Happy Halloween!

These are my 3 Spooks. It is kinda funny, Reagan and Jake have had no desire to dress up in years. This year they had a blast picking out and trying on their costumes. See Pippi, the magician, in the middle? Yes - I understand - I didn't realize Pippi was a magician either - but our horizons have all been broadened! Lizzie decided she would be a magician weeks ago - that is her handy dandy Magic Kit in her hands - beware though, if you buy one for your child you may be forced to watch HOURS of "made up" magic that actually appears nothing like actual magic. Yes, she refuses to read the actual instructions and just does the tricks how she sees fit. Yes, she is my child, so I really have no room to complain... BUT back to Pippi, when we were shopping for Reagan and Jake last night she found this Pippi wig, and since she LOVES Pippi and magic - Pippi the Magician was born!



Years ago when Reagan and Jake were just getting old enough to start understanding things - like Halloween and Santa Claus - I got very confused within myself. I even went so far as to go through a spell of thinking maybe we should not even have Santa in our home, as I thought maybe he was stealing all the attention away from Christ. For sure Halloween must be of the Devil - right?? This phase didn't' last very long - thank goodness for my kids, but especially my in-laws who were walking around with their jaws hanging open in shock. They had already thought I was off my rocker and an unacceptable bride to their precious baby - now they had actual proof!



Seriously though, I had a discussion with a dear friend the other day. She was feeling torn about Halloween. She had many Christian friends telling her if you did ANYTHING - even a church carnival - that she was being "worldly". One year Halloween was on a Wednesday - when a friend found out I would be taking my kids trick or treating in place of our usual church activities-he said, "I will be at church being holy." My comment, "Do you think I have to be at church to be holy?" He said, "Absolutely." BTW I rarely see or talk to that man anymore! :)

Here is what finally opened my eyes - God is so much bigger than all this petty judgement that Christians put on each other and the world. The bible says that God sees our heart. So, He knows we are just out to have fun and are not secretly in our heart serving Satan! As humans I think it is easy to put God in a box and assume that is where he functions. He is SO much bigger than we can even imagine. We have always had fun on Halloween - Santa still makes an appearance on Christmas Eve - and my kids all have a heart for the Lord. They desire to be in church and they each have a personal walk with Christ. So, we will be having a blast tonight - and if someone chooses to abstain because they believe it is the right thing for them - I do not judge them - all I ask is they do not judge me either. It is, after all, between me and God.