Let's exorcize the Jack-o-Lantern! ! ! !
Why, have you not heard? Halloween Satan’s big day. It really is. October 31st was just an ordinary day not too long ago (made by God), but Satan came and took over that day. In fact, someone gave me a pumpkin to put on my desk the other day and I threw it away, because they are owned by the devil too. The person was shocked so I told them that I do not celebrate Halloween and they should not dress their kid up to go trick-or-treating because it is an evil day. If the fun-sized candy has Halloween wrapping, it is sin-sized candy, do not eat it or you are living in sin!
So instead of teaching your kid about having fun, or redemption, grace, etc. just freak them out and make them scared of Halloween.
“Why are you acting this way?” you ask. Because Halloween is Pagan. You see if you go to Wikipedia and research like me you will see that Halloween has pagan roots and we should not be a part of that.
So let’s go with that line of thinking. . .
Let’s start by throwing out Christmas Trees. Did you know that Christmas Trees and greenery have pagan roots? What’s worse is that some churches have a “Hanging of the Green” service. That is just not right, they ought not to live like the pagans. Christmas Lights have to go too.
I have stopped recognizing the month of June (Juno). Did you know that they made a movie about a pregnant teenager name Juno? Not only that, Juno is a Roman god.
And Disney, don’t get me started. Do you know they have a wicked witch in their very first full length movie? That is EVIL.
EVIL, that reminds me. If you add D to Evil you get Devil. If you take the D off you get Evil. You take the E off you get Vil as in Vile. If you take the V off you get Il as in this and Halloween make me Ill!
So I recently learned that anyone born BC would not be called a Christian. In fact even after Jesus was born it would be more than 30+ years before anything would be considered “Christian.” That means that if they were no Christians that they were not regular attenders, they did not have accountability partners, they were not plugged into a small group.
NEWS FLASH! ! ! Satan really doesn’t care about Halloween, nor does he even care if you believe in him. What he wants is for you to believe in you. He wants to you worship yourself and think that you are all powerful, think that equality with God is something to be grasped. He wants you to think that you have control over the weather. He wants you to be consumed with your judgments, your problems, drama, rules, legalism.
It’s all about you anyway. You’re so special and so important. The world will fall apart without you and everything God is doing will stop without you.
So as a call to end all pagan rituals I say we get rid of Jack-o-laterns, Christmas Trees and lights, birthdays, and all the gifts and treats that come with those holidays!
Can you do me a favor though? Can you please, just please, wait until next year? I want to have one more Halloween, Christmas and Birthday. I know after all the evidence, but please? Thank you.
*This post is for those who take themselves and live too seriously. Yes I do have fun on Halloween (Pumpkinfest, dressing up, Halloween parties), no I do not care about where Christmas Trees and lights came from (because I love Christmas), and I enjoy a good birthday party. It's fun. Stop YOUR legalistic rules, and lighten up*
Exorcizing the Jack-o-Lantern (Rantings of a Mad Man)
New Day, New Year
So now you are getting a little angry thinking about resolutions. The thought goes off in the back of your head, “This year will be different, I will make this year count.” You dream those dreams, you have goals and things you would like to accomplish. You know this year you will get the motivation to do the things you say you are going to do. Maybe this year. . .
We have all been there, we have all made “New Year’s Resolutions.” We just know at the beginning of every year that this will be the year that we will soar to new heights. Odds are, you are making the same resolutions and setting the same goals that you did last year. At the end of 2010 you will make the same resolutions and goals again. What’s wrong, where’s the drive and the motivation.
I know, some of you are saying to me that life gets in the way. Unexpected curves get in the way. Yes, life does happen and we fall down. In Batman Begins, Thomas Wayne tells young Bruce Wayne, “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” So, we fall, we get up and we learn.
The problem is that most of us get frustrated and stop. Some curve ball comes our way and we want to get out of the batter’s box. Charles Swindoll says it this way, “I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress. It alone fuels my fire or assaults my hope. When my attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for me.”
I hope that at the dawn of this new year, you take to heart that, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” (Walt Disney) God created you to be a dreamer, He created you to take risks. As I have to keep telling my self; when you step out, you will either find a place to step or He will teach you to fly. Each day is a new beginning, you can choose to change everyday, not just at the beginning of the new year.
Happy New Year everyone!
Never A Year Like 09
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! ! ! Enjoy the movie below courtesy of http://jibjab.com
What We Truly Should Be Thankful For
What I am most thankful for in my life is my marriage. My marriage means so much and teaches me truths I would not have known unless I was married.
What I love most about my marriage is how simple it is. Stay with me and I will explain.
So Mitch, how is marriage simple?
Saying how simple my marriage is sounds strange and may even be kind of an oxymoron. Our marriage did not start simple and it has never lacked complexity. However we get better at marriage every year that we are together. We have simply realized that we only have so much time and energy in each day. We have only been trusted with a certain amount of money as well. It is important to us how we budget and spend the resources that God has trusted us with. That was a simple reality that has changed the way we live our lives together and in the real world.
But life is so hectic sometimes and it’s hard to find balance.
Life can be hectic and can quickly find its way out of balance. You have to work to get things back into balance. During our first year or so of marriage we worked hard and did not have as much time together as we would have liked. My wife and I work outside of the home and both of our jobs can sometimes cause us to work longer hours than normal. However we’ve learned to make it a point to spend time together and put it on our calendars.
We also have different personalities, but a lot of the same interests which make spending time together so enjoyable. We both love cooking together, music, travel, sports, great food, and we love talking about things that matter to each of us. Our values also align, which is so important, and we still make each other laugh and smile.
What’s so important about marriage that your are writing a whole post on it?
What is important about a marriage is it is the only relationship in the world that can show the love between God and His bride. We all can look at marriages and learn. We have the ability to explore the mysteries of God in marriage.
One thing that I have learned in marriage, that I hope other people can learn, is that marriage is not always equal (you give 50%, I give 50%). Sometimes one partner will be carrying a heavier load than the other. Sometime you will carry a heavier load. The point is to be a support for your spouse and to sometimes make sacrifices for your spouse. Sometimes you will have to give 90% of yourself. But you know what? You bring out the best in each other, and your support and giving love is the way to do that.
If you are giving of yourself and your spouse is giving of themselves, you will begin to model a “how-to” do this thing called marriage and not a “how-not-to” to your kids and grandkids.
All that to say this:
As we enter the Holiday Season, be thankful for your loved ones and your marriages. Even if you are not in a marriage, every relationship gives you chance to be thankful and a chance to give of yourself to them.
It’s important to realize that your life does not belong to you. It belongs to the one who gave the ultimate sacrifice, and you are here to give of yourself and leave your mark. You were given gifts and talents to give of yourself.
It is important to give of yourself. It is important to have relationships and to give selflessly to those relationships. It is not possible to have a fulfilling life without having open arms to give to others. If you close up and decide not to give of yourself (which is pretty selfish), and you decide to go it alone, you will find anything that you get from life will be meaningless.
You and I were made for relationships. We were made for God and for each other. We need each other. So remember what you should be truly thankful for this Holiday Season, the relationships with your husband/wife, your children, your family, your friends.
All this because when you give, you will have so much more to be thankful for. That’s how simple it really is!
Wisdom Wednesdays-Exorcising the Jack-o-lanterns
Let's exorcize the Jack-o-Lantern! ! ! !
Why, have you not heard? Halloween Satan’s big day. It really is. October 31st was just an ordinary day not too long ago (made by God), but Satan came and took over that day. In fact, someone gave me a pumpkin to put on my desk the other day and I threw it away, because they are owned by the devil too. The person was shocked so I told them that I do not celebrate Halloween and they should not dress their kid up to go trick-or-treating because it is an evil day. If the fun-sized candy has Halloween wrapping, it is sin-sized candy, do not eat it or you are living in sin!
So instead of teaching your kid about having fun, or redemption, grace, etc. just freak them out and make them scared of Halloween.
“Why are you acting this way?” you ask. Because Halloween is Pagan. You see if you go to Wikipedia and research like me you will see that Halloween has pagan roots and we should not be a part of that.
So let’s go with that line of thinking. . .
Let’s start by throwing out Christmas Trees. Did you know that Christmas Trees and greenery have pagan roots? What’s worse is that some churches have a “Hanging of the Green” service. That is just not right, they ought not to live like the pagans. Christmas Lights have to go too.
I have stopped recognizing the month of June (Juno). Did you know that they made a movie about a pregnant teenager name Juno? Not only that, Juno is a Roman god.
And Disney, don’t get me started. Do you know they have a wicked witch in their very first full length movie? That is EVIL.
EVIL, that reminds me. If you add D to Evil you get Devil. If you take the D off you get Evil. You take the E off you get Vil as in Vile. If you take the V off you get Il as in this and Halloween make me Ill!
So I recently learned that anyone born BC would not be called a Christian. In fact even after Jesus was born it would be more than 30+ years before anything would be considered “Christian.” That means that if they were no Christians that they were not regular attenders, they did not have accountability partners, they were not plugged into a small group.
NEWS FLASH! ! ! Satan really doesn’t care about Halloween, nor does he even care if you believe in him. What he wants is for you to believe in you. He wants to you worship yourself and think that you are all powerful, think that equality with God is something to be grasped. He wants you to think that you have control over the weather. He wants you to be consumed with your judgments, your problems, drama, rules, legalism.
It’s all about you anyway. You’re so special and so important. The world will fall apart without you and everything God is doing will stop without you.
So as a call to end all pagan rituals I say we get rid of Jack-o-laterns, Christmas Trees and lights, birthdays, and all the gifts and treats that come with those holidays!
Can you do me a favor though? Can you please, just please, wait until next year? I want to have one more Halloween, Christmas and Birthday. I know after all the evidence, but please? Thank you.
*This post was for all of you that take yourself and live too seriously. Yes I do have fun on Halloween (Pumpkinfest, dressing up, Halloween parties), no I do not care about where Christmas Trees and lights came from (because I love Christmas), and I enjoy a good birthday party. It's fun. Stop YOUR rules, and lighten up*
