Here is a cool trick I found.

Today we got to go hang out with our friend Patrick at his home in Bollingbrook and then afterwards visit a group from his church called "beef and life." It was a really good day, got to have some good talking to someone in a very similar situation to ourselves (scarily similar), and vent a little, and encourage a little, and just find out some stuff about how reinventing church actually plays out. Soon his 9 year old daughter was home from school and we got to talk and hang with her a little as well, I miss being around families with kids! She is so technologically advanced for a nine year old girl! We talked video games on the same level and she showed me how to get cool costumes in little big planet, and even asked Ace if he "Hacked the Game!" too funny! I also forgot how good I am at interpreting what kids that age really mean when she came up to Ace and I and said, "So, I made this drawing of Warehog on microsoft paint...." and then just stands there. So I ask, "Do you want us to see it?" and she lights up! lol! So funny the way kids dont say what they actually want, but want you to show the interest yourself! After that we ate yummy steak and then headed to Lockport for beer and life. It was a handfull of 20 somethings, and Patrick, sitting around a table talking about life! That simple. Tonights topic was "Work." The discussion was loose enough that we could talk about anything, but guided just enough to make it have a point. A very good balance I thought! That kind of thing is what many churches are missing, a ministry geared directly at kids too old for youth group, but young enough that they don't want to hang out with the "old people." And this was so open that people could gripe or vent, and also talk about thier hopes in the future. I feel like I was totally accepted by kids who had never met me before, but that I was nothing like at all. We only had age in common. Very awesome night and I'd love to do something similar, but probably Pizza and Life because so many of our college kids are 18-20!

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Kid’s love fun, and kids LOVE to play pretend. The new movie based on the classic book, “Where the Wild Things Are” shows this from a kids view, something that most adults are disconnected with. 

            The roots of Halloween are greatly debated. I’m not here to debate or discuss the roots, but what it is today. I will acknowledge that the roots of an event are important, but nowadays we are so disconnected with it that frankly it doesn’t practically matter.  Today, Halloween is a fun holiday more influenced by efforts of communities early last century to secularize it than anything else. Over the last two hundred years the holiday has become more and more targeted at children. 

For children this holiday is all about playing pretend, something they do everyday. They plan for months what they are going to be that day, sometimes agonizing over the decision. Why is this day so important to them? Because it’s the one day that everyone plays along! Their parents buy them costumes, the neighbors refer to them as their pretend character, and no one tells them to knock it off! And on top of all of that they get FREE CANDY!

Normally children only have a hand full of people that will play along, and those people only to a certain extent. It’s difficult for most people over ten to cram them selves into a fort and battle “enemies” for very long. But on Halloween people find themselves able to play along in some fashion for one day. 

This presents an amazing opportunity. How often do families walk to your front door and expect you to give them something? ONE TIME A YEAR! Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” I think this is an opportunity to meet and serve the entire community! This is the first year I’ve been able to capitalize on this opportunity. As before we lived in a condo, near a bunch of retired people, and before that we lived in the middle of nowhere. This year though, we live an a middle class, residential,  neighborhood full of families with children. Just today a kid showed up at my house looking to rake lawns for money. Kids are in this neighborhood! And in two weeks they will be coming to my front door. I have a choice to make.

On October 31^st I have several options before me. I can do nothing, I can simply hand out candy, I can leave and go have fun at a party, or I can serve. This year I’m going to serve. My roommates, myself, and members of Mosaic are going to set up an area to serve both children and adults in our garage. We plan on having coffee for weary adults, and a place for them to sit down and warm up. At the same time we hope to have food for everybody. For the kids we are going to have games, various prizes, and of course, CANDY. In fact we bought a HUGE bucket, I’m guessing 10 gallons, that is going to be filled!! We will be giving away comic books that introduce kids to Jesus and inviting people to join us the next day for Dinner and or worship if they please.

I just can’t get over what a perfect opportunity this is to serve our community, and I’m not going to pass it up. Even if Halloween was as evil as people say it is (which I don’t think it is!) I would still be doing the exact same thing!

PS – Please do not get in a debate about the roots of Halloween on here, you can discuss it amongst yourselves, but I will not be getting involved. I will discuss the way the modern Christian reacts to what we have today if you really want.