THE END OF THE WORLD IS NIGH! The World-wide flood hits this Weekend in the CW Playhouse! "Don't Miss the Boat!"

This weekend, God's Judgement falls on the ancient world as our Outback Adventure continues in a lesson called, "Don't Miss the Boat!" Besides looking at the plausibility of the Ark as a tool to save mankind and every animal kind on the earth, we'll look at the benefits of Obeying God through the life of Noah. Don't let your kids miss this exciting lesson about the World-wide catastrophe as Tasmania Jones and the History Hunters lead them through the greatest storm in history!

Do Family Nights Really Benefit Your Kids?

Family faith night or Family Devotions — a time when you and your kids study Scripture and grow spiritually together — is one of the hottest topics among churches, ministries and parents today.

In fact, Awana recently published an article filled with family faith night ideas. You can find a range of resources for family night, too, like the Awana at Home® Parent Kit JellyTelly® Edition arriving at the Awana Store October 15. Awana teamed with VeggieTales® Creator Phil Vischer on the kit. Awana also has the Awana at Home Parent Kit Adventures in Odyssey Edition available now.

But does family faith night really benefit families, or just add another activity to crammed schedules?

As a family faith night “practitioner” for nine years, I can say from experience it definitely blesses my family. Here are 10 ways family faith night benefits kids — and parents. This list is not exhaustive. But in no particular order, family night …

1. Gets you and your kids reading and discussing God’s Word as a family. What activity trumps the importance of families studying Scripture together?

2. Gives you a powerful tool for passing your faith to your children and teens. You’re fulfilling Psalm 78:4 — We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, His power, and the wonders He has done.

3. Provides a regular platform for you to answer your kids’ spiritual questions. Once family faith night becomes a tradition, your children will feel safe asking questions they have about God, the Bible, evil, angels, heaven and problems they face daily.

4. Teaches your kids that the Bible is the trustworthy truth source for your life and theirs. As they see you turning to Scripture and relying on its wisdom, they’ll learn that they can base their lives on its promises, instructions and commands, too.

5. Teaches your children how to study God’s Word. By studying Scripture with you, they learn through the years how to figure out what verses and passages mean. It’s like having a personal Bible tutor.

6. Shows your kids how to apply God’s Word to their lives. They learn this not only during your family night studies but also by your example as you apply verses you’ve read together to your own life. Remember: Your kids are watching your every move.

7. Sends the message that your children are vitally important to you. Most kids receive love through the gift of time. By carving out time in your schedule each week or each day for a family night (or breakfast), you’re sending them the message that you love and value them.

8. Opens communication channels between you and your children. I don’t know if the stat is true that the average father spends three minutes a day in meaningful conversation with his kids. If it is, that’s absentee parenting. Regular family nights connect you with your children. The result? Your kids will open up to you more willingly. Why? Because they know and trust you.

9. Gives opportunities to teach your children the key spiritual disciplines, or habits, for a successful relationship with God. You can incorporate a variety of practices into your family faith nights: taking prayer requests, praying for each other and for others, singing praise songs together, inviting other Christian families to join you for fellowship and even serving others in your church and community — such as baking cookies for a shut-in, writing letters to missionaries or taking a couple of hours to rake leaves for an elderly neighbor.

10. Grows you closer as a family. And, if you have more than one child, they grow closer together, too. Family night acts like super glue. Besides Scripture, you can play games together, make up skits or other fun activities. You spend time learning, growing, laughing, praying and playing together. It becomes a cherished part of your week — and your life.

Awana Fall Theme Night!

Don't forget that tonight is Fall Theme Night so remind your kids to wear fall colors and patterns. If they're into it like my daughter, they'll weave together a tiarra of leaves or a grass skirt or hang dried leaves from their ears or any number of crazy things, all of which are perfectly acceptable. (Note: this is NOT a Halloween theme night.) The emphasis is on autumn or even harvest!

THE FUN BEGINS TONIGHT AT 6:30! SEE YOU THEN!

The Virtue of Boredom

Famed physicist Freeman Dyson argues for the virtue of boredom for kids by saying, "Being bored is the only time you are creative." Interesting. In our fast-paced, texting, Xbox nation, kids today have little free time to do nothing. But it's in that "nothing" time that great thinking is done. Be sure to set limits on TV and video game time, phone conversations and even homework. It's okay for your kids to occasionally not have a lot to do. And it will be remarkable to see what they come up with.

Now that you turned off the TV, turn on family dinnertime. Check out the Family Dinner post from last week!

“If I could wave a magic wand to make a dent in our nation's substance abuse problem, I would make sure that every child in America had dinner with his or her parents at least five times a week.”
Joseph A. Califano, Jr.

Huddle up and ask your kids tonight: Do you think it is important to sometimes have quiet, alone time with no distractions? Why or why not?

Outback Adventure: Lessons from the World-Wide Flood

This weekend kicks-off the new 4 week mini-series in the Outback Adventure as the History Hunters focus on Noah's Ark and the World-Wide Flood!

In these next few weeks, we'll continue our focus on Apologetics teaching as we look at the effects of a world-wide flood on the earth's geology and fossil records, as well as explore how Noah's Ark could have been feasible EVEN FOR DINOSAURS!

But more than that, we'll be looking at how to live a Christian life in a wicked world!

So join Tasmania Jones and the History Hunters for more adventures in the Outback as we explore the 3rd major C of History: the Catastrophe!

Work/Family Tension

A young woman, Sarah, wrote us the following e-mail: "My dad is the most important person in the world to me, even though he doesn't have much time to spend with me. That affected me negatively in the teen years. If you want me to cry at the drop of the hat, just get me to thinking about him someday dying, and leaving me without him. I can be doing anything and when that thought floats by, I'm reduced to sobbing. I wish my dad knew how much he could heal in my family if he would just make us feel more important than work."

Why are workaholics more likely to fail at both their job and their family?

A new look at an old study sheds some light on the classic dilemma for dads: How do you balance career and family?

I'm sure you've faced the question: do I put more time in at work - to insure I keep my job, pursue career advancement, or expand my business? Or, do I drop whatever I'm doing and head home in order to be with the family? It's a never-ending tension: how much time do I spend where?

You'll be glad to hear about some new research, which found that the very challenge - the tension - that results from trying to give our best to both worlds may be actually helping us men - in both areas.

John Snarey of Emory University has done a unique study in which he's been able to examine the effect of fathers on their children.

The study is based on interviews conducted soon after World War II, and then periodically with the same men and their children over the next four decades. Based on the interviews, he ranked the fathers as "not involved," "somewhat involved," or "involved" fathers.

Overall, Snarey found that involved fathers "may have delayed writing a paper or put off some other project, but in the long run [the involved] fathers went just as far in their work as comparable men did who were less involved with their kids." In fact, fathers who were involved in two particular ways - in their children's mental development and their adolescents' social development - went further on average in their careers than dads who weren't.

As I consider this tension between time at work and our time at home, I like to picture a tent. The tent is held up by tension - one rope pulls one way to a stake in the ground, while another pulls the other way. If one rope isn't tight, the tent sags. And if one rope is pulled too tight, it also collapses. Without just the right amount of tension, the roof of the tent can't do its job.

Now - thanks to John Snarey - we have evidence that that very tension may be good for us.


Huddle up and ask your kids tonight: If I worked one hour less each week, what would you like to do?