Dust to Dust – Geeks of Faith Devotion

I have a confession to make.  I don’t actually read the Avengers Comics.  My only frame of reference is the movies.  No one thought to warn me about what happened in Infinity War.  I assumed that the good guys would win in the end, not that everyone would get “dusted”.  Jon-Paul assures me that in the comics the good guys had the gauntlet and fixed things within a few pages… while I have to wait months… And now have to sit through trailers that have all the heroes depressed.  All the way home from seeing the movie I had the phrase from “Ash Wednesday” services stuck in my head.  “You are dust and to dust you will return.”

I tend to be really empathetic and turn into a blubbering mess when someone else is sad, even if they are on the movie or TV screen.  The characters didn’t know that everything would be all right.  Their friends were piles of dust at their feet and the Characters didn’t know that the actors were committed to more movies.

But that is life more often than I want to think about it.  Tragedy hits.  Life is unfair.  Young people die of cancer, in car wrecks, and in school shootings.  People we love get sick, die, or even just leave.  We lose jobs.  We get robbed.  Here in Florida hurricanes destroy homes and lives.  My brother lost everything in Katrina.

So how do we as people of faith deal with tragedy.  How do we stand strong in the face of disaster and injustice and the cruelty of the world?  One place we can look is the book of Job.  He lost everything and stayed faithful.  However, I don’t really like that one because it makes it seem like God wanted it to happen to prove Job’s faithfulness.

We can also look to Jesus.  Talk about unjust and unfair tragedy.  He was convicted of crimes he didn’t commit, and killed in one of the most horrible ways possible.  Crucifixion was excruciating and it took a long time to die.

One thing we can learn from Jesus is that it is OK to cry out in anger to God.  In the garden Jesus begged God to take the cup away.  He didn’t want to do it.  From the cross he quotes Psalm 22 and cries out to God, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?”  It is OK to cry to God about injustice and pain.  God is big enough to take our hurt and anger.

But we also need to remember that Jesus knew his scripture.  Psalm 22 is a cry of despair, but it is also a word of hope.  Most people are only familiar with that first verse.  Listen to the rest of Psalm 22.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;

    and by night, but find no rest.

3 Yet you are holy,

    enthroned on the praises of Israel.

4 In you our ancestors trusted;

    they trusted, and you delivered them.

5 To you they cried, and were saved;

    in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

6 But I am a worm, and not human;

    scorned by others, and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock at me;

    they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;

8 “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—

    let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

9 Yet it was you who took me from the womb;

    you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

10 On you I was cast from my birth,

    and since my mother bore me you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,

    for trouble is near

    and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls encircle me,

    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13 they open wide their mouths at me,

    like a ravening and roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water,

    and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

    it is melted within my breast;

15 my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,

    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

    you lay me in the dust of death.

16 For dogs are all around me;

    a company of evildoers encircles me.

My hands and feet have shriveled;

17 I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me;

18 they divide my clothes among themselves,

    and for my clothing they cast lots.

19 But you, O Lord, do not be far away!

    O my help, come quickly to my aid!

20 Deliver my soul from the sword,

    my life from the power of the dog!

21     Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued me.

22 I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;

    stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24 For he did not despise or abhor

    the affliction of the afflicted;

he did not hide his face from me,

but heard when I cried to him.

25 From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

    my vows I will pay before those who fear him.

26 The poor shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

    May your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth shall remember

    and turn to the Lord;

and all the families of the nations

    shall worship before him.

28 For dominion belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.

29 To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;

    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

    and I shall live for him.

30 Posterity will serve him;

    future generations will be told about the Lord,

31 and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,

    saying that he has done it.

God never promised that we wouldn’t have suffering, but God promised to walk with us through it.  God understands it.  In Jesus God went through it.  I don’t believe that God caused the tragedies that will happen to us, but I do believe that God will be there to hold us through the pain.

Love That Saved the World

        So, I have a confession to make.  I am not only a Geek, I am also a “shipper”.  So, I believe that Superman belongs with Lois Lane, Spiderman belongs with Mary Jane, Mulder belongs with Scully, Captain Sheridan belongs with Delenn, and Supergirl belongs with Brainy and Saturn Girl belongs with Lightning Lad (no matter what Earth CW may try to tell us.)  But I digress…

          So in the beginning of Aquaman Arthur’s voice over says, “ She had fled an arranged marriage, left her whole world behind. But in my father’s lighthouse, she found something unexpected. And my father found the love of his life.”  From that point on, I knew the movie was going to be OK with me…  OK, yes, I did also hope for Arthur and Mara to hook up.  But that kind of love isn’t what I want to talk about in this devotion.  My favorite quote from the movie actually came in the end. Arthur says, “My father was a lighthouse keeper. My mother was a queen. They were never meant to meet, but their love saved the world. They made me what I am. A son of the land, a king of the seas. I am the protector of the deep. I am Aquaman.”

          It isn’t the love of a lighthouse keeper and a queen that I want to discuss today, but a love that saved the world.  I believe that love is the most important theme in the Bible.  The word love is used in the Bible around 310 times, depending on the translation.  There is love like Jacob had for Rachael, or Ruth had for her mother-in-law Naomi, or the brotherly love of David and King Saul’s son Jonathan.  But the most important love is the love of God.  In Hebrew it has its own word, “Hesed”. It is a faithful, forgiving, accepting, never-ending love.  That is the love that God has for creation.  That is the love that God has for each one of us.  As it says in John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

          It is God’s love that literally saved the world.  It is God’s love in Jesus that taught the world compassion and challenged us to live like he did.  It was God loving us enough that God came down and was born in a manger, lived among us, went through all that we go through, suffered and died on a cross so that we would know God’s love and forgiveness.  It is a love beyond our understanding.

          Now in Aquaman the love of a lighthouse keeper and a queen wouldn’t have done anything to save the world if Arthur didn’t have compassion for it.  It was Arthur’s love of both the people on the land and in Atlantis that compelled him to act.  It was love for all mankind that saved the world.

          God’s love for the world that is shown in Jesus saved the world, but it didn’t just end at the cross.  God still loves the world and Jesus still longs to heal it.  But now, as followers of Jesus we are called to be his hands and feet.  We are to show God’s compassion to the world.  It is God’s love through us that continues to work in the world today.  When we love our neighbors as ourselves we are showing God’s love to the world.  When we love our neighbors we are showing love to God as well.  In Matthew 25 Jesus talks about the final judgement.  The only thing we will be judged by is how we treat other people.  Mathew 25:34-40 says: 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’

              We may not be super heroes.  The fate of the world may not rest in our hands.  But when we show the love of God.  When we show “Hesed” to our brothers and sisters we participate in God’s saving the world.  So go out and share that compassion and love.  God knows the world needs it.

Make All Things New - A Geeks of Faith Devotion

          It is a new year.  People are making resolutions.  Some people are glad the old year is gone, and some may wish it wasn’t.  We lost some great icons this past year: Jerry Vandyke from coach, David Ogden Stiers from Mash, Steven Hawking, Tim O’Connor from Buck Rogers,  Margot Kidder, Charlotte Rae from Facts of Life, Aretha Franklin, Robin Leach, Burt Reynolds, Anthony Bourdain, Stan Lee, Both George and Barbara Bush, and at the very end Penny Marshall and many more.

          Sometimes it makes me feel old to see my childhood (and even adult) heroes pass away.  So we look into the new year and hope it will be better than the last.  Every year we will lose people who meant something to us.  Every year we will have some good times and some bad.

          This new year is what we make of it.  We can face it with dread or we can face it with hope.  Our attitude makes a difference.  When I am down I often turn to the Psalms.  The psalmist really knew how to look toward God in good times and bad.  For example listen to the first few lines of Psalm 96: 

O sing to the Lord a new song;

    sing to the Lord, all the earth.

2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

    tell of his salvation from day to day.

3 Declare his glory among the nations,

    his marvelous works among all the peoples.

4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

    he is to be revered above all gods.

We are called to tell of God’s glory on a daily basis.  This Psalm makes me think of one of my favorite songs from the musical “the King and I”

“Whenever I feel afraid, I hold my head erect

And whistle a happy tune so no one will suspect I'm afraid

While shivering in my shoes, I strike a careless pose

And whistle a happy tune and no one ever knows I'm afraid

The result of this deception is very strange to tell,

For when I fool the people I fear, I fool myself as well

I whistle a happy tune, and every single time,

The happiness in the tune convinces me that I'm not afraid”

Now the Psalmist isn’t telling us to fool ourselves into being happy.  The Psalm wants us to remind ourselves and others every day about God’s faithfulness and how much God cares about us.

          It is all in our attitude.  If we face the new year with the thought that God goes with us, it makes a difference.  Yes, there will be hard times.  Sometimes we will fail.  Sometimes we will get hurt, but that doesn’t mean that God won’t be there to bless us this year, too.  We have scripture to remind us of God’s faithfulness.  We also need to remind each other that not only is God there for them, but we are, too.  We don’t walk through this world alone.

          One last bit of hope for the new year.  The scriptures also allow us to peek at the end.  Spoiler alert:  God wins in the end!  So I will leave you with the words of Revelation 21:5: 

And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Happy New Year!

The Value of Rudolph from a Victim of Bullying

Tonight one of my favorite Christmas specials comes on, "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."  There has be a lot of complaining and suggestions to boycott it because it "advocates bullying."  As a victim of bullying, myself, I think that these people are missing the main point of the story.

Yes, Rudolph and Hermie are bullied for being different, even by Santa, but that isn't the point of the story.  The point is learning to value each individual for their unique gifts.  It is a journey for the misfits to find their own worth AND for the bullies to realize they were wrong.  By the end of the film everyone who had bullied the misfits realize their error, are truly repentant, apologize, and recognize the value of each individual's gift.

That is what I dreamed of as a child.  I didn't dream that the bullies would be punished, but that they would see how great I was and accept me for who I am.  Rudolph gave me hope that if everyone at the North Pole could realize their mistakes, maybe my tormentors would, too.

Now a word about the well meaning parents and advocates that want to protect their children from stories like this one.  They are doing exactly what the King did on the Island of Misfit toys.  They are separating and isolating their children to "protect them from the cruelty of the world."  Their hearts may be in the right place, but that isn't what a child needs.  Yes, the misfit toys were protected from being made fun of, but they never were able to fulfill their potential as toys.  They were never loved, played with, and accepted for who they were.

In the end, Santa who had inadvertently bullied and misunderstood the value of each unique individual repents.  He finds the beauty in each toy, elf, and reindeer, and even a Bumble.  Then, he helps them find the place where they can grow and thrive.

I believe that this is a wonderful story about acceptance, repentance, and forgiveness.  It is a story of hope for those who feel different and put down.  It is a story of the little guy winning.  In that it is a valuable parable. 

It is said those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.  I also think that those who are protected and sheltered from the meanness in the world 1. won't know how to deal with it.  and 2. are at risk of bullying others because they haven't been shown examples of how wrong and hurtful words and actions can be.

I plan to continue to watch Rudolph, and as I showed it to my children, I will show it to my grandchildren, as a parable about how we are each beautiful and unique children of God.

Have a blessed Christmas.

Holding on for a Hero - A Geeks of Faith Advent Devotion

This week is the first week of Advent.  Advent is the start of the Christian year.  It is a time of waiting.  We are waiting for Christmas and the Christ Child to be born.  But the scriptures for this first week also remind us that we are waiting for Christ to return.

          I find it interesting that in the past year both DC and Marvel have dealt with the death of some of our favorite heroes in their movies.  DC dealt with the death of Superman and Marvel killed at least half of their heroes in Infinity War.  Now those of us familiar with comic books know that the hero will somehow come back whether in the story itself like in “Death of Superman” and “Infinity War” or in the next reboot or some Elseworld story. 

          But it still makes us sad.  How many of you cried when Superman died (or at least at the funeral scene) or when Thanos used the Infinity Gauntlet?  The characters in the movie don’t know that the hero is coming back.  All they know is that the one who gave hope in a dark and hopeless situation is dead and they don’t know where to turn.

          I don’t think it is coincidence that both these movies came out in the past couple of years.  Our society seems out of control.  There seems to be evil around every corner.  Everyone is looking for a hero or some way back to a safer world.

          That is the whole theme of Advent.  The world was so messed up that the Jews were praying for a Messiah, a savior to get them out of the horrors of the world.  That Savior was born in a manger 2000 years ago.  But just like in our movies, the world killed him.  Jesus was crucified at the hands of the corrupt Roman government at the urging of his own religious leaders.  For Jesus’ followers this was devastating.  Fortunately they only had to wait three days for him to come back.

          But Jesus didn’t stay.  Jesus had to go back into heaven and left us here to carry on for him.  But unlike in the movies Jesus promised to return.  Luke 21:25-28 is part of the scriptures for the first Sunday in Advent.  Listen to what it says:  “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. ²⁶ People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

          For Christians Jesus’ return is the best news ever.  No matter how scary the book of Revelation makes it sound it is good news for us.  Jesus tells us to stand up and raise our heads because our redemption is drawing near.  We will be rescued from the evil world.

          Unfortunately we have to wait more than the month that we have to wait for the next issue of the comic book to come out, and even more than the year or so that we have to wait for a movie sequel.  Yes, Jesus promised to return, but it has been 2000 years.  Sometimes it can be hard to wait.  Some people give up hope and turn their back on their faith.  It is hard to believe in God triumphing in the end when evil seems to win so often.

          The important part is what we do while we wait.  Advent reminds us that we need to continue to hope.  Jesus will keep his promise and come back to rescue us.  While we wait we need to be the agents of hope.

          When Superman died in the movie, Batman pulled together Wonder Woman, Aqua Man, Flash, and Cyborg to keep fighting against evil.  Ok, I know we don’t have the powers of the Justice League.  So, how about this instead;  In the movie “Spiderman” when the Green Goblin tries to kill Spiderman while he is rescuing Mary Jane and a Gondola full of school children the people of New York rally and begin throwing things at Green Goblin to distract him enough for Spidey to save everyone.  They had no super powers but as the man said, “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.”

          While we wait for Jesus’ return we are called to do what he would do.  Stand up for what is right, protect the innocent, seek justice, be kind.  Shine Jesus’ light in our dark world.  Give them the hope that we know.  When it seems that the heavens are being shaken by the evil in the world hold on to hope and look up.  Jesus is coming.

Who Is My Neighbor - A Geeks of Faith Devotion for Election Day

Election day is upon us.  In a matter of a few hours half our nation will be really happy and half will be angry or depressed.  A little while ago I posted something about the greatest commandments;  you know love God and love your neighbor.  And mentioned that posting hate mongering articles that were just meant to hurt or anger your opponent wasn’t loving your neighbor.  As Christians we should stop name calling and spreading hate.  One of my friends said flat out, “I can’t do that.  I guess that means you think I am part of the problem?”  I didn’t fall for the bait.  I had just said name calling was wrong, but it hurt and was frustrating.

          I have dear friends, family, and church members who are on the far right and on the far left.  They are all good people, good Christians until politics come up.  Then, I don’t even recognize them.  They literally seem to hate the other side.  That is tearing our country apart.  It is also destroying what Jesus teaches and what God wants from us.

          There is a scripture story that deals with this exact thing.  It is the story of the Good Samaritan.  Before I read it for you I want to make sure you understand it’s setting.  The Jews and the Samaritans HATED each other.  They both claimed that they were the faithful remnant of Israel after returning from exile in Babylon.  So, they all worshipped the same God and believed the same thing except where you should worship.  The Jews said Jerusalem and the Samaritans had a mountain in Samaria that was their Holy site.  Now, they hated each other so much that there was a saying in Israel that the only good Samaritan was a dead one.  They would spit on them.  They were forbidden to talk to them or have business with them.  They truly hated each other.

          Now listen with me to Luke 10:25-37 commonly known as the story of the Good Samaritan.

²⁵ Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus.^[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” ²⁷ He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁸ And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

²⁹ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii,^[b] gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

          I can imagine that the Lawyer wasn’t thrilled.  The hated Samaritan was the one that Jesus portrayed as following the commandments.  So, you can’t say that the people you hate are outside of the commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.

          I saw a news story that is going viral that is this story played out in real life.  When the shooting happened in the Synagogue in Pittsburgh one of the ER nurses was the son of a rabbi who didn’t know whether his parents were among those killed.  He was the nurse asked to tend to the shooter when they brought him in.  He didn’t refuse.  He didn’t even say anything mean.  He treated the shooter who would happily put a bullet in his head if he found out he was Jewish.  This nurse treated the man with gentleness and compassion.  The shooter even thanked him for treating him so well.

          Jesus said to us, “Go and do likewise.” Soon the elections will be through and more hate will be spewed from both sides.  The winners will gloat and the losers will rant and rave.  Don’t fall into that trap.  The other side is human.  The other side is American.  Believe it or not, the other side believes that they voted for what will be best for out country.  Most importantly, the other side is made up of beloved children of God.  They are your neighbor regardless of whether or not you agree with them or even like them.  You are called to love them as yourself.  So, when the votes are counted and the election is done think before you post, or rant, or rave, or gloat.  Is your action the loving thing?  Is it kind?  If the situation was reversed would you want them to say or do that to you?  The only way our nation can heal is to stop looking at each other as the hated enemy and start thinking of each other as our neighbor and more than that as our brothers and sisters.  Like brothers and sisters, you don’t have to always agree with them, but you need to love them.

All Hallow's Eve - A Geeks of Faith Devotion

(The Origins of Halloween)

In the first few centuries of the church many Christians (or saints) were killed for their faith.  The church often took time to say prayers of thanks for the saints that went before them.

As early as 270 AD there are records of holding all night prayer vigils in memory of those who died in the faith.

November 1 was set as the official All saints Day under Emperor Charlemagne in the 800s.  Yes, they did place it to coincide with a Celtic pagan festival known as Samhain.  The Celtic people believed that the night of October 31 through the evening of Nov.1 the boundary between worlds was thinner and Spirits from the otherworld could walk in ours.  The church often set it’s early holidays to coincide with pagan celebrations, so that the new Christian converts would not miss their old traditions.  In this case they equated the thought of traveling Spirits with remembering the dead.

Many people are critical about the early church setting our celebrations to coincide with pagan festivals in the area where the church was spreading.  This doesn’t  bother me.  Think of it like this:  You are an avid Star Trek Fan.  You meet someone who is really into Anime.  You want to share the joy of being a Trekker with them.  They say, “That’s all well and good, but I love my Anime conventions and our binge watching parties and the Anime chat rooms.”  Is it wrong to say, “Hey, we have conventions, and watch parties, and chat rooms, too!  Why don’t you join me for the next one.”  That is basically what the early church was doing.  “Oh, you have a big party in the spring celebrating the world coming back to life.  So do we, it’s called Easter and it celebrates God raising Jesus from the dead!  In the middle of winter when the days start getting longer again, you celebrate the hope that spring and longer days will return.  We celebrate the hope that came when Jesus was born.  And when you celebrate spirits walking about in our world, we remember those who have died and gone on to heaven.”  Maybe the church was being practical, maybe it was to make converting less traumatic, but I don’t think that it invalidates what we are celebrating.

OK, so back to the early celebrations.  As time went on there were fewer and fewer martyrs.  Thus, today, All Saints Day (Or All Saints Sunday, the Sunday Closest to November 1) we remember all of the our Christian brothers and sisters who have gone to join the Lord in the “Church Triumphant” in the past year.  (In other words, we remember those Christians who have died in the past year.)  We often say prayers of thanks for those who meant a lot to our own journeys of faith.  All Christians are considered saints.  It has nothing to do with how “good” you are.

Halloween is just a common name for “All Hallows Eve” (The Day before All Hallows Day, All Saints Day).  The traditions we celebrate are actually Medieval superstitions relating to saying the names of the dead.  Some of them probably are bleed overs from “baptizing” Samhain into All Saint’s Day for our Celtic forefathers and mothers.  In the Middle Ages people believed that the evil spirits got agitated knowing that the “good” souls were going to get prayed for and they were not.  So people dressed up as ‘evil” spirits to fool the restless spirits that were roaming about feeling jealous about the holiday to come.  That is where the tradition of dressing up as ghosts and goblins came from.

The church has always asserted that the dead cannot harm you.  When you die, your soul goes immediately to either heaven or hell.  There is no lurking around to bother the living.  But it can be hard to convince superstitious people to give up their beliefs.

There are some churches that feel that dressing up as “evil spirits” leads to evil acts.  Many of them may not know the origin of wearing the costumes was actually to protect against evil.  But today I think the only evil temptations are to eat too much candy, or if you are feeling really naughty TP-ing trees, smashing pumpkins, or egging houses.  My problem with them, is that damaging property is NOT the way to love your neighbor, which is the second greatest commandment.

The Presbyterian Church as well as many others find no harm in trick-or-treating or dressing up for Halloween.  We just want people to remember that it is all in fun.  It is a good chance to get to know your neighbors.  Our HOA is throwing a Pre-trick or treat pizza party for the whole neighborhood so that we can get to know each other better.  I would also encourage you, as you enjoy Halloween, to take a moment out of your November 1^st sugar rush, to say a prayer of thanks for all of the people in your life who have made a difference in faith journey, especially those who have passed away and are now with the Lord.