Have you ever wondered why Awana spends so much time encouraging kids to memorize Bible verses? Check out "7 Reasons for Memorizing Scripture" for answers.
Maybe you've thought about joining your clubbers this year in memorizing verses, but haven't made the plunge? Or perhaps your own memorization has hit a dry spell. "7 Reasons for Memorizing Scripture" can give your memorization a boost.
In "No Regrets" you'll meet a mom who knows the value of memorizing Bible verses at Awana. You might resonate with a frustrated leader who deals with parents who haven't quite figured out that yet. Whatever the case, we hope you enjoy this issue of Awana Ideas.
Yours for kids,
Jodi & Dale
7 Reasons for Memorizing Scripture
- It is food for the soul. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).
- It helps us to know and love God. …Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Matthew 22:37a).
- It protects our hearts and minds from sin. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee (Psalm 119:11).
- It helps us pray with confidence. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will and it shall be done unto you (John 15:7).
- It is filled with God's promises to believers. One example is: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews 13:5).
- It helps us witness to unbelievers. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15).
- It helps us to love and encourage others. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24).
|
| Let Us Know
We want to know what will help you most in Awana Ideas, so please
send your thoughts, experiences, and ideas to us.
Please send us your thoughts.
|
No Regrets
One mom sums up her experience of having her son go through Awana.
By Tammy Litz
My son started out as a Sparky, and he was so cute. I knew that Awana was good for him; it would help me to mold him to have a good attitude and a God-honoring life.
At Awana he learned to be kind. He learned to love others and how to tell others the good news of Christ.
When he was young I helped him memorize his Bible verses. We had fun learning them together. I know I embarrassed him at times with the way I taught him his verses:
- We repeated them over and over, fast than real slow
- I made silly hand gestures so he would remember hard words
- I made funny faces and strange voices for some words
- I had him picture a baseball field and the different positions of who played what for the books of the Bible — and that worked.
Today, my son is married and teaches in an Awana club — and those silly things I did to help him learn his verses — he now uses to teach his clubbers. What a great feeling for a mom! I have absolutely no regrets sending my son to Awana.
Here's a memory tip from an Awana mom:
"We write the verses out each week for our kids and put them on the fridge. We explain any words or phrases they don't understand and then at every meal we read them. Two days before club they start reciting them, getting better and better until it's time to say them at Awana."
— Joanne Berger, Calahoo, Alberta, Canada
No Excuses
From the blog of a Sparks Director. Used with permission.
I heard it again today. "My child has school, then soccer, then homework and after that, she doesn't want to sit down and work on a verse for 15 minutes. Learning Scripture is too hard for my daughter."
Come on, parents! We fuss and worry and complain about our children not growing up with a biblical worldview, and then we get upset because it takes them longer than 15 minutes to learn a verse? What's happening here? Where are our priorities?
How about if just once something like this happened …
"… Sorry, math teacher, I didn't get my homework done last night because I was working on memorizing Scripture, and after I got that done, I didn't feel like spending 15 minutes doing division."
"… Sorry, Coach, I was learning some verses, and after I was done, I just didn't feel like kicking the soccer ball around for 15 minutes."
"… Sorry, Mom, I was working on my verses and now I don't feel like watching television for the next 15 minutes."
"… Sorry, Dad, I was working on my verses and now I don't have the energy to play computer games for the next 15 minutes."
Funny how we don't hear those complaints, right?
Let's face it. Most parents have given up.
Most parents have surrendered.
Most parents (Christian parents included) don't really care whether or not their child learns a verse.
Everything else is a priority.
Learning God's Word is the last thing most parents consider or encourage their child to do.
Psalm 119:16 — I will delight in your principles and not forget your word. (Just don't make my children work at it for 15 minutes a day! Whoa! What are you thinking, Lord? My kids have more important things to do!)
"We'd better wake up!"
For more by this blogger, check out apPARENTlyblogging, the Awana blog for parents and other people who find joy in working with kids and teaching them about the exciting, relevant and everyday-life-instructions found in the Bible.
Leaders, you can be proactive. Take some time this week to pray for the parents of your clubbers. Pray that God will give them the strength that they need to help their children learn His Word.
And, while you are in the Awana blog neighborhood, stop by and visit RedBlueGreenYellow — for the blog the shares joys, challenges and some inside views into the latest happenings at Awana HQ!
| Things to Do & Trivia Too |
OCTOBER
October is Dessert Month. Offer an individually-wrapped treat to the parent of a first-time visitor who has dropped her child off at your club.
October 8, 1871, The Great Chicago Fire erupted. The blaze destroyed four square miles of the city, killing about 250 people and leaving some 90,000 homeless.
October 8-15 is Fire Prevention Week. Encourage all of your clubbers to witness to their friends and invite them to Awana. Give copies of Transport to T&T clubbers to give to their unsaved friends.
October 12, 1892, the Pledge of Allegiance was created to celebrate 400 years since Columbus' arrival. Teach a lesson on praying for those in power.
October 14, 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier. Are your clubbers playing with all their might? Cheer them on to have a blast in Game Time.
October 17 is Dictionary Day. Define any words that your clubbers don't understand in their verses. Quiz them to help make sure they get it.
On October 21, 1879, Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Run a relay with the lights off and flashlights as batons. Speak on John 8:12 — "I am the light of the world."
Here are ideas from fellow Awana leaders that can attract children to your club around Halloween without celebrating the holiday.
- Ambulance Night! All the kids come dressed as if they have been in an accident — nothing life-threatening or scary. You'll be surprised how many kids have crutches, arm slings, and other types of braces at home. Costume judging should be done before Game Time, because some kids come all bandaged up!
Games:
- Use crutches as batons
- Unroll "bandages" (toilet paper)
- Use crutches as shuffleboard type pusher to push a roll of toilet paper around circle or back and forth, the long way on a game floor
- Put some red Kool-Aid® in zip lock bags, and have leaders hold them high as clubbers suck on them as an IV (aquarium tubing)
- Play bean bag grab, using various sizes of empty, plastic medicine bottles
- Crutch relays, using two crutches, only one foot touches the ground
- Crutch relays, using one crutch
- Bible Character Night! Clubbers and leaders dress up as their favorite Bible character. Identities of the characters are kept secret. At the beginning of club, participants line up and everyone tries to guess the Bible characters. Prizes are given for the best and most original characters.
- Fall Fun Fest. Play classic games (Pin the Tail on the Donkey, hit a piñata, bobbing for apples). Fly finger blasters. Serve finger food (chicken fingers, popcorn, etc.). Send clubbers home with treats.
- Harvest Festival. Clubbers and parents are invited. Entry fee is a bag of candy (to be used in the booths), but nobody is turned away. Costumes can be allowed, but no scary ones. Booths are set up with various games and activities which can include:
- Cardboard-box maze
- Miniature-putting green
- Pancake flipping
- Throwing footballs and beanbags
- Puppies brought in for petting
- Face painting
- Cookie decorating
- Rented blow-up jumping castle
- Hayride Hop-a-Long: Have a hayride, cookout, games and a simple gospel presentation at a farm belonging to a church member.
- Trunk-n-Treat Night: Ask everyone in the church to participate. Families come with their cars decorated and their trunks full of goodies. Clubbers go out to the parking lot at different times and walk car-to-car collecting treats.
Helpful Tip
Ask the parents of your clubbers to turn over excess Halloween candy after Halloween for Bible verse memorization awards. — J. LeFave
|
Director's Tip
As much as we enjoy working with the kids, a director's main responsibility is to guide club leaders. Start this year praying for one of your leaders each day between club meetings. Get to know each leader's personal needs. This will strengthen your entire leadership team and ministry to the kids.
Leader's Tip
Be sure to make a real effort to get to know each clubber this year. Make an effort to motivate each clubber to achieve in their handbook, even if it is only one section a week. In T&T, there are 56 sections in a handbook. Passing only two sections each week can assure book completion! Be sure to pray for your clubbers between each club meetings too. Use PowerUP to help your clubbers with their handbooks.
Awana Ideas
Delivered free via e-mail to subscribers monthly. We encourage you to distribute this newsletter freely and ask only that you not change its contents.
Did you receive this from a friend? Click here to receive your own copy!
Awana has free Bible-based, fun newsletters for your clubbers and Cubbies parents too. Sign up today for KidsPrint (for T&T aged-children), Sparkles (for Sparkies) and Parent Pause (for parents of Cubbies).
To unsubscribe from Awana Ideas please click here.
© 2006 Awana Clubs International This newsletter may be reproduced without permission only by churches registered with Awana Clubs International.
All rights reserved
1 East Bode Road
Streamwood, IL 60107-6658
www.awana.org
|
|
Use Awana clipart to promote your Awana ministry! You can use it as long as your church is registered with Awana. Here are links to clipart for: Cubbies, Sparks and T&T.
|
Check out the Awana Store, where Awana leaders can directly purchase a wide range of Awana products that will help your club ministry. There you'll find items like these:
Women's Clothing Needs Met
Awana now has club polo shirts made just for women! Made with your measurements in mind, the shirts look great! Available for leaders in Cubbies, Sparks and T&T. |
| T&T Trading Cards Are Here! |
|
Power UP is a new year-long program to help kids finish their handbooks and grow in God’s Word. It features dozens of downloadable resources to equip your church to do just that. We offer these tools and more: a promo poster and flier, theme song, motions video, book walks with handbook tips, PowerUP Minutes — that can be used to motivate your clubbers, lessons, product suggestions, training handouts and a free e-newsletter. Sign up here.
|
|
|
