Satan makes evil look good. While many in our culture today delight in blatant evil, Christians try to avoid evil. However, if it is disguised we can often be persuaded that it really isn’t that bad. For example, Mormonism has a squeaky clean image, which keeps the deception hidden away. Halloween follows suit—candy and costumes look fun and innocent but the origins are full of darkness and evil.

“And it shall be, when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this holiday?’ that you shall say…..” (Ex. 12:26-27).

In this passage, God instructed His chosen people to teach the purpose and history of the Passover to their children. Likewise, we should be ready to share with our children why we participate in certain holidays and their origins. We teach our children that the “real meaning” of Christmas is the birth of Jesus, the real meaning of Easter is the resurrection of Jesus, and Thanksgiving is about giving thanks to God for his provision (anybody remember the Pilgrims?) and is not intended to celebrate gluttony and pro-football. So, what are you going to say when your children ask you why you celebrate Halloween (or a substitute)?

Take a moment and research the history of Halloween.   Type in Halloween origins into your search engine and discover the meanings behind the cute jack-o-lantern, the black cat, trick-or-treat, apple bobbing and costumes.  It doesn’t take long to see that the origins are pagan and evil.  Of course, I didn’t mention the other scenes that are commonly associated with Halloween- the ghosts, goblins, witches and other grotesque images- their evil influence is obvious and most Christians already have put a stop to allowing these in their homes.  We have been tricked by the treats.

In a nutshell, Halloween is a pagan holiday that began with the Celts about two thousand years ago. Druids (Celtic priests) made bonfires, burned offerings of crops and animals to their deities, and people dressed up in animal skins to pacify the dead spirits that were thought to enter the world of the living on that day as well as to tell fortunes. Later, in the decades following Christ’s earthly ministry, the Romans had conquered much of the Celtic lands in northern France and England, so they added two of their own festivals to Halloween. One honored the dead while the other honored a goddess of trees and fruit. About 800 years later, Roman Catholics attempted to change the holiday to one that honored dead saints and martyrs. Halloween in America was limited in practice until the great influx of the Irish (a Celtic people) during the potato famine in Ireland. Today, Americans spend an estimated $7 billion on candy, costumes, and decorations, which makes it the second most lucrative holiday.

So, why is it that Christians participate in this day? I believe it is often due to our desire to “fit in” rather than to stand up for Truth and be different from the culture. We also excuse away our participation by calling it a “Fall Festival,” but still hold it on October 31. Some churches offer these festivals merely as cleaner alternatives while others have more righteous intentions by desiring to witness to the community, but how does the World see these activities? One pagan web site said that since Christian Churches can’t get their people to stop celebrating Halloween, they “sprinkled a little holy water on it” and “gave it a new name.”   Is that what Christianity is all about? Do we wash things up a bit and continue to practice the things that are detestable to God? It is no wonder that young people are leaving the faith—there is no contrast between good and evil, just accommodation. When I read of Christ, I see a stark difference between who He was and the world around Him. I want to be an imitator of Christ rather than a clone of the world around me.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.”—Ephesians 5:1-13

The Bible has plenty to say regarding the occult, sorcery, witchcraft and magic—we are to stay away from it (Deut. 18; 2 Kings 9; 2 Chron. 33:5-7; Micah 5:11-13; Nah. 3: 3-5; Gal. 5:19-21). In Acts 19, Paul visited Ephesus, which was a filthy city whose population practiced magic. Paul challenged them and instead of excusing away their behavior and getting angry with the message (and the messenger), many confessed their sin and burnt their magic books, so they could not practice again.

It has been several years since our family stopped participating in Halloween and its substitutes and I must admit that I experienced moments of doubt thinking “Am I being a Grinch?” or “Shouldn’t my kids have fun with everyone else?” Well, years later, I am convinced that my children are not suffering. They certainly have enough candy and have costumes for dress-up. Besides, we have had some wonderful times digging into God’s Word and delighting in being different from the world around us. It is a privilege. My children are learning that there are not always alternatives to what the world offers. Cigarettes are not an alternative to marijuana, kissing and touching are not  alternatives to sex, and fall festivals are not an alternative to Halloween.

I know that this is a touchy subject, but I believe that churches need to come to terms on their reasons for holding “Fall Festivals.” I have attended several churches that offer these and while the title of the event refrains from Halloween it certainly reflects much of the holiday. Sunday School teachers pass out skull candy and jack-o-lantern pencils, there are slips of speech from the pulpit that use the word “Halloween” when inviting everyone to come, costumes are encouraged and it is held on October 31st. If it smells like a skunk and looks like a skunk, isn’t it really a skunk? I am all for a real Fall Festival that evangelizes the surrounding community, but to stand unique in Christ, I believe that such a time should take place on a different day, be absent of Halloween distinctives and delight in the fruits of the season that God has blessed us with. (Isn’t that what Thanksgiving is?)  Why can’t the church hold a wonderful community “Fall festival” or other outreach event a few weeks earlier or later and teach the congregation why Christians should not participate in Halloween. This sets us apart from the world as God’s people while also allowing us to do an outreach event that is divorced from a pagan holiday.

So, what do we do on October 31? We have a typical day—nothing different from the norm. We do not dress up, we do not give out candy, we do not go to “Fall Festivals,” and we do not take our kids trick-or-treating. Are my kids suffering? No way!

Such wisdom in a child’s fairy tale!  Most of us have been in a circle of friends and at least listened in as wives belittled their husbands.  It is commonplace for women to bring to light the mistakes that their husbands have made and think it is lighthearted humor.  Unfortunately, if the table was turned and we heard our husband’s sharing our faults with their male companions our hearts would sting and cry out at the rejection.  The Bible has several references to how a woman should guard her husband’s integrity.  

• Proverbs 12:4 (New King James Version) ⁴ An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
        But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.
• Proverbs 31:11 (New King James Version)¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
        So he will have no lack of gain.
• Proverbs 31:12 (New King James Version)¹² She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Of course, no one does right all of the time- the only man capable of such a thing was Christ, but it is not my place to point out faults endlessly.  If I can encourage my husband and support him in his attempts to lead our family as Christ led the church then I am on the right path.  It is my prayer that I can be like the little old lady in the fairy tale and stand by my hubby through the good times and hard ones placing my full confidence in him and his submission to God.

Whoever said that Family Worship had to be drudgery never really tried it.  While most nights follow a pretty straightforward plan there are times when we add a bit more.  This was one of those nights.  We have been studying Samson this week and have had many discussions over how God had a special purpose for Samson’s life and how Samson took the path of disobedience and fell into traps by associating with those that did not worship the one true God.  We also discovered that despite all of Samson’s shortcomings and the pain that he inflicted on himself that God was still able to use him for the original purpose of defeating the Philistines.  Did it have to be this hard on Samson?  Probably not.  But how many times have I taken serious detours from the path that God laid out before me and yet through it all, God was able to create good from it? 

My journey in and out of Mormonism is just one example of this.  Just as Samson was tempted to engage in the company of those that didn’t believe as he did, I also slid into deception.  I chose to become deceived and trapped in a community that felt good, but was not based on truth.  I experienced many hardships and challenges that I single-handedly brought upon myself.  Today, I thank God for taking my past sin and turning it into an opportunity to share the truth with others (Rom. 8:28).  There is hope and what a joy it is to watch others as they escape from Mormonism and come to truth.  

Teach your children the doctrines of the Christian faith, read them the Bible and then spend time playing.  For this study, we made spaghetti hair for a drawing of Samson’s head, cut strips of construction paper and taped them to the inside of ballcaps and tucked balloons into a shirt to create muscles while play-acting the passage.  We also used my favorite Betty Lukens Flannel Story pieces to retell the Bible passage- it is a great visual for children.  Take some time and have fun laughing with your kids tonight!  Here’s a video clip of our time while re-enacting the passage of Samson:  Don’t Pop My Muscles!  http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=f323d4b4c447274a142b

There are several different catechisms you can use such as the Westminster Shorter Catechism or the Baptist Catechism. However, we use “A Catechism for Boys and Girls” because it is intended for younger children. Here’s the link: http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/acbg.htm

We purchased a set of three little books called Truth and Grace Memory Books published by Founders Press. In these books, they have broken down by age some suggested expectations for a child to learn as well as providing the catechism in print. Here’s the link in case you are interested: http://www.founderspress.com/shop/store.php?crn=205&rn=417&action=show_detail

Start asking questions and provide the answers. We have introduced one or two questions every night when holding our Family Worship time. Here’s the first three: 1.Q. Who made you? A. God made me 2.Q. What else did God make? A. God made all things 3.Q. Why did God make you and all things? A. For his own glory. The questions and answers are basic and fundamental. Even a 1 year old can do this!

Both Zachary and Jonathan eagerly ask for the question and answer time. Even our little Madison Grace has been able to learn bits and pieces!  Children in our culture are bombarded by worldly influences that challenge the very core of Christ’s teachings. We have been called as parents to raise up an army for Christ. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 shares how we are commanded to teach our children God’s ways ALL day without pause. We have committed to doing this with our children- I know we will make mistakes, but with God’s grace and our determined efforts I am at peace as we equip our children. Here’s a video of our children while doing their catechism. Melton\’s Catechism

Zachary is patient.  Zachary is kind.

Zachary does not want what belongs to others.

Zachary does not brag.  Zachary is not proud.

Zachary is not rude.

Zachary does not look out for his own interests.

Zachary does not easily become angry.

Zachary does not keep track of other people’s wrongs.

Zachary is not happy with evil. 

But is full of joy when the truth is spoken.

Zachary always protects.  Zachary never gives up.

| View Show | Create Your Own

This week my 6 year old son has been participating in Vacation Bible School and the theme is “SonRock Forest”.  He has had a wonderful time.  Yesterday was dress-up day and the directions for children was to “come dressed up in medieval attire.  My first thought was AAAAKKKKK!!!!  When was I going to find the time to create a costume for this in the next day?  Well, God is good and after looking around the house I found that we had a dress-up shield and helmet that I had bought at the dollar store several months ago.  I always want to make sure that faith is weaved in whatever we are doing and just because he is doing this for VBS doesn’t mean that the emphasis in his mind is on God.  There has been a lot of talk about Robin Hood, shooting arrows and water play so I knew that this was an opportunity to take him to God’s Word.  Here’s what I did- we read Ephesians 6:10-17 and the costume was underway. 

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. NASB

While no prizes were awarded for this costume, the time that I spent on this and reading God’s word together with my son was priceless.  Once finished I was duplicating it for his brother.  Watch out world …. two more soldiers for Christ are out there!

1. Go to http://www.wordle.net/ and Click on Create at the top.
2. Type in a list of words that you want to include.  I chose to go with descriptive nouns but you could do anything.  Hint: if you have a name that includes two words you will want to divide them with a ~.  This will provide the space and keep the word together.
3. Click “Go”
4. The system will randomly generate a “Wordle”- you can change it up manually using the Font/ Layout/ Color options at the top or you can scroll below the picture and click “Randomize” and it will create something new.  Keep in mind that if you like something, print it before losing it.  There is no guarantee that you will get it back again.
5. Print on cardstock or photo paper.
6. Mat and Frame.

Here is a copy of the on-screen Wordle that I created for my Dad.  I asked my sister and mom to share some descriptive nouns to add more variety. 

Here is the final product after buying a frame at the dollar store:

How do you handle three children ages 6,4 and 1 in a church service? I must admit that I asked that same question when we began this adventure and through some bumpy attempts found some ways that work better than others. We discovered that it needs be basic and simple. I first prepared for Sunday with a backpack of activities that the kids could choose from complete with magnets, coloring books with crayons and pencils, baggies of Bible felt stories and children’s Bible picture books, snacks and drinks. First off- the backpack was incredibly heavy and while we were just a family of five we took up a huge amount of space in the row. The other drawback to this approach was that the kids were not engaged in the service- just occupied. They would interrupt us constantly to switch from one activity to another- crayons dropped, they had squabbles over who got what. It was hard. Now, we have simplified matters and we bring a plain spiral notebook, pencil and a children’s Bible for every child. We also have a small baggy with dry cereal and raisins for each kiddo. There are a couple of expectations we hold. When the congregation is singing, we all sing so the notebooks and Bibles are not used. When we are praying, we all pray. During the sermon, our 6 year old is expected to listen closely and we guide him to the passage in his Bible to read along. He can also draw pictures and take “notes” but it needs to be related to the sermon. For our 4 year old, we are a bit more flexible. He can look at his Bible and may draw pictures so long as he is quiet and not distracting. Our 18 month old is often the most challenging as she is being trained in sitting in one place and being quiet. She does great the majority of the time, though. We have practice sessions at home every night during Family Worship. She is expected to sit next to me and can hold a small doll, look at a Bible book or color with her pencil in her notebook. The snack baggie is very helpful in keeping her hushed during the sermon.

The question often asked- what are they getting out of church when it is geared to adults? You will be amazed at what children can learn even when we don’t dress it up with bright colored bulletin boards and relay races. Don’t get me wrong- those are fun and I do plenty of that at home, but it is also important that children come to approach the Bible and worship in it’s most basic form. It is such a joy to be able to talk as a family about the sermon and further explain what was taught to our children at home. I can also be assured that the content presented to my children is sound and not misinterpreted by a well-intentioned volunteer. Awhile back, my husband and I were sitting in an adult Sunday School class while our children were off in their own classes when we spied on the wall of the multi-use room “Consequences for Misbehaving In Children’s Church”. There were three or four consequences beginning with the basic “time out” and progressively getting worse. Can you guess what the ultimate punishment for misbehaving in children’s church was? “You will be sent to big church and sit with your family.” Ouch! Is this what I want my child to think of when he/she is faced with the time to attend church? This is not a new concept, rather it is just a return to the good ol’days. Many churches are popping up that are considered “Family Integrated”. I would be thrilled to be a part of one of these churches but in our area the only Family Integrated Church has taken on some legalist tendencies. As the pastor shared in his sermon on Sunday, there are some issues that are critical and inflexible when it comes to the Church. Worshipping as a family is simply a preference for us and not an issue that should split believers.

We use naptime to immerse the kids in God’s Word using an audioBible that we downloaded free from http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/store/languageconfig.  We use the Kidz NIV version which is great- the boys take turns on the Bible passage that they choose to listen to.  We have about 1-2 hours worth on each CD so even if they don’t fall asleep (they almost always do) then they are still absorbing the Bible.  This has been one of the most effective tools that we have used to disciple our children.  Super easy and affordable.  We have found that the boys have memorized large chunks of the Bible as a result of this.