Many faith stories were written based on the question, “When did you do something that you think Jesus would be proud of you for doing?” Family continued as a theme in several stories:

One thing I’ve done was helping my family. I helped by carrying food and putting it in its cupboards. I taught my little brother how to play video games. ~Tristan~

I once helped my sister pick out a Build a Bear when she was having a bad day. We were at Build a Bear workshop and she was getting a Build a Bear. I went to her and I helped her pick out a cute one. ~Elizabeth~

Helping my mom and dad when my brother is being bad. When my brother is sad I play with him and no one will play with him. ~Alivia~

Helped my Dad give my guinea pig a bath. Come home at the right time. Help my family find something (checks). Let my brother watch the channel that he wants. Help my brother shop. Water my “forget me not” plant. ~Megan~

I was at my grandpa’s brother’s birthday and my mom and dad told us to be good. When the party was over, my dad told us that he was very proud of us and we had been fantastic. Once my sister was having a temper tantrum and my mom started crying. I saw her crying and went over and cheered her up. She felt better. ~Vienna~

Once I helped my mom with the laundry and I did four loads in a row. That made me feel so good and helpful.
~Rosemarie~

I helped my sister get out of the closet because she locked herself in it and she got stuck, but I helped her out. ~Alexis~

I made Jesus proud when I made my sisters’ bed.  Because they were really mad at me. Then I brought them cookies and cheese popcorn. They loved it. Then we watched “Princess and the Frog” movie. They thought it was a little scary; so did I a little, too. I took the movie out and brought it downstairs. I bet Jesus loved what I did. I bet he did a lot. The End!! ~Katie~
 
Helping friends also is a way that these third-graders show Jesus’ love to others:
One time one of my friends fell down.  She scratched her knee, so I helped her get up. That made me feel very helpful. ~Rosemarie~

I help my friend Emily when she is having a bad day. ~Alivia~

One time my friend fell. I went over to her and said, “Are you OK?” “Yes, I just need a little help getting up.” “OK.” So I helped my friend up. She went inside and got a bandage. She felt a lot better. She could play again. ~Olivia~

One time my friend was playing hide-and-seek and tripped, fell, and hurt his knee. He could hardly walk, so he kept falling. So, I helped him up and it felt good. ~Benjamin~

I have helped a kid with math. I have helped a kid with reading. ~Ben~

Once on my bus I found a phone. I didn’t know who it belonged to. I gave it to my bus driver and he gave it back to the kid. ~Vienna~

Well, two things I think God would be happy for me is: the first one is helping babysit my friend, and helping my friend Amy with her broken arm. Well, it would make me be very, very, very happy for both of them, especially for the second one. ~Lexi~

Caring for the world around them inspires three faith stories regarding actions of which they think Jesus would be proud:
One time my family had a snapping turtle lay eggs in our yard. So we let them stay and then bring them somewhere else. We put them in our lake when they were young. It was very fun. ~Tryg~

Once I helped a little worm get off the road after a car almost ran over it. That worm was so cute and it could stretch over a foot long. I gave the only quarter I had to that cute and grubby worm. The quarter was in my pocket and I put it in the hole I dug for him. He went right in that thing. Well, actually I put him in it, but still he didn’t come out. I really, really, really love that worm and he never did anything to me. And this is the story of when I helped a cute little grubby worm!!  ~ Elliot~

One time I asked the teacher if I could go get a garbage bag to pick up garbage. She said, “yes,” so I asked my friend if she wanted to help me and she said, “yes.” So we started to pick up trash. Then a couple other kids asked if they could help. So we got a lot of trash. ~Sydney~

We can all be proud of the example our third-graders show in helping others in our community and in the world. They have already learned that they are also blessed when helping others:

I helped plant flowers for a nursing home in Girl Scouts. I felt happy. I found a cell phone and asked a person on the phone and found out whose phone it was and gave it to them. I felt happy. ~Katelyn~

I think Jesus would be proud if people believed in Him and if you trust people. I think Jesus would be happy when I went to Feed my Starving Children and packed food for people in Haiti. ~Trent~

My story is about Feed my Starving Children. I felt sad at first because there was a movie. It was sad because people were poor. ~Lauren~

I think Jesus is proud of coming to church on Sundays, worshipping him, learning about Jesus. When Lent comes, people give up things like Jesus gave up His life for us. I am proud of myself for worshipping Jesus. I am also proud of other people giving up things for Lent just like Jesus gave up his life for us!
~Cecelia~

I felt proud when I gave to Christmas baskets. My family did not only give to five people in need one year, but also, I snuck extra gifts in all of the baskets. Our whole family was happy knowing that we helped another family be happy and be a little less afraid. In fact, later that day, I saw Josie (my little sister) share one of her Christmas presents with my other sister. That sent a happy feeling all over me. ~Leah~