The Pumpkin Gospel

This year, I was the official pumpkin carver of our house, too. And, as Joshua told Mamaw that afternoon, I "didn't cut off [my] fingers, either!" I had bought this pumpkin the day before at Weis (for about the same price I paid for the tiny one at Oregon Dairy). That morning we got up and read the "Pumpkin Gospel" first - a book that Mamaw & Papaw from Florida had bought the Bean was he was little since it glowed in the dark. I remember him asking for the light to be turned "OFF" so that the book would glow. I think it was the same year that he could just barely walk and carry a small pumpkin back and forth between our coffee table and window sill until the stem broke.

The Pumpkin Gospel goes a little like this (not word-for-word, although it is a cute book that I would recommend!). When we ask Jesus into our heart, we open our lives to Him (similar to cutting the top off the pumpkin).

But, as we look inside, we see that there's lots of sin in our life, like the mooshey gooshies inside the pumpkin.

So, God begins to clean out our heart, just like we clean out all the junk that we find in a pumpkin.

On a side note, Caleb did not want to get messy this year again! My child that normally attracts dirt said that he didn't want to get yucky, so he tried to dig out the pumpkin with a spoon. But, it didn't work too well. Typically Joshua used to be the one that didn't want to become a mess, and he was all about cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin and separating the seeds to make our snack.

The book continues that God forgives our mess-ups, and He gives us a brand new start, making us clean from the inside out.

As Joshua would separate the seeds, he said "Man, there are a lot of seeds here. There must be something like FIFTY!" At one point he asked me how old Jesus is, and he said that "He must be 59, if he's really old, because that's all that numbers go up to." I explained that numbers go beyond 59, but how do you explain the age of Jesus? He is God - there from the beginning and "to infinity and beyond!"

Joshua went on and on about the number of pumpkin seeds. I said "I bet there are hundreds - we could count them together if you'd like to." His response? Nope - there's more than hundreds! There's FIFTY! Haaa!!! I seriously kept cracking up at his commentary. I loved that he was a HUGE help this year. He did a great job of cleaning off the seeds and putting them in the black bowl while putting the nasty orange junk in the green bowl to be thrown away. I put a pile in front of Caleb, in case it would help him get into the activity. He simply ran away to go play with something else and would come check on us from time to time.

Joshua liked having just a pile in front of him. He was doing GREAT! And we were having fun together. :)

As he would separate the seeds from the junk, I would continue to get piles out of the pumpkin. AND, I would wash my hands and take some pictures, of course. :) Soon our pumpkin was clean! As the book continues, it says that when we are saved and our sins are forgiven, we smile wide and can rejoice! Each page rhymes, and at the bottom of each page, there is a Scripture verse that goes along with the theme.

Then it says that God's love is like a candle, shining deep within us. We are to be the light of the world, reflecting God's love and light to others.

Here is where I stop and say that without a really sharp knife, pumpkin carving is harder than it looks. The boys would tell me what shapes to make the eyes and nose, but I found it to be tough to make everything look exactly even. I think Jack O'Lantern turned out pretty well, though, even with the mama doing the carving rather than Daddy this year. The mouth was the hardest part.

After I finished carving him, I let the boys smell some of the scented small candles I had, and Joshua picked the "green apple" one to put in Jack. Caleb also had fun smelling the different varieties that I had from a gift that I had been given years ago with a whole bunch of small votif candles.

Caleb & Joshua were impressed with the final product! Later that morning, I finished cleaning off the seeds, boiled them in salt water, then brushed them with olive oil and sprinkled them with seasoned salt and baked them in the oven. They are a delicious snack!

 

I cleaned up all our mess and took pictures of my boys with their creation. :)

You can see the green candle in his mouth in the picture below with the Bean.

I loved spending time with my older boys doing a fun activity while the baby slept. It was a great morning!

The next night, after it got dark (thus the PJs on), I showed the boys that we light the candle and how the pumpkin shines. They thought this was really neat-o!

It was raining and a little windy, but our pumpkin turned out great. Now I realize he is starting to mold (and I'm the official trash woman while Daddy is healing!) so we'll see how fun it is to throw him away. But, I think it's great to have Jack on our front porch. Happy Fall!

Praising God for His truth and gospel - a message so simple that it can be conveyed through pumpkin carving. We believe God and ask him to enter our hearts, He cleans out our junk and makes us "new" again by forgiving our sins with His blood, and then we are to reflect His light and goodness to us to the rest of the world. Something as simple as a smile can let others know that we're different because of what God is doing in our hearts. :)