Last night, I went back to Awana!  This was a minisry that was such a huge part of my life growing up (I started as a  3-year-old “Cubbie,†and earned my Citation as a senior in high school), but, it has been a while since I have had any sort of involvement with it. I do credit it (well, several of the programs and leaders) with much of my spiritual growth – especially during high school.
For the past several years, my dad has been the main teacher for our church’s Varsity (and I know, it is now called 24/7, but, I’m from the old school), or high school, group. This semester he is teaching a section that he calls “Life 101.â€Â It is a neat series that he has put together to help the students prepare for life after Awana…and for the true Awana geeks, like myself, that concept can be difficult to fathom. He deals with issues that range from finding a church to dating/courtship (yes, both!). Last night he asked Jason and me to come in and speak to the group about modesty.
It was an interesting experience, as most (all) of my previous “teaching†experience has either been with very young children – 2 years old to about 2nd grade – or to college-age girls. So, high school was new territory for me! And, a little bit of a challenge. It wasn’t bad, just different than what I am used to! They were very kind, but very quiet. My high school, and college, experiences always involved a lot more interaction, so their lack of “audience participation†was a bit unnerving…I did get a few laughs, which also caught me completely off guard, since I really wasn’t trying to be funny! But, I do tend to “tell it like it is,†and I think that may have surprised them a little bit! 
Modesty is one of my “soapbox†issues. It is something that I am very passionate about, as it directly relates to, and is impacted by how we as Christians live our lives, and what we are communicating to the world around us. But, the entire concept seems to have been lost in the church today…especially the women. Because this particular program had such an impact on me, some 11-plus years ago, I was especially excited to talk to these girls.
But, for the last week or so, that has meant spending every free moment – and several moments that I should have spent sleeping! – working on a short presentation on that topic. I emphasize short, because it was anything but!  This is an area that I have been studying, and forming convictions about for several years. And, I have discovered that God’s Word has so much to say on the issue. There was so much that I wanted to say, but didn’t, as time just did not allow for it. So, I certainly do not feel as though I did the topic justice. And, I was only able to offer them a very small glimpse of what the Lord asks, or demands, of us in this area. And I still went over my allotted time…but I did finish before my husband. 
  I hope that I was at least able to give them some things to think about – in regards to their behavior, their speech, their desires and motivations…Oh, and we did talk about clothes too.
If you are interested in what I had to say to these ladies, I think I will post it (in parts), in continuation of my seriously neglected little series on modesty! So, you can be looking forward to that…or consider yourself warned. 