It’s Halloween in the season some call Falloween. I’m Karen Whiting and want to share a little today about the season. Personally, I prefer the slogan “Falling for Jesus.” It is a day that many children have fear and far too much evil may abound. It’s been a few years since we addresses some of the issues surrounding Halloween. Children like dress up and getting treats, but parents like to keep children safe and away from evil. We cannot escape the signs of the day or even all the shows that focus on it. But, we can use it to talk about fear and faith, evil and good, and the one true God of miracles of the occult and pagan practices. Depending on the ages of children, we can choose what topics are most appropriate.

Discuss anger and how it when we hold it in we often end up hurting someone. Fill a balloon until it pops. Chat about how anger can build inside a person until they explode like the balloon. It’s not good to let anger stay inside as we can hurt people when we explode. That’s why we need forgiveness and ways to calm down when we’re upset. It’s not always that a person is good or bad, but they let anger control them and make bad choices at times.

Discuss scriptures on evil and goodness. Chat about good choices and what pleases God. Read a few scriptures like the following and discuss each one, starting with the list of verses about goodness.The next list is about evil.

• Galatians 6:10
• Romans 12:21
• Isaiah 5:20
• Amos 5:14
• Micah 6:8
• 1 Peter 3:17

• 2 Thessalonians 3:2
• Romans 3:23
• Psalm 37:1
• Acts 19:18-21
  

We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight

Story time: What’s good, what’s bad? Use a familiar Bible for prayer time. Here are two stories with ideas about praying (Mark 4:35-42 and 1 Samuel 17:17-51). Do a thumbs down for bad part, thumbs up higher and higher for each good part/encouragement.

Story	Jesus calms storm	David and Goliath
Bad parts	Terrible storm scared disciples	Giant Goliath bullied army
Good parts	Jesus calmed the storm	David trusted God and killed Goliath
Praise	Jesus can help us	God is bigger than bullies
Asking	Help me when I’m scared	Help me with my battle
More prayer ideas	Help me trust you God	Help me not be afraid of big problem
Thanks	Thanks for caring for me	Thanks for being bigger than my problems

Thanks for tuning in!The above activity is from my book 52 Weekly Devotions for Family Prayer.

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Blessings,

Karen