I didn't expect my heart to be so full and to see God move so much this Halloween. Why wouldn't he though? He's always moving! Especially in the hearts of His people when they are gathered together. This Halloween I'm more convinced than ever that the people of God can take over anything that has been set apart for evil and claim ground in the name of Jesus! Every portion of this Satanic holiday I witnessed miracles. I'm raising a "hallelujah!" on Halloween because Jesus is KING!
A Miraculous Testimony
I was up at 5am to bake bread and it was glorious. (If your family lives on sourdough bread you know that sometimes you're at the mercy of whenever the dough has risen and is ready to bake!) The house was quiet, I was able to do my physical therapy without a baby crawling all over me, and I was preparing for a meeting with a friend that I knew was going to be emotionally heavy. I had no idea the goodness of God that I was about to experience throughout the day.
First was the meeting. On the morning of Halloween I got to hear a heart-wrenching testimony of the faithfulness of God. Miracle after miracle my new friend shared how God had protected and provided for her through the unthinkable. I can't wait to share this testimony with you. It'll be up on the podcast next month HERE. (Look out for Elizabeth Mmbone! You will KNOW God is still doing miracles when you read her book! You can purchase it HERE)
A Miraculous Peace
After my meeting I came home to kiddos having fun with their daddy, but I felt the weight of the day upon us. So many tasks, so little time, and of course it was our enrichment program day so there was "rush" in the air. The "rush" was from me. I hate that I bring that to our home, but it's something I'm working on . Anyway, throughout the course of getting our home ready and preparing soups to feed dozens of friends that were planning on coming to our home in the evening, I was overly harsh with a kiddo when they needed correction. The great beginning of this miraculous day was slipping into sin and conflict. Eventually though, God's peace washed over me and we were able to make amends and move forward. I'm so thankful for how Holy Spirit rushes in with everlasting peace when does. It's an everyday miracle--God taking my anger, sin, and shame, and bringing peace and restoration to my family. I'm so grateful for God's mercy.
A Miraculous Time
When my oldest three children are gone on Thursdays I try to make sure that I get some intentional one on one time with our littlest. Sometimes I'm running errands, doing chores, or even enjoying time with a friend, but I try to have some time reserved just to give Little Lucas my all. I pretend he's my only child, he's my first baby, there's no laundry, no chores, and no text messages or emails waiting for my response. This is very difficult for me on a day like October 31st when I'm expecting dozens of people to gather in our home, and there's still so many important things that need done. However, like my friend Eryn Lynum says, "God's math works." She says this in talking about practicing Sabbath and trusting that when we honor Sabbath, God is faithful to make sure what needs to get done the other six days actually gets done. I saw that math work today. I knew my baby boy needed mama time, but the weight of tasks before me were difficult to ignore. I went into my room, shut the door, and we wrestled and giggled and played on my bed all the games that one year old little boys delight in--tickle monster, peek a boo, chase, etc. This half hour filled me with more energy and joy than I thought possible. It also settled him down into a much needed rest time. Delighting in my son is what God would want me to do, and the only way I can say that I got everything else done afterwards is that God made a way with miraculous time. I'm so glad I didn't miss these moments.
Miraculous Conversations
The first hour of the Halloween open house that we do is always my favorite. Dozens of kids and adults so excited for the evening gather together over wholesome food and fun. The fire pit is getting started on the driveway, and hot cocoa is warming up in the crockpot. While I respect some families have decided to turn the lights off and not engage in trick or treaters, we've watched God bring hope and healing to our neighbors by having the lights on and the door open; tonight was no exception. Full chaos ensued with giggles, games, eating, and the level of 'happy noise' that you know young neighborhood boys bring when they're together! We can barely keep the kids inside eating real food before they're bursting out the door to tour the neighborhood. By six o'clock we had to unleash the children! Ha! "Eat real food, and then I'll let you get some candy," was my way of making sure my kids received some sort of nutrition!
Around six my kids posed with funny pictures with their friends and then headed out. With a fire pit going in the front driveway and a baby that is on the move, Andrew and I opted to let our kids go along with our sweet neighbors without us. (Eventually Andrew was able to catch up to them for the last bit of trick-or-treating and have some fun!). While I missed out on some things, I knew that God wanted me next to the fire and enjoying our littlest, as well as welcoming more neighbors and engaging in conversation. Our baby gets dragged around everywhere with the older kiddos and is so 'go-with-the-flow', but I knew he needed time to wiggle and enjoy the day too.
After the crowds had gone the house was still, and I loved getting to focus on our little one. It was a pleasant surprise that some new neighbors decided to come over towards the end of the party. I have felt God's presence and peace often when I interact with them. What do you want me to say, Lord? Are there ears to hear about Your Love? Should I invite them into some sort of spiritual formation, or just be content building relationship? Tonight was the night that God opened the door for spiritual conversation. Hallelujah! Our open home, hearts, and being available had provided a great opportunity to share Christ. If you know me, I'm often the pursuer in most relationships, but in this relationship my new friend was enthusiastically in pursuit of furthering our friendship, and even wanting to talk about faith.
What I didn't mention at the start of this blog post was that THIS was our prayer. When we had family meetings the night prior and the morning of Halloween we talked about WHY we were doing what we were doing. We were going to shine light, speak truth, and pray for opportunities to share God's Truth with our neighborhood. Miraculously, IT HAPPENED! While I want to keep private all that was shared in confidence, I can attest that I felt God moving throughout our home, our conversations, and within His people in our neighborhood. I'm excited for the seeds that were planted on Halloween in our home. God has us HERE for such a time as this.
Miraculous Win
In a holiday that has its roots in darkness, witchcraft, and is satanic in nature I can say, "Satan, I'll take 'your' holiday and glorify God with it! We will praise God and worship TRUTH this day, and every day! Get behind me Satan! There's no way we will let darkness overcome THIS neighborhood or THIS house!
You lost last night.
You'll continue to lose again and again.
We're raising an army.
An army of believers that refuse to bow down and worship self, money, success, power, health, people, and stuff--because we KNOW the one true God. He's got our full attention and our full hearts.
We've seen spiritual warfare already and we're prepared for more.
I'm sure after this post that there will be more warfare in the days to come.
God has already won.
The devil knows this so he's focused on winning little battles all over the earth.
Our neighborhood is ready for battle.
We've been battling for years.
We've won some.
We've lost some.
BUT WE REFUSE TO STOP FIGHTING.
We love you, Loveland, Colorado. We're ALL IN to fight the good fight and keep spreading truth and love everywhere we can. If you know the love of Christ and have experienced His radical grace, how can you be silent?
Colossians 3:16 "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."
Comments