In my earlier post on this thread, which probably spent more bandwidth describing how we here in America eventually got hooked on this Halloween thing .... Hey, I'm a history major with an MA in history from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN, (I lived in Clarksville, TN,---which is only about 50 or so miles from where I currently live---from 1972 - 1993) so I guess I sometimes get carried away with the history of things rather than what I actually do.
Personally, since I'm handicapped and never have been married in my almost 70 years and, thus have no children or grandchildren, my perspective on things related to holidays like Christmas or Easter or Halloween is probably a little different than that of a lot of you on BB.
Things like these kinds of holidays, as a member of God's Family, I now view as more of a matter of Christian liberty than I once did when I was more of a "Babe in Christ."
IOW, if a person or family or even a local church wants to have some kind of special observance for them, that's okay with me, but OTOH, since these kinds of holidays have, for probably the last 150 years, been so ingrained into our culture, any "Anti - Holiday Crusade" is, to me anyway, pretty much a waste of time.
IMHO, I prefer to do what little I can in my neighborhood---which is about a 250 unit "Town House" [The local HOA claims that if they are called "Town House," they can charge a higher amount of money for their monthly HOA dues. Go figure!! :BangHead:]---to at least promote a little sense of Biblical Christianity to the people who are my neighbors---most of whom aren't saved, or, if they are, there're saved they seem to keep their "Christianity" to themselves.
I try my best not to be perceived as nuisance in the neighborhood, so what I've found that works best for me on Halloween is to give out a small amount of candy to whoever shows up at my door---I usually let them come inside because by little front porch is way too small for the children to stand on; besides, it's usually too rainy or stormy or otherwise nasty weather.
I'll make up some small talk with the kids and/or parents just to get to know them a little better and have them feel a little better about "that single shut-in who only goes outside to check his mail" [Which essentially is true.].
Even though I have no children or grandchildren of my own, God's put it in my heart to love children, and be as much involved with those 10-12 YO and younger, when, usually their hearts are still not hardened to "the world, the flesh, and the satanic influences" that's out there in our society today & is getting worse and worse, even to the extent that innocent little boys and girls are getting exposed to things that I'd never even heard of when I was their age.
This is one reason why I was blessed to off-and-on work in the bus ministry, or in AWANA's, or for close to 20 years teach in a Christian day school.
Unfortunately, it had to close some 20 years ago, but I still have some precious memories of those children--one of which is the Pastor of the IFB church that sponsored that same Christian school, another is now the wife of a man who is a graduate of the Louisville Seminary, another is the daughter and coordinator for her father's itinerate evangelistic meetings that some public schools or FCA or prisons or military installations have invited him to present the Gospel, another is a mid-ranking officer son who's father is the 3-star general who's the Commander of the Army's West Point Military Institute and who plans to pursue his military chaplain career, etc.
God really blessed that little Christian school whose student enrollment figures never surpassed 50 - 60 students from K5 - 12th grade.
The church of which I'm a member also sponsors a Christian school--Lighthouse Christian School (LCS) with a total enrollment of about 250-300 in K3 - 12th grade.
Over the past 3-4 years it has consistently ranked no lower than 3d place in the Metro-Nashville Davidson County's ratings for ALL private schools (secular & "Faith-Based").
This year Lighthouse Christian School, is ranked as #1 of all private schools in Metro! :godisgood:
I'm no longer in a daily teaching position, but some of my best friends at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship are the teachers or administrators of LCS.
Having filled their shoes for almost 20 years, I know the attitude of surrendering financially what they've had to do in order to serve "in the trenches" what any one of them could have in the way of probably twice as much more in terms of salary and benefits in any public school system in middle TN.
Yet, year after year, they come back, the biggest majority with Master's Degrees in Education from Middle TN State University or Vanderbilt University or other highly-recognized (but not inexpensive) colleges or universities throughout the US.
Because our Founding Pastor is now the Executive Director of Compassionate Hope Foundation, over the past several years young people from Thailand, Laos, the Philippines, India, South Korea, Germany. etc., have been coming as exchange students--many of whom were saved and now serving back in their native lands.
Sure, Satan hates what LCS/LCF is doing, and he always will, but God's side still wins out in the end.
I'm so glad that I can support LCS, even if it's only through donating books to its small library, or in a few weeks, donating blood to promote the memory of LCS's late Kindergarten principal's scholarship fund for those parents who really want their children in the kind of environment where they're not only given a God-honoring education, but also in a brand-new, "State-of-Art" physical plant that God gave LCS after we experienced massive destruction of our K-3 through K-5 back in 2010--a story of miracle-after-miracle that only God Himself could pull off, and is best left to a different BB thread.
Sorry for getting off track again, but that's just how good God's been to me in supporting the educational ministries of LCS/LCF.
It may be just being a friend to these children in my "Town House" development and giving them age-appropriate Gospel tracts with, in the case of Halloween, a theme of how Jesus can save them, or their parents, etc., but that's what God's called me to do as I try to fulfill what Jesus said in Mark 10:14b, "Let the children come to Me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." [NLTse]
