him, he was lying on the bed with his head under the pillow. It was the way River had tried to hide when he was younger. "River, I see you," said Maya. "What happened? Why are you hiding in your bed?" Slowly, River pulled his head from under the pillow. "I wanted to show your ants to their cousins outside, but I dropped the ant farm," he said. "It broke, and some of the ants ran away." Tears ran down the little boy's cheeks. "I didn't want you to see!"  "Oh, River!" Maya sighed. "Well, you might have hidden it from me, but you know God sees everything you do. You can't hide from Him. Just like you could see everything the ants did in their ant farm, God always sees you and everything you do." "I'm really sorry!" cried River. "I know, and I forgive you," said Maya. "And you know what? God will forgive you too. Instead of trying to hide our wrongs from Him, the Bible says to confess them to Jesus and He will forgive us. He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sins, so we don't ever have to hide." River smiled. "I'm glad Jesus always forgives us." "Me too," said Maya. "Now let's go and pick up what's left of the ant farm."   –Daryl B. Knauer

The Ant Farm

Keys for Kids  is a daily storytelling show based on the Keys for Kids children's devotional. Hosted by Zach, this podcast combines Scripture readings with captivating stories that illustrate essential Biblical principles. With Zach's creative voices bringing characters to life, listeners embark on a faith-filled journey. Tune in to discover the keys to growing in faith and understanding God's love. Produced by Keys for Kids Ministries, this podcast is a treasure trove to help young hearts grow closer to God.

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"How does she sleep like that?" Lennon asked, staring at her baby sister. Lennon had been having nightmares that just wouldn't stop. "How is she so peaceful?" Mom smiled. "I think Lyric feels safe. I think she's pretty comfortable here with us." She shifted the baby in her arms. "If I put her down, then we might have issues." Lennon wished she could sleep in her mom's arms. She would feel a lot safer then. "Do you know who holds you when you sleep?" Mom asked, as if reading her thoughts. Lennon shook her head. "Jesus does," Mom said. "He holds each of those who trust in Him as we rest. He watches over us so we can feel peace, sort of like what I'm doing with little Lyric here." Lennon's face scrunched up. "But I'm not a baby. You really think God holds someone like me?" "Someone like you, someone like me." Dad stepped into the room. "God watches over us as we sleep." He moved to Mom and sat beside her, stroking his finger along Lyric's cheek. Lennon looked between her parents. She knew they loved her and would do anything they could to protect her, but she wasn't a baby anymore. She didn't sleep in a crib in their bedroom like Lyric did. Lennon twisted her hair around her finger. "Jesus is with me in my room when you two are across the hall with Lyric?" "He is," Mom said. "And He's there in the middle of the night when I wake up from a bad dream?" Lennon asked. "He is," Dad said. "He loves us so much He died for us, and He is always present with those who have faith in Him. When we feel afraid, we can turn to Him for comfort and peace. And you can still come to us too, you know. We might have a newborn to look after now, but we're still here for you." Lennon nodded. "God looks after a lot of kids, huh?" Dad smiled. "Yes. Many more than we could ever look after."  Mom rocked Lyric in her arms. "And He offers each one the peace needed to sleep like a baby. Like this baby."   –Emily Acker

Sleeping Peacefully

"It's a nice sunny day," said Mom. "Want to help me plant seeds in the garden? We can plant the flower seeds we found at Grandma's house." "Okay!" said Leo. "I'll get them." He ran to fetch the brightly colored packets, and soon he and Mom were burying tiny brown seeds in the rich, dark earth. "I wonder if there will be flowers in heaven," said Leo suddenly. His grandma had recently died, and Leo knew she was now in heaven. Mom smiled. "I hope so!" "It's hard to understand what heaven is like, huh?" said Leo. "I know Grandma is there now, but…" He paused. "We'll still have bodies, right? I know Pastor Holmes said Grandma left her body and went to be with Jesus, but he said her body would be raised up again someday when Jesus comes back to make the whole world new again." Leo hesitated. "But Grandma was old and sick. I don't think she'd want her body back." "The Bible says that when our bodies are raised, they'll be changed," said Mom. "They'll be glorious, heavenly bodies." "But how can such an old, sick body like Grandma's change so much?" Mom thought a moment. "Leo, do you really think those seeds you're planting will grow into flowers?" she asked. Leo looked at her in astonishment. "Why wouldn't they?" "Look at them--they're so small and ugly! They don't look at all like the flowers in this picture." Mom pointed to the picture on the seed packet--a glorious mass of red, orange, and yellow flowers. "Do you really think those seeds can turn into something as beautiful and as different as this?" "Mom! Of course they can!" exclaimed Leo. "They're seeds--that's what they do." Mom grinned. "I just want you to see how God can make things change. Just like He created tiny seeds that become big, beautiful flowers, God promises that He will one day transform those who trust in Jesus and give them bodies more glorious than we can imagine." Leo glanced back and forth from the seed packet to the seeds he held in his hand. "Glorious, heavenly bodies," he murmured. Then he smiled. "All right!" –Tanya Ferdinandusz

Transformed

Bruno frowned and kicked at a stone as he walked home from school. As he approached Mr. Burk's house, he saw his Sunday school teacher working in the yard. "Hi there, Bruno," said Mr. Burk. "How are you today?" "Not great," muttered Bruno. He shuffled his toe in the dirt. "I'm always getting into trouble at school." He sighed. "Since I've been coming to your Sunday school class, I've been trying to change and be good--but I just can't seem to do it. Today I had to stay in at recess because I talked back to a teacher." Mr. Burk leaned on his rake. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said. Bruno shrugged. "Like I said, I'm trying to do better, but I guess it's hopeless." "Oh, no, no, no!" said Mr. Burk. "It's not hopeless. I think you're just depending on the wrong things to help you." He picked up a small dead branch that had fallen from a tree. "I was going to plant some fruit trees out back. I'll water them and put fertilizer around them, and soon they'll bear juicy peaches and apples for me to eat." He held up the dead branch. "Why don't you help me plant this one?" Bruno laughed. "That's a dead stick. You know it won't grow anything." Mr. Burk looked at the stick. "True," he said. "A dead stick can't produce fruit. And you know what, Bruno? You may be like this stick--you don't have true life either if you haven't trusted Jesus as your Savior. Have you done that?" "Well, no, I…I…" Bruno stammered. "I thought if I just went to church and read the Bible and did stuff like that, I'd be all right." "You said you want to do better, but you need Jesus for that," said Mr. Burk. "Even if you read the whole Bible and go to church and pray, you can't produce good fruit unless you have spiritual life that only comes through Jesus. You need Him to free you from sin and give you the power of the Holy Spirit so you can live in a way that shows others His love." Mr. Burk smiled at Bruno. "Would you like me to explain how you can receive real life through Jesus?" Bruno looked at the dead stick lying on the lawn and nodded. –Mary Rose Pearson

The Dead Stick

As the curtain dropped at the end of her school play, Hazel's dad and brother made their way backstage. "You remembered every line perfectly," Dad said, giving her a hug. Hazel smiled. "Before the curtain rose at the beginning, I was so scared! I didn't see how I was going to get through it without my script in front of me. But when I had to start talking, the words just came back." "What's a script?" asked Hazel's little brother, Tommy. "It's a copy of the play," said Hazel. "On my copy, I marked the words I had to say." She smiled at a girl walking by. "Good job, Mia!" "Thanks," murmured Mia. "You did good too, Hazel." As Hazel and her family drove home, Hazel spoke. "Remember Mia? She seems really unhappy lately. I feel like I should talk to her about it, but I'm afraid I might say the wrong thing." She looked at the script she held in her hand. "I wish there were a script for that sort of thing." "Well, you're in good company," Dad said. "I think the apostle Paul was sometimes a bit concerned about saying the wrong thing too." "No way!" said Hazel. "Paul was one of the greatest preachers ever!" "But he was human--just like you. And he had a big responsibility too--helping people understand how much God loves them and what Jesus did to save them. Do you know what he did about it?" "Maybe he prayed," suggested Tommy. "Yes, he did," answered Dad. "And he also asked his Christian friends to pray that God would put the right words into his mouth." "Sort of how the right words to the play popped into my head tonight?" "Sort of," said Dad. "Only the words he spoke came from God, not from a script. You may not know the right thing to say to Mia, but God knows exactly what you need to say--and what Mia needs to hear. Pray about it, and if you believe God wants you to talk with her, go for it, trusting Him to help you. I'll pray for you too." –Heather Tekavec

Without a Script

Where's Pippi? wondered Monica when she got home from school. She always meets me at the door. Then she saw it--a trail of tissue paper from the bathroom down the hall. "Oh, you naughty puppy! Come here, Pippi!" A brown ball of fur came slinking out from under Monica's bed, tail tucked between its legs. Monica laughed. "You know you're guilty, don't you?" she said, picking up the puppy and rubbing her fur. "But I love you anyway, and I forgive you. Let's get this mess cleaned up." That night, Monica had trouble sleeping. She couldn't forget something bad she had done that afternoon. She tossed and turned as it went over and over in her mind. Why did I do that? she kept asking herself. Jesus must be so mad at me. I wish I could hide! She pulled the blanket over her head, but it didn't help. Suddenly, Monica shivered. "Mom!" she called. "Mom!" The light came on, and Monica blinked as she lowered the blanket and saw Mom's concerned look. "Oh, Mom," said Monica, wide-eyed. "It seemed like Jesus was right here!" "Why does that scare you?" asked Mom. "You know Jesus loves you and is always with you." Monica's voice shook. "Well, I…I stole some money from Saralyn. It was on her desk, and--" "And that's why you're afraid." Mom put her arms around Monica. "Remember how Pippi tried to hide after dragging the tissue paper down the hall from the bathroom?" Monica nodded. "Yes, but it didn't work. I knew where she was hiding and what she'd done. She knew too. I could tell she was ashamed, and I forgave her." "Well, we often try to do the same thing with God," said Mom. "When we sin, the sense of God's presence can be frightening and make us feel ashamed. But we don't ever have to hide from God in shame, because Jesus took the guilt and shame of our sins on Himself when He died on the cross. When we confess our sin to Him, He will forgive us, just like you forgave Pippi." "I'll ask Him to forgive me now," said Monica. "And I'll return the money tomorrow." Together, Mom and Monica bowed their heads and prayed. Then Monica snuggled down under the covers, and soon she was fast asleep. –Barbara J. Westberg

The Ant Farm

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