In Defense of Trick or Treating

Trick or treating, the great evangelical taboo. I was raised in the 80’s. Celebrating Halloween was sure to put one on the emergency prayer chain. My parents bought large picture books explaining why Halloween’s ancestral roots were not to be celebrated. We were all fascinated by the message from supposed ex-Satanist Mike Warnke. Remember him? He was the Christian comedian who wowed audiences with stories of satanic rituals and life as high priest in the Church of Satan. We discovered later, he is a fraud with a very active imagination.  Instead of renouncing Anton LaVay he’s a wal-Mart greeter I believe.

Youth pastors were obsessed with the musical messages revealed in backward masking. I spent many a youth group trying to listen for the hidden words like Sex and Drugs when the record was played backwards. No one really asked the obvious question, “Why are we listening to music backwards?”

Halloween was a no-no. We had harvest parties at church instead. Apples and candy and potlucks made up for our inability to go all costume crazy and beg for candy. Reformation Day and dressing like Martin Luther replaced Frankenstein and the Goonies.

I remember one time in church, my mother publicly chastised the women’s group for even entertaining the thought of carving pumpkins. She had read somewhere that people used to carve faces into pumpkins in an attempt to ward off evil spirits. Of course, that begs the question, “What kind of spirit is going to be afraid of a face carved into a gourd?”

Halloween was always a nightmare for us. Either we got to hand out candy to the lucky kids who got to trick or treat, or we turned off our porch light and hid downstairs, hoping the door bell would quit ringing. Tons of fun, either way.

Here’s the funny thing-I take my kids trick or treating and my mom goes with us. Ever since Jackson was a baby, I dressed that kid up and peddled the street for my lost share of candy. Now that I have five kids, I can bring in quite a haul. I feel vindicated.

Every now and then, I’ll run into the family who has renounced Halloween and chastise those who don’t. I’m usually wearing a mask so they don’t recognize me.

Here’s why I like Halloween: community. Our neighborhood goes crazy for Halloween. There’s music, fog machines, yard ornaments, inflatable pumpkins and Frankenstein. One neighbor gave candy to kids and Jell-O shots to the adults. There’s warm cider and donuts, conversations and slow walks. There’s laughter and greetings and introductions. It’s the one time of the year when my neighbors sit on their porch and wait for us to visit.  Neighbors I’ve never met will introduce themselves; neighbors who are too busy to visit will slow down and enjoy the  night. There is no bigger invitation any time of the year.

Instead of rushing into our houses, it’s nice to sit out in the open and see who lives behind the closed doors.

I could shut off my porch light or hand out some tracts, condemning the holiday and all that it could mean. Or, I could lay the foundation for what could be a meaningful relationship. If my community is sending me an open invitation to stop and visit; to make acquaintances and memories, that’s exactly what I will be celebrating.

Jesus, You Can't be Serious

There's a commandment in the New Testament that has been the source of many discussions at our house. It's downright agitatin'.

"Sell everything you have and give to the poor then come...follow Me." (Luke 18:22)

The rich, young ruler was asking Jesus how to be a disciple. That was his answer. Simple.

I've heard friends and scholars say, "He only mentions it a couple of times and that answer applies to that specific man."


THEN WHY IS IT IN THE BIBLE?  

"You guys are all into that born-again thing, and that’s awesome; we've got to be born again. You know Jesus said that to Nicodemus. But if you tell me that I got to be born again, I can tell you that you've got to sell everything you have and give it to the poor, because Jesus said that to one guy, too. But I guess that’s why God invented highlighters, so we can we highlight the verses that we like and ignore the other ones."-Rich Mullins

Today, over 50% of the world lives on less than $2 a day. To say that I'm not rich is a lie. I'm rich, filthy rich. Sell everything you have and give to the poor...

Follow Me?

Through a series of providential twists and turns, I'm going to South Africa. Just my husband and me. No, it's not a holiday or exotic trip. We're going to change our lives and the lives of our children. It's a long story, almost 40 years in the making.

Have you every thought, "There's got to be more to life than THIS?"

THIS is wonderful, I mean it's the American dream: house, kids (lots) cars (some that work), family and friends and good times. Even church on Sunday. Life is planned, categorized and is prone to run like mostly everyone else's life. But, what if THIS is not what's ITS about?

God comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. We've been disturbed out of our comfort zone. So we are taking action. It's a miracle that both my husband and I are of the same thought process. Usually, when he's on some kick (like drinking goat milk) I'm not on the same page. But, I do believe that God brought us to the same point in our lives, together, yet distinctly apart so we both know, apart from each other's influence, that things are about to change.

To paraphrase Francis Chan, "We should be living in such a way that if God didn't come through for us, we would be in trouble." No THAT'S faith. Big Faith. 

Some people might call it living radically. I call it living like Jesus asked us to live. Based on what Jesus tell others in Luke 9, here's what He asked us to do:

1. Expect to be homeless. Shelter is not always guaranteed. (Luke 9:57-58)

2. Follow Me, even if it means not saying good-bye. Jesus told the would be disciple not even to bother burying his own father. (Luke 9:60, 62)

3. Jesus say what? "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

4. "Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:27) Wait, I thought I learned in Sunday School that our burdens were lifted and thrown away. I distinctly remember the flannel graph stone being lifted off the shoulders of the flannel graph man! But a cross--how do I carry a CROSS?

5. "Sell everything you have and give to the poor then come...follow Me." (Luke 18:22)

6. And the painful..."If anyone does not give up everything he has, cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)


Wait a minute, where the 'sinner's prayer?' I prayed it once when I was little (so says my mother) and once in first grade to impress the teacher. That was sooo much easier! Admit, confess, believe and pray this prayer after me. Shazaam! You're saved. I didn't find that anywhere. And that scares me.

More about this later, but I wanted to say that I'm both crazy excited and pee my pants scared about going to South Africa that I can barely stand to live with myself.

"Never forget what Jesus did for you. Never take lightly what it cost Him. And never assume that if it cost Him His very life, that it won't also cost you yours." Rich Mullins

Awake and Alive

Have you ever read Heavenly Man by Brother Yun? When I read the book last summer, it changed my whole thought on prayer. Have you ever heard the statistic that we only use 8% of our brain capacity? I think I was only using 8% of my prayer capacity.

Brother Yun’s story is a complete affirmation that miracles exist and prayers are answered for those who have faith. And I’m not talking about, ‘Please Lord give me patience as I have to work with that crab today’ prayer. I’m talking about life changing, supernatural prayer where you would be in trouble if God didn’t come through for you.

There’s a chapter in the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan when he asks, “What are you doing right now that requires faith?” According to my comfortable lifestyle, nothing. In fact, besides the fact that I go to church and try not to cuss in front of my kids, my life isn’t that much different from an unbeliever.

He also wrote this, “God calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through.” In my current lifestyle, the only risk I was taking was driving too long on an empty gas tank.

The Chinese Christians in the underground church are thriving because they believe God, no, they expect God to do the miraculous, the supernatural. In my Christian life, I expect God to be there for me when I need him, like a boxing manager, waiting outside of the ring. What would our lives look like if we were guided by the supernatural? It’s a scary thought because God does some crazy things, things we can’t control.

I’ve finally realized why I was never quite content with my life. I am comfortable. I pretty much live the American Dream. House, husband, kids, dog, sports, family, church, shopping.

My spirit was not content because I was comfortable. We are called to something greater; some people call it radical. Jesus would call it being obedient. I’ve been living the American Dream, which turned out to be a nightmare.

I’ve finally been awakened.

“Jesus came to comfort the disturbed and to
disturb the comfortable.”

So, yeah...

It's been so long since I've posted anything, I think my blogger background expired. And there's still a Christmas tree on the front page. That's a dead giveaway that I haven't been posting. Nothing says lazy like leaving your seasonal decor up year 'round. I feel like I've been in hibernation and I'm gradually being coaxed back into the blogging world.

The truth is, I've been on a passage of sorts, and while I should have been writing about it, I've been keeping it to myself. Turns out, there's more to life than comparing weekly coupons and exchanging YouTube videos.

Of course, I knew this in my head and this is not a slam to those who thoroughly enjoy that sort of human documentation. I still do. But my internal drive has shifted significantly and the things that I loved or loathed, I  still do, but they affect me less significantly.

So, I thought I would recap in a a few different posts. Here's a synopsis:

1. I believe in prayer. It's an unbelievable story.
2. I'm restless. I'm going to South Africa.
3. I'm on a journey. Join me.
4. It's not all about me; in fact, nothing really is.