Halloween...

Please know I am not judging those of you who do celebrate this day, I am only expressing my own thoughts and opinions because this is really on my heart tonight. I know that there are some out there who don't have a strong conviction about this and that's okay. This is just me...

I have been researching all night because, although I am not torn in my beliefs of this holiday, I am torn as to how and why it has become such a huge thing in our culture. It almost breaks my heart as I read the origin on Halloween. As a Christian I realize I could never support this holiday. I am feeling strongly convicted that this is not just innocent fun. Though many may be disagree, I feel that, for our family, it is impossible to separate the innocence of trick-or-treat with the origin, and the evil surrounding Halloween. (I am posting a link with the origin and history of Halloween, and the Christian view of this at the bottom of this post.) I understand that these days there is "no harm" in allowing children to go door to door dressed as scary or even not-so-scary characters and going door to door to get candy. I just cannot support this tradition and have a clear conscience in doing so.(I also just never know when there is going to be someone who gets a kick out of scaring my kid by jumping out as an awful scary looking zombie or something, and I have known people who do this) As I looked through the history of Halloween, and Christian views of it I found verse after verse telling me this is NOT okay. I almost dread this time of year. I would like to lock myself inside my house with Tori and not have to face all of the Halloween stuff everywhere, but I realize that is unreasonable. I have to take my little girl out of the house. I have to go into the grocery store  at least once a week and I don't know how to explain to her why there are scary faces, blood, skeletons, spiders, ghosts, witches, and so much more all around her. Why does our culture say this is ok?? Why do they put these things everywhere larger than life for my baby to ask me about, and be worried over, or maybe even have nightmares over? I know that ultimately it is mine and Adam's responsibility to teach Tori that these things are pretend and that there is nothing to be afraid of, but how hard of a concept that is to grasp for a 2 year old. I wish I could run away from it, but I know I can't. I do realize I have taken the more "bold" approach to this day, but when I am tempted to just relax about it, or let her be a kid and go trick-or-treating, or walk through the Halloween stuff with her in the cart I am reminded of these verses:

Romans 12:2
"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

"2 Corinthians 6:14, 15"
"For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?" 

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22
"Test everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid every kind of evil."

I also wanted to include Romans 12:1-2 in the Message because I just love this paraphrase so much...


Romans 12:1-2
 "So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."


This is the link for alot of the info I have been ranting about.
Halloween Origins and Customs


All this to say,
Yall I so dislike Halloween... 
Just walking into Walgreens this week to get one little thing I was bombarded with huge awful creatures hanging from the ceiling with black robes hanging off of them and arms reaching out to grab you. There were skeletons, zombies, and some of the famous horror film characters all hanging by rope from the ceiling. It freaked me out a little and I'm an adult... No matter where I went in the store we could see them and Tori spent the whole 3 minutes in there with her eyes buried in a stuff animal I grabbed off an end-cap... I was pretty upset and asked to speak with a manager. Yall may think I'm nuts, but seriously I feel like I should at least have a choice in the matter... It was almost impossible to find a spot in the store that we couldn't see the scary stuff. I mean it was hanging from the ceiling I felt almost forced to look at it. I just told nicely asked the manager that I just wanted him to know how upset I was over this, and that my only request was that it be kept contained in the aisle so that I could make the choice to avoid it. I also told him I would not be back in Walgreens until this season was over. He was very apologetic and said he would see what he could do, of course nothing was changed... It was absolutely horrible.


It makes me sad that this beautiful time of year has to be tainted by Halloween

After tonight I am determined to have a positive attitude about the Fall
This year it snuck up on me, and I wasn't ready for my little girl to have to deal with it
Next year I will be better prepared.
I am getting excited for all the fun that will come within the next few weeks.
We will go to the pumpkin patch
We will go to the fall festival at a nearby church
Tori will turn 3 and we will celebrate her precious life.
She will get to have a dress-up party, and all her friends can come wear their costumes to celebrate her with us.
I love the leaves changing, and the crisp air, and the beauty of God's creation as the season changes.
I love pumpkins, and scarecrows, and Thanksgiving.
I love to sit outside by a fire with the ones I love and roast hot dogs and marshmallows
I love pumpkin pie, and candy corn
I love jumping in a pile of leaves :)
I love this time of year!!

On a lighter note, we will be taking Tori to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and for her first time ever we are going to carve it!!! We have been reading the pumpkin patch parable book a lot and she can't wait until her pumpkin will have a "new face." I will definately post some pictures of that!!

Happy FALL to all of you!!