Prayables - Peter 5:8 - Scripture

Blog: Ugly Pumpkins

I love pumpkin: pie, seeds, bread, and soup.

Just like the ugly scarecrow and the ugly gargoyle, the ugly jack-o-lantern was designed to "ward off evil spirits." I always thought this was a hilarious approach: ward off evil with an ugly decoy! Does that make sense to you?

I prefer the idea of warding off evil with its opposite. What's the opposite of evil?

Good, decent, courteous. There's no need to fear darkness. Or even respond to it. We dispel ugliness by being beautiful.

I once worked with a woman who celebrated her feminine beauty every day. She didn't wait for Halloween to dress up as something exciting. She didn't need permission, excuses or an invitation to a Masquerade Ball to let her glorious self shine 'til you squinted. She had a wild laugh, lioness hair, ooh-la-la shoes and an overall cayenne approach to life that I admired. Eva took great care of her mom when she was in cancer treatment, she raised two sons mostly as a single Mom, and she was savvy enough to invest in real estate. And did I mention that she could tear up a salsa dance floor?

Eva's cup was so full of good deeds, festivities and adornments that made everyone smile, she raised the atmosphere of wherever she was. I think of Eva as an example of embodying the Light of my Creator, and seeing every day as a special occasion to shine.

- Erika Harris

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

Peter 5:8

Joke: Halloween Jokes

A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard on St. Hallow's Eve. All of a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts searching for the source.

He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming from a grave with a headstone that reads: Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827. Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to return with him.

By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being played backward.

Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th.

By the next day the word has spread and a throng has gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being played backward.

Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group. Someone in the crowd asks him if he has an explanation for the music.

"Oh, it's nothing to worry about" says the caretaker. "He's just decomposing!"

READ MORE HALLOWEEN JOKES!