Every Thursday night during the school year for the past nine years our boys have attended AWANA at our church. AWANA stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (2 Timothy 2:15).

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It is kind of like the Christian version of scouts. The kids memorize Bible verses and study scripture. They get tested and earn badges for everything they learn. Michael and I are leaders which means we test the kids on the verses they are studying and teach them what those verses mean. Of all the things we have done for our children this is one of the best choices we have made. This is Joshua’s last year and by the end he will have memorized over 400 verses. Storing up God’s word in his heart. It is a very good thing.

Along with all this hard work there is a lot of fun. We have individual groups we meet with where we go over the verses and have discussion. These are some of the girls in my group:

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We also have what is called council time. Commander Steve teachers on a particular Bible lesson each week. It’s interactive. Sometimes the kids help him with the story by acting things out on stage. Other times they will find verses and read out loud.

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At the end of council time they receive their awards for the work they have completed.

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The big event of the evening for the kids is game time. It’s organized but it is also crazy! The competition is fierce. The winning team gets candy. That can drive any young person into a frenzied state of excitement. I’m not sure which is worse for them, losing or not getting the candy.

The games are varied. This one is trying to get a balloon around the circle and back to your start first.

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Another game on this night involved team work. It is always a little scary when they have to be connected and run.

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Spread throughout the year are three nights called “Store Night”. The kids don’t just earn badges but points as well. Those points allow them to buys junk fun things at store night. It is amazing how motivated they are to get those points.

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Tonight the blue team won. That means that between the points earned for verses memorized and games won at game time they had the most points for the night. Yes, they got a little piece of candy for a reward. Our boys are on blue team. That piece of candy plus all the boxes of candy they bought at store night (there weren’t any lego sets)made it quite the rambunctious hour long drive home.

I really love AWANA. The kids are so great and they are memorizing God’s word. It is a good investment of our time.

Enjoy your weekend,

Karen

PS: Happy birthday mom. I love you.