“God is Bigger Than… The BOOGIE MAN”

Hello Friends,

Welcome to the second Sunday of October! Can you believe that October is half-over and not only will Halloween be on our mind–I bet it is already!–but so will Thanksgiving and Christmas! It seems as if the last three months of the year are going to fly by. However, I think it’s best to focus on the moment, and the moment is telling us that Halloween is just around the corner.

Do you have your costume picked out? Do you have a candy route mapped out? Do you know which house hands out your favorite kind candy? Are you going with friends? Halloween is an exciting time as well as a fun time for many children like yourself, but for some Halloween is scary and frightening. So, staying home with the lights on and handing out candy rather than receiving candy is preferred. However you decide to enjoy the Halloween holiday, I hope you do so in a way that makes you smile, laugh, and not be scared.

When I was your age, many moons ago, I was scared of Halloween. (I was scared of the Christmas Moose that talked and played music at the local Mall where I grew up!) Some of the decorations are creepy, the gigantic skeletons with red eyes scared me, and even some of the customs gave me a fright. Halloween just wasn’t my favorite holiday, until I got a little older. It’s those early days of my Halloween experience that encouraged me to share something with you that helped me overcome my fears.

For you have any fears? To have fear means to be scared of something. Are you scared of creepy, hairy, spiders? Are you scared of slippery, slimy, slithering, snakes? Are you scared of the dark? Are you scared of high places? Are you scared of your parents, your siblings, or your friends at times? What are you scared of? I am scared of being too close to people and not being able to move my arms. When I was little, I was even scared of one of my relatives. But do you know what I learned when I was scared and what helped me to enjoy Halloween? I learned that even though I was scared–that I had fear–God was with me. As a matter of fact, God is bigger than anything I am scared of: He is even bigger than the Boogie Man.

That’s right! God is bigger than the Boogie Man. And you know how I know that? I know this because my friend, Junior Asparagus, from Veggie Tales, told me in a song he wrote. Can I share that song with you?

“So, when I’m lying in my bed

And the furniture starts creeping
I’ll just laugh and say, “Hey, cut that out!”
And get back to my sleeping
‘Cause I know that God’s the biggest
And he’s watching all the while
So when I get scared I’ll think of him
And close my eyes and smile!

God is bigger than the boogieman
He’s bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV
Oh, God is bigger than the boogieman
And he’s watching out for you and me.

So, are you frightened?
No, not really
Are you worried?
Not a bit
I know whatever’s gonna happen
That God can handle it

I’m sorry that I scared you when you saw me on TV
Well that’s okay
‘Cause now I know that God is taking care of me!

God is bigger than the boogieman
He’s bigger than Godzilla, or the monsters on TV
Oh, God is bigger than the boogieman
And he’s watching out for you and me

God is bigger than the boogieman
He’s bigger than Godzilla, or the monsters on TV
Oh, God is bigger than the boogieman
And he’s watching out for you and me
He’s watching out for you and me

Watchin’…
Watchin’…
Watchin’…
Out for you and me, yeah” (Veggie Tales)

So the next time you get scared, just say “Hey, cut that out. My God is bigger than any Boogieman. And he is here to protect me.” It’s okay to be scared. It’s okay to be scared on Halloween and of Halloween (or even a Christmas Moose). But it is not okay to let what we are scared of push us away from God. So remember, with God in your life, no Boogieman will ever scare you again.

Your Friend, Holy Spirit!