I think Scrooge was on the right track: the avoidance of all celebration, the refusal to acknowledge the "occasion", the desire to close the velvet draperies, lock the doors and pretend no one is home.
He had the right attitude...just the wrong holiday.
Egads, what is this woman talking about?!
I am talking about my complete and udder disdain, abhorrence and dislike of anything Halloween.
I know. I am weird. But whatever...I just cannot get excited about this "holiday".
First off, as a parent I spend a huge part of my "parenting life" trying to protect my children from most things scary, evil and even mildly creepy. I don't let my young children sit down and watch old Freddy Krueger movies. I don't hide around dark corners at bedtime, waiting to jump out and scare the heebie-jeebies out of them; causing my children to have blood-curling, sweat inducing, bed-peeing nightmares is not my idea of good parenting! Life is scary enough on its own; purposely taking time once a year to surround your self with zombies, blood-suckers, and devil worshipers in order to see how much panic and anxiety you can handle before you bite the big one - especially when you're 8 years old - just doesn't make sense to me.
"For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear..." ~ Romans 8:5
Secondly, no matter how hard I try, I cannot reconcile fraternizing with spooks and demons with my relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus sacrificed himself so I could live a life free of fear - how can I worship him 364 days of the year and then justify spending a day reveling in everything that is contrary to who he is? For those of you who are married or dating, how do think your partner would feel if you said, "Hey, I am faithful to you 364 days of the year. I am sure you won't mind if, just one day a year, I go reconnect with my old boyfriend/girlfriends and party down.."
Uh-uh. Ain't gonna happen, is it?
Uh-uh. Ain't gonna happen, is it?
"Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil.." ~ Psalm 141:4
God is good; he is peace and joy and life; he is hope and truth and light. My heart is just not comfortable celebrating fear, death, darkness and all things hellish.
"Let no one be found among you who... practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead."
~ Deuteronomy 15:19-11
So maybe you are thinking I'm just way too extreme. That's ok - I don't mind.
And maybe, you are also wondering how we handle the whole Halloween thing? To be honest, we don't really. And by that I mean, we don't make a big deal out it. If others talk about how they are going to celebrate, we smile and nod. If my kids bring home a Halloween treat, we eat it (especially if its chocolate.) We don't get bent out of shape if we get a Halloween card or one of those cool Jib-Jab things: we appreciate the fact that people take the time to show us they are thinking about us. No, I don't decorate for it and my kids don't go out and buy costumes to scour the neighborhood for candy (which really is ok. We live in ND and 9 times out of 10 it is about 30 degrees and snowing on Halloween night. Who wants to go out in that?) We do go to our church for an annual puppet show and a carnival - complete with hotdogs and cotton candy. It's indoors, it's warm, there is candy - and there are no creepies lurking around the corner.
We do explain to our kids that we don't participate in Halloween because God is not a spirit of fear and we don't want to participate in something that is all about fear - that would be disrespectful to God. And our kids get that - there have been a couple of skirmishes over the years but for the most part, its been no big deal.
No lecture. No slide show. And, no, we don't lock the doors and hide in the closet until it's over.
This is the choice we have made. Maybe it's over the top. Maybe some people think we're a little extreme. But I am not here to please them, I am here to please God. And if I'm going to "err" on one side, it's gonna be on his.
And maybe, you are also wondering how we handle the whole Halloween thing? To be honest, we don't really. And by that I mean, we don't make a big deal out it. If others talk about how they are going to celebrate, we smile and nod. If my kids bring home a Halloween treat, we eat it (especially if its chocolate.) We don't get bent out of shape if we get a Halloween card or one of those cool Jib-Jab things: we appreciate the fact that people take the time to show us they are thinking about us. No, I don't decorate for it and my kids don't go out and buy costumes to scour the neighborhood for candy (which really is ok. We live in ND and 9 times out of 10 it is about 30 degrees and snowing on Halloween night. Who wants to go out in that?) We do go to our church for an annual puppet show and a carnival - complete with hotdogs and cotton candy. It's indoors, it's warm, there is candy - and there are no creepies lurking around the corner.
We do explain to our kids that we don't participate in Halloween because God is not a spirit of fear and we don't want to participate in something that is all about fear - that would be disrespectful to God. And our kids get that - there have been a couple of skirmishes over the years but for the most part, its been no big deal.
No lecture. No slide show. And, no, we don't lock the doors and hide in the closet until it's over.
This is the choice we have made. Maybe it's over the top. Maybe some people think we're a little extreme. But I am not here to please them, I am here to please God. And if I'm going to "err" on one side, it's gonna be on his.
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."~ Eph 5:8
Usually, this is the spot where I ask thought provoking questions to get your feedback or input. But this is one time I cannot think of a thing to say. We could 
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