Happy Halloween

Well whether you are one who celebrates; or whether you are one who chooses not to Halloween is here. I am not into the sinister side of the day, I do however love how it allows children to use their imagination and be anything the wish to be. This jack-o-lantern was carved by myself and my daughter Rachael. It was a fun but very long experience. My grandchildren will dress up and do the traditional Trick or Treating. My oldest grandson will be Thomas the Train and is twin sisters will be 1950 Be Boppers. My youngest granddaughter will sport a Pebbles costume from the Flintstones. It should be a fun day for all. Philip and I plan to sit out front to hand out Candy to the neighbor children. Happy Halloween.

A note to parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles …


Millions of children celebrate Halloween each year with costumes, parties, and hi-jinks. But what are they celebrating? Where did these customs arise?

Some Christians strongly denounce any involvement in this spectacle of ghosts, witches, and evil spirits. Others wonder, "If it's 'All Hallow's Eve,' what in the world is 'holy' about it?"

The truth is that Halloween's deepest roots are decidedly pagan, and unlike Christmas and Easter, it as kept those pagan roots, despite its now Christian name. The controversy surrounding this holiday goes back well over a thousand years to when Christians confronted pagan rites of appeasing the lord of death and evil spirits. But the early Christians didn't simply speak out; they tried to institute a Christian alternative. All Hallow's Day (November 1) was a celebration of all "the holies" - those people who had died faithful to Christ.

Light against darkness. Life against death.

But Halloween in our culture has become an odd mixture of tributes to Draculas and roaming spirits, TV superheroes and comic characters, and participation in innocent harvest festivals and costume parties. Through the centuries, Christians of most persuasions have tried to transform this pagan holiday into a Christian one. How does one take a genuinely Christian stance today?

"Trick or treating" becomes a special problem. Children love the adventure of going out in costumes, but some parents have rejected trick or treating entirely. They argue that no matter how universal and supposedly harmless, "blackmailing neighbors for candy" is hardly appropriate. Instead, some create a wide variety of wholesome parties. Others carefully supervise their children as they canvass the neighborhood, perhaps having them add "God bless you" to their thanks for treats.

Certainly of all people, Christians should be joyful. The challenge is to use the creativity of the Creator to celebrate both the light and life He brought into this world, and His victory over evil - and evil spirits - which extends into the next.

A few more pictures of our trip

North Georgia Visit

We had a glorious day in North Georgia. We took a drive up highway 76 to Young Harris to a beautiful little winery called Crane Creek Vineyards. This was a requested trip by my father, he wanted me to pick up a gift for a friend. We did and it was a very pretty place.
We then traveled up to Hiawassee and the Georgia Mountain Fair. Today was the start of the Fiddlers Compitition and we sat and enjoyed about a half hour of good ole mountian music. I think the fair remains exactly the same as the last time we visited. We had a good time though.
This picture is what has been in the news non stop since we arrived. The drought has really caused lake levels to drop to the point of panic among residents. We are saddened to see the low water levels, but joyful to be in a place of such beauty and peace.

This morning I was sitting on the deck watching the chickadees and tufted titmouse come in for breakfast at the bird feeder. It was so relaxing and enjoyable to just sit and use all of my senses to take in this place that brings me joy. What a blessing to have such dear friends who will invite us to stay in their home and glimpse just a bit of God's glorious creation.

A few days in the Mountains

I am really looking forward to a quick trip to the North Georiga Mountains. Just three days of work, then off to the Georgia Mountain fair. We are hoping the leaves will be at peak, but with the drought we may see less color change. This will be our first trip in a very long time so we are counting the days. I am so very grateful to my dear friends Bill and Anne for their hospitality! You are the best.

What a difference a day makes!

Well we are back to blue skies and not too soon. I am enjoying a lazy morning due to Columbus Day and I am grateful for wonderful weather!

Rain; Rain go away; Come again another day!

This is our normally rainy months in Florida; September and October. We usually have afternoon thunderstorms and then they are gone. The last three weeks have been a deluge of biblical proportions! We wake up to rain, and go to bed to rain. Now, please don't get me wrong. I love rain. I have always enjoyed the sound and the smells after. But we have acceded all sane peoples ability to stand it.

Yesterday I was speaking to my dear friend Anne up in North Georgia and she said they are under watering restrictions due to no rain. I guess you either get feast or famine. All I know is I am ready for our late afternoon showers to return and the rest of the day sunny and clear. I will say the one good thing is I have had to begin walking the dog because he refuses to go out in the yard it is so wet. So maybe that is the entire purpose of this rain; to get me up and moving again. O.k. I will thank God for the blessing of rain!!!