blown save
This is a note I sent today to my children:
“Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!” I think we blew it. We turned the lights off at our house and uninvited the community to our home. A community that we were called to be available to. Not one kid or set of parents out in the streets on that evening are worshiping satan… not one! I wished… honestly… that we would have turned on the porch light and bought the best candy, the good stuff, the best stuff to give away. But, I cared too much about what it looked like… Frik! I wished that we would have smiled at little eyes (and big eyes) and offered a blessing at the door. I wish that I would have allowed my God to be bigger than evil on that night. But, I think we missed it… I missed it.
You do what you want… but, I now have regrets. Just saying…
loves
me
-MDP-
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Mike Paschall . com 
Thank u for validating my thoughts at that time in our lives. I was the “evil” one that let my kids participate!
Hi Mike,
You know, we have thought about this quite a bit, but the conclusion I have come too, is that in the end it is a holiday celebrating scarey, bad, gorey things. Maybe not the cute little kiddies dressed as lady birds, but in the end it is not a celebration of goodness. I don’t care for the Christian alternative either, We have 364 other days to show goodness and kindness to our neighbours. In fact those days would mean so much more to those neighbours , than one evening of me handing out mars bars. And ultimately, I like having the kids being able to say ” we don’t do that because….” It says that we do take a stance for something. And hopefully will enable them to gain some hutspah for when they have to stand against other things in life. Maybe it would be better to have a “Candy Party” to celebrate life in July!…..That’s my thoughts…….
As I told my own children… do what you want. I have regrets about “another” opportunity to be open to the place I’m called to serve and love. I always appreciate your thoughts! xo
Love this — so true!! 🙂 Love you!
mike, i always appreciate the honesty.
if it’s any consolation, you still have time to prepare for the day of!
Now you tell us!! haha! I love that you still listen and hear and aren’t afraid to change direction in your heart and thinking and embrace new things. This sounds like freedom to me. This sounds like “belonging before you believe” to me. I am not a big fan of Halloween…but I am a big fan of bright eyes, family fun, candy, costumes, and ACCEPTANCE. Good blog. Actually more freeing to The Herings than you know!
I Listened to your message this morning while on my run… http://www.ecf-mcgregor.com. Amazing. xo
i was confused by the first comments… about participating/ not…
i hear what you’re saying… you (prior) didn’t want to be a part of that… the “unchristian holiday” …
as for taking a stance?… the point is… STAND – be seen, make yourself AVAILABLE… no matter what day of the year… and perhaps on a day that people are “OUT & ABOUT”… come-on… talk about interacting and sharing the light of Christ… which may be and americanized “darker day” so-to-speak… really?… it is what we make it…
so… i completely agree Mike… i love hearing your heart and the things that you came from… the stance you used to take… and now more and more you are being REDUCED TO LOVE…
all shapes, angles, forms, types and even days, etc.
Thanking God for making more of your heart available… one lesson/day at a time…,
LOVE YOU!
Good stuff! I love that my parents always gave us the freedom to enjoy Halloween, and they always backed it with the truth of what God says about cultural influence. Be in the world, but not of the world! We got to let our little lights shine, just like the pumpkins. God cleaned out all our slimy nast, and gave us His light for the world to see! God gave us a perfectly great night to let His Harvest come right to our front doors!
i love you, girl! and love this comment!
Totally agree Michael, how many times have we tried to protest instead of offering love and blessings. They ought to know us by our love…not by what we think is right or wrong. We need to be a light in a dying world….not shut it off and hide in the dark:)
Love ya man!
Matthew 5:14-16″Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
I always love your transparency Mr. Paschall!
Hey Mikie! So love your message…Lorna shared it with us earlier and I am just now taking the time to reply. We have avoided “the day” for the last couple of years for the sake of what we felt was right. You know…the thing about not participating in something so dark etc etc…Im thinking my judgment and “stance” didn’t really affect the world the way Jesus would suggest! This year about 2 weeks before Halloween, as the talk of fun costumes began i got this pit in my stomach. I questioned and searched ..is this right ….is this wrong….What if i let my “peeps” down? (yes i really thought that)The pit in my stomach continued and then i realized this is silly. One of my kids dressed up as a soccer player for a school activity during the week and loved it…any harm? Nope! I didnt even think about her not doing this…But this Oh dreaded Hallowed night! After discussion with David, we agreed this could be fun! So our Aggie football player got padded up…The clown dressed in Aggie gear with a real water squirting flower and giant red nose was ready to go…The big sister was the football player’s biggest fan…aggie chairs and blankets in tow…we gave out good candy to smiling faces and everyone had a blast. Town was a buzz on 6th street and Harrison was at a standstill….The feeling was GOOD because our hearts were right and real! Chase was unaffected by new treats in his bag….he got home and asked…”When is Halloween again? I really want to play football again soon!!”
love you! ~Tam