Donna
Riner Weber

Five events caused Donna’s life to change:

  • Experiencing Daily Pain and Chronic illness from three lung diseases
  • Retiring early due to Disability
  • Experiencing the Pleasure and Love of becoming a Grandmother
  • Growing Older
  • Feeling God’s Call to share Stories of His Presence in her Life

All these circumstances made Donna look at life in a different way. God impressed upon her heart that she should write stories about His Presence in her life and those of her family.

On days when she feels better, Donna focuses her life on writing, reading, traveling with her husband, and taking photos of loved ones—especially her grandchildren. Brian and Donna are doting long-distance grandparents, who are excited when their grandchildren facetime them.

Donna’s mission is to encourage and teach Christian grandmothers to leave their message of Faith for their family today and for those who will follow them in the future.

Are you ready to be inspired to leave your message of Faith before it’s too late? One way you can do this is through a Faithbook. Check out Donna’s e-book Scrapbook Your Christian Faith—the Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy. You can get this through Amazon Kindle.  

Donna would like for you to savor your memories and write your stories. The Bible says:

If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done. (NLT)

More from Donna Riner Weber

More from Donna Riner Weber

A Christian's Halloween Story

I remember it like it was yesterday. Samuel, my seven-year-old son pranced around ready to put on his Halloween costume.



"Mom, can I put it on now? Please, can I Mom?"



"After dinner."



Pizza, the fast and easy meal had become the Halloween tradition for my son and me. 



As soon as we ate, Samuel raced to his bedroom, put on his scary costume, and grabbed his bag.



"Honey, you understand you can only go in our circle of condos where I can see you."



"I will, Mom. I promise." And with that, he swooshed out the door.



Samuel stayed within the boundaries. While I wanted to keep an eye on him, I also wanted to give candy to any little treat-seekers who ventured our way.



When Samuel returned, the look on his face clawed into my heart.



"Honey, what's wrong?"



He threw his empty trick-or-treat bag on the sofa. 



"Nobody came to the door."



That was one of those "Mommy Moments" I didn't know how to handle. My heart cried.

Why didn’t anyone come to the door?



We were new to that city, so I wasn't comfortable driving him around to strangers' houses. We did the next best thing I could think of. We hung out together and watched a movie.



Years passed. Times changed. Halloween changed. My son grew up. 



There was a lot of emphasis on Halloween beginning as a pagan holiday. Sometimes, Christians were urged not to participate.



I kept asking: So, God, What Should We Do about Halloween?



Brian and I lived in a neighborhood where we expected a lot of little children. What should we do?



We finally figured it out. We turned off the lights and hid out from those little pumpkins.
We could hear the muffled voices of the children and their parents talking and laughing as they traipsed down our street in search of treats.



Brian and I remained silent. Our house remained dark.



Was Hiding in the Dark on Halloween Night the Right Solution?



No! Absolutely not!  

It bothered both of us.



I could still feel the disappointment in my son when no one opened the door for him so many years ago. Now, I don't want to be the one who disappoints other little children.



Besides that, the Bible tells us ...

"... You are to influence them, not let them influence you!" OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) (TLB)

Clearly, we had not influenced anyone hiding in the dark.



Another year passed. More prayers.



Again, Brian and I prayed about how to handle Halloween.



"God, how do you want us to handle this holiday? I believed Halloween was like a children's holiday where parents and children in the neighborhood had fun together. But now, is our participation condoning something evil? I don't think so.  God, please guide us."



After our prayers...



God Gave Us a Halloween Plan! 



We went to the stores and bought little goodie bags and lots of candy. Then we purchased little Christian brochures to put into the bags. We picked out the best ones we could find for little children.



In advance, Brian and I packed our candy and brochures. We decorated our door with a fall wreath and placed a straw doll and talking pumpkin close to our basket of goodies. We flipped on the lights. We were ready to welcome Halloween!



Since we began our Halloween ministry, we've lived in several different states. In the past eight years, we’ve had approximately 750 children come to our door and receive their treat bags. There is no other holiday where Brian and I give out so many tracts about Jesus.



These brochures have the potential to be little seeds for Jesus-maybe hundreds of them as they add up year after year.



"Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know which will grow — perhaps it all will." (TLB)



Now It's Your Turn. How Will You Handle Halloween?

Copyright © 2015 Donna Riner Weber. First published on www.faithwriters.com 10/24/15. Used with permission.