Fear NOT!

I have mixed feelings when it comes to fall.  I love celebrating the season with visiting the pumpkin patch, getting apple slushies & watching the leaves change colors.  I love making pumpkin baked goods and lighting fall candles.  I love watching my boys become obsessed with their favorite sport of the season… football.  They watch it on TV, they monitor their fantasy football leagues online, and they play it.  I LOVE fall!

What I struggle with is Halloween.  I am all about my neighborhood coming to my door so I can meet them all in ONE night.  BUT, I am not about the blood, gore, horror movies, and haunted houses.  I am not about filling my life or the lives of my family with FEAR.

I feel my job as a parent is to protect my boys’ hearts and minds until they are old enough to do it on their own.  A part of protecting them is preventing negative or harmful seeds from being planted into their hearts and lives. One seed I guard against is FEAR.  Halloween seems to be a holiday somewhat centered on the concept of fear.  It is Satan’s sneaky attempt to make FEAR fun!  What we do not realize is that the seeds planted during this season can damage the hearts of our kids for years to come.

When I was little I viewed the movie “Carrie” while hiding behind a chair at a family event.  The images I saw on that night stuck with me.  Scenes from the movie haunted me replaying in my mind well into my high school years.  The impact was a life filled with fear.  It consumed me and trickled into every area of my life.  Needless to say… I am not happy about the current remake of this movie. 

Fear was a daily struggle for me.  At times it was paralyzing.  Every decision I made was filtered through a fear-filled lens.  It was only with God’s help that I was able to truly be free.  I do not wish this struggle on anyone.  If you are a parent, do not be fooled by the sly attempts the devil creates to make fear appealing.  It is deadly to the spiritual life of your child.  Be on guard!

We celebrate fall not fear in my home.  So bring on the pumpkin pie, apple cider, and hay bales.  Happy fall my friend!

Living to leave a legacy,

Julie