Happy Halloween!

We've had a few people ask us about Halloween this year.  Armenians and Americans.  Do we celebrate?  What do we celebrate?  What is Halloween all about?  Hum.

So what is Halloween all about?  Going way back, fear, maybe?  Spirits and trying to please the dead so they wouldn't come to haunt you?  Hum.  Well, we don't believe that anyway.  So I guess we won't celebrate that but that is what you see in the stores in the US.  Ghosts and goblins.  Icky, bloody stuff.  Uff da.  And right around Hannie's birthday!  Comon.  Heh.

We always have celebrated fall harvest type of parties at our church and/or at the kids' school back in Grand Forks.  We let them dress up and eat candy and be with friends.  I don't think they've ever actually gone trick or treating, though.

They started out as a cat and a dog...
but got kinda silly after that!  :)

I read a book a while back called Redeeming Halloween.  It's pretty good, from what I remember... if you're interested.  Gives some history and some ideas of how to celebrate it in the light of the Lord.

We love to celebrate it as All Hallows Eve...  ahem.  The eve before All Saints Day.  All Saints Day is a day to remember the martyrs and Christian heroes of the faith.  Awesome, huh?  What a fun thing to celebrate.  We've read some biographies, like Hudson Taylor.  And we've talked about Stephen, of course, the first Christian martyr.  We decided a couple years ago that we'd use this holiday to prepare a small package for missionaries around the world who are serving today.  (If you send it the beginning of November, they'll probably get it between Thanksgiving and Christmas when they're missing family back home...)  I love to talk about how God says over and over in the Bible - FEAR NOT and Don't be Afraid!  He is with us!  He cares for us.  Good topic for the season.

Hannie decorated both of us in
Mt Ararat!  :)

Well, this year it kinda surprised me a little bit.  In Armenia there is no Halloween!  So, oh, here it is!  Right.  We did have some candy and we did some face painting but where was all the hero/faith stuff I usually plan?!  Oops.  Then I thought - all last year we planned for this Halloween!

Last year the kids memorized the whole chapter of Hebrews 11.  It's the Bible's Hall of Faith!  Heroes galore!  All these people lived by faith and served the Lord.  Awesome.  Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph...  So we had a pre-made lesson set up for us.  I read through it while they had breakfast and we talked some about it.  But this time I read a little farther:

Hebrews 12:1-3

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. 

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 

fixing our eyes on Jesus, 

the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

For the joy set before him he endured the cross, 

scorning its shame, 

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, 

so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Jesus.  The ultimate Hero of our Faith.  The "perfecter of our faith".  Fix your eyes on Him.  Consider Him.  Throw off sin.  Run with perseverance.  Don't grow weary and lose heart.  Since we have these witnesses who went before us...  be encouraged!  Talk about a pep talk right to us!  Just squirt some gatorade in  my face and let me get back out there!

I always tell the kids that we should think of ending the "by faith" chapter by thinking of ourselves...  How will our story sound?  What will come next?  By faith...  [Jill...]  We're next in line.

Happy Halloween!