To Open or Not Open the Door

October 9, 2018 by Kristi 10 Comments

To Open or Not Open the Door

Halloween is coming. Christian, what is your approach to the night? Do you open the door or not? When our kids were little, that question swirled. I knew I didn’t want to celebrate darkness, but “hiding” didn’t seem right, either–although we tried it a time or two! So what’s a parent to do?

Our friends at Living Our Priorities shared recently about their “Light party.” What a neat idea! After reading their description, I knew our family here at KristiWoods.net might find interest–so those Christian parents and friends wrestling with Halloween have an alternative solution. And gosh, these light parties make so.much.sense! So friends, please welcome guest blogger, Timberley from Living Our Priorities.

Be quiet, keep the lights out, and act like nobody is home. We don’t want anyone to think we’re at home.
That was our typical conversation every October 31! Does this sound familiar to anyone?

My Halloween Memories

I was raised in a loving Christian home. In fact, a bi-racial Christian home, which made attending school in those days, let’s just say…uncomfortable.

We were called Oreo cookies and found it difficult to make friends.

Not to mention, going to school the day after Halloween, was no walk in the park. The kids on the block would make fun of us for not opening the door.

However, my most embarrassing memory as a kid was the night my mom posted a note on the door that said…“No candy here. Jesus is your treat.”

Can we say total embarrassment for any kid going back to school the next day?

The funny thing is, I didn’t think much about it until I got older and had a family of my own. I did what most of us do, repeat what we did growing up.

Halloween with My Kids

Yes, that meant we didn’t celebrate Halloween either. We kept the lights off, told our kids to be quiet and acted like nobody was home.

Once in a while, we would attend a harvest festival at church, but we would leave the house early in order to limit the risk of someone knocking on our door.

That worked for a few years. Then our kids got older, and started to ask questions. They wanted to know why we didn’t open the door, and why we had to act like we weren’t home?

Explaining this to our son was easy, he simply said…o.k. Then he told us all he wanted was the candy anyway. Gotta love his honesty!

Our daughter on the other, she wasn’t so simple. She needed to know the details as to why Christians didn’t participate on Halloween.

One afternoon I sat her down at the computer to look up the history of Halloween. I remember sitting next to her and tears rolling down her face as she said, “Mommy, I didn’t know.”

I told her there was no need to be upset. Understanding why we don’t do something gives us better clarity to know how we should do something.

My Halloween Conviction

And it was that conversation that convicted me to my core.

At that moment I knew that hiding out was not what we should be doing. Let me clarify, hiding out was something I knew MY FAMILY should NOT be doing!

I know this is a controversial subject. And I’m not going to debate who is right or wrong on how one chooses to honor God on Halloween.

I simply want to share the internal struggle I had. Just in case there’s someone else like me, who feels a nudging in their spirit to respond differently on Halloween.

What Is God Asking Of Me On Halloween?

That conversation with my daughter caused me to seek God as to how our family should respond to Halloween.

Hiding for some reason, just didn’t resonate with my spirit. As I grew in my PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Jesus, the more I felt convicted that hiding did not reflect His love.

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” ~ John 3:16 (NLT)

Since I didn’t know exactly what to do, I allowed that conviction to lead me to dig a little deeper. I began to study the History of Halloween, and turn to God’s Word to see what He says.

Needless to say, God placed it on our heart’s very clearly, that we are to be the LIGHT. And I realized our light only shines in the dark.

Therefore, we cannot shine God’s light to the world, if we hide in the dark.

...we cannot shine God’s light to the world, if we hide in the dark. - Timberley of @livepriorities Click To Tweet

Light Party

It was that revelation that was the catalyst to hosting an annual Light Party!

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” ~ Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT)

For the last 6 years, we have hosted a Light Party on Halloween; intentionally shining God’s light on the darkest night of the year.

I have to admit, we kind of kept it to ourselves the first couple years.

That’s because the one thing I’ve noticed is how unloving Christians can be on Halloween. Condemning one another for how they feel God has led them.

However, over the years, as more friends and family found out what we were doing, it opened the door for us to share what we studied and what God showed us through His word.

To our surprise, instead of condemning us, people began to share their conviction to come out of the dark from hiding and be the light in their neighborhoods.

Ending With Love

Friends, no matter where God has led you on Halloween, let’s do our best to not condemn one another, based on our own personal convictions.

Romans chapter 14 tells us that it’s a sin when we do anything that is the opposite of our own personal conviction. So if it is your conviction to stay home, to pray and not answer the door, praise God, you should do that.

If you’re convicted to let God’s light shine among the people, do that.

However God directs each of us to respond on Halloween, we should do just that. When we walk in His will for our lives, we will ultimately lead others to Him.

So, should you open the door on Halloween? My answer to you would be; what is God telling you to do?

PS…If you’re struggling with whether or not to open your door on Halloween, or how to respond to Halloween as a Christian, then I invite you to join me over at Living Our Priorities to read: Why We Host A Light Party And How You Can Too! You will be able to read the details of my study and how we host a light party.

Giveaway Update ~

We have a winner of last week’s book giveaway. Marissa K., congratulations! You’re the winner. Check your inbox, Marissa, for further instructions. 😉

About ~

Timberley and her husband, André, do life together as a husband and wife team who raise a family, serve as bi-vocational pastors, and help others find the balance in life through their blog Living Our Priorities.
Like many people, they found themselves frustrated trying to find balance with their faith, family, and work. That’s when they discovered the priorities of God. Once they purposed to live by them, it not only changed their marriage, it changed their life! Now they find great joy inspiring others to live within the priorities of God.

Linking up with other Jesus writers and lovers here: #heartencouragementThursday& #faithonfire.

Four Keys to Effective Prayer {Guest Post by Jim Wolstenholm}

November 21, 2017 by Kristi 1 Comment

Four Keys to Effective Prayer

By Jim Wolstenholm

Nearly everyone prays – you pray. But do you pray effective prayer? Does your prayer make a difference? Does your prayer get answered? Effective prayer is answered prayer! When we pray effective prayers, they make a profound difference. While faith that your prayers will be answered is foundational, what else would be considered keys to make your prayers effective?

Effective prayer is God focused.

Jesus started his model prayer with the words: “your kingdom come; your will be done.” When we focus on the will and purposes of God, we align ourselves with his power and his work in the world. Far too often we pray for what we want and not for what he wants. We live with a limited perspective so we cannot see things as they really are. Only God sees things as they really are.

It is too easy to become consumed with our wants and desires. They seem very important to us and sometimes they are. But God, in his mercy and grace, has promised us everything we need if we will seek his kingdom and his righteousness first (Matthew 6:33). We must trust his word and turn our attention to the things he desires for us as we pray. When his kingdom comes and his will is done, awesome things happen because he is awesome!

To focus on God in prayer is truly to start with worship and with the two requests already mentioned: his kingdom and his will.

You must be willing to accept any answer.

In Jeremiah 42 and 43, the people were at a critical point. The governor assigned by King Nebuchadnezzar had just been assassinated. The people were naturally afraid of reprisals so they asked Jeremiah to pray and find out what God wanted them to do. They promised Jeremiah that whatever it was, good or bad, they would be obedient. A few days later, Jeremiah came back to them with the word that they were to stay put and not fear. However, they rebelled at his word. The leaders of the people rounded everyone up and headed to Egypt, where they believed they would be safe.

Sadly, we often pray the same way. We know what we want and we ask God to bless it. Or maybe we ask God to stop us if that isn’t what he wants for us. Too often people believe they are doing what God wants when they have truly been unwilling to hear an answer that they didn’t want to hear!

When you pray, you must be willing to hear the answer you don’t want to hear and then to accept and embrace that answer. Many times in my life, I have had to accept an answer I didn’t want to. When my dad was diagnosed with advanced cancer, I began to pray for his healing but was quickly rebuked by God. I accepted his response and prayed for peace and comfort for my dad instead. A few months later, he joined Jesus in heaven. Although I miss him, I would never want to deprive him of the glory he now knows just so I could spend a little more time with him.

You must be persistent.

If God knows what I want, why do I keep having to ask him for it? Jesus taught us to persist in prayer: to keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on knocking on the door. There are some reasons for this.

Sometimes we must wait for the right timing. We are asking for something but the time is not right. David wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem to honor God – a glorious desire – but God said, the timing is not right. Solomon, David’s son, was to build the temple.

Sometimes, we must wait for the decision to be made. When we pray for someone to begin a new life of following Jesus – something we know is God’s will – we must persist until that person is convicted to the point of repentance and a new life with God.

Sometimes, we must wait until our faith is strengthened. The idea of pressing against resistance to build strength is central in health and fitness. It is also central in spiritual fitness! Persistent prayer builds faith. When Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow (read it in Luke 18) he concluded with these words: “However when the Son of Man comes will he find faith on the earth?” In other words, do you have the faith it takes to persist in prayer until you receive an answer?

You must have a pure heart.

A pure heart is a heart that is fully devoted to God and his purposes. It has been cleansed of selfish desires and motives. Therefore, when we have a pure heart we want God glorified.

A pure heart draws us near to God in ways that are profound and glorious. Jesus said: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” When we see God, we perceive his glory and power and purposes. In seeing God, we begin to understand the world from his perspective and it fuels our passion and our prayer.

A pure heart turns us away from what we want and towards what God wants! This makes praying the will of God a natural exercise and it also strengthens our resolve and our faith!

Today, you have the opportunity for effective prayer! It takes work and requires endurance. Effective prayer will build your faith and you will see answers to that prayer.

Your challenge is to begin to pray: “Your kingdom come; your will be done.”

About Jim ~

Jim Wolstenholm: I’m a 20 year Navy Veteran and a 18 year pastor. My mission: I help people follow Jesus so they can live the abundant life and change their world.

I blog at https://jimthefollower.com

#YourStory: Suzie Eller + A Devotional Giveaway

October 3, 2017 by Kristi 35 Comments

It’s my joy to introduce you to an authentic Christian, a woman’s who’s real in her relationship with Jesus and people. Suzanne Eller (Suzie) happens to be a writing mentor with COMPEL, the Christian writer’s training branch of Proverbs 31 Ministries. I consider her my own mentor as well. I hope your faith is bolstered through these beautiful words Suzie shares with us today. ~ Kristi

Dime-Store Girl

by Suzie Eller

I’m a dime-store girl at heart.

I love finding something at a good price. If I can spend half for something similar or off-brand, I’m tempted to choose the less expensive version every time.

That’s why I almost want to hide my skin care products if you walk into my bathroom. They are costly, and there is no option to pay less than full price.

For years I struggled with skin issues. As a young girl, doctors had my mom pour liquid coal tar on my skin and wrap me in Saran Wrap to help with psoriasis. My sister and I shared a bed. There were many nights she wanted to throw me out of the bed, because I made crinkling noises with every move. I also smelled like coal tar.

I learned to hide my skin issues, which meant that I didn’t go swimming, but wore long sleeves when everyone else was splashing in the pool.

When I was an adult, I was diagnosed with rosacea, which produced redness on my nose and cheeks.

All I could think was, seriously? Two serious skin issues? I felt like a dermatologist’s dream.

Much like the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8, I went from doctor after doctor. Nothing worked. I tried elimination diets. I tried different products. I took medicines that had tons of side effects, and tried to ignore warnings on the label that made my stomach turn.

Then one day I tried something that a friend suggested, and it worked. I was shocked, because nothing ever had. I eventually I threw away most of my medicines, and stopped trying to hide all my skin issues under cover-up makeup.

The first time someone said, “Hey, you have really great skin,” I looked around to see who she was talking to. Because I had never heard those words – not one time, in my entire life.

What does this have to do with anything, Suzie?

For months, even though I could see the difference, I struggled to pay the price for the very thing that was helping me. My dime-store mentality told me there had to be something somewhere equivalent that required less investment on my part.

Sometimes we do the same with a gift that Jesus offers us. He said He came to heal the broken hearted. He said He would break chains that we couldn’t break on our own. He knelt with women who felt abandoned and ashamed, and called them “sister,” when everyone else called them broken and unclean.

Jesus paid the price for all of this.

Yet we often shrug it off. After all, it’s too costly. To receive this, we have to believe that we are loved. That Jesus sees something inside of us that we might not yet. That He is big enough to overcome and heal what we cannot on our own.

There’s the investment Jesus made, but there’s a cost for us as well. He asks that we do the hard work, with His help. That might lead to hard paths like forgiveness, or fear as he asks us to climb out of a comfort zone.

A dime-store mentality is great when bargaining (and I love a great bargain!) but not so great as we follow Jesus.

We exchange his gifts for lesser substitutes like comparison. We hold on to the old, because we aren’t sure if we are worthy of the new. We see ourselves as damaged, when Jesus promised to make us whole. We set ourselves up for failure with impossible expectations, and beat ourselves up when we don’t meet them – even as Jesus holds out forgiveness, growth through our mistakes, and relationship with Him as we walk with him day by day.

I’ve been a believer for a long time, and I’ve finally realized that Jesus doesn’t want us to live with anything less than what he offers. We don’t have to cover up anything, but hold it up to him. He sees the surface stuff. He sees what everybody else has pointed out, or that we’ve tried to hide. He sees the cheaper substitutes that leave us unfulfilled and still a bit broken, or the easier route that we’d like to take when He’s offering purpose and destiny.

Jesus invites us to real change. The kind that is transforming, and will never have a substitute.

That invitation for real change is for each of us. We may be holding up a situation, a person, a feeling, an outward reflection of an inward issue, but He’s looking so much deeper.

He sees each of us, and he’s offering a gift of the highest value. When we say yes to that invitation, real change begins and it’s worth it.

“Don’t just ask me to change your situation, invite me to change you. ~Jesus” @SuzanneEller Click To Tweet

About Suzie ~

Suzanne Eller (Suzie) has served Proverbs 31 Ministries for 10 years. She’s an author, international speaker and Bible teacher, top 100 Christian women’s blogger, and popular media guest. She loves nothing more than watching God work in the heart of a woman.

Connect with Suzie at her blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Suzie’s publisher is giving one KristiWoods.net reader a FREE COPY of her new Come With Me Devotional. Comment below for 1 entry. Share on social media (and comment below to let us know) for 1 entry. Contest open to US adult residents only, please. Contest deadline is Sunday, Oct. 8 at midnight, central time. The winner will be notified on Tuesday’s post, and if you connect an email address, we’ll be certain to email the winner as well. Learn more about the Come with Me Devotional here.