i can't wait for christmas!

The Preacher and I have never celebrated Halloween as a holiday. We just didn't feel like Halloween lent itself to celebrating Christian values. And when our son was born, we decided to continue with our convictions.

During the fall season, when he was 4 or 5 years old, he and I would go for a walks in our neighborhood. I homeschooled and we would often take these walks to help him clear his head. As we walked down the street we were noticing how many of the homes were decorated for Halloween.

There were faux gravestones, giant spiders with giant webs, ghosts made of white trash bags and orange lights strewn in the trees.

Our son asked me why we didn't have any decorations in our yard and why we didn't go trick-or-treating. I then proceeded to explain to him the conviction his dad and I had and I told him some of Halloween's origins in a way I thought my young son could understand.

After my explanation, our son was very quiet, he didn't say anything while we passed by a couple more houses, decked out in all their Halloween glory.

He then stopped and exclaimed, "I can't wait for Christmas!"

I believe there is something inside all of us that wants to celebrate something.

If you choose to celebrate Halloween, please be careful while walking from house to house trick-or-treating. 

If you choose to wait for Christmas, then have fun anticipating all the Christmas decorating, preparing the food, and giving the gifts.

Just what ever you do, be sure to have fun and give God the glory.

Life Is Changing

I was looking through my News Feed on my Facebook page and noticed several mothers posting pictures of their little ones going to school for the first time. They mentioned they had a lot of tears because they knew that life was changing. No longer will be the days of complete dependence on Mom, now their lives will be filled with so many other adults to watch over them and so many new friends. While reading these posts I was thinking of my son and his first day of school/college.

We have homeschooled him for the last 10 years. He has been with us every day for the last 16 years. Now our lives are changing. My son started his first year in Morgan Community College. When it is time for him to officially graduate from High School he will actually be getting his Associates Degree. He is growing up so fast. I look at pictures of him taken just 6 months ago and I can see such a change. We are very proud of him and his accomplishments that he has made through his schooling. I know that, even though I'm sad over these new changes, he is very excited about this new venture he is taking.

My advice to all of those parents who put their children in Kindergarten or Preschool for the first time, is that you need to hold on to these memories, be sure to write down your thoughts or even the things they might have said on that first day. Document it all, as much as you can. One day, too soon, they will be gone and the pictures, the documentation, will be all that is left behind. I know that sounds sad, and it is, but I know for me, it causes me to smile when I see those pictures and remember those days.

The Lord ask us to remember. He said on the night before He was to be crucified, to take the bread and the wine and to remember, but also don't forget to give thanks. He gave thanks before He served the disciples. Thanks is something we need to do everyday.

Give thanks for your little ones, give thanks for whatever school they are attending, give thanks for the men and women who are there to teach them, and give thanks everyday that God has given you such a wonderful blessing.

Today I give my God thanks for my son, and his father who has done such a wonderful job in teaching and raising our son.