DISCOVERING HALLOWS EVE

This post is part of the Christian Writers Blog Chain. Our theme for October is "discover." Each Wednesday this month I am writing on that theme. Please click on the links to the right to read what my friends have to say about "discover."

Today is Halloween. It’s a tricky wicket trying to join up Halloween with the theme of "discover." This post then isn’t something *I* have discovered but hopefully is something you will discover that you didn’t previously know about Halloween.

So in honor of the day, here’s a repost from last Halloween, slightly revised. I hope you discover something new or re-discover something you’d forgotten about this holy day, All Hallows Eve.

　

Halloween is a time for pumpkins and popcorn; trick-or-treat and tooth decay. But it began as a holy day.

All Christians—living or dead—are saints. Not because we’re so good, but because we have been made holy through the blood of Christ. Sometimes in scripture this is translated as "holy people" or "God’s people." But saints we are.

One of the first things the early Christian church did was to set aside November first as "All Saints Day." Back in the fourth century, merely 300 years after Jesus, the Roman Catholic Church established this day to recognize martyrs who had died for their faith. November first ultimately became a time to praise God for His plan of salvation and to remember all of Christ’s saints (not just the ones with the capital "S") who had died and returned home to Glory.

Whether you are a member of today’s Roman Catholic Church or not, the fact remains that Greece (home of Orthodox Christianity) and Rome (home of Roman Catholic Christianity) were the first two places where Paul and his gang took Christianity to the gentiles. It’s where Christianity took root and flourished. And amid all that flourishing, All Saints Day was founded—a holy day set aside by the Church for God’s glory.


But what’s Halloween?

Christians celebrate the evening before Christmas as Christmas Eve. Similarly, early Christians celebrated the evening before All Saints Day, referring to it as All Hallows Eve. "Hallowed," as we know from the Lord’s Prayer, means "holy."

This pre-All Saints Day observance gradually became known as "Hallows Eve" and eventually "Halloween." The meaning? Holy Evening.


Today’s unholiness

There is nothing holy about gangs of 4-foot tall aliens, fairy princesses and red-cloaked vampires roaming our neighborhoods with bulging bags of candy. And admittedly, the true evil one has a party every year as he encourages us to look to him for the glory, rather than to the true Master of the universe.

But the fact that Satan uses a holy day for his purposes does not mean the day itself is evil. Does not the evil one use every day for his purposes? It is our responsibility as children of God to remember the holiness in everything—including and maybe even especially—days originally set aside by man for God’s glory.

Christmas has become a commercialized season in the secular world. Should Christians therefore no longer celebrate the birth of our savior? Not on your eternal life!


Me and my house

I will be spending today in preparation for All Saints Day. I’ll be praying in gratitude for God’s plan and for including me and my loved ones in it.

And if there’s any candy left in the bowl after the miniature ghouls and goblins have finished grabbing, then there’ll be one more thing to be thankful for.

Holy Eve (Halloween) blessings to all.
　

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please remind us that all of your days are holy days. Please show us ways to thank you for your plan and to see your holiness in everything. Please protect us from the evil one during these and every day. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What was your favorite costume from your childhood?

DISCOVERING THE FUTURE

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s Blog Chain. The theme for October is "discover." Please click on the links to the right to read what my friends have to say about discover.

　
　

When times are good, be happy;
but when times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well as the other.
Therefore, no one can discover
anything about their future. (Ecclesiastes 7:14)

Ecclesiastes is one of those books of the Bible, sort of like Job. If you start reading it in a good mood, you’ll feel pretty bummed by the end.

Ecclesiastes. There’s nothing new under the sun. There’s no meaning to anything. Might as well give up the ship. Throw in the towel. Sit in the corner and twiddle your thumbs. Or as Job’s wife suggested: just curse God and die.

But this little verse is one of the bright spots in Ecclesiastes. Not that we can’t discover anything about the future. Not that there are bad times. But this:

God has made the one as well as the other.

It’s a subtle restatement of Psalm 118:24

Today is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

It’s also a restatement of a Peterson family saying:

If today is a good day or a bad day, whose fault is that?

Hey, that’s almost as wise as a proverb.

In other words, every day the Lord has made is a wonder and a blessing. It’s up to us to make the most of each day He gives us; not to worry about the future. Not to worry about what has gone wrong. Simply to rejoice and be glad in it.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your Word is filled with jeweled reminders not to worry about the future but to live for today. Help us today to leave our worries at your feet and to rejoice and be glad in this gift of 24 hours that you have made. Thank you for them. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What’s your favorite scripture to remind you to live for today?

DISCOVERING FATHER'S FAVORITE

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s Blog Chain. The theme for October is "discover." Please click on the links to the right to read what my friends have to say about discover.

Today is Dad’s birthday. He’s no longer with us on this world but I’m thinking his mother might have made him a celestial War Cake for his birthday in the heavenly kitchen—you know that cake that’s so rich you need a swig of milk right in the middle of the first forkful?

Recently I was digging through Mom’s recipe file. Sprinkled amid the frayed-edged index cards were bits of notepads and scraps of ruled paper with hand-written recipes in slanted cursive, the blue ink faded by time and flour.

In their midst I discovered my father’s mother’s recipe for War Cake with Buttermilk Frosting. I made it once for my dad, the year before he died. I’d never made it before—or since. It’s a shame because it’s just that delicious.

So I’ll share it with you at the end of this post. I hope you’ll make it and enjoy it as much as I did and Dad did. It’s a Shartz family heirloom. Maybe it’ll become one of your family’s heirlooms, too.
　

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for family heirlooms. Thank you for making us a part of your eternal family. Thank you for sharing with us the greatest family heirloom of all—salvation through Jesus. Help us find ways to share your family heirloom with others. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? What’s the super, uber best heirloom in your family recipe box?

　

Grandma Shartz’ War Cake with Buttermilk Icing

Cake

1 box of raisins stewed in 2 cups water until liquid is half gone. Remove from stove and add, mixing thoroughly:

1 cup cold water
½ cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon baking soda
4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg

Pour into angel food pan. Bake 45 minutes at 375. Cool a few minutes and turn out onto plate.

Icing:
Boil the following together on low heat until it reaches "soft ball" stage (drizzle a small amount into cold water. If it forms a soft ball when squished between your fingers under water, it is at the right stage. If not, cook a bit longer). Cool 10 minutes and pour over the cake. Eat warm or cool.

　

　

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!

Today’s post is part of the Christian Writer’s Blog Chain. The theme for October is "discover."

Please click on the links to the right to read what my friends have to say about discover.

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When our daughter was three, everything was new and exciting. She’d come running in from the kitchen carrying a wire whisk or a corkscrew and announce, "Look what I found!"

She’d do the same at Grandma’s house, to which Grandma would reply, "What do you mean you found it? It wasn’t lost!"

My daughter used the sense of "found" like the meaning of discovery as—not finding something new —but finding something anew. 

When I seek God, I use a different meaning of discover: to make known. To see, get knowledge of, learn of, find, or find out; gain sight or knowledge of (something previously unseen or unknown). God reveals more of Himself to me the more I seek His face.

But Jesus does the seeking, using a third definition of discover.  He located, attained, or obtained my soul by effort on His part. He stood at the door of my heart and knocked until I let Him in.

It reminds me of that line in John Newton’s hymn, Amazing Grace:

I once was lost but now am found

Was blind but now I see.

Just like Grandma said. At one time in my life I would have thought, "I’m not lost." But just because I didn’t know I was lost didn’t make it less true. I was lost but now am found. Jesus found me.

Jesus found me and I discovered that He was always there.

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you so much for not giving up on me. Thank you for finding me when I was lost and bringing me with you to your safe haven of love. Amen.

WHAT ABOUT YOU? Which definition of discover most describes your faith?