blog

You may have noticed my blog is looking very bland. Well I tried to put some pretty wall paper on last night and I lost everything except my post:) And the wall paper did not work properly anyway.

Hope to have it all fixed up soon.

True Woman 30 Day Make Over

I have just signed up for the True Woman 30 Day Make Over. I am looking forward to doing this I have heard some great things about it. So here I go today is day 1.



If you want to know what it is all about go here.

Here is a link to their manifesto.

Importance of Fathers

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=yeEwQ7OkVrY

Halloween

This post is a bit of a long one, so grab a tea of coffee:)

This year I have noticed Halloween alot more it seems to becoming more and more common or the norm. There have been more children's programs on television more Halloween things in the stores, last year we even had our house toilet papered. (In Australia Halloween has only been popular about the last 10 years it is growing in popularity every year). I can't remember doing any Halloween craft at school or even talking about it when I was a child.

Also this year my eldest who is 6 has been asking me about Halloween and why don't we celebrate it. A few days ago she came home from school wanting a Halloween party, she had no idea what it was other than lots of lollies and you get to dress up and have scary things around. (She goes to a Christian School, must have picked it up from friends) So this started my research into what is Halloween what is the history behind it so I can give an informed answer to Mikayla. I was always told as a child that Halloween was evil and we don't celebrate it, and back then it was not in your face as much.

As a mother I try and give answers that are as correct as possible I like to know all the facts so I can answer my children as best as possible. This is why I have been researching Halloween I did not know enough about it to answer all of my daughters questions so I asked her if I could have a couple of days to find out more and then we will have a chat about it.
The info I have here is only an outline to give background to Halloween. I have not included everything I read or found out. From what I have read Halloween has strong links to in paganism.
The History of Halloween.

The term Halloween is shortened from All Hallows' Even (both "even" and "eve" are abbreviations of "evening", but "Halloween" gets its "n" from "even") as it is the eve of "All Hallows' Day", which is now also known as All Saints' Day. It was a day of religious festivities in various northern European Pagan traditions, until Popes Gregory III and Gregory IV moved the old Christian feast of All Saints' Day from May 13 (which had itself been the date of a pagan holiday, the Feast of the Lemures) to November 1. In the ninth century, the Church measured the day as starting at sunset, in accordance with the Florentine calendar. Although All Saints' Day is now considered to occur one day after Halloween, the two holidays were, at that time, celebrated on the same day. Liturgically, the Church traditionally celebrated that day as the Vigil of All Saints, and, until 1970, a day of fasting as well. Like other vigils, it was celebrated on the previous day if it fell on a Sunday, although secular celebrations of the holiday remained on the 31st. The Vigil was suppressed in 1955, but was later restored in the post-Vatican II calendar.

Halloween, or Hallowe’en, is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31. Halloween activities include trick-or-treating, ghost tours, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses", carving Jack-o'-lanterns, reading scary stories and watching horror movies. Irish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth century. Halloween is celebrated in several countries of the Western world, most commonly in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom and occasionally in parts of Australia. In Sweden the All Saints' official holiday takes place on the first Saturday of November.

Halloween was perceived as the night during which the division between the world of the living and the otherworld was blurred so spirits of the dead and inhabitants from the underworld were able to walk free on the earth. It was believed necessary to dress as a spirit or otherworldly creature when venturing outdoors to blend in, and this is where dressing in such a manner for Halloween comes from. This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating because children would knock on their neighbours' doors, in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. Salt was once sprinkled in the hair of the children to protect against evil spirits.

Human and animal sacrifices were held and other paigan rituals.

I also found this site written by a Christian, it has alot of helpful information about Halloween.

http://www.jeremiahproject.com/culture/halloween.html

Halloween looks like so much fun to children, blind fun while celebrating the very thing we as Christians try and keep away from. It is marketed to Children. More and more children's shows are having Halloween specials (and I am very fussy about what my children watch) just this morning my son was singing a Halloween song that he heard on a kids show while I was having a shower.

My family will not be celebrating Halloween, to us it will be just another day. Now that I understand it more I can give reasons why we do not celebrate Halloween, my answer will not be because empty learnt responses like it is evil or our Church does not agree with it or as a Christian I don't think we celebrate that. My answer will be because it goes against God and everything the bible tells me. It celebrates satan and all that is evil, it invites evil spirits. I do not want any of these things in my house or my life. I have found some bible verses that clearly show us where we should stand on Halloween. As my children get older I will be able to share these verses with them as I explain why we do not celebrate Halloween.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 ("Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.")
James 1:27 ("keep oneself from being polluted by the world")
3 John 1:11 ("do not imitate what is evil")
Romans 12:9 ("abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.")
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 (do not learn to imitate detestable ways, including spiritists, sorcerers and witchcraft)
Ephesians 5:11-12 ("Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness" / "live as children of light")
1 Timothy 4:1 (don't "follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons")
1 Corinthians 10:21
2 Corinthians 6:14-17 ("what fellowship can light have with darkness?")
Philippians 4:8 (think about pure, lovely, noble things)
1 Corinthians 11:1 ("follow the example of Christ")
1 Corinthians 10:31 ("whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God")
James 4:7-8 (submit yourselves to God / resist the devil / purify your hearts)
Ezekiel 44:23 ("…teach my people… to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.")
Proverbs 22:6 ("train a child in the way he should go")
Matthew 18:6 ("if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin…")
Hosea 4:6 ("My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.")
John 3:19-20 (people love darkness instead of light)
Romans 13:12 ("put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.")
Ephesians 6:11-18 ("take your stand against the devil's schemes.")
1 John 5:19
2 Chronicles 7:14

These two youtube links are interesting especially the second one I would suggest you watch the second link when there are no children around.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=blYGAUTbbFo

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=zQjrsCWhOqY&feature=related

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=-M_6K1aj89w

Great blog post

http://heartofthematteronline.com/2008/10/23/halloween-for-christians/#comment-19253

1 John 4:7-8 (New King James Version)

7 Beloved, let us love one another,

for love is of God;

and everyone who loves

is born of God and knows God.

8 He who does not love does not know God,

for God is love.

Imagine Me

My friend Martha posted this on facebook it really spoke to me.

by Kirk Franklin

Imagine me…loving what I see when the mirror looks at me cause I…I imagine me. In a place, of no insecurities and I'm finally happy cause I imagine me. Letting go of all of the ones who hurt me cause they never did deserve me, can you imagine me. Saying no to thoughts that try to control me, remembering all you told me, Lord can you imagine me? Over what my momma said, and healed from what my daddy did and I wanna live and not read that page again.

Imagine me, being free, trusting you totally, finally I can imagine me, I admit it was hard to see you being in love with someone like me, finally I can imagine me.

Imagine me…Being strong and not letting people break me down, you won't get that joy this time around. Can you imagine me? In a world, where nobody has to live afraid, because of your love, fear's gone away, can you imagine me. Letting go of my past and glad I have another chance and my heart will dance cause I don't have to read that page again.

Imagine me, being free, trusting you totally, finally I can imagine me, I admit it was hard to see you being in love with someone like me, finally I can imagine me.

This song is dedicated to people like me, those that struggle with insecurities, acceptance and even self esteem. You never felt good enough, you never felt pretty enough, but imagine God whispering in your ear letting you know that everything that has happened is now…

Gone. Gone. It’s Gone. All Gone. Oh It’s All Gone. Every Sin. Every Mistake. Every Failure. Its’ All Gone! Depression. Gone. By Faith. It’s Gone. Low Self Esteem. Hallelujah! It’s Gone. All Gone. It’s Gone. All My Scars. All My Pain. It’s In The Past. Its’ Yesterday. Its’ All Gone. What Your Mother Did. What your Father Did. Hallelujah!

IT’S GONE!

Hurting Children. part 3

This past year I have been so blessed by getting to know so many wonderful children and parents and love how our house is often full of children, some days overflowing lol.

I am more and more aware that everything is a process. God softens our heart, then brings us to a place where we ask the Lord to use us or let us see and then he shows us a situation that has been right under our noses:)

This has just happened to me. Just over a week ago I posted how there are hurting kids in our Church's . In that post I prayed

Father help me to see our Hurting kids
and give me the strength to do something
and to make a difference. Help me to overcome
the fear of man.
Keep me real so I don't miss the signs and my
heart soft so I don't turn a blind eye.

Well the Lord has answered my prayer. (I did not think it would be answered so fast). The Lord spoke to me and showed me that he has given me the gift of relationship with some children and asked me what am I going to do with this gift. I was so challenged and repented for just going on with the flow and not seeing what was really going on. My teacher training was telling me something did not add up but everything from the outside seemed OK. God has since opened my eyes.

Looking back over the last few weeks I can see how all the puzzle pieces have been put into place to bring me to this point where I could give myself over to God ask him to use me in the area of hurting kids and then God show me what he wants me to do. The Lord has also been challenging me on how far I am prepared to go for him. Am I even willing to lay my life down for children that are not my own. He has also shown me that the best way I can love and minister to some mothers is by loving and giving attention to their children. Making sure my motives and all that I do is out of God's love. By letting God's love flow throw me. Without his love it would be impossible to lay my life down daily.

Without him this task would seem so overwhelming and that there is no light at the end of the tunnel but because God is involved I know he has it all worked out and I just have to listen obey and be open.

John 13

34 A new commandment I give unto you,

That ye love one another;

as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,

if ye have love one to another.

Psalm 30

Psalm 30 (New American Standard Bible)

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

1 I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

2 O LORD my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.

3 O LORD, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

4 Sing praise to the LORD, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.

5 For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

6 Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I will never be moved."

7 O LORD, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You hid Your face, I was dismayed.

8 To You, O LORD, I called,
And to the Lord I made supplication:

9 "What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

10"Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me;
O LORD, be my helper."

11 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,

12 That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever.