Reformed Trick-or-Treat
Halloween has been one of those tricky (Ha! No pun intended!) festivities for our family. I used to be the type to just shut the door and turn off the lights… You can read our first post about it here.
But I just KNOW there’s a way we can tailor this time to express our family core values… none of which have to do with death, fear, or darkness.
Teamwork, Hospitality, Adventure, Truth & Service (we call these the Holliman THATS) now THAT’S worth expressing! THAT’S what we’re all about.
So… this year we finally put feet to an idea that’s been brewing for a while: Reverse Trick-or-treat.
But first, did you know this is also when we celebrate Reformation Day?
Whaaaaat does this have to do with anything? Hang in there, I’m about to tie it all together, I promise!
Reformation Day, in a nutshell, was Martin Luther making a stand for our freedom in Christ. At the time, the religious institution was literally suffocating the life out of well-meaning people who wanted to please God. They were bound by many traditions and long lists of “to do’s” in order to be right with God. Martin Luther started a Reformation that impacts us even today.
So… we decided to remind people that you don’t need a long list of to-do’s in order to be right with God. All you need is to receive and embrace His grace, His love for you through the person of Jesus.
Look at Psalm 103 to see some of the gifts he showers us with:
O my soul, bless God.
From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
God makes everything come out right, he puts victims back on their feet.
What did we do tonight? We baked tons of cookies and bagged them up with a note that read:
Happy Reformation Day!
We celebrate the breaking away from life-stealing traditions and embrace the grace of God. Psalms 103:1-4
TheHollimans.com (in case anyone would like to contact us!)
And then we visited a friend’s neighborhood (Timber Trails & Fultonwood Forest) with a bunch of our friends and said “Reverse Trick-or-treat! We wanted to bless you and thank you for having candy for us tonight!” We had great responses! And some blank stares… 🙂 And I finally felt like we were truly expressing who we are.
My point is this: The one time of the year when our community and their children come knocking on our door expecting to receive something is the moment we can seize and be salt ‘n light.
[reminder]How can you tailor this festivity to reflect your family’s core values?[/reminder]