what should christians do on halloween?

For a number of years Jenny and I tried to find alternative things for our kids to do on Halloween. We didn't think it would be wise to have our kids participate in "the devil's holiday." So we took our kids bowling, or to Chuck E. Cheese's or something like that. Some churches even offer alternatives to Halloween. We often opted for the "Hallelujah Party" instead (that was really what it was called).

Then it occurred to us a couple of years ago: why should we pull our family out of our neighborhood on the one night of the year when we actually have a really good opportunity to interact with your neighbors? I suddenly didn't make sense to us why all the Christians abandoned their neighborhoods on the one night of the year their neighbors were out and about. So we decided to redeem Halloween.

Isn't that what God does? He takes stuff that the devil intends for evil and he turns it into good. So now we're home on Halloween. We're on our front porch, talking to our neighbors and handing out candy. And oh, here's something else we started doing last year: we handed out really cool, well-done KidStuf invite cards.

If you're going to stay home this year and give candy, here are a couple of suggestions:

• Use the opportunity to introduce yourself to parents you don't already know.
• Give out really good candy (not the cheap stuff...Christ followers should be known for their generosity).
• Find a way to redeem the night (hand out KidStuf invites...engage in conversations about it...offer warm drinks to the parents...have a pot of chili on and invite everyone to stop by and chat after the kids are done begging).

Don't...

• ...give out hard candy. Sheesh.
• ...hand out cheesy "Christian tracts."
• ...preach. Just be nice to people.

Have fun with it. Reedem it.