Happy November 1st~
Wow~ I thought the hectic life was going to take a pause in the month of October, I was wrong. I am way behind in everything from continued education for my credential to laundry. But I am not too concerned about that because in a hundred years from now.....neither will matter. I am just content to get a shower every other day.
The past couple of weeks I have been struggling with " legalism": what it is, how to prevent myself from falling into it and how to keep myself from taking worldly things to lightly....
With last night being Halloween, this conflict comes up more times than I would like it too. Before accepting Christ's gift of salvation, this was my second most favorite holiday. I love to decorate for it, the dressing up, and most of all the candy. It wasn't until then, I question or even thought about the "evilness" of the night.
My memories of Trick or Treating was more along the lines of getting to dress up in costumes, driving to the closest neighborhood to where we live (country kids ) and getting to walk the streets with our friends as our parents passed out candy and visited with their town friends in their homes. That was the one time of the year that really scarey movies came on; which brought the challenge of ...can I watch it past the next scarey part or have to turn it. Going thru the candy with our parents teasing us about them taking the good stuff. These were happy family memories.
I love that my church offers an alternative to the door to door begging and it being safer since we don't know most of our neighbors anymore. And for a year, I told my family that we don't do the Halloween stuff, but that didn't set right with me. I felt like a hypocrite, because wanted to be out there making memories with my daughter, but also, I want to be set apart from the world. I had prayed on it, and I still wasn't sure what God would have us do. There is no verse in the Bible that I have found that says Trick or Treating is a sin. But, I believe it really all is in the perception. The Bible does tell us, if we are going to do anything, do it all for the glory of God.
So... I pondered on that idea....how can I let my daughter dress up and still be able to enjoy this event while glorifying God. The first two years,she dressed up as her "Glorified Body", crown included, and we had found some book markers that had Thanksgiving themed verses on it. So, as she was getting candy from the generous community, she was also giving back to them a book marker. The reaction was mostly surprise, that a child was giving them something. Everyone took the time to read it as soon as she gave it to them. Even if they threw it away...God's message of love and life was passed on. This year we found some that had Halloween themed pictures and specifically said " Jesus loves you". It made my heart smile when some of the adults told her that they love Jesus too. Her costume was Queen Esther, representing that in the midst of evil, she was able to show God's love and save her people.
I love that God has blessed me with a daughter that isn't afraid to show her faith in Jesus and what He did on the cross for us. I love that the Lord has shown me way to take His message into our community. I have to confess though, this is a predominately Christian professing community, though I am not sure how many are truly saved. His work will be done as it is written, whether He uses us or find someone else. I am just so blessed that He has chosen my daughter to be such an active part.
While I was pondering these thoughts yesterday and was sitting down to write my post, another member of our church posted on their family blog about Halloween. I received permission to post a link to their site to share with some of their insight on the subject. http://ourfamilyhisglory.org/how-do-you-christians-approach-halloween/.
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| Morgan as Queen Esther |
PS for those who have been following my weight loss...October was a very slow month in that category. I think I totaled out with a mere 8 lbs for the month. I hit that plateau and it hung around...my last weight in was yesterday with a 2lb drop....Praise God~ There hasn't been an increase!!
