Laying a good foundation

In Matthew we are told to build our house on a rock so that when the storms come we have a good foundation. Proverbs teaches us to train up our children in the way they should go so when they are old they will not depart from it. An important part of raising our children is to help them lay that strong foundation, train them to know, love and serve the Lord Jesus at an early age so that when they are older and on their own they have that strong foundation already built and can lean on it. There are no guarantees in this life. God has no grandchildren. And there are no magic formulas. But with out good faith education as a child, it is harder for our children to navigate through the stormy times of living in this world. Our children have a better chance of accepting Christ and loving and serving Him if they are introduced to Him at an early age.

We have used many different methods to give our children this good foundation, church, family Bible Studies, Biblically centered curriculum, etc. It is good to model and live this faith at home. It's also good for them to have positive role models outside the home.

One tool we have used to help us build this foundation in our children is Awana Clubs. Our children started when they were 3 years old, learning simple truths and scripture and now as teens they are digging deeper and serving right along side the adults, training up the younger kids. Awana is an international organization whose goal is to train children to know, love and serve Jesus. They model their age 2-18 clubs on the life of Joseph and teach children the principles of respect, wisdom, and grace. At the youth age, their focus is on teaching the young people that their destiny is in following the call and will of God  and to trust God's sovereignty in all things. They make club nights fun and exciting to come to so that it draws kids in, but scripture memory and service are also very key.

Awana may not be for every family. But for ours it has been a huge blessing. My kids have grown up, since they were very little, learning and loving the Word, getting good strong Biblical teaching, learning to serve and having a lot of fun and meeting kids who are being raised with the same principles. My children love to serve and I enjoy getting to serve with them each week. They enjoy working with the younger clubbers and they have a lot of fun with their friends. I love that they have a place that they look forward to going to that is a positive place with good friends. I pray that this foundation will last through out their lives and help them to grow into strong adults ready to weather any storm.

Awana also has many resources to help families to train their children at home, including books, games and Awana at Home curriculum. Just last year they even started offering their materials through Awana Homeschool so that families can do the same books that church clubs offer in their homeschools.

If you are interested in learning more about Awana, visit Awana.org

My kids with their Grand Prix cars. 

Alex as a Student Leader
with one of her Cubbies.

Awards night. Awards won for all their hard work learning the Word. 

Alex as a Cubbie.