THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE...[Under God]

I pledge allegiance
to the flag of the
United States of America,
and to the Republic
for which it stands,
one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.

The pledge of allegiance was formed largely from the vision of three men: Daniel Ford, James Upham, and Francis Bellamy.

Daniel Ford was the publisher of a popular family magazine, The Youth's Companion. Ford's belief in Christ was a great influence on the content of his magazine, and he guided his life and business by Christian principles. With a circulation of nearly half a million, The Youth's Companion was the nation's most read weekly magazine in the late 1800s and early 1890s.

James Upham, head of the magazine's premium department, was disappointed that most public schools did not have their own flags, so he launched a campaign wherein schoolchildren raised funds to purchase a flag from the magazine. As a result, about 30,000 flags were sold and flown for the first time in front of America's schools between 1888 and 1891.

In 1892, the country prepared to celebrate the four hundredth anniversary of Columbus's arrival in America. Pres. Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day, October 12, a national holiday for the first time. Upham wanted children across the country to participate, so he began planning the National Public School Celebration that would center on raising a school flag.

First, a proclamation from the president would be read, followed by prayer and Scripture reading, the singing of "America," and patriotic speeches. Wanting the children to participate more fully, Upham determined that they should recite a salute to the flag. He enlisted the talents of another magazine employee, Francis Bellamy, who had been pastor at the Boston church Daniel Ford attended. Bellamy labored for weeks and finally brought his composition to Upham: I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. It was published in The Youth's Companion on September 8, 1892. Thirty four days later, 12 million schoolchildren across the country recited the pledge of allegiance for the first time.

In 1923 and 1924 the words my flag were changed to the flag of the United States of America. In 1948, a man named Louis A. Bowman proposed to his fellow Sons of the American Revolution that the words under God be added after one nation... following a precedent set by Abraham Lincoln, who had extemporaneously added those same words to the end of his Gettysburg Address. Then, in 1952, William Randolph Hearst caught wind of the idea and began a campaign in his newspapers that helped bring about legislation to officially add under God to the pledge. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved this change on Flag Day, 1954, and proclaimed, "In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most powerful resource in peace and war."

This information is from the book UNDER GOD by Toby Mac and Michael Tait. It is full of wonderful information about our country.

PILGRIMS poem & children's story- freedom to worship

Felicia Hemans's poem:

The breaking waves dashed high,
On a stern and rockbound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky,
Their giant branches tossed;

And the heavy night hung dark,
The hills and waters o'er,
When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conqueror comes,
They the true hearted came;
Not with the roll of the stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of fame;

Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear...
They shook the depths of the desert gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard, and the sea;
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
To the anthem of the free.

The ocean eagle soared
From his nest by the white wave's foam;
And the rocking pines of the forest roared...
This was their welcome home.

There were men with hoary hair
Amidst that pilgrim band:
Why had they come to wither there,
Away from their childhood's land?

There was a woman's fearless eye,
Lit by her deep love's truth;
There was manhood's brow serenely high,
And the fiery heart of youth.

What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine!

Aye, call it holy ground,
The soil where first they trod;
They have left unstained what there they found...
Freedom to worship God.

In my children's book, there is a chapter about the pilgrims. It is a children's book of historical moments in a fantasy genre for young readers...published November 2008 called, THE IMAGINARY JOURNEYS OF BJ AND DOBBIN. It is a print-on-demand book available on line through major book stores or by asking the stores to order a copy. It is also available at Amazon.com.

To view this book go to my website http://web.me.com/dobbinsmommy

The book is about a little girl and her pony named Dobbin. Below is most of the second chapter... about the pilgrims.

Chapter 2
THE JOURNEY TO PAWTUXET

Slowly, BJ and Dobbin approached a small village of huts, where many people were busy putting up buildings. With a smile on her face, a lady stepped away from the other people and came over to greet her.

"Hello, my name is BJ, and this is my pony Dobbin. Who are you?"

"I am one of the pilgrims who has journeyed here from England," the lady said.

"Why are you called pilgrims?"

"Because of our journey to the new world from Plymouth, England."

"What is the name of this village?"

"We are calling this village New Plymouth, after our home in England."

"Did this village have a name before you arrived?"

"The name of the coast area is Cape Cod. We found this place last year, on December 21, 1620."

"Did anyone live here before you arrived?"

"In March of this year,Chief Samoset of the Obenaki tribe came to us and told us about the geography of the coast to the north of New Plymouth. The Pawtuxet tribe had lived here two years before, and all died of an epidemic."

"Are the Indians friendly?"

"Most tribes are very friendly, but the Chief warned us about the Nauset tribe, who live to the northeast of New Plymouth."

"Why did he warn you?"

"They are hostile to Europeans because an English adventurer, named Thomas Hunt, had kidnapped several Nausets and Pawtuxets and took them off to be sold as slaves."

"I hope you don't have any problems with them. What are the people building here?" BJ turned to look at the buildings the other pilgrims were putting together.

"Let's rest awhile under this tree, and I will tell you more." The lady waited until BJ sat down in the shade of the trees next to her before she continued explaining.

"When we arrived we built our houses out of sticks that were woven into frames and plastered over with mud. We made the thatched roofs from grass and called them wattles."

"Yes, I saw those as we came into the village and wondered why you are building these new ones."

"These are made from wood and are more permanent."

"Does everyone work together?"

"Yes, as more pilgrims arrive each year, we will continue our house raising."

"Will the thatched houses be temporary for them, until they can build more?"

"Yes, and all the women work to prepare food and drink for the settlers who come to help".

"Why did you settle here in the New World?" BJ asked.

"We wanted the freedom to worship as we please. We also have found a land of plenty, where there is fish in the ocean and rivers, wild berries, many plants to eat, deer, ducks, geese, and shellfish, such as oysters and clams along the seashore."

"Tell me about your journey from Plymouth, England."

"All the colonists left on two boats called the Mayflower and Speedwell. We had 102 people on board. That Speedwell was leaking badly, and we had to go back to Plymouth, England."

"Did you have enough room on the Mayflower for everyone?"

"Just barely, because we each brought our own bedding, cooking equipment, tools, seeds, livestock and dogs."

"How long did it take?"

"We left together on September 16, 1620, and it took 64 days to sail from Plymouth, England across the Atlantic to the New World."

"Was it cold and rough?"

"Oh yes. we arrived in the middle of winter with many colonists who were ill, and half died of diseases after arriving. Some of the native Indians contracted diseases from our colonists, also."

"Where did you stay on arrival?"

"We stayed on the boat until we could build the temporary housing."

"Did everyone stay?" BJ asked.

"All the colonists stayed. Capt. Jones and his crew left after the first winter and returned back to Plymouth, England with the news for our friends and family that we had arrived safely."

"I'm sure they were happy to hear about your safe journey, but tell me how the Mayflower got close enough to shore to find this place?"

"We brought with us a small boat called a shallop. It took several days to put it together so we could explore the coastline for a permanent place to live. We were very lucky to find this safe harbor. It has fresh water streams and a field for planting."

"What did you plant in the field?"

"The Indians had found corn in an abandoned store the previous winter, and gave it to us."

"Did they help you plant the corn?"

"In the spring, they showed us how to put dead fish under the corn plant for a fertilizer that would make the corn grow stronger," the Pilgrim lady said.

"It sounds like they are very good and generous people."

"They have been very generous and have lived on the land for many centuries. They continue to give us advice on farming, fishing and cooking."

"Is there anything else they have taught you?"

"They taught us how to make the canoes from long strips of birch bark, so they would be my enough to carry on our heads around the rapids or waterfalls."

"Wow, they seem to know everything. But how do you keep the peace between the colonists?"

"When we arrived, the Mayflower Compact was drawn up, and 41 Pilgrim men signed it on November 20, 1620."

"Do you have a church?"

"We spent our first Christmas eve in prayer. We all got together and worshipped as a group."

"What did you do on Christmas day?"

"We worked cutting down trees and making logs for buildings."

"I have enjoyed hearing about your journey and your settlement. I hope you find what you journeyed here for. We must be going now." BJ stood up and reached for Dobbin's reins.

"Please come back in the fall, when we will harvest our corn crop, barley and peas, the lady said, smiling. We will invite Chief Grand Sachem Massasort and his tribe, the Wampanoag, who promised to bring back at least five deer for our first Thanksgiving feast, to celebrate our harvest."

"Thank you, I would love to come back........................"


I'll leave the rest for your imagination. I hope you have enjoyed Felicia Hemans beautiful poem, about the pilgrims and their journey to America...& my story about the pilgrims.

NOONDAY PRAYER MEETINGS

1857-1858 Noonday Prayer Meetings

The elders of the North Dutch Reformed Church of New York City hoped to reverse a decline in Sunday attendance, so in June 1857 they enlisted Jeremiah Lanphier as a lay missionary to launch an ambitious visitation ministry. Within weeks attendance increased, most notably among men... quite the departure from what churches of that time were accustomed to.

Lanphier's endeavors were not without discouragement and frustration. But his regular habit of seeking the Lord's renewed strength did not go unanswered. It thus occurred to Lanphier that perhaps the businessmen of the congregation would also benefit from such a practice, and he set about to organize a weekly prayer meeting held between noon and one o'clock.

The first meeting was held on Wednesday, September 23, 1857, in the churches consistory building at the corner of Fulton and William streets... within a stone's throw of where the World Trade Center would one day stand and fall. Only six men came that day, but a week later there were 20, and the third week there were 40. Almost immediately it was decided that the meetings should be held daily. As the weeks passed, attendance continued to increase and the meeting was moved from room to room as their numbers required. Women began to join the meeting as well, and within six months the entire consistory building was filled.

Soon noonday prayer meetings sprang up throughout the city. The press caught wind of it and began covering the "Progress of the Revival." With the press coverage came increased awareness, and congregations in cities across the country started their own noonday prayer meetings.

More than 1 million people across the country came to Christ, and in many recorded cases, the time of conversion was traced back to the exact day of prayer for the individual.

The noonday prayer revival took place three years before the Civil War. One cannot help but think that God was preparing a country for its darkest hour. Many who went into battle were no doubt prepared for the prospect of death as a result of their noonday prayer encounters.

Taken from the book: "Under God" by Toby Mac and Michael Tait

THE GETTYSBURG ADDRESS...[under God] by Abe-Lincoln

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion... that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Lincoln delivered his two-minute Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, at the dedication of the cemetery at Gettysburg, the site of the battle that arguably turned that tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. So short was his message that many in the crowd did not even realize he was speaking until he was done. But so powerful were the words that shown in a new light on the Declaration of Independence, a document espousing equality for all people. Just 10 months before, on January 1, 1863, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation had declared freedom for the slaves. And whereas the Declaration of Independence put forth freedom for all as an idea, the Gettysburg Address was a bold step toward making a "new birth of freedom" for all, including the slaves, a reality.

The last written draft of the Gettysburg Address contained 265 words. However, as Lincoln stood to deliver the address, he added two words on the spur of the moment: under God. Lincoln's eloquent address is considered one of the finest speeches ever delivered by an American, and the addition of just two words reminds us of a truth that we must not subtract from America's equation: Our future will be assured and secured only as we remain under God, in His grace and guidance.

I would recommend the book UNDER GOD...by Toby Mac and Michael Tait. It's about our freedom.

I think we should all read the Gettysburg address once in awhile or better yet memorize it.

Please leave your comments.

HEIDI...Johanna Spyri[1880]

Johanna Spyri...Swedish born [1827]

After being unceremoniously dumped on the old man by her Aunt Dete, Heidi begins an idyllic life with grandfather, the goats, and Peter the goatherd. Through her natural goodness she melts grandfather's heart. He eventually overcomes his hostility to the villagers and gradually renews old friendships, particularly with Peter's grandmother.

One day Aunt Dete unexpectedly takes Heidi to Frankfurt as a companion to the invalid child, Clara. Heidi has lessons with Clara and learns to read with the help of Clara's grandmother but suffers under the rule of the housekeeper Fraulein Rottenmeier. Away from the freedom of the mountains, Heidi becomes ill and is seen sleepwalking. At first the servants and Fraulein Rottenmeier take her for a ghost. Eventually the kindly doctor makes a correct diagnosis, and Heidi returns to grandfather. Clara visits Heidi, and when Peter pushes her wheelchair over the mountain in a fit of jealousy, Clara learns to walk again to the astonishment of her grandmother and father. With the exception of Fraulein Rottenmeier, everyone who comes into contact with Heidi is transformed in some way in this classic book.

Brenda Wagonner's wonderful book, Storybook Mentors...Grown-up Wisdom From Children's Classics, says this about the story:

Young children often have the ability to forgive quickly, eagerly restoring an adult to the former place of favor following an offense. Also, kids don't appear to get hung up concentrating on their own sins. Perhaps their ability to freely give and receive grace is a part of a child's innocence relatively speaking at least. As Heidi recalled the days in Frankfurt when she gave up on God and stopped saying her prayers, she realized she didn't really deserve to return to Him with no questions asked. Yet when she was ready to go back to Him, she didn't waste any time worrying about rejection.

By the time we've grown into adults, many of us have lost the freedom to eagerly offer grace to others. Likewise, as we gain life experience, we may have difficulty being on the receiving end of unmerited favor. Like the grandfather, it is difficult for any of us to believe God would actually want us back when we have forsaken him.

Do you long to respond to God as Heidi did, eagerly returning to Him after you've spent some time away or turned your back on Him? Do you yearn to accept the grace of God? In the Gospels, the disciple John is called 'the one Jesus loved.' If John were to be asked, "What is your primary identity in life?" He would not reply, "I am a disciple, an apostle, and evangelist, and author of one of the four Gospels," but rather, "I am the one Jesus loves."

Do you know that you are the one Jesus loves? Or do you find yourself holding back from God, turning away from Him because you feel you don't deserve His love anymore? We find accounts of God's unconditional love scattered throughout the Bible, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament. Often, however, and sometimes unaware, we can magnify the part about God's anger when we go away from Him, and think it means He doesn't want us back, or that He is still angry and doesn't love us anymore.

Nestled in the midst of the story of Heidi, we come upon the touching scene many of us may need to revisit as adults, when the child tells the grandfather about the grace of God. Sitting next to the old man, with book in hand, Heidi read the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. When she came to the place in the story where the son wanted to return to the father, Heidi paused and asked the grandfather, "What do you think happens now?" Do you think the father is still angry and will say to him 'I told you so!' The old man sat silently, trance like, gazing at the pictures in Heidi's book. Then she pushed the book gently in front of him and said, "See how happy he is there?" Pointing with her finger to the returned prodigal son, all dressed up in fresh, clean clothes, and standing beside his father. Heidi's story gently reawakened thoughts and feelings the grandfather had long since put to rest.

In the book of Hosea we find another touching account of God's unconditional love. Hosea's love for Gomer, his unfaithful wife, vividly pictures God's love for Israel, His chosen but unfaithful people. Hosea reveals to us the heart of God. How He suffers when we go away from Him, but He never stopped wooing us back, longing for our return.

" My people are determined to turn from me," God said. Then listen to his beautiful heart cry for the return of his beloved in chapter 11. "How can I give up? How can I hand you over? My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused, and I will not carry out my fierce anger. I will not come in wrath."

Are afraid God is mad at you, or is punishing you for your mistakes? Under the old covenant there is no forgiveness for those who remain sinners: the sinner faces judgment. But the God of Jesus does not judge us, for He loves even those who are evil. In a word, the Father of Jesus loves sinners. He is the only God man has ever heard of who behaves this way. Unreal gods, the inventions of men, despise sinners. But the Father of Jesus loves all, no matter what they do. And this, of course, is almost too incredible for us to accept.

As Heidi says, "We can go back!" We don't deserve God's love. No matter how hard we try to be good, we can never earn his love. That's what grace is...unmerited favor. It's a gift, especially for those of us who don't deserve it. And no matter how many times we run away, or how far away we go, we can always go back. When we do, we will always find a loving Father with open arms waiting for us, longing with all his heart for our return.

I love the story of Heidi, whether it is the movie or book. I would recommend Brenda Waggoner's book, Storybook Mentors. It's a lovely book of children's classics with her added touches of inspiration.She is a licensed counselor practicing in Greenville, Texas, who enjoys music, dancing, and great stories. She is also the author of The Velveteen Woman.

"TOO PROUD TO KNOW GOD" - "FORGET YOURSELF"...C.S. Lewis

TOO PROUD TO KNOW HIM

The Christians are right: it is pride which has been the chief cause of misery in every nation and every family since the world began. Other vices may sometimes bring people together: you may find good fellowship and jokes and friendliness among drunken people or unchaste people. But pride always means enmity... it is enmity. And not only enmity between man and man, but enmity to God.

In God you call up against something which is in every respect immeasurable superior to your self. Unless you know God as that... and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison... you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.

...from Mere Christianity

FORGET YOURSELF

How is it that people who are quite obviously up with pride can say they believe in God and appear to themselves very religious? I am afraid it means they are worshiping an imaginary God. They theoretically admit themselves to be nothing in the presence of this phantom God, but are really all the time imagining how He approves of them and thinks them far better than ordinary people: that is, they pay a penny worth of imaginary humility to Him and get out of it a pounds worth of pride towards their fellow men. I suppose it was of those people Christ was thinking when He said that some would preach about him and cast out devils in his name, only to be told at the end of the world that He had never known them. And any of us may at any moment be in this death trap. Luckily, we have a test. Whenever we find that our religious life is making us feel that we are good... above all, that we are better than someone else... I think we may be sure that we are being acted on, not by God, but by the devil. The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself all together or see yourself as a small, or dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether.

... from Mere Christianity

C.S Lewis

FULL SURRENDER...C.S. Lewis

If God was prepared to let us off, why on earth did he not do so? And what possible point could there be in punishing an innocent person instead? None at all that I can see, if you are thinking of punishment in the police court sense. On the other hand, if you think of a debt, there is plenty of point in a person who has some assets paying it on behalf of someone who has not. Or if you take paying the penalty, not in the sense of being punished, but in a more general sense of 'standing with the racket' or 'footing the bill', then, of course, it is a matter of common experience that, when one person has got himself into a hole, the trouble of getting him out usually falls on a kind friend.

Now what was the sort of hole man had got himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor... that is the only way out of a 'hole'. This process of surrender... this movement full speed astern... is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance is no fun at all. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means unlearning all the self- conceit and self -will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death. In fact, it needs a good man to repent. And here comes the catch. Only a bad person needs to repent: only a good person can repent perfectly. The worse you are the more you need it and the less you can do it. The only person who could do it perfectly would be a perfect person... and he would not need it.

...from Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis