5 Easy ways to start the New Year with God

It’s New Year’s resolution time! As we prepare our list of goals for the new year, let’s take time to reflect on 2015—what worked, what didn’t, how God changed us, and how well we served Him. From there, we can consider how to strengthen our walk with the Lord, serve Him more, and better share His story and love. Here are five easy suggestions to get you started.

1. Read at least one verse each day. There are numerous resources available, from verse-a-day emails to multi-chapter in-depth studies. Or you can just open your Bible and read a verse from Psalms or Proverbs.

2. Pray each day. It doesn’t take long, and can be done even while doing something else. I like having my talk with God each day as I drive to work.

3. Before going to bed, think about one way that God blessed you that day, and thank Him for it.

4. Join a Prayer Group. Some groups meet together periodically for an hour to pray. Others simply collect and share prayer requests, praying during their own time with God.

5. Set up automatic payments to the Bible-based charity of your choice.

I pray God blesses each of you greatly as we all work together to serve Him and further His kingdom in the new year.

The Song of Mary

As part of my devotions this month, I’ve been reading through Luke’s version of the Christmas story. In Luke 1:46-55, after an angel tells Mary that she has been chosen to be Jesus’s mother, Mary sings a song of exultation about the things God has already done for His people. As I reflected on the passage, I realized that not only is it a reflection of her past and the past of her people, but also a prophecy of what will come because of Jesus’s birth.

“And Mary said:
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.’”

This Christmas, let us too reflect on the things God has done for us, especially that He sent Jesus Christ to save us from our sins and bring us eternal life. Let us also remember that God is faithful, unchanging, and a keeper of His promises. As He took care of those who trusted Him in the past, so too will He take care of us in the future.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Sometimes a candy cane is just a candy cane

“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.” – Acts 17:11

In November, I was looking around on Pinterest for a simple object lesson to teach my Sparks about being thankful. I found one on sundaychidrensfocus.com that used a donut and a rhyme coined by an unknown author, “As you go through life, make this your goal: look at the donut and not at the hole.” The premise was that we should be thankful for what we have — the donut — and not be upset by what we don’t have — the hole.

The lesson was a hit, and now whenever the kids see a donut, they can be reminded of the Biblical truth of gratitude. Now, does that mean the creator of donuts built them specifically to remind people to be thankful for what they have? Unlikely. It makes more sense that many years after donuts were made, someone was eating a donut and thought, “hey, that’s a neat idea. I can use this donut to help people understand gratitude.”

Unfortunately, especially around Christmas, many Christians become confused when meanings are given to objects, and then these meanings are widely shared without question as the historical reason for the existence of the object. It’s like reading somewhere that donuts were created specifically to teach others about gratitude, and just agreeing with it. Or taking it the next step, presenting this donut origin story as historical fact to others.

For a more common Christmas example, consider the origin story of the candy cane — or rather, consider all three stories. Yes, there are three, and none of them have strong historical evidence. In fact, one story completely contradicts history by stating that it was a secret symbol to help oppressed Christians in Europe during a time where Europe was predominantly Christian.

Another story says that in the 1670's, a nameless choirmaster asked a nameless candy maker to create a treat to be given to the choirboys to help keep them quiet during the church’s Christmas service. But the candy needed to be a teaching tool as well so the parents would let the choirmaster give the candy to the kids. The problem with this story is that there is no documentation to support it, and candy canes aren’t referenced by name or associated with Christmas until somewhere in the 19th century, nearly 200 years after the story is said to have happened.

The third story states that a nameless candy maker in Indiana wanted to make it with each element having a Christian meaning, complete as a hard, white cane with three small red stripes and one large red stripe, and that through time, the meaning was lost. The problem with this story is that it also lacks historical documentation. At minimum, the candy cane was pure white when Americans started using it in the 1800's, and stripes weren’t added until the early 20th century.

Does that mean that candy canes can’t be used to remind others about why we as Christians celebrate Christmas? No. In fact, I plan to share the story of God’s gift of eternal life to my Sparks by using candy canes this week. What this does mean is that we should check our facts before sharing stories like the “Origin of the Candy Cane.” And this isn’t limited to just object history and meaning. In Acts 17:10-11, Paul and Silas commended the Jews of Berea for double-checking what the two were saying. “Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.”

We want to teach our kids the truth, both Biblical truth and our own post-Biblical history. But to teach it, we have to research it on our own to verify that it is indeed true. And while we can use objects like candy canes and donuts to help children and youth remember God’s gifts and plans for us, sometimes a candy cane is just a candy cane, and sometimes a donut is just a donut.

Games for the giving season

I love the Christmas season with all its giving. I love giving physical presents. I love giving time to family and friends by caroling, attending a Christmas Eve church service, or simply being together. Most of all, I love reflecting on how God gave the ultimate Gift of eternal life by sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and rise again.

Here are two games to bring the giving spirit into your club night. Have any other giving or Christmas games? Share in the comments!

Game One: Giveaway

Materials Needed:

• 1 player per team 
• 1 hula-hoop per team 
• 5 miscellaneous items per team, each item must be small enough or light enough for a child to carry with one hand 
• Stopwatch or other time-keeping device 
• Game Square 

Place each player's hula-hoop where the player's team's color diagonal intersects the white circle, and each player's five items inside their respective hula-hoops. Have players stand up straight with their hands behind their backs next to their hoops. At the whistle, players must pick up items from their hoops and “give” them to the other players by placing them in an opposing player's hoop. The first player to successfully empty his hula-hoop, or after 30 seconds, the player with the least number of items in his hoop, wins. Players may only carry one item in each hand, meaning two items total per trip. Players must set items in the hoops—no tossing. If a player still has items in his hands when the whistle blows after 30 seconds, those items are included in his own count.

Game Two: Wrapping Relay

Materials Needed:

• Whole teams 
• 1 small box per team 
• 1 piece of pre-cut wrapping paper per player. Pieces must be big enough to initially cover the box 
• 1 roll of masking or scotch tape per team  
• Game Square 
• Optional: enough candy or trinkets in each box for all team members

Pre-game setup: Cut enough sheets of wrapping paper for each player to have at least one. Put candy or trinkets in the boxes and close the boxes. 

Start with the sealed boxes in each team’s small triangle in the center of the Game Square, along with a stack of wrapping paper pieces and tape. Have players spread out along the white circle between their colored diagonal and the colored diagonal immediately clockwise. At the whistle, player 1 (player furthest right on each team) runs in, grabs a piece of wrapping paper and wraps the box as quickly as possible. When finished, player 1 runs back to his place in line and tags player 2 (immediately left of player 1). Player 2 runs in, grabs another piece of wrapping paper and wraps the box. Play continues until the last player finishes wrapping the box. First team whose last player holds the completely wrapped box over her head wins. Wrapping does not have to be neat. Leaders may need to help Sparks wrap the boxes. If using candy or trinkets, at the end of the game, have all the teams unwrap and open their boxes. Let each clubber have a candy or trinket.

Option: After all the boxes are wrapped, have teams return to their lines, leaving the boxes in the middle. At the whistle, have a predetermined player race to unwrap the multiple layers of paper using only one hand. First player to completely unwrap the package and hold it up wins. Hand out the candy or trinkets to all the clubbers.

*With any food game, please be conscious of the allergies of the participants and the possibility of staining clothes or carpets.

For more information about Awana, visit the Awana Homepage.
To find a club in your area visit the Club Locator.

White as Snow

“Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” - Isaiah 1:18a

I love the snow, at least when I’m not having to drive in it. I love watching the tiny flakes through the window as they gracefully make their way to the ground. I love bundling up and walking the sidewalks, leaving my bootprints in the fresh powder. I enjoy building snowmen and throwing snowballs, even if for only a few minutes before coming inside and warming up with a hot beverage.

But most of all, I love looking out first thing in the morning at a fresh snowfall—a sparkling blanket covering everything the eye can see, unblemished by feet or any other markings. The landscape is beautiful and whole, unified by the glistening white cover.

As I look out upon this unbroken mantle of white, I’m reminded of how God sees me.

Before I trusted Christ, I was stained by sin. Isaiah 64:6 describes those who don’t trust God as “unclean things,” with the good things that we do amounting to no more than “filthy rags.” In Isaiah 1:18, our sins are compared to stains of scarlet and crimson. I was filthy, blemished, stained by sin.

But just like new fallen snow transforms the landscape into a glistening scene of pure, clean white, trusting in Jesus’s death on the cross transforms us into clean, perfect, sinless individuals in God’s eyes.

However, Jesus did so much more than snow can ever do. Snow only makes things look white by covering them up. Jesus doesn’t just cover our sins when we trust Him; instead, He completely removes our sin, “cleansing us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7). In Psalm 103:12, we’re told, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

When God looks at me, He doesn’t just see a mask over my sin; He sees me as holy and sinless, clean and without blemish. When He looks at any who have trusted Him, He sees people glistening with purity in His radiant glory. Next time you wake up to see an untouched covering of white sparkling brightly in the morning light, may you be reminded of how Jesus removed your sin, making you as beautiful and spotless as those blankets of snow.