Thursday, October 31

{Day 30} The Other Side of October - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22


I love October for numerous reasons. I love how crunchy and colorful leaves swirl to the ground when the wind blows. I delight in the arrival of all things pumpkin-related in stores and coffee shops. I enjoy decorating the inside of my house for fall and Thanksgiving. And I even get a warm, cozy feeling as the chill hits the air and the sky is a brilliant blue.


photo by debcll: Creative Commons
 

I can't forget to mention the scarves, boots, and sweaters that enter into wardrobes this time of year either. I just love them. When skinny jeans came on the scene (whenever that was) I vowed I'd never step foot in a pair. There was just no way I was putting my body, which was perpetually postpartum, into a pair of the little devils. But I've changed my mind. Still, I have yet to wear a pair in public without a safety net (aka: a pair of boots over top), but I may get there at some point. Thankfully for me, freezing temperatures and snow are on their way; so boots it is.

The lovely parts of October aside, there is one side of October I don't look forward to: the arrival of Halloween.

Just driving through our neighborhood this time of year is a chore. You just never know what you're going to get. There is one homeowner, who through the years, consistently enjoys decorating with things like fake bloody heads on stakes, front lawn graveyards, ghosts hung with eerie spotlighting on them, and ginormous spider webs covering their front entry among others. When the décor is especially horrific at this address, we take another route in and out of the neighborhood. This drives me nuts. And makes me sorry for the neighbors that live on that street.

This isn't the only reason Halloween is not hallowed by this gal, but it's a start. Can I just say that November 1st is one of my favorite days of the year? Seriously.

This post isn't here to convince you to celebrate Halloween or not. I write today to give you some food for thought. I believe we sometimes do things because we've always done things. Or because most people do these things. We, as a mass of people, won't be standing before the Lord together. It will be as individuals.

I pray you seek for yourself and the family you lead what will please God above anything else.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22

21 Test all things; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.

After seeing a certain article flash across my facebook news feed all week, I finally read it. Then I read it to my older kids this morning during school. (FYI: There was one section omitted in my reading to them, because they just aren't there yet.) This article helped solidify our position on the holiday even more, and helped our kids see the reason for their parents' decision. Seeing the light bulb in your kids' minds go from dim to brightly lit, when understanding a concept, is a beautiful thing to see as a mom.

I wholeheartedly agree to what the author shared. And am thankful she did. I hope you'll decide to give it a read as well.
 
10 Reasons I Kissed Halloween Goodbye by Michele Blake

"God wants His people to be holy, which means to be set apart. If everyone else is doing something, and I’m doing it too, that is a good time to examine myself to see if I’m really in the faith. If people don’t look at me and think I am peculiar (1 Peter 2:9) — if I fit right in with our culture and no one can tell I am any different — then I am probably doing something wrong.

The Bible doesn’t say that we should have less to do with darkness than other people do; it says have nothing to do with evil. By even acknowledging and associating with the holiday, I was giving credence to it in my life and opening myself to deception."





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3 comments on "{Day 30} The Other Side of October - 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22"
  1. Thanks for this (YAY I'm not alone,) and thanks for posting the article link. I ran across it several days ago, didn't have time to read it, then forgot about it--until now! I posted a few thoughts on Halloween a couple years ago, too. http://www.jjsboyland.blogspot.com/2010/11/halloween-thing.html

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  2. Thank you. I, too, love autumn and nearly everything about it, but am very uncomfortable with the violent/gory/ugly décor and costumes that celebrate what seems to be an evil day. It's an awkward place to be because many believers "celebrate" Halloween and can't imagine why we don't want to participate. May the Lord bless you for your encouraging words, Amanda!

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