Check out this neat Smilebox I made to "show off" our Pumpkin Patch pictures!

 A recent trip to a local pumpkin patch has given me much to ponder.  In light of the fact that our next unit study is on holidays and seasons, this is a great topic to get into, I think.

To my kids, it was just a really fun day spent with friends; but where did this "tradition" come from and what makes it "okay" for Christians to participate?

There are certain traditions that we've always celebrated, without questioning their origins or whether they are Christian practices.  Even if they ARE indeed Christian, we should still know their origins and how they came to be, since we homeschool, right?

Discernment plays a big part in good decision making.  For instance, not letting your child go to the playground down the street with a loaded gun is a "no-brainer", but what about watching that show on TV or rules about internet usage?  Some of these things should be left to the parents' discretion, not the child's.  Where do you draw the line?  How do you know you're not being too strict or too lenient?  

I've found great comfort in knowing that the whole weight of this task does not fall on me (or my husband).  A Biblical worldview is sometimes hard to stand behind, but "stand behind" you can!  It can really bail you out in a pinch!  Let's face it, tough choices have to be made from time to time and our kids aren't yet mature enough to be left to their own devices.  If we include them somehow in the process, all the better.  They are learning "hands-on" so to speak.  I believe the key is in using Life's Instruction Manual, the Bible, throughout your decision-making process.

Don't allow the traditions of man to skew God's Holy Word!

We had a great time at the Pumpkin Patch, which DID encompass a haunted house; but there was enough other stuff to do there that my kids didn't feel the need to participate in that particular facet...and they were just as happy!

Matthew 15:6 Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition!

What about Halloween?  This was a harder pill to swallow for me.  I love to sew!  When my kids were little, I made them costumes every year and we wore them on Halloween (and yes, for a few years, went 'trick-or-treating').  I reasoned that they were little and did not yet understand the darker side of this 'tradition', so it would be okay.  Then, as my kids got older and  I became consciously aware of the negative things I was allowing them to be involved in, we kept them home on that particular night and handed out candy at the front door, still dressed in our homemade costumes.  Now, we put a sign on the door that says 'No Candy' and shut the front light off on that night.  Life as normal commences inside our house.  It was a gradual 'pulling away' from our 'old selves', but in my opinion, a necessary one.  

We eat turkey on Thanksgiving and have a tree in our house for Christmas.  We still have Easter baskets in the Spring and watch fireworks on the 4th of July.  We enjoy these special occasions together,  but our focus is elsewhere.  We've discovered that many of our 'traditions' aren't even celebrated near the time of the event that inspired them!  Jesus was NOT born on December 25th!  The Thanksgiving feast did NOT happen on the fourth Thursday of November!  We don't even celebrate our president's birthdays on the day they actually happened!  We have created 'convenient' times to celebrate certain events.  Our traditions have become our customs.  

It is my opinion that this is okay...as long as we teach our kids the REAL background and reasons for these traditions and don't go overboard.  I'm sure the 12 disciples didn't rush out and go shopping the day after the last supper.  They were more focused on things that are true and noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report.  Philippians 4:8 says If there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on THESE things.  

Keep your focus in the right place and enjoy your family time!

_{*Side note:  As I was writing this article on my laptop, our family dog (URL) came and stood on my Bible.  My daughter (who was close by) immediately broke into song, "I stand alone on the Word of God...the B-I-B-L-E!"}