Amauri is 5 years old and lives in Chichigua, a small Haitian batey that over looks the Atlantic Ocean. He lives with his mom, dad and little brother. He loves to laugh, especially with his little friend Franchesca (who also lives in Chichigua). Over the walls of the school you can always hear him giggling. He absolutely loves getting hugs, as well! I'm not sure how much Spanish Amauri actually understands. His family speaks Creole at home (a mix of French and African language) and though I know he understands basic things said in Spanish (like instructions) he always has a smile and a laugh! His nickname is Bob. That's what they call him at home. His birthday is May 24.

Periodically throughout the year we will be writing letters to Amauri and showing pictures of him to the kids. I hope to meet him in person when I go down there in January.  

My hope is to help our children build a relationship with Amauri and see how the small gifts they give can be used in big ways. I want to open their eyes to the needs of others around the world so that they can begin to see that they have been blessed in order to be a blessing. I hope that knowing someone less fortunate than themselves will also help cure us of some of the "I want..." and "I need..." that is so prevalent in our culture. Take advantage of this opportunity for you as a family to begin to discuss how we should use what God has given us and what it looks like to be a good steward.

Here is the outline of what we will be stuyding in grade school this month:

Memory Verse: 1 Timothy 6:17-19

December 7 Luke 12:13-21 (Bigger Barns) Having stuff is not bad, but hoarding it all for yourself is not what we were meant to do with it.  We are blessed to be a blessing to others.  So look for ways to bless others.
Bottom Line: Don't let things become more important than God and people.

December 14 John 3:16-17, Luke 2:1-18 (the Christmas story) The greatest gift we have been given is Jesus.  God generously gave His son to us as a sacrifice.  We would have no hope without Him.
Bottom Line: God gave us the greatest gift when he gave us Jesus.

December 21 Celebration of Jesus' birth!! 

We will have a special party in celebration of the hope that Jesus has brought into the world.  We will review the Christmas story, play games and maybe have a special snack!

December 28 Luke 18:18-25 (the rich young ruler)
Now that we have all these fun gifts, let's learn to enjoy them but not place them as more important than Christ.  It is easy to get caught up with something fun and exciting, but we don't want that to  become something that keeps us from loving Christ.
Bottom Line: Don't let stuff get in the way of serving others and Jesus.

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas and that you experience the peace and hope of Christ in your home!  

Don't forget about our weekly handouts that provide opportunities for you and your family to dive deeper into the lesson from Sunday.  Also, don't forget to pick up the virtue packs for this month in the resource center for $5.

The obsessive thoughts of the characters and actions to which these thoughts take them are neither wise nor healthy. Though each character professes that they would die for the other, they also say they could not live without the other. Life becomes insignificant, save time spent together, and even that time is spent trembling over what might become of their star-crossed future.

Lastly, there is a general theme of the naiveté and ignorance of parents, teachers, general authority figures and many societal norms.  The pattern established here is that Bella’s authority figures caution her against dangerous actions but are treated with contempt and dismissed. This is a dangerous path for already rebellious and often un-established teens figuring out how they feel about life.

I write all of this from the perspective of someone who read and enjoyed each of the four books of the series this summer, inhaling the first three in a week and the last one over a trans-Pacific flight. I’ve read all of the FAQ’s and a lot of reviews and recommended them to many of my adult friends. I also, however, acknowledge that some of what I felt or thought while reading these books was questionable. I several times had to come before the Lord and admit that the emotional impact of Meyer’s story stirred up feelings in me of longing, discontent, and idolatry of a wished for relationship. I’m a 23-year-old woman with a great community and firm base in the knowledge of the heavenly perfection of Christ my bridegroom. Imagine the effect these books could have on your child.

Guys are not immune from the possible harms of the story either. I have a friend, Chris, who is 30 and married and was still deeply upset (though admittedly riveted) by the writing tone and story of one particular character.
    
My strong reservations for youth reading these books are not rooted in literary devices. Meyer is a strong writer. She is clever in ways that made me laugh out loud and descriptive so that I cried all over my books. The stories are page-turners and have well developed, clearly explained arcs with minute details leading to a bigger picture–a poster child for good story plotting. But they are also fraught with questionable actions, give no glory to God, are based in the belief of a force so powerful (Love) that nothing can overcome it and in whose name any sacrifice is worthy but this love resembles nothing of the love of God. The love of these books is not patient, not kind, and it envies, boasts, and keeps a long and exhaustive record of wrongs. The disrespect of authority is everything I thought true in high school but have come to recognize as pure folly, and the communication amongst characters is scanty and manipulative at best. While I don’t think reading these books inevitably leads to sin, I think there is much to consider before joining the Twilight world.

Written by Ritz Valle, Grade School Intern.

The movie as a whole is a good one, and continues the main theme of friendship and self-discovery that the first movie began. All the favorite characters from the first movie return, including the scene-stealing penguins, and some great new characters have been added as well, including a bad guy brilliantly voiced by Alec Baldwin. While the main theme and heart of the movie is positive, there are some things that parents should be aware of before deciding whether or not to pack the car and head to the theater. I am listing out some of the low points and high points for you below, in hopes that it will help you make an informed decision for your family.

Spoiler Alert: In order to list these high points and low points, I am going to be providing some details of the plot of the movie. If you wish to be surprised, or do not want to know what is going to happen in the movie, I do not suggest reading further than this sentence.

There are three things I noticed in this movie that parents may want to be wary of, especially families with young children. The first deals with some puns that quite honestly have no place in a children's movie. The main comic character, King Julien, is a very zany character, and is quite funny throughout the movie. In his zaniness, however, he sometimes crosses the line. Towards the beginning of the movie, he busts out of a cake in a grass skirt and coconut bra, and laughs about how he is dressed like a woman. He then dances for the crowd and says, "Which one of you attracted to me?" I understand that cross-dressing cartoons have been around since Bugs Bunny would put on a dress and lipstick, but the actual mention that a man might be attracted to another man in a dress just seems too explicit of a reference to homosexuality to be in a children's movie. I wish the creators had found more creative ways to make the movie funny to adults and children than these types of low brow jokes.

Towards the end of the movie, there is a drought, and Julien (once again at the center of the zaniness) says that the drought is caused by "the gods." Then he says that the solution is that he has to offer a sacrifice to the gods by throwing one of the characters into a volcano. Once the gods "eat" the sacrifice, then they will be happy, and then they will send the water. This could be confusing for a child who is trying to learn the character of God, especially if he does not know about other religions or hasn't been taught that other people believe differently than we do. If you do go see the movie, this is a great chance to tell your children that there are people who haven't learned about God and Jesus like we have, and that they think that the gods are angry with us if things are not going well. We know that there is only one true God, and His Son, Jesus Christ, and that He loves us always. We never have to do anything extra to make Him happy with us, but only have to have faith in Him.

In addition, there are a lot of parallels between this scene in the movie and the story of Abraham and Isaac. Abraham knows that God has demanded a sacrifice of his son, Isaac, and Abraham obeys God even though he doesn't want to. At the last minute, God spares Isaac and tells Abraham to stop. Abraham has shown his faith in God, and because of that faith, God has provided the necessary sacrifice - the ram tangled in the nearby bushes. This is foreshadowing how God provides the necessary sacrifice for all of us in His Son Jesus Christ. For some of the older children in your family, this scene can be an opportunity to discuss this great story from Genesis 22.

And the final warning about the movie is the comic violence. I normally expect some amount of this in cartoons these days, but for some reason, it seemed excessive in this movie. It may have been that much of the violence was directed at an elderly woman. Now, the elderly woman could hold her own against the animals attacking her, but it made it no less shocking to me to see an old woman hit by a car driven by penguins. There is no blood, and all the violence is comic, but I did want to give a general warning that there seems to be a higher level of violence in this movie than I remember in the first one.

Despite those three reservations, I do think the message of the overall movie is a good one. There is a love story involving Gloria where the main point is that the inner person is what is beautiful, not the outer appearance. In addition, the firm friendships between the characters shine through, and are a great example of how people who are very different from each other can be close friends, and that friendship means sticking together even when things get difficult.

Finally, the main storyline involves Alex, the dancing zoo lion, and his struggle fitting in with his family and his pride because he is different. As you might expect, Alex learns that being himself and being a good friend is what is most important, and even saves the day with his special dancing talent. This is a positive message to our children, and can be very helpful for a child who feels different than his friends. This movie can help him understand that he is "fearfully and wonderfully made," and that God gave him his uniqueness as a gift.

As long as you are aware of the three things I discussed above, and are available to discuss them with your children, I believe this movie is a fun one for your family to go to together. It may even be a great opportunity to spend some time with those neighbors you have been thinking about inviting over. Enjoy!

I intend to post a more detailed play-by-play about the Fall Retreat but for now, I must limit my detail a) due to the sheer joy we are all experiencing here at Camp Buckner and I don't want to miss any of it b) my internet connection could disappear at any moment.

And so...

Several students came to know the Lord tonight. It was a powerful evening that began with the typical TeenRock mayhem and hi jinx followed by worship led by Austin Jones and his band, followed by profound truth spoken through Scot Pollok. 

The point of this post though is not to summarize the evening (sermons will be available on the podcast). My desire in posting right now is to share with you something that I witnessed tonight that I have never seen in my entire time in ministry. 

Scot closed in prayer and Courrier (Austin's band) played one of their songs, "Rescuer," followed by "The Stand." I walked to the back of the room to see every hand raised in worship. 

Here's where it starts getting crazy. First of all, the band was BARELY audible over the voices of the students, and this was a compact room with a huge sound system. As the second song came to a close, we opened up the time for students to "deal." Very un-awkward. Very permissive.  

Students began gravitating towards leaders (un-coaxed) and leaders began leading students to different parts of the room and even outside in the fields. The band kept playing.  

As the minutes passed, students and leaders began gravitating towards the front porch of the worship center. However, it wasn't just a bunch of youth hanging out, everyone was still singing.  The only times they would stop were the moments when a leader emerged from their conversations with students to announce, "So and so just came to Christ!"

Students and leaders alike proceeded to join together in a "holy roar" of celebration, hugs, tears, and laughter. At one point, a cell phone got thrown into the forest out of sheer excitement.  

I praise the Lord for giving me the opportunity tonight to catch a glimpse of the indescribable celebration that awaits us when He returns.  The angels are singing tonight for our new family members and you can be sure that we joined them in chorus there on the front porch at Camp Buckner.

Overall, this is a positive message to give our children.  Most high school environments consist of cliques.  Most students are pigeonholed as one type of person.  You are either a jock, or a bookworm, or a skateboarder, and you are expected to stick to your kind.  I think that this aspect of the High School Musical series can have a very positive impact on our children.

In addition, High School Musical 3 has extremely little objectionable content, especially when compared to most of the films produced today.  There is no foul language, and no violent content.  As far as sexual content goes, there is one dance scene with a Rockette-style kick line and costume, and a long kiss between the two leads at the climax of the movie.  Other than those two instances, there is no sexual content - not even innuendo like many cartoon movies now include.

This movie also provides a great opportunity for you to have a spiritual conversation with your children.  As the characters ponder their next steps in life, most of them are trying to decide what will fulfill them, or what will make them most happy.  Chad is going to pursue his basketball career.  Gabriella finds her satisfaction in advance acceptance to her top college choice.  Sharpay thinks that fame and fortune are going to satisfy her.  Troy believes that his satisfaction will come from his relationship with Gabriella, the love of his life.  As Christians, we know that none of these things will truly satisfy our souls.  Athletic success, academic success, fame, fortune, and true love are all good things, but they are not what our soul longs for.  We were created to know and love and worship Jesus Christ, and we will be restless until we rest in Him.

We have decided to provide them an opportunity to give to the children of the Dominican Republic. We are partnering with Makarios, a faith-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to educational development. Makarios is committed to a child's spiritual, physical, emotional and intellectual growth, to provide hope for a better future. With the help of the families of The Austin Stone, we can help meet the basic needs of some of these children as well as bless them during the Christmas season.

How to participate

Right now Makarios has 50 girls and 65 boys in their education program all between the ages of 3 and 8 and we thought we could partner with Makarios by sending them gifts. Below is a list of items that Makarios has requested for the kids. They asked that we stick to the list so that we can have equal gifts for all the kids and that the gifts fit within a gallon size Ziploc bag. Also, please include $5 that will go towards a special Christmas party for the kiddos. Write the age of the child that the items are for on the outside of the bag. At the end of the month, we will be sending these supplies to the children in the Dominican Republic with one of our teams so the children can have them for Christmas. Please turn all bags in at a KidStuff table by Sunday, November 23.

• Girls: kids jewelry (beads)
• Boys: tops or marbles
• All Kids: toothpaste, small pencil sharpener, children’s vitamins, underwear and socks

We know that this time of year gets busy, but we hope that this presents an opportunity for you and your kids to do something together. We hope it is also a chance for you to talk to your kids about being grateful for that Lord has done for them and how we are blessed so that we can bless others. This will also lead us straight into December’s virtue of generosity.

While this opportunity aligns with our grade school curriculum specifically, this opportunity is not limited to families with grade school aged children. We welcome donations from all of our families, whether your child is an infant or a high schooler.

Thanks for partnering with us parents!

 The History of the Holiday

Perhaps the most surprising thing I found about Halloween is that it is only in existence because of the Christian church. In the 7th century AD, Pope Boniface IV created the holiday All Saint’s Day, to celebrate and remember all the martyrs of the faith. Apparently, there were so many martyrs at that point in history that the church had to move away from the standard of assigning a different day to each saint. Later, in the 8th century AD, Pope Gregory III moved All Saint’s Day from its original date in April to November 1, the date we celebrate today.

Gregory III moved the holiday to November 1 so that it was celebrated at the same time as a Celtic holiday called Samhain. This was not without precedent. The Catholic Church had a desire to redeem every day of the year for the cause of Christ, and therefore intentionally placed religious holidays at the same time as pagan holidays.  For example, Christmas is celebrated on December 25 largely because the Catholic Church wanted to redeem the pagan holiday named Yule.

According to Catholic tradition, holidays begin with sundown the day before the holiday. Hence we celebrate Christmas Eve, hold Easter vigils, and celebrate All Saint’s Eve. Another name for All Saint’s Day was All Hallow’s Day, and All Saint’s Eve is also known as All Hallow’s Eve. Over time, this was shortened to Halloween. So, even the name “Halloween” itself comes from the Christian faith.

So what about the holiday that Halloween was meant to replace? I have seen several articles and Christian tracts that describe Samhain as an evil holiday, celebrating the Celtic “god of the dead.” This is simply not true; rather Samhain literally means “summer’s end,” and is a time of year, not a god of the Celts at all. The holiday marked the transition from fall to winter, and was the Celtic New Year. Saying that Samhain is a Celtic god would be like someone saying that the Americans have a god named Thanksgiving, and that we honor him by indulging ourselves with food.

Samhain is also said to have been a time when the Celts sacrificed human beings to the devil, or to demonic spirits, and otherwise worshiped demons. This also is unfounded. There is no historic evidence of human sacrifice on this Celtic holiday. In addition, there is no such thing as demons or devils in the Celtic belief system. What is true that the Celts believed in otherworldly beings, including gods, giants, fairies, witches, elves, and monsters, and Samhain was seen as the time when the veil between the “otherworld,” as I am calling it, and our world was the weakest. Clearly, this is not in line with Christian belief. However, it is a big jump to go from saying that someone has a different religion and is in need of the light of Christ to saying that they are evil demon-worshipers. The Celts were not evil so much as they were non-Christian. To call Samhain an evil holiday is equivalent to calling Ramadan an evil holiday. Ramadan and Samhain are not Christian holidays, and they do not glorify God, and are not celebrated by Christians – but they also should not be seen as evil.

So if Samhain is not inherently Satanist or demonic, and All Hallow’s Eve is officially a Christian holiday, how did October 31 get to be known as an evil day? Why does it seem to have a connection to the demonic world? The answer, from what I have been able to determine, is that the Church unintentionally created this connection. When the Celts and other pagans continued to celebrate their holiday rather than the Christian holiday, the Church then maligned their holiday and traditions. We assigned evil meanings to their practices, and called them demon-worshipers. We made up stories and traditions (and still do) in order to make it easy to hate them and their practices, and introduced the idea that the Celts were devil and demon-worshipers.

There are those in the world who do worship Satan, and their intentions are purely evil. These people do indeed claim Halloween as their holiday, but they only do so because we have allowed them to. When they heard us say that all the demon-worshipers celebrate on October 31, they agreed with us, and adopted this day as their holiday. In reality, though, no day at all belongs to those who follow Satan.

"The earth is the Lord, the earth and all it contains." - Psalm 24:1

Everything belongs to God, including every day of the year. To say that October 31 is an evil holiday is only to give credence to the Satanists’ claims that Halloween is their holiday, when in reality the opposite is true. October 31 belongs to God, and All Hallow’s Eve was created as a Christian holiday. Rather than give this day to those who worship our enemy, I say we should claim it as our own.

A Mix of Traditions

The holiday we now call Halloween is the product of many different influences and misconceptions, and has morphed and changed over time. Likewise, the traditions currently associated with this holiday are also from various sources, and have grown and changed over time. So what is the Christian community to do with all of these various traditions?

As mentioned in the previous section, those who worship Satan and demonic spirits, have claimed this holiday, and some of their practices have been associated with October 31. Any action related to evil spirits or the worship of our enemy is not acceptable for a Christian on Halloween, or on any other day for that matter. This includes activities such as Ouija boards, Tarot cards, séances, or any type of fortune telling. Scripture directs the Christian to stay away from these activities, and to have nothing to do with them, on every occasion.

Because of the association that Christians made between Halloween and evil, Hollywood producers and marketers jumped on this holiday as a way to make more money by promoting monsters, ghouls, and other grotesque images. This is how Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolfman, Freddy Krueger, Jason, and other evil villains came to be associated with October 31. Many decorations and costumes (even children’s costumes) are associated with death, blood, and gore. How should the Christian respond to this part of Halloween?

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” – Philippians 4:8 

This verse and other commands from Scripture tell the believer to continually think about things that are “right, pure, and lovely.”  We should ensure that all of our activities on Halloween, and on every day of the year, do not prevent us from following this commandment.  Parents should take care before buying a headless horseman costume for their children and before allowing their teenagers to go see a horror movie at the theater.  Each Christian must decide what is right for themselves and for their families in light of this commandment.

What about the Christian influences? All Hallow’s Eve is a Catholic holiday, after all… are there any traditions remaining from these roots?  Several Catholic churches still hold prayer services for all the saints who were martyred for the cause of Christ on October 31, in honor of All Saint’s Eve and All Saint’s Day. If you and your family choose to celebrate in this manner, then this is an excellent way to spend your October 31.

Then there is Samhain, the pagan holiday that All Saint’s Eve and All Saint’s Day were intended to replace. Are there any surviving traditions from this holiday that Christians should not participate in? This is where most of the misinformation about the holiday comes from. Many current Halloween practices, including pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating, and dressing up in costume are said to have come from the supposedly evil practices of Samhain. These claims are not supported by historical fact, despite being widely promoted in many publications.

There are two traditions that do seem to come from the harvest festival of the Celts. The first is that of bobbing for apples. This was a way of determining who would get married first in the new year. Whoever got the first apple would be the first to get married, much like our modern “throwing of the bouquet” at weddings. This tradition is rarely celebrated these days, and in my mind, should be avoided more for sanitary reasons than spiritual ones.

The other tradition that does have roots in the celebration of Samhain is the “trick” part of trick-or-treating. As mentioned earlier, the Celts believed that the veil between the supernatural and the natural world was the thinnest on Samhain. So, on this night, the story was that the elves, witches, fairies, and other beings would come and play tricks on the humans. Remember, these beings were not evil according to the Celts, just playful. Many Celts would then play minor pranks on their friends and family on Samhain, crediting the cause of these pranks to the fairies, elves, or witches. There is no evidence that these tricks included cursing people, or killing them, as many current Christian tracts claim… and there is absolutely no “treat” portion associated with these pranks.

So where did this idea of “trick-or-treating” come from? The Boy Scouts of America. In modern times, people began to take the innocent pranks of Halloween too far. With urbanization of American society, the tricks that took place on October 31 morphed from switching shop signs and soaping windows to the actual destruction of property. To stop this from getting out of control, the Boy Scouts and other city clubs organized to give children and youth a positive alternative to vandalism. Children were encouraged to go from door to door at shops and homes and receive treats. This served the dual purpose of keeping kids from being on the streets unsupervised that night, as well as having shopkeepers and homeowners vigilant to look for people wanting to harm their property. It seems the phrase “trick or treat” first appears in the 1940’s, used as the title of a poem in the Saturday Evening Post.

What about the costumes? There does not seem to be any cultural reason that costumes began to be associated with Halloween. Throughout history and in many cultures, beggars would go door to door and put on performances in costume in exchange for food or money. It was an early version of the street performers in modern cities. This was most often associated with Christmas (wassailing) or a New Year’s holiday, if any holiday at all. The best guess most historians have is that when groups started encouraging going door-to-door for treats, some people started dressing up and performing to earn the treats… with Halloween costumes spreading from there. There doesn’t appear to be any historical connection to the original Celtic holiday.

Finally there is the tradition of pumpkin carving. Historically speaking, people have carved gourds into lanterns for centuries, and at all times of the year. It’s a cheap and easy way to make a lantern, and also a fun activity for parents. As for carving pumpkins, no one did that in the time that Samhain was celebrated. Pumpkins were discovered as a fruit from the New World, and pilgrims found them to be more efficient for making lanterns than the other gourds they formerly used.

There is an Irish folktale regarding a man named Jack who could neither enter heaven or hell, so he wanders the earth eternally as a spirit, with a pumpkin lantern to light his way. To symbolize this tall tale of Jack, some would carve a face into the pumpkin and call it “Jack’s lantern,” or a Jack-o-lantern. This is not where the tradition of carving pumpkins came from, though. It is simply something added onto the tradition. Many families now call carved pumpkins “Jack-o-lanterns” without even knowing the Irish folktale, much less to communicate with Jack’s spirit.

Why is this associated with Halloween? The pumpkins are harvested in the fall, and therefore October and November are the most common times to see lanterns made out of pumpkins. Over time, people combined this yearly tradition with the holiday on October 31.

In addition to pumpkin carving, there are many other traditions that are associated with the fall season that are simply harvest-oriented traditions, having no spiritual connection whatsoever. Activities such as hay rides, cornfield mazes, and the like are cultural traditions only, and Christians should feel free to enjoy these festivals as a celebration of what God has given.

Making an Informed Decision

Each Christian family should make a decision for themselves about if and how to celebrate this holiday. Personally, I believe that carving a pumpkin into a lantern as a family, dressing up as a fireman or a dog, and going door-to-door to ask for candy is not related to the worship of Satan or other demons. In fact, I believe that it can be a celebration of the gifts God has given us in the pumpkin and in our imaginations, as well as a great opportunity to get out and spend time in our community, getting to know our neighbors so that we can love them better.

That said, the purpose of this article is not to persuade you to believe what I believe. If you look at the Word of God, and the facts and history of this holiday, and believe that you need to abstain completely from any sort of celebration on October 31, then I will support you and rejoice in your decision. I believe that we can have different opinions on this holiday and still worship Jesus in spirit and in truth together.

My job is not to think for you, but rather to point you to the Word of God, and to truth, and to empower you to make a decision according to the Spirit of God inside you. I hope this article is helpful in that regard. My main point in writing is to point out that there is a lot of false information out there regarding Halloween, and that Christians are among those most responsible for spreading this false information.

Of all religions of the world, we should be the most eager to defend truth and historical fact. Look at what the apostle Paul says about the resurrection of Christ:

“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is vain.” -1 Corinthians 15:13-14

Christianity is based upon fact – namely, the fact that Jesus died and rose again.  In addition, Jesus Christ said that He is the way, the truth, and the life.  We have truth to share with the world, truth that will give them spiritual life.  Christians, we must not be known for propagating false information, lest we lose credibility in the world.

My prayer is that Christians will be zealous for fact and truth in all things. So next time you get an email about Halloween, or about a politician, or about a company and its supposedly evil practices, I encourage you to determine its validity before forwarding it on. If we do not defend truth, in Halloween and in everything, then we undermine all that we believe.

Sources and Recommended Reading 

The History of Halloween - It's Probably Not What You Think

History of Halloween - Myths, Monsters, and Devils

Halloween - A Distinctly Christian Holiday

Hollow Halloween

Matters of Opinion - Hallowing Halloween