Oh the Bliss!

I went into Halloween thinking it was my chance, praying I'd get to meet and chat with my neighbors. I made baked goods, and set up a table. And waited. And waited. It seems the hood keeps their garage doors shut on Halloween too. That's not to say we didn't have a good time because we did. And a handful of people came by, and I even got to talk with a few of them. But I figured out some things that night, which was great because now I know, and if I learned nothing else from Saturday morning cartoons as a child it was this: Knowing is half the battle. 1. It's difficult to dialogue with parents on Halloween because they stay back, way back, like in the street back, and send their kids up to get the goods. 2. It's difficult to bring "Jesus saves" into conversations consisting of "Nice goblin costume" and "Wow, you make one great witch." But I DID have a fish pumpkin. 3. I'm not great at bringing Jesus into conversations at all. I get...

Let's start with Halloween. I'm not a fan. That shouldn't shock anyone. I was raised to not be a fan. My family was the family that handed out tracks. We did the harvest carnivals at churches and avoided all things evil. I was baaaaaaaaarely allowed to dress up for the parades in Elementary School. I think I was a Crayola Crayon one year, and Little Bo Peep. I trick-or-treated at four or five houses, and those were the four or five houses where our friends lived. So this battle has been going on for decades. (I can say decades because I'm 30 now). Halloween has never reared it's ugly head so much as it has this year because this year I have a kid that is old enough to see, and be drawn to, the evil side of Halloween. Up until now it's just been a slightly silly day where my kids wear the costumes they wear out of the house on a regular basis anyway, except they get candy for it. No biggy. But this year something happened in the big kid. He notices the evil all a...