Keynotes from Carole
CELEBRATE WITH YOUR TRUE FACE!
For many, Halloween is a favorite holiday. Is it yours?
The anticipation of buying or making a costume ca
n be a wonderful stress
reliever since the process can momentarily distract us from life's difficulties. What other time of the year can a woman dress
up as a cartoon character or a piece of fruit? Maybe you take it a step further and pick a costume that represents
something sinister or evil. Bottom line, are things better the next day when the mask is off and your true face
is back on?
Since I've grown stronger in my walk with the Lord, I now find
much greater satisfaction in celebrating the day after All Hallows Eve (Halloween). Yes, the day after! On November 1st, All Hallows Day or All Saints
Day, we have eternal reasons to celebrate!
I
wonder, in what year the November 1st holiday actually faded into
obscurity? Many years ago, I suspect since hallow means to be holy and set apart. It's a day of remembrance for the set apart saints that the Apostle Paul exhorts us to be. We sons and daughters of the King, no longer need to feel more comfortable in a disguise to dispel the evil spirits of our daily struggles. We have the true sword of the Spirit and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide us as we navigate through life.
2 Corinthians 3:17-18 tells us,
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect
the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (NIV)
Instead of masking our identities, we can dance with jubilation, sing for joy, and put our best faces forward because of the awesome new life we now have in Jesus Christ.
HAPPY ALL SAINTS DAY!
I saw God before me for all time.
Nothing can shake me; he's right by my side.
I'm glad from the inside out, ecstatic;
I've pitched my tent in the land of hope.
I know you'll never dump me in Hades;
I'll never even smell the stench of death.
You've got my feet on the life-path,
with your face shining sun-joy all around.
Acts 2:28 MSG