Two weeks ago we started the KidVenture Winter Olympics. Our theme is ‘Discipline: Doing what you need to do now so you can grow stronger’. We have compared how, just like an Olympic athlete needs to have discipline to grow stronger in their sport, we need to have discipline to grow stronger in our relationship with God. Our focus for the first three weeks has been “Read His Book”. Can you think of a better first step to knowing God than to read His book? How can we change our lives for God if we don’t know what He has to tell us? We have also learned how to break the Bible down in to manageable sections, books, chapters and verses. We now know that every verse in the Bible has an address and we know how to decipher the code to find it.

Along with our weekly focus, we have challenged the students to memorize up to five verses before February 28th. Last week we had many students tell us the first of their five verses. On February 28, there will be an Olympic style medal ceremony during service in which we will present a “gold” medal to each student who memorized up to or all five verses. After the medal ceremony, the students will be participating in AdventureKids Winter Olympics.

Our five Winter Olympic verses are:

1) For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8, NIV

2) By using Scripture, a man of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing. 2 Timothy 3:17, NIrV

3) Don’t worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him. Philippians 4:6, NIrV

4) I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Philemon 1:6, NIV

5) Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve. Deuteronomy 6:13a, NIrV

Each week the Kidventure students also participate in an Winter Olympic style game. Week one we played “Noodle Hockey” with foam pool noodles for hockey sticks and a Nerf ball as the puck. Week two we formed teams and had a biathlon. Each team had to “ski” to our shooting range and score points by hitting the pizza pan target with Nerf darts. These games have been extremely fun and highly competitive for the Olympians. This week’s game will be sure to raise the excitement level for the students.

We love spending time with the students each week in KidVenture. It is a blessing to see how God is working in the students lives as they build relationships with each other and with God. For now – its back to preparing for our next Olympic game!

Wendy