Psalm 33:11

 Psalm 33:11 - 

The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.

Representin'

 This year should be a fun one!  For the 1st (and only time), we've got a kiddo in every AWANA club.

 1st Year Puggle...

 1st Year Cubbie...

 2nd Year Spark...

1st Year T&T...

Represent.

Sparkies Book 1

 Meredith was so proud and excited to have recently completed her 1st book for AWANA Sparks.  Last night she received the recognition & ribbon that go along with such an accomplishment and she has been absolutely giddy about the whole thing!  She worked incredibly hard to memorize her verses this year and we couldn't be prouder!

I got to sneak away from my little Puggles to see her get her award, and Daddy was already in there with his own group of Kinder Sparks.  It was so fun to see her up there!  After she got her ribbon, she started waving to everyone...not just Daddy and Mommy, but everybody.  My usually shy-ish girl held no excitement back and we just loved it.

AWANA 2014

AWANA started tonight!  This year, both Kris and I are serving (I'm still in Puggles and Kris is in Kinder) so it's a Johnson Family event every Wednesday night....even Norah gets to go this year.

So, here are our AWANA "clubbers" for the 2014-2015 school year.  Caleb is in his last year (sniff sniff) of Sparks, and he super pumped to start on Book 3.  Meredith is in her 1st year of Sparks after 2 years as a Cubby....she is super pumped to be a "big kid" like her big brother.  Shane is in his last year of Puggles (good thing because his shirt is getting pretty snug) and I am already lamenting the fact that I only have one more year to call him my "Snuggle Puggle" or our "Puggle Monster". And sweet Norah girl gets to be loved on by some amazing and caring nursery teachers every Wednesday night.

These pictures make me chuckle.

Psalm 23:1-6

Psalm 23:1-6

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,  He leads me beside quiet waters.
He restores my soul, He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I should fear no evil,
For you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.



AMEN!

AWANA 2013

 Last night was the kiddos' first night at AWANA for this year.  And I am actually volunteering in the Puggles class, so it was my first night as well. ;)

Poor Caleb is struggling with pretty bad allergy symptoms right now...you probably can see his red & blotchy & chapped face.  Poor buddy.

 Caleb is in his 2nd year of Sparks.  This boy loooves AWANA.  He's a superstar verse-memorizer, and loves seeing friends.  Two of the boys on his team go to school with him.

 Meredith is in her 2nd year of Cubbies.  Her favorite parts of last night were playing games in the gym (something with bean bags & bowling pins) and coloring.

 And sweet ShanerBug is in Puggles!  He has been so excited for this.  When we got his t-shirt at the church bookstore last weekend, he carried it around saying "I love my blue Puggles shirt, I so excited for Puggles" repeatedly!

Slowly but surely we are all getting settled in at our new church.  It's been a hard transition (mostly for me).  After being so comfortable in a place for 12+ years, a sudden change is shocking to the system.  But, God has been so faithful in so many ways.  One of the major reasons that we decided to find a different church was in the hopes that there would be some overlap with our church friends and the kids' school friends and our local community friends.  We really wanted to be a part of a church that was more "local".  This new church is not small by any standards, so we knew that even though it's in our city, there was no guarantee that any overlap would occur!  Amazingly though, we have met several families whose kids go to the same elementary school that Caleb does...even more specifically, there are 3 boys at church IN first grade at the same school as Caleb....and 1 of those boys (who is on Caleb's AWANA team) is in the same class.  Thankful that God gives us little (and big) glimpses of His faithfulness in the midst of change. 

Sparks

Caleb loved Sparks (AWANA) this year.  He learned to recite a TON of verses, and we are very proud of him.  We hope & pray that these truths stick with him all his life!

Our Little Cubby Bear

Meredith had her Awards Night last night for AWANA.  She has done a great job with all of her verses this year, and she did a fabulous job singing in the program last night.  She has loved going to Cubbies each Wednesday night, and it has been a very special activity for her.  

A few photos at home before the big night...

Silly Girl!

 Waiting patiently with some other little Cubbies...

On stage...

So proud of the special green ribbon she received!

We are so proud of our little Cubby Bear!

AWANA Sparks - New Testament Books

For AWANA, Caleb has been working on memorizing the books of the New Testament.  Thankfully, we have a CD that helps with this, and we listen to it often.  He's got them down, and Meredith is actually pretty close to knowing them all as well.

Here's a quick video of Caleb reciting the NT books, in order.  (Sorry for the poor video quality...I took this on my phone, and the sun was behind him. Oops.)

Derby Car

All of the AWANA Sparks were given this pinewood derby kit...

...and were told to assemble it and be prepared to race it this week.

With help from Grandpa (and the tools in his "man-cave"), the boys created a pretty sweet little race car out of that boring block of pine.

After some sanding and some poly-coating, the car was looking pretty sweet, and was ready to be painted by a very excited 5-year-old.

Caleb wanted it to look like an American flag.  After explaining to him that 13 stripes and 50 stars would likely not all fit on his little car, he decided on this:

The kit came with sticker numbers, and Caleb wanted his car to be #100.  He had so much fun painting his car, and was so excited when it was finally assembled.

The "rule" is that the car, once completed, can't weigh more than 5 oz.  So Kris experimented with some things and ended up taping 2 silver dollars to the bottom of the car and managed to get it to exactly 5 ounces.

Ready, Set, Go!

Sparks Verses

Caleb is in his first year of Sparks at AWANA.  Sparks is for Kindergartners, 1st graders and 2nd graders.  And, it is a lot different than Cubbies!  One of the big differences is that they can recite as many memorized verses each week as they can, as opposed to just 1 verse per week in Cubbies.  There is no required amount of recitation each week, though we were encouraged to do at least 1 verse per week, to keep on track.  

I went in to the year a little overwhelmed, I have to say.  Between his school work, Sparks work, work for Sunday church, and just life, I didn't know how it would all fit in! 

Thankfully, though, we've managed to establish a pretty decent routine, and I have been pleasantly surprised with Caleb's motivation in many areas - his Sparks memory verses being one of those areas!  

Granted, a lot of his motivation comes from getting his "jewels"...but whatever works.  The kid has memorized so many verses this year so far, I am amazed!

For this week, Caleb was determined to memorize 6 verses.  To be honest, I didn't think he could do it (shame on Mom!)...it just seemed like a lot.  But he was determined, so we have been practicing a lot.  At the beginning of the year, I had purchased a CD with all of the verses in his book set to music...and that helps a ton.  We listen to it a lot in the car, and he often sings a verse to remember how it goes.  I'm so glad my friend Jill told me about this CD, as I know that having them to music will help them "stick" for longer!

Anyway, here is a quick video of the 6 verses that Caleb has memorized in 1 short week.  It's so great to see him set his mind to something, and then accomplish it!

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.
Genesis 1:31 - And God saw everything that he had made, and indeed it was very good.
Romans 3:23 - All have sinned, and fall short of the Glory of God.
John 17:17 - Sanctify them by your truth; your Word is truth.
1 Peter 1:25 - But the Word of the Lord endures forever.
John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through me.

Their Latest Memory Verses

First, their monthly memory verse for October:

Mark 5:36

"Jesus said 'do not fear, only believe'."

And, the verses that Caleb has memorized thus far for AWANA Cubbies...

1 John 4:10 - God loved us, and sent His Son.

Romans 3:23 - All have sinned.

Romans 5:8 - While we were sinners, Christ died for us.

1 John 4:8 - God is love.

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.  

(This was actually the very first verse that Caleb memorized, a year ago!  Click here to see that video.)
 

And, a couple pictures of our own little Cubbie... 

He loves his vest.

Tonight is "silly glasses" night.  

 

We don't have any silly glasses, so we figured that if he wore his regular sunglasses upside-down, they would be silly enough.  It works.

AWANA Cubbies Week 1 Verses

The 3 verses that Caleb has had to memorize this past week for AWANA (which he loves, by the way!)....

1 John 4:10 - God loved us and sent His Son.

Romans 3:23 - All have sinned.

Romans 5:8 - While we were sinners, Christ died for us.

I probably won't manage to videotape every week's verses, but I wanted to at least document these very first ones.  

As you heard on the video, tonight was indeed "Pajama Night" and Caleb was very excited to wear his Lightning McQueen jammies that Nana & Papa got him for his birthday.  He is also very excited about the Cubbies vest that he will get to wear soon (they haven't come in yet).