OCTOBER 31, 2025

   “I think if human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. Wouldn't life be more interesting that way? And now that I think about it, why the heck don't they? Who made the rule that everybody has to dress like sheep 364 days of the year? ” 

― Douglas Coupland, The Gum Thief

JEREMIAH 29-30

11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14I will be found by you,” declares the Lord (29:11)

TITUS 1

 6An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe^b and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.

JOURNAL 

I’ve always loved Halloween. There’s something sacred in the strangeness of it, the laughter echoing through cool, smoky air, the rustle of costumes, the flicker of candles behind carved faces. It’s a night that reminds me how imagination can set even the darkest streets aglow. Some people fear it, but I’ve never understood that. To me, Halloween has always been a celebration of creativity, community, and the divine artistry of difference.

It’s amazing to think that the roots of Halloween go back over two thousand years to the Celtic festival of Samhain, when people marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter, a season they believed blurred the line between the living and the dead. They lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward off wandering spirits. Later, as Christianity spread, the day before All Saints’ Day became All Hallows’ Eve, a night to remember the saints and the faithful who had gone before. Over time, the traditions intertwined...sacred and playful, light and dark and gave us the celebration we know today.

Maybe that’s why I love it so much. Beneath all the costumes and candy, Halloween holds a quiet truth: light and darkness have always danced together in the story of creation. God never denied the existence of shadows, but He promised that His light would always overcome them.

Yes, the world can feel dark, its masks not made of fabric but of fear, pride, and weariness. Yet even there, You remind me, to the pure, all things are pure (Titus 1:15). The problem has never been the night, it’s the heart we bring into it. You have called me to see the good, to live with wonder, to let light shine through even the eerie corners of life.

So tonight, as candles glow inside carved pumpkins and laughter echoes down the streets, I will remember that You designed each of us uniquely, wonderfully, and intentionally. You waste nothing. Even in the shadowed places, Your light still finds a way through. And maybe that’s the real story of Halloween...reminding us that we don’t have to fear the dark, because You’ve already written light into it.

 15To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted. 16They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

TITUS 1:15-16