October 31

Today is Reformation Day, the day that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenburg, Germany, sparking the revolution known as the Protestant Reformation. You can read more about it at this website. If you're interested in what Luther wrote, check the widget in my sidebar which displays his theses.

Now I know that many in the United States choose to celebrate All Hallow's Eve today. Wikipedia has an interesting article about the origins and meaning of Halloween. Many see the donning of costumes, begging for candy, carving faces on pumpkins, displaying skeletons, tombstones, ghosts, and the like to be harmless fun. But is it?

As a Christian, I became convicted that I didn't want to have anything to do with this evil day, and my husband concurred.

". . . Halloween is serious business for Satanists and witches.
Those who oppose Christ are known to organize on Halloween
to observe satanic rituals, to cast spells, to oppose churches
and families, to perform sacrilegious acts, and to even offer
blood sacrifices to Satan."

There was a woman in our previous church who was saved out of Wicca (witchcraft), and who testified to the truth of the above quote. You can read the entire article here.

Ultimately, what you decide is between you and God. Carefully consider these verses:

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness,
but instead expose them. For it is shameful
even to speak of the things that they do in secret.
-- Ephesians 5: 11 - 12, ESV

Also many of those who were now believers came,
confessing and divulging their practices. And a number
of those who had practiced magic arts brought their
books together and burned them in the sight of all.
-- Acts 19: 18 - 19, ESV

With Joshua of the Old Testament, we say: ". . . choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." -- Joshua 24:15, ESV

Holding Faith,

Keepers at Home

Let the aged women likewise be in reverent behavior,
not slanderers, not enslaved by much wine, teachers of good;
that they may train the young women
to love their husbands, to love their children,
to be discreet, chaste,
keepers at home,
good, subject to their own husbands,
that the Word of God may not be blasphemed.

--Titus 2: 3 - 5, MKJV

I think that the art of keeping a home has been lost. It's much more than dusting, vacuuming, washing dishes, doing laundry. It's creating a warm, relaxing, and welcoming place for your family, as well as your friends. Most importantly, the home of a Christian woman should reflect the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in her life; the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control (Galatians 5: 22 & 23) - should be evident from the moment one crosses the threshold.

This type of home can't be created unless a woman is invested in her role as a homemaker. It takes time - not just a few hours after a day of working for someone else - but all her waking hours. Her husband should look forward to coming home to a haven of peace and rest after a day of working to provide for his family. Her children, if she is blessed with them, should want to spend time at home, and have their friends come to their house. It is a "kick off the shoes and sit and relax" kind of place.

I hasten to say that I have a ways to go in this pursuit. I am full of excuses - my health, homeschooling (which I've completed), and now my husband's serious illness - but I need to do my best by God's grace regardless of my circumstances.

So how about you? Is your home a haven, or a place of havoc?

Holding Faith,

Prayer in the Midst of Pain

One of the hallmarks of fibromyalgia, from which I have suffered since 1994, is neck pain. Sometimes I will awaken in the early morning hours in terrible pain. No matter which way I lay, or how I support my neck, the pain doesn't subside, and I am left to lie there until my pain pills kick in and I am able to go back to sleep.

On these occasions, I try to spend the time in prayer. I Thessalonians 5:17 commands us to "Pray without ceasing." John Gill explains this verse as follows:

"Not that saints should be always on their knees, or ever
lifting up their hands, and vocally calling upon God;
this is not required of them, and would clash with, and
break in upon other parts of religious worship, and the
duties of civil life, which are to be attended to, as well as
this, and besides would be impracticable; . . . But the
meaning is, that believers should be daily, and often
found in the performance of this duty; for as their wants
daily return upon them, and they are called to fresh service,
and further trials and exercises, they have need of more
grace, strength, and assistance, and therefore should daily
pray for it . . . do not leave off praying, or cease from it
through the prevalence of sin, the temptations of Satan,
or through discouragement, because an answer is not
immediately had, or through carelessness and negligence,
but continue in it, and be often at it; . . . the reason for
this rule of praying with frequency and constancy is,
because the saints are always needy, they are always in
want of mercies of one kind or another, and therefore
should continually go to the throne of grace, and there
ask for grace and mercy to help them in time of need."

It is easy to go through our days without praying much. We miss opportunities to "bend the knee," sometimes because we think we need to be in a certain place, or adopt a certain posture. But God doesn't require anything other than a willing heart. I think that He often allows times of pain so we don't forget what is important, and that is communing with Him.

The next time you find yourself unable to sleep, try talking with God. And let me know what happens!

Holding Faith,

Thankfulness Challenge

What a wonderful time of worship in song we had at church Sunday night! I am so appreciative of our newest worship leader (we have two) and the band under his leadership.

My friend Lori, who blogs at Musings of a Proverbs 31 Wannabe, has issued a challenge:

"I'm going to challenge you AND myself: from November 1 until
Thanksgiving Day, I challenge us to either post somewhere - my
comments section is fine! - or journal one thing a day you're
thankful for. Some days will be difficult to find something nice,
I know. :D But there's no better way to be in a place of gratitude
than to take the time to recognize how much we are, truly, blessed."

I'm going to take Lori up on her challenge - as long as I can remember to start on time and write a short post every day! Anyone want to join us?

Holding Faith,