Halloween 2012

Here I am again about halloween. I don't know what happened to halloween in 2010 and 2011, but I did not blog about it haha. Actually, last halloween, we were so busy stuffing candies and these awesome home made tracts I must have forgotten to blog on it. I remember taking a couple of pictures of my kids' stuffing action though.

We don't celebrate halloween because I have seen too much of the dark side in the spiritual world. We have passed out tracts and candies though. But just a thought here.... the object of evil isn't intrinsically evil itself until a person who knows evil relates it to evil. Halloween can't be good when witches and wiccans sacrifice babies but halloween can be good when Christians step out in this dark night and teach that there is hope and grace even in a time like this. The days are evil whether if it's halloween or not.

Reminds me of great examples.... Jehovah's witnesses teach that objects r evil. So when they see a cross it reminds them of a pagan god so they r repulsed by the object of salvation. But to us the cross reminds us of love and ultimate sacrifice. With similar principles, they teach their kids how to "evilize" all festivals, objects, and motives.

Another example, easter... easter is a fertility god, it has nothing to do with our Lord's resurrection. But Christians throughout the years have used this pagan holiday to teach the gospel to their own children using eggs, bunnies, chicks, candies and different resurrection recipes. Yet again, Jws teach that this holiday itself is evil and no one should be honoring the fertility god when no one thinks of the fertility god when we color an egg or pass out chocolate bunnies. If a family had no upbringing about the history and evils of halloween but just trunk or treat and dressing up as something fun, is halloween an evil pagan holiday to their kids? Does dressing up and celebrating it "give more power" to the dark evil demons?

Can't Christmas also become pagan when santa becomes the object of affection in any home including a Christian home? Can't easter also become a pagan holiday when the painting of beautiful easter eggs becomes the main event of the day?

A day in itself has no power to be evil or good until a person of evil or of good grants it power to be evil or good. Look at Romans 14:14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

The book review I did back in September for "Grace based parenting" actually talked about halloween for a little. What he said really made sense. I will look for that book and quote it when I find it, but he basically said, if all we do is instill this fear of halloween into our kids and tell them what evil happens on that day, we are teaching them about the evil not about the good. They will remember what is evil and not what they can do to impact the world on a day like this. They will remember to be scared and not being about to be sent out into the world to be bold on a day or a society that is wrapped in this sort of thing!

The Chinese culture has many different festivals. I grew up celebrating each and every one of them. I remember thinking how silly the stories were but the festivals were a fun time. An excuse to get the entire family together, distant relatives and all! Do I teach my kids that all these festivals are evil just because it doesn't have Christ? Or do I bring Christ into these festivals so that they can bring Christ to their friends when no one else see Christ in them? Do I teach my kids not to participate and scare them out of action or send them into the world for action with the power of Christ?

Romans 14:5-9(ESV) One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

I wrestle with this whole chapter of Romans. No one needs to be judged of what they do with anything. That I know. I used to struggle with being legalistic about it and judged others. Not anymore at all. I went through it and grew up out of it in Christ. What I am still trying to grasp is how I can raise my kids in a way of grace not legalism about not celebrating halloween the way others do. Right now, I tell them what I learn about this. Today, I told them, for example, that a holiday is evil when a person or a group of people makes it evil. Some Christians use it to share the gospel, some hide at home. Some unbelievers choose to dress up as scary evil characters, some also choose to hide at home. Like me, before I was a Christian, I never dressed up and "trick or treat".

Here are my evolving thoughts and growing knowledge of grace on this western holiday, "halloween"

2008 - This was my blog on halloween named "and What occasion is this?"

2009 - This one was written about this same day named "Halloween - It's just not our holiday"

2011 - my husband drew and dedicated this episode of jujubee and raisin to pointing families back to Jesus at halloween. We must have printed 100 and on the back was a gospel presentation in words. We folded and stuffed it in a little bag with candy.

LORD, continue to teach me. Continue to stretch my mind because sometimes I am reading and writing but cannot comprehend. Only through Your grace will I grow in love and grace. I love You. But not enough. I want to love you more than more. Convict me and forgive me of my sins. Expand my love for You and for Your Creation. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Freakishly hilarious

People are so talented.

When I first heard "50 ways to say goodbye" by Train, these are my thoughts in order...

1. a mariachi band, mexian song?
2. wait, this guy copied the melody from "the phantom of the opera"
3.eaten by a lion????
4. ways to say you WHAT?
5. oh my gosh, he's wishing she was dead?
6. oh it's a joke cuz he was so embarrassed he was dumped. hahahahaa



did you see the Hoff? haha and doesn't the cashier look like Howie Mandel?

Poems by Taylor Mali

Speaking with conviction

"I'm like inviting you to, like, join me in the bandwagon of uncertainty. What has happened to our conviction?"



What a teacher makes (warning: there are a couple of bad words)

"I decide to bite my tongue instead of his...."

Proverbs 13:4 again!

Yes, I am revisiting Proverbs 13:4 again. This time with a different spin. My desires, what do I want to have accomplished? How? The verse says diligent, not lazy. I get that. Here is why I was struck. This quote:

Discipline is 'Making yourself do what you don't want to do in order to achieve what you want to achieve.' (supposedly from Tom Landry's book in p.279)

Diligence has to come from the the right motivation. And the right motivation has to be for the glory of our LORD Jesus Christ, not anything else. Anything else would be the wrong motivation, for a follower of Christ, that is. And motivation, comes from self discipline doesn't it? And this self discipline has to come from conviction and motive. If my motive is none other than to please someone else or myself, forget it. If my motive is to succeed in a worldly sense or get more money, forget it. Wrong motives! Where does my conviction lie? Is it through my own senses of failure? Or is it through the word of God that is speaking to me through the Spirit, telling me to obey? Telling me to change? Telling me to step up?

Through godly conviction and motives, self discipline, motivation, and diligence shall follow. 

So what do I want? What is it that my heart so desires and yearns to achieve? 

intimacy with the LORD 
Hebrews 7:25; 10:22; 11:6, James 4:8

spiritual, mental and spiritual fitness
Luke 9:62, Romans 9:8, 1 Timothy 4:8

doing everything unto the LORD and not unto man 
2 Chron 5:11-14; Psalm 115:1; Proverbs 25:2; Isaiah 24:15; Jer 13:16; 1 Cor 10:13;Col 3:23

I did not list them because all of them are number 1. That's all I want to achieve. I am also gaining wisdom from reading and studying Proverbs 30. The sayings of Agur. I will have to blog on that later. 

LORD, bless my conviction and motives to better know you. Psalm 84, how lovely is Your dwelling place oh Lord!!! Better is one day in Your house!! Let my heart and flesh cry out to You! Let me seek You and find You. You are beautiful. Lord, I never have the right motives, I am human. Give me Your motives! Let me seek self discipline, motivation, and diligence and find these things because of You. Like Agur says, only give me my daily bread! I don't need anything but You. Help me surrender all things to You and know I cannot take any material thing from this world with me. May the Holy Spirit consecrate my children and may they desire the baptism from Your spirit so they may be anointed to do Your will. Open their spiritual eyes, ears, and hearts so they make seek You from their deepest parts of their souls. Thank You for Your sacrifice and grace. In Jesus' name, AMEN.