October 31st

Here is a post I did on October 31, 2014 . . . 

My family will always have good memories related to festivities on October 31.  As a child, our community always held a fall festival on Halloween night.  My gang of friends would hit the pavement after the games and go door-to-door through the neighborhood trick-or-treating.  Yes, that was way back in the day when it was safe to send your kids loose without an adult.  My own children talk all year long about what costume they will choose that year on the 31st of October.  They have donned an assortment of outfits, including Snoopy, Boba Fett, Dorothy, cowboys and cowgirl, Batgirl, scarecrow, and a host of others. 

This year, for the first time, we decided to pick a theme together.  We chose to dress up as characters from the Batman legacy.  Stay tuned, Bat-friends, at the same Bat-site, for pictures.

This week, we have already had our family devotion about shining Christ's light in our lives and not becoming imitators of darkness.  When we carve our pumpkins today we will talk some about what Christ does to change a life from the inside out.  I will remind my children of the spiritual significance of this day as tied to Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.  And, this weekend we will talk a little as a family about the theme of All Saints Day and the value of remembering Christians in the great cloud of witnesses.

Strong opinions abound in the Christian community about what to do with Halloween.  The following are related articles I have appreciated through the years . . .

Redeeming Halloween by Jack Hayford

Is Halloween a Witch's Brew? by Harold Myra

Bump in the Night by Charles Colson

Four Reasons You Should Go Trick-or-Treating Tonight by Ed Stetzer

An Open Letter About Halloween by Jim Daly