LOOKING FOR ANSWER

I have mixed feelings about how our family should be involved in Halloween. What should I do?
We encourage each family to develop their own approach to Halloween based on their own convictions and the options for celebration available to them.

LOOKING FOR ANSWER

Is it true that the name Easter is pagan in origin?
The origins of Easter can be traced to several pre-Christian cultures.

MY ANSWER

What's wrong with being a "Christmas and Easter" Christian?
Billy Graham writes, "Do you go to church on these occasions just because it's the customary thing to do? You see, Christmas and Easter both point us to great and profound truths ..."

MY ANSWER

Is Thanksgiving a religious holiday?
Billy Graham writes, "Thanksgiving should still be a time of thanking God for all His blessings to us, both as individuals and as a nation."

MY ANSWER

My relatives are all supposed to get together on Christmas, and I dread it. Should I just call at the last minute and say we're sick?
Billy Graham writes, "What you should do instead is ask God to help you be a peacemaker when you get together with relatives this Christmas."

MY ANSWER

Our neighbors think Christmas is just a time to have family fun, with no religious meaning. How can we get them thinking about the real meaning of Christmas?
Billy Graham writes, "Pray for an opportunity to share what Christmas means to you—that God sent His Son into the world on that first Christmas to show us His love."

MY ANSWER

I know Christmas is supposed to celebrate the birthday of Jesus, but is there more to it than that?
Billy Graham writes, "At Christmas, we celebrate nothing less than the most important event in human history: the moment when God came down from heaven and became a man."

MY ANSWER

I'd like to start my life all over again. What do you think I ought to include on my list of New Year's resolutions?
Billy Graham writes, "Don't make the mistake of thinking you can change your life by yourself. You need Christ—and He wants to help you, because He loves you."

MY ANSWER

Do you think it's useless to make New Year's resolutions, because we'll just end up ignoring them?
Billy Graham writes, "Yes, many people make long lists of resolutions—and promptly break them or forget them. But this won't happen if you first ask God to show you what kind of person He wants you to be."

MY ANSWER

My mother and I have had kind of a rocky relationship over the years. I know I ought to apologize to her but somehow I can't.
Billy Graham writes, "Don't let pride, or fear or anything else keep you from doing what is right. Instead, pray for your mother, and ask God to help you reach out to her."

MY ANSWER

I was looking forward to retirement, but now that it's here I'm not satisfied. Why?
Billy Graham writes, "Today our nation celebrates Labor Day, and it's good for us ... to think about what the Bible says about work. This will help answer your question."

MY ANSWER

We lost almost everything in Hurricane Katrina, and with Thanksgiving coming up I'm having a hard time being thankful.
Billy Graham writes, "My heart goes out to you and to the hundreds of thousands of others who have gone through this terrible disaster (and others our nation has suffered in recent months)."

MY ANSWER

Which is more important in your thinking, Christmas or Easter?
Billy Graham writes, "Both are equally important, because both were an essential part of God's plan. Without Christmas, there would be no Easter—and without Easter, Christmas wouldn't matter."

MY ANSWER

Do you think it does any good to make a list of New Year's resolutions?
Billy Graham writes, "It's good to examine our lives from time to time to see where we fall short, and then resolve to bring about some changes, with God's help."

MY ANSWER

Our children are all grown up and gone, so what do you think Mother's Day should mean to us now?
Billy Graham writes, "For one thing, it should be a time of thanksgiving as we remember our own mothers and thank God for them. Where would we be without them?"

MY ANSWER

I'm tempted to cancel the annual Thanksgiving gathering at our house because it always ends with everyone getting mad. Do you have any suggestions?
Billy Graham writes, "Instead of avoiding this family gathering, why not ask God to help you be a peacemaker in your family? Jesus said, 'Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God' (Matthew 5:9)."

MY ANSWER

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a happy time, but, in the last year, my father passed away and my mother's health is declining.
Billy Graham writes, "Yes, your Thanksgiving may be tinged with sadness this year—and that is to be expected ..."

MY ANSWER

If you could make just one New Year's resolution for the coming year, what would it be?
Billy Graham writes, "If I could make only one resolution it would be this: that I might become more and more like Christ during the coming year. This, after all, is God's will for every one of His children."

MY ANSWER

I always end up breaking my New Year's resolutions. What's wrong with me?
Billy Graham writes, "As you've discovered, it's far easier to make a resolution than to keep it."

MY ANSWER

I'm really dreading Easter this year because it will be the first big holiday since my husband died.
Billy Graham writes, "I can understand how you feel, and I know many people reading this understand also, because they too are grieving the loss of a loved one."