AS HALLOWEEN APPROACHES, CHRISTIANS--LET'S PRAY 

Choose Light Over Darkness

A Christian Message for Halloween  October Monthly Letter “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5 As October arrives and Halloween approaches, I believe Christians have an opportunity to stop, pray, and remember where our hope and protection come from.

Halloween is often presented as simply a night of costumes, candy, parties, and fun. Yet many images associated with Halloween—witchcraft, demons, spells, death, fear, darkness, and the occult—should remind Christians of the importance of spiritual discernment.

The Bible tells us: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)

We Should Be Alert—but Not Afraid

Spiritual warfare doesn't happen only on Halloween. The enemy seeks to influence hearts and minds throughout the year. But as Christians, our response should never be fear. Our response should be faith, prayer, truth, and the Word of God.

God tells us in Ephesians 6 to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand against the schemes of the enemy. That means this October is a good time to pray intentionally over our children, grandchildren, families, homes, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and communities.

If our families participate in fall festivals, trunk-or-treats, neighborhood gatherings, or other activities, let's pray before we go. Let's ask God for wisdom about what our children see, wear, watch, celebrate, and participate in.

And let's teach them something even more important: Jesus Christ is greater than darkness.

People Are Not Our Enemy

We also need to remember an important part of Ephesians 6:12: Our struggle is not against flesh and blood.

People are not our enemy. Our neighbors are not our enemy.

People who celebrate Halloween differently from us are not our enemy.

Instead of responding with hatred or condemnation, let's pray for people, love them, and show them the light of Jesus Christ. Christians should have discernment without fear, conviction without hatred, and courage without condemnation.

Put On the Armor of God God has not left us defenseless.

He tells us to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, and the helmet of salvation—and to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

We don't overcome darkness by becoming consumed with darkness. We overcome darkness by walking in the light of Christ. Not everything our culture considers harmless is necessarily spiritually beneficial. As parents, grandparents, and Christians, we should prayerfully consider what we allow into our homes and what we teach the next generation.

But our focus should always remain on Jesus.

We should never magnify darkness above the power of God.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

A Prayer for Our Children, Families, and Communities

Heavenly Father, As we enter this season, we come before You in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

We lift up our children and grandchildren to You. Surround them with Your protection. Guard their hearts and minds, and give parents and grandparents wisdom and discernment. Father, we pray over our homes, schools, churches, neighborhoods, and communities.

As families participate in fall festivals, trunk-or-treats, and other activities, help us represent Jesus in everything we do. Clothe us with the full armor of God. Help us stand firmly on Your truth and carry the sword of the Spirit—Your Word.

Lord, give us discernment without fear, conviction without hatred, and courage without condemnation. Help us remember that people are not our enemy. Teach us to love our neighbors, pray for them, and show them the hope found in Jesus Christ.

Where there is fear, bring peace. Where there is confusion, bring truth.Where there is darkness, shine Your light.

May our homes belong to You. May our children know You. May our families serve You.

We choose faith over fear, truth over deception, and light over darkness. In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Darkness Does Not Get the Final Word

As Halloween approaches, let's not spend our time being afraid of darkness. Let's spend it shining the light.

Pray for your children. Pray for your neighbors. Pray for your community. Open God's Word. Put on the full armor of God. And look for opportunities to show someone the love of Jesus.

Halloween may contain images of darkness, but darkness does not get the final word. Jesus does. ✝️

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:5

Thank you for reading our first October blog letter. 

If this message encouraged you, please share it with a friend, parent, grandparent, or family who may need this reminder.

God’s True Food Ministry

Feeding the body, mind, and spirit with God's truth.

 2nd Letter of The Month 

October is a month that brings greater attention to cancer, and I believe awareness should include more than screenings and pink ribbons. It should also include understanding some of the everyday factors that may influence our risk over a lifetime.

Cancer is complex, and no one food, product, or exposure explains every diagnosis. But research has identified a number of factors that can increase risk, including tobacco, alcohol, excess ultraviolet radiation, certain infections, obesity, physical inactivity, air pollution, and exposure to certain cancer-causing substances in our environment and workplaces.

Some risks are outside of our control, such as age, family history, and inherited genetic changes. Others give us an opportunity to make more informed choices about what we eat, drink, breathe, put on our bodies, and bring into our homes. 

 As a health coach and author, this is where I like to focus: not on fear, but on awareness. Over the years, my research has led me to look more closely at ingredients and everyday foods many of us rarely question—from wheat and corn to the tortillas we serve on Taco Tuesday.

 Throughout October, I want to share a few of these topics and encourage you to become a more informed consumer. We cannot control everything, but we can learn more about the choices that are within our control.

What’s Really in Your Tortilla?

As a health coach and author, I came to realize years ago through my own research that we need to look more closely at the everyday foods we often assume are harmless.

We hear a lot about wheat and concerns surrounding pesticide use, but I began asking many of the same questions about corn—especially the corn used to make tortillas.

Tacos have become a go-to meal for so many people. They can seem like a simple, wholesome choice, but how often do we stop to think about the tortilla underneath all those fresh toppings?

Traditional masa harina isn’t simply ground corn. It begins with dried field corn that goes through an ancient process called nixtamalization. Traditionally, corn was cooked in an alkaline solution made from wood ash or limestone, soaked overnight, rinsed to remove the outer skin, and then ground by hand on a volcanic stone into fresh masa.

That fresh masa had to be used quickly because there was no dehydration process. Masa-Harina-Guide  https://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=E210US0G0&p=Masa_Harina_Guide+(1).p

Today, the basic chemistry remains similar, but production has become industrialized. Corn can be cooked with food-grade calcium hydroxide, soaked in large stainless-steel vats, mechanically washed, ground in high-speed mills, then flash-dried into the shelf-stable masa harina sold in stores.

But processing is only part of the conversation.

We also need to consider how the corn was grown before it ever became a tortilla. In conventional corn production, herbicides may be used to control weeds and other pesticides may be used to protect the crop from insects or disease. Some agricultural chemicals remain mainly on the outside of the plant or kernel, while others are systemic, meaning they can be taken up by the plant and become present within its tissues.

This distinction matters when corn is turned into masa. The traditional nixtamalization process can help remove a significant amount of material from the surface because the outer skin of the kernel is loosened, dissolved, and washed away. However, your guide points out that systemic chemicals—such as glyphosate, an herbicide used in some conventional corn production,may be present inside the kernel and therefore cannot simply be rinsed away.

That is one reason I encourage people to pay attention not only to how a tortilla is made, but also to where the corn came from and how it was grown. When possible, look for certified organic, non-GMO, or traditionally sourced heirloom corn

Nixtamalization can help remove substances found on the outside of the kernel because the outer skin is dissolved and washed away. However, the guide also discusses systemic agricultural chemicals that may be absorbed into the plant and remain within the kernel rather than simply washing off.

These concerns have become significant enough to enter international discussions surrounding GMO corn, glyphosate, and the corn used for tortillas in Mexico and USA.

Does this mean you have to give up tacos? Absolutely not.
It simply means becoming more aware of what you’re buying. When possible, look for certified organic, non-GMO, or traditionally sourced heirloom corn products.

The guide specifically recommends looking for USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified products, as well as artisanal brands sourcing native or ancestral corn varieties. And if making tortillas from scratch isn’t happening that day—and for most of us, it won’t always happen—there are easy options.

Choose an organic corn tortilla with a short ingredient list, or try a grain-free tortilla, such as one made with cassava or almond flour, if that better fits the way you eat.

A taco may look simple, but the ingredients still matter.
Ask where the corn came from. Ask how it was grown.

Pay attention to how your tortillas are made.
You don’t have to stop enjoying the foods you love. Sometimes better health begins with simply becoming more informed about what’s on your plate.

Want to Learn More?

If you’d like to go deeper into the topics of environmental exposures, cancer risk, and the body’s natural detoxification processes, visit my Books page and explore Toxic America Two or Toxic America: The Next Generation.

These books continue the conversation about the everyday substances we’re exposed to, the choices we can make to support our health, and why becoming an informed consumer matters.

Knowledge gives us the opportunity to make wiser choices—for ourselves and for the next generation.

Renewing Our Minds and Honoring Our Bodies

This morning, as I was spending time with the Lord, my mind began to ponder why so many Christians do not care for their health as well as they could. It also caused me to reflect on my own life.

As a Christian author, my writing has always come from within—from the work of the Holy Spirit guiding my heart. That is how every one of my books has come to life. I simply write about what God has shown me through my own journey, the lessons He has taught me, and the experiences He has brought me through.

For years I have written about health, nutrition, and living a life that honors God. Many people have called me a health coach or health author, but God never called me by those titles. He simply called me to write what He has placed inside my heart. Every time I finish a book, I feel as though I could keep writing forever because God's truth is endless and His work in our lives is never complete.

Our testimonies are one of God's greatest gifts. They allow others to see not only what we have been through but also how faithful God has been in bringing us through every trial. Every struggle, every failure, every victory, and every lesson can become a testimony that gives hope to someone else.

As I reflected this morning, I realized something that goes much deeper than healthy eating.

The real issue is not simply what we put into our mouths. The greater question is this:

Do I trust God enough to surrender every area of my life to Him?

That is where true transformation begins.

Many of us say we trust God with our salvation, yet we struggle to trust Him with our daily decisions, our relationships, our finances, our emotions, our fears, our habits, and even our health. We often ask God to bless us while continuing to live according to the world's patterns instead of His.

The Bible teaches that trusting God requires surrender. Surrender means allowing Him to change the way we think before He changes the way we live. That is why renewing our minds is so important. If our minds are never transformed by God's Word, our actions rarely change for very long.

This is why I write so often about renewing our minds. I believe many Christians, including myself at times, do not fully understand what it truly means.

Renewing our minds is more than learning Bible verses. It is allowing God's truth to replace our own thinking. It means laying down fear and choosing faith, replacing worry with peace, exchanging lies for truth, and allowing the Holy Spirit to shape our character until we begin thinking more like Jesus.

When our minds are renewed, our priorities begin to change. We no longer ask, "What do I want?" Instead, we begin asking, "Lord, what pleases You?"

Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)

*"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—

How Do We Begin Living This Way?

The Christian life is not about trying harder—it is about surrendering more. Every lasting change in our lives begins with trusting God enough to obey Him, even when we don't fully understand His plan.

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." Obedience is not about earning God's love; it is our response to His love.

Here are a few practical steps that have helped me throughout my own journey:

1. Spend time with God every day.
Transformation begins in God's presence. Set aside time each day to pray, read His Word, and listen to the Holy Spirit. The more time we spend with God, the more we begin to think like Christ.

2. Renew your mind with God's truth.
Every day the world competes for our attention. Television, social media, advertisements, and culture constantly influence how we think. God's Word renews our minds by replacing fear with faith, lies with truth, and selfishness with Christ-like love.

3. Take one step of obedience at a time.
God rarely changes everything overnight. Instead, He asks us to trust Him with today's decisions. One act of obedience leads to another, and before long our lives begin to reflect His character.

4. Honor God with your whole life.
Honoring God includes our thoughts, our words, our relationships, our finances, our time, and yes, even what we put into our bodies. Our bodies are a gift from God, and caring for them is one way we thank Him for the life He has given us.

5. Trust God more than your feelings.
There will be days when you don't feel like praying, forgiving, eating wisely, or doing what you know is right. Faith is choosing to obey God even when your feelings say otherwise.

6. Be patient with the process.
God is more interested in your direction than your speed. Spiritual maturity is a lifelong journey. Don't become discouraged when you stumble. Learn from it, get back up, and continue walking with Christ.

As I look back over my own life, I realize every meaningful change God has made in me began with one simple act of obedience. Whether overcoming addiction, changing my lifestyle, writing books, or growing in my faith, each step started by trusting God before I could see the outcome.

That is what renewing our minds really means. It is allowing God to transform us from the inside out until every area of our lives reflects His will.

When we fill our minds with God's truth and care for the bodies He has entrusted to us, we become better equipped to serve Him, love others, and fulfill the purpose He has created us for.

My prayer is that each of us would ask the Lord every morning:

"Father, what is one area of my life that I need to surrender to You today?"

One step of faith. One act of obedience. One day at a time.

That is how God transforms a life.

Dennis M. West