What do we do with Halloween?

What do we do with Halloween?

Each year when October 31st rolls around I find it fascinating how many of us in the Christian community struggle to know what to do with this day. Is it a holiday? Should we celebrate it? Do we allow our kids to participate in Trick-or-Treat? Is it a sin if they do?

I’m not going to jump into the debate over the real reason for Halloween. And I’m not ignorant of the fact that there are some very evil practices of the occult centered around this night. However, I think I want to share some perspective. We as unequally yoked Christian parents are burdened with guilt.

Churches tend to point us to their carnival night as the only right thing. Some believers are adamant that any participation at all is a slight to God. At some point, we as parents can worry that our children will be influenced or intrigued by the “dark side” if we allow them to trick-or-treat. There are a lot of different influences that come to bare on us over this one night.

My perspective is this:

Release your guilt.

I was raised in a Christian home and I also went trick or treating every single year. It was one of the highlights of my childhood. My siblings and I had an absolute blast and still today, Halloween brings back many fond childhood memories. I loved watching, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and bobbing for apples, we even constructed a few spook alleys. We would have a contest between my siblings when we were older to see who would come home with the most “loot.” We would eat candy until we puked. Okay, too much information, I know!

My once a year candy quest did not turn me to the dark side.

So relax.

Make this a time to reach out to your neighbors. It’s a great thing for your unbelieving husband to walk the neighborhood with the kids and to chat with the other dads. Don’t worry if your husband objects to the church carnival and wants to take the kids out. Let him.

I will add that it's good and necessary to chat with your kids, age appropriate, about Halloween and it’s absolutely necessary we make sure they are safe, supervised, and have a candy check before they snack. But, don’t stress out over trick-or-treat.

If you need a few fun ideas on how to reach out to your neighbors and enjoy this time with your children, click here, for the newsletter I wrote for our church.

Okay, now to bring a smile to your face, just watch this video and relive the joys from your childhood. Be blessed, Lynn

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - Pumpkin - Watch more funny videos here

Thankful Thursday

This month, October, we will meet here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage. In November we will all meet up with Laurie of Women Taking A Stand and return to Grace Alone in December.

Can you believe my month as Hostess for Thankful Thursday draws to a close with this post? How quickly our time together passes.

My friends, I have enjoyed visiting your homes this past few weeks and sharing Freedom In Christ week, our joy in Christ: The Pumpkin butt story and the 10 Thing You Didn't Know About Me. 

When we take time to give God thanks, we bring Him great honor and glory. Isn't that what living for Jesus is all about?

So, as I wave good-bye as hostess I will ask you to share with me a scripture verse that God is using in your life to craft your character or one that has exposed a lie, a verse that brought you peace or comfort or a passage that has inspired you to draw closer to Jesus.

My life verse: John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;

apart from me you can do nothing..

Without Christ I believed the lies the world offered. That my life was all about me. Without Christ I lived in frustration, sadness and anger. Turmoil and bitterness were my constant companions.

I am redeemed and today my entire life's purpose is to abide in Christ.

I can't wait to celebrate what God's Word is working out in your life. Leave a link. Visit a few others. Oh, and on November 12th at 11:30 Eastern and 8:30 Pacific I will share with you my all time favorite Thanksgiving family tradition. Stop in and watch our Show as I share A Table Cloth of Thanks. (The Intentional Marriage) I promise, this is a tradition that will bring joy, laughs and love to your home this Thanksgiving and many more to come.

Love you my TT friends. Be blessed, Lynn

 

Internet Cafe - Fall Giveaway

When God’s Not There

I read an interesting devotional yesterday that talked about 2 Chronicles 32:31:

"God withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his heart." (NLT)

I remember one time God did this with me. I’d recommitted my life to Christ a couple years earlier and suddenly one day my quiet time became “dry.” And I do mean parched. I recall crying out to God day after day, asking where He was. Slowly the understanding came that God had purposely withdrawn His presence to test me.

Now this wasn’t something I’d learned about in church. In fact, when I expressed my spiritual state to my pastor and that I felt God was purposely showing me something by doing it, he seemed rather baffled. (Later he brought up the subject and shared he had a better understanding of why God does this.)

This was definitely a hands-on experience and not a pleasant one, to be honest. The point I’m trying to make here though is that even when God backed off to teach me what my starved spiritual state would be without Him, technically He was still there revealing His truth. And the best advice I received during that time was to keep my discipline of meeting with God. My closeness to Him would return, and it did.

I know there are times when we feel more distant from God for various reasons, especially so when life throws us some unexpected curves, which seems to happen a lot these days. Be reassured that no matter your position, God sees you.

Let me say that again. God sees YOU. He knows your needs. He knows what’s breaking your heart because it breaks his too.

He has a plan, and plan for good, because He is good, and He is love, and He is so wonderfully worthy of our love and praise. Whether you’re in streams of water or dry desert, God is there and He cares.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

Marijuana in Church

This is a very personal Devotion. It will challenge you and I pray, leave your heart changed.

Join me at Laced With Grace for Marijuana in Church.

 

 

 

Weekend Devo — Simple Truths

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. — 1 Timothy 2:3-4

I love this verse because it shows our Father’s heart. This is what He wants for all of us. We can take comfort in this promise, knowing that God desires the salvation of our unsaved spouses as much and more than we do.

Every once in a while I write something down and am awestruck by its simple truth. I know that’s not me. That’s the Holy Spirit. I wrote this down during my Bible study session last week:

Our moments of frustration are more about God’s grand plan and our inability to comprehend it.

So simple. So true.

Our view of God’s plan is so limited. We can’t even begin to comprehend the big picture. And we’re all a part of it. I may be wrong but I don’t think God gives up on even His strongest resisters. Yes, the choice is still theirs in the end but if Christ said we are to forgive seventy times seven, then I can’t help but think our God is generous in the salvation department too.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Praying and believing,
Dineen

What if I HAD to Choose?

Excerpt from Winning Him Without Words, Regal Publishers:

The true strength of our faith lies in God, not our circumstances. So let’s consider a difficult question: Can we love our spouse without any guarantee that he will come to know Christ? If this question raises despair, then we’ve most likely placed our faith in our spouse’s conversion and not in God. This is a key element to thriving in our mismatched marriage. Realigning our faith to reside completely in God can be difficult, but it is absolutely necessary to finding peace and to loving our spouse unconditionally. Leave the saving to Jesus. You do the loving! (Dineen Miller)

Today I sat in my office reading the manuscript of our book. The paragraph above was written by Dineen way back in March. I know I read it back then but today when I re-read this portion, the truth of her words struck me profound. I think everyone of us in an unequally yoked marriage has lived in this place: Our spouse’s salvation was the key to our happiness…. Not God.

Dineen can be a profoundly insightful woman and I am richly blessed to receive her teaching. I know you feel that way as well.

For the past two weeks, Dineen and I have worked on the edits for our book. The finished work is due in our publisher’s office today. So, Dineen and I intend to pray over this manuscript as we send it off. We will get on the phone and pray together asking God to place book into the hands of those who need encouragement, those who need healing in their marriage and those who need to hear that Jesus is the power and hope to thriving in marriage.

Dineen and I also ask all of you to pray along with us as the publish date nears. Pray that lives are touched and they see Jesus. That is truly our earnest hope.

Thank you everyone for loving us through this year and a half long process. So many of you helped by contributing your words, some of you read our work, you prayed over the words and over us. We love all you.

As of now our publish date is expected to be February 21, 2011. Thank you.

So, let’s talk about Dineen’s question today. Was there a point in your marriage or are you still there today that you put more hope in your spouse’s conversion for happiness than in God? I’m not sure I am completely free of basing some of my happiness on my spouse’s conversion.

So, I hear God asking me, “Lynn, can you love your husband and Me with a full heart for your entire life, if there isn’t a guarantee of his salvation.

Whoa! Thoughts?

Hugs, Lynn

Thankful Thursday - 10 Things you don't know about me

This month, October, we will meet here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage. In November we will all meet up with Laurie of Women Taking A Stand and return to Grace Alone in December.

It's Thankful Thursday.

Earlier today I was reading a post by my friend, Lori at Lori's Reflections. She posted a list of things I didn't know about her. It was delightful.

Today, I think we should all post our own list.

So here are ten things you don't know about me.

1. I LOVE to trout fish. I even bait the hook and clean the fish, then fry 'em up, yum and eee.

2. You will never, ever, learn my middle name - classified. *grin* (Don't try to find out either.)

3. I broke both my arms in seventh grade.... at the same time. 

4. I'm not ticklish. At all. Weird, I know.

5. I love big hooped earings. Wearing some now.

6. I need my momma in my life now at age 50 as much more than I needed her when I was little.

7. I'm age 50. (Can anyone explain to me where my forties went too so fast?)

8. I raised two "only" Children. God knew I could only handle one-at-a-time.

9. I talk to my dog in a funny strange voice. (Should I admit this online?)

10. I care deeply and love The Family of God. (Bet you knew this.)

Post ten things that make you uniquely you.

You are a redeemed child of the King. You are His special creation and your unique characteristics, talents and oddities make you a priceless treasure to Him and to me. I am so thankful to know you my friends.

Be blessed, Lynn

Not Disappointed

Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. — Isaiah 49:23 (NIV)

I came across this verse over the weekend and found myself unable to leave it. God's own words tell us right there that those who hope in Him won't be disappointed. That's some powerful stuff.

That's our God.

I know we've talked here at S.U.M. before about who and what we place our hope in, but I think it's a subject we need to revisit frequently. I know I do. Even right now a situation is making it difficult to keep my eyes turned upward. Yet I know this is crucial to persevering at the moment.

The trials of life are a reality, but we can choose where we keep our eyes. If we focus on the issue, the trial, the challenge, not only do we put ourselves in a box, we put God in one as well. But when we keep our eyes turned upward, we open ourselves to God's possibilities, which are unlimited. Answers will present themselves that we never would have seen from our confined quarters.

Some days it will be a moment-by-moment effort. Those are the times that we truly need to remember our current trial is just a moment when put into the light of our eternal destination.

We need never fear whether we are traveling alone. God sees us and knows our challenges. He has a plan for each and every one of them too.

So in the midst of this trial that could so easily consume me, I'm placing my hope in God. I hope you'll join me. God says we won't be disappointed.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

In-Laws and Prayers

It’s a busy season around the Donovan house so I’m a bit behind in posting this morning.

This past weekend I went to visit my son who lives in Las Vegas. On Saturday night, I met my son’s girlfriend’s parents. They are very nice people and I adore his girlfriend. They have been dating for five years. So, I suspect this girl may be the one. But what really was cool for me was this.

I have been praying about and for these people who I finally met on Saturday for years. I have asked God to give my son a wife who is someone he would love and cherish but also someone I would love to have as a daughter. On top of that, I have been praying for my son’s future in-laws. So, it was cool to finally meet these people.

Years ago as I prayed for these people, of course I didn’t know at the time, I always wondered who they would be. What they would be like. That we could have an easy relationship with and mostly that my son would feel comfortable with them. Dinner with them was delightful and we enjoyed their company. They are happily married and raised a wonderful daughter.

Now, I realize that my son has yet to pop the question, but it was still a neat moment to think these are the people for whom I have prayed over for years.

This weekend also brought about opportunities to talk to my son about marriage and expectations. What a neat time we had together.

So, all of you who are moms of young children, let me encourage you. Pray every day for your children by name. Ask God to protect them from evil people and evil spirits. Pray for their future spouse and the in-laws. These are some of the best prayers you will ever speak.

Hugs, Lynn