Most people are not aware that the Pilgrims arrived in the new world in November of 1620--one year before the day we commemorate as the first Thanksgiving.

The Pilgrims had endured a 9 week ocean journey for one reason only, freedom. Freedom to worship God in their own way.

They contracted with the Virginia Company and were to have established a colony in northern Virginia. But when land was sighted, they found themselves in a wilderness "many leagues to the north" at a place we call today, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. At last, their journey come to an end. The Pilgrims knelt on the deck of the Mayflower during their morning prayer time and thanked God for their safe arrival.

Now what? 

Some of the "strangers" (non pilgrims) quickly saw this as an opportunity to be a law unto themselves. "They would not be bound by the Virginia patent." Elder Brewster, the Pilgrim's religious leader, saw this as unacceptable and so the Mayflower Compact came to be.

"If the Mayflower passengers were not under the laws of Virginia, then they would make their own law, and agree to abide strictly by it."* The Compact:

In the Name of God, Amen. We, whose names are underwritten, the loyal; subjects of our dread sovereign Lord King James, by the grace of God, of Great Britain...having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith, and the colony in the northern parts of Virginia, do, solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise all due submission and obedience... In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod the 11 of November...1620.

From this simple mutual agreement, took form the first American Commonwealth, the beginning "of government of the people, by the people, for the people."

...It had been a difficult journey. Bradford tells us that, of the 103 Mayflower Pilgrim disembarking passengers, 51 of these died during the first New England winter. However, this stalwart band of settlers who had braved the dangerous seas and inhospitable New England shores, to live their lives in harmony with God's Holy Scriptures, preserved in prayer, obedience and praise to Almighty God.** 

The Pilgrims lived aboard the Mayflower during that first winter as there was little opportunity to build individual houses. The able men went ashore to explore and build a common house to be used to store their goods.

By Christmas the large house was about finished. "...provisions and ammunition were brought ashore and stored in it. In the remaining space the sick beds lay end to end."

At times there were few well enough to tend to the sick, but tend them they did. Be they their Christian brothers and sisters or the Mayflower crew members, who were not at all kind to the Pilgrims, they were all treated with tender mercies by the Pilgrim people. William Bradford writes:

[They] spared no pains, night or day, but with abundance of toyle and hazard of their owne health, fetched them woode, made them fires, drest them meat, made their beads, washed their lothsome cloaths, cloathed and unclothed them; in a word did all ye homly and necessarie offices for them which dainty & quesie stomacks can not endure to hear named; & all this willingly and cherefully, without any grudging in ye least, whewing herein their true love unto their friends...

In the fires and ice of that first winter, their spirits were steel-tempered to build a nation of men and women who would never turn back in quest of freedom and justice and brotherhood.*

The Pilgrims had a rough first year. Is it any wonder they celebrated with a feast of Thanksgiving to the Almighty to mark their first harvest and first year in their new land?

A blessed Thanksgiving to you and yours. We have much to be thankful for. In addition to the material blessings I have, I thank God for these strong, "steel-tempered" godly men and women who had the grit to survive. They set our country on the path of liberty and for that, I am grateful.

* The Landing of the Pilgrims, by James Daugherty, a Landmark Book 

**The Rewriting of America's History, by Cahterine Millard 

George Washington's Thanksgiving  Proclamation

Please, comment content should relate to the subject of the post. Although I try to respond to many, do not interpret my lack of a response as agreement.

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Alexis de Tocqueville, a French nobleman and political scientist, came to America in 1831, seeking to find just what made America so great. This is what he said:

"I sought for the key to the greatness and genius of America in her harbors; in her fertile fields and boundless forests; in her rich mines and vast world commerce; in her public school system and institutions of learning. I sought for it in her democratic Congress and in her matchless Constitution."

But Alexis did not find the cause for America's greatness in any of those assets. It was not until he visited America's churches and heard the preaching of righteousness therein did he, "understand the secret of her genius and power".

He concluded: "America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."

Alexis' summation of our country was Scripturally sound. Proverbs 14:34 says, "Doing what is right makes a nation great, but sin will bring disgrace to any people."

"America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!"

We have had an amazing 232 years and I am thankful to have been born in this great country.

So, Happy Birthday America: may you continue to be great and good!


Adapted from a July 2006 posting on brookfield7

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS.  domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.27 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions. 

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Do you have Memorial Day traditions? Actually, we don't. July 4th seems to have its usual rhythm: Brookfield parade or auto show at Holz in the morning and fireworks at Elm Grove Park in the evening. But somehow with Memorial Day nothing has clicked.

Maybe this year we will catch the 10:30 AM parade in Elm Grove since we live close by. There is also that wreath ceremony at a Civil War Soldier's grave at Oak Hill Cemetery.  I noticed at the Elm Grove Library a flier for a pre-parade pancake breakfast at the Elm Grove Women's Club. These are at least some Memorial Day options. What I don't like to see are holidays that become just an excuse for retailers to hold special sales.

While driving today, I caught a bit of Vicki McKenna's show. She suggested watching some good patriotic movies this Memorial Day weekend. Listeners called in with their favorites and she posted a list.  I thought that was a good idea--especially if the weather is chilly. Memorial Day, after all, is about remembering those soldiers who died to protect our rights, liberate others, and make our country free.

I stopped at the library to get a few good movies and found one not on her list. It is D-Day with Robert Taylor, Richard Todd and Edmond O'Brian. I have never seen it.

I was hoping to find The Lost Battalion, a HBO movie, based on a true story, with Rick Schroder. That one I did see before and thought it excellent. It is very bloody, but tells of the amazing courage of one man who just refused to give up. His perseverance to hold the territory in the Argonne Forest resulted in defeating the Germans. He portrayed a very godly man who was just set on doing the job given to him. I love to read or watch movies of ordinary people who do courageous things.

Another good movie on the list is the Tuskegee Airmen. This movie was very interesting because it told of the first squadron of Black Airmen during WWII and the prejudice they encountered. These men were real heroes and if memory serves correctly, earned the reputation of best support fliers for the bomber squads. Look for them the next time you are at the library.

Please share any of your favorite movies or traditions. 

I hope you enjoy your weekend and if you are a person of faith, take a moment to thank God for the brave men and women who gave their lives to make us and others free.

Don't forget the Music Concert to Benefit Chinese Quake Victims, Saturday, May 31st, 10AM - 1PM, Brookfield Civic Plaza

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Thursday, May 1st, is the National Day of Prayer , a day set aside to pray for our country.

When I look at the problems in our world, nation, state, community, and our schools, it becomes very clear to me that our intellect and financial resources alone cannot solve these problems. Our founding fathers realized this early in our country’s history too.

According to the National Day of Prayer website, “The National Day of Prayer is a vital part of our heritage. Since the first call to prayer in 1775, when the Continental Congress asked the colonies to pray for wisdom in forming a nation, the call to prayer has continued through our history, including President Lincoln's proclamation of a day of "humiliation, fasting, and prayer" in 1863. In 1952, a joint resolution by Congress, signed by President Truman, declared an annual, national day of prayer.”

In recent years, there has also been an open invitation for people of faith to meet on this day at their local city hall from 12:20 pm – 12:40 pm for 20 minutes of prayer.

Last year was the first time I made it to City Hall for this special time. This is what happened in 2007.

I arrived at city hall a few minutes late and was rather expecting to see a small group at the 3 flag poles on the plaza but didn't. There just was a maintenance worker eating lunch at a picnic table and 2 people seated on the ledge by the POW memorial plaque. 

 

Although I did not really expect anything inside City Hall due to today's mistaken separation of church /state stance, I checked there anyway. Nothing there. Back outside, I thought I would walk past the man and woman seated by the plaque. I realized as I got closer the man was Cater Doering--the veteran who petitioned city hall for the city to fly the POW flag.

 

Carter recognized me and as I approached, I saw the woman was holding up a Declaration of Independence. They were reading it together and commenting about how many references there were about our Creator, etc. I asked if I could join them. Soon after, 2 separate vehicles pulled up and parked. A woman got out of each and asked if they could join us.

 

We then stood in a circle, joined hands and prayed. Each of us prayed at least once for our nation, city, soldiers, POW/MIAs, our country's youth, the president, etc. There was also thanksgiving for the foiled terrorist plots and the protection our nation has been blessed with since 9/11. It was a great experience.

 

Here I did not know the 3 women at all, but it did not matter because we were there for a common purpose. We must have prayed there about 15 minutes or so, then the 2 women had to get back to work.

Poor Saint Patrick. Almost everything we associate with the holiday today has little to do with the real Saint Patrick.

Saint Patrick's Day decorations and themes often consist of  leprechauns, 4-leaf clovers for luck, pots of gold, green snakes, and of course, green beer. Did I mention green beer?

None of these things have anything to do with Saint Patrick, who was a real man born in the 4th century.

Patrick was born in the area of Britain we now call Wales, somewhere around 372-397 AD.  Although he was raised in a Christian home, he himself was not yet a Christian. Kidnapped by Irish raiders as a teen, he was taken to Ireland as a slave for 6 years.*

"Patrick worked as a herdsman, remaining a captive for six years. He writes that his faith grew in captivity [through teachings and scripture he memorized as a child], and that he prayed daily.  After six years he heard a voice telling him that he would soon go home, and then that his ship was ready. Fleeing his master, he traveled to a port, two hundred miles away he says, where he found a ship and, after various adventures, returned home to his family, now in his early twenties.^[11] "

Feeling the call to return to Ireland to convert the Druids, Patrick studied the Bible. It is said however that he was not formally educated*--at least not in the traditional way of priests. He did not let this stop him from returning to Ireland.

"Patrick was quite successful at winning converts. And this fact upset the Celtic Druids. Patrick was arrested several times, but escaped each time." 

"They baptized many thousands, probably tens of thousands. Patrick's mission planted about 700 churches. Within his lifetime, 30 to 40 (or more) of Ireland's 150 tribes became substantially Christian." (The Celtic Way of Evangelism, page 23)

He preached salvation through faith in Christ and "fought against the start of Pelagianism, the denial of original sin and affirmation of man's ability to be righteous by the exercise of free will."*

"He died in Ireland in approximately 461 AD."* on March 17th. 

See, not a green beer in the whole story!

As for the other symbols:

...He also is said to have given a sermon from a hilltop that drove all the snakes from Ireland. Of course, no snakes were ever native to Ireland, and some people think this is a metaphor for the conversion of the pagans. Though originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has evolved into more of a secular holiday.

One traditional icon of the day is the shamrock. And this stems from a more bona fide Irish tale that tells how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

The shamrock representing the trinity always made sense to me. Not too surprising, even that got hijacked into a 4-leaf clover symbolizing LUCK. (Luck is not a Christian symbol in that it bypasses God's providence.) 

It is rather sad that a day honoring a great Christian missionary like Saint Patrick, who preached the Gospel of Christ so faithfully, has evolved into a day of drunkenness. But now at least you know a little more about the real St. Patrick. 

Links: Brookfield7, Betterbrookfield,  Vicki Mckenna 

Today is President's Day. Tomorrow is the Presidential spring primary. It's been an unusual campaign, to say the least.

When you consider the three major candidates in the running for president, think about how far we have come as a nation.  Back in 1789 when George Washington was inaugurated, African Americans and women did not have the right to vote much less run for public office. Not all white males had voting rights either; property ownership was required.

Think about how the major candidates don't fit the typical presidential candidate mold, yet each is winning primaries.

Very Liberal African American male: OK

Liberal middle-aged white woman: OK

Middle-of-the-road older white man: OK 

But what happened to the Conservative, young, white man who spoke Reaganese? He was REJECTED. Why? Because of his religion.

Many conservatives and Evangelicals like me were at first cautious about Romney, but as time went on, I realized Mitt stood for what I stood for: Freedom of religion. His Faith in America speech was outstanding in my estimation. It beautifully summed up the sentiments and intent of our Founding Fathers regarding the role of Faith in our nation.

Recall the early days of the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia, during the fall of 1774. With Boston occupied by British troops, there were rumors of imminent hostilities and fears of an impending war. In this time of peril, someone suggested that they pray. But there were objections. They were too divided in religious sentiments, what with Episcopalians and Quakers, Anabaptists and Congregationalists, Presbyterians and Catholics.

Then Sam Adams rose, and said he would hear a prayer from anyone of piety and good character, as long as they were a patriot. And so together they prayed, and together they fought, and together, by the grace of God, they founded this great nation.

In that spirit, let us give thanks to the divine author of liberty. And together, let us pray that this land may always be blessed with freedom's holy light.

God bless this great land, the United States of America.

Reagan conservatives were heartbroken when Romney delivered his concession speech. I found it rather curious, that this election seemingly indicates we have overcome racial, gender, and age bias. But when it came to religious discrimination, that was one hurdle we still could not jump as a nation.  

I do remember the controversy over Kennedy's Catholicism and where his allegiances would lie. Yet he managed to overcome those fears. When John Kerry ran in 2004, his Catholicism (allegiance) was not an issue. Perhaps in the future religious prejudice will no longer be an issue for Mitt Romney either?

Primary Election Picks: Sutton, Halmstad, and...Hillary?

Fountain Brook Crossing: Council votes on rezoning, Tuesday, Feb. 19 

Links: Betterbrookfield,  Vicki Mckenna 

 

 

Thanksgiving, like many other holidays and historical events these days, is losing its original significance. Christmas has de-evolved into a holiday gift getting frenzy--totally ignoring the birth of Christ, the original reason for the holiday. Easter no longer celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ but instead is a time of Easter egg hunts, bunnies and ham dinners.

Thanksgiving lately is either skipped over entirely as the world of retail moves immediately from Halloween to Christmas Holiday decorations and catalog ads. If the November holiday is mentioned, it is now a time set aside for "Turkey Day" and thanking those around us. My son was given a children's music tape by Steve Chapin that had a whole song about Thanksgiving being a time to have a family dinner and thanking the earth for food! This is not what Thanksgiving was ever intended to be.

Thanksgiving is a holiday celebration set aside to thank the Almighty for His providential care for us. Not to thank the earth. Not to thank your wife or neighbor or baby sitter. I don't have a problem with thanking people; I think we should thank those who work hard or are helpful. It is just that thanking those around us was not the original intent of the holiday.

Lest you think I am indulging in a little revisionist history of my own, read this post from Thanksgiving 2006 to see what our first president had to say about this holiday. 

“The father of our country understood that every action he took while president would establish a precedent for future officeholders, and he kept that in mind throughout his eight years in the White House. He wanted to make certain that future presidents acted with humility and respected the separation of powers among the three branches of government.”

That quote came directly from, The Everything American Government Book. Keep that quote in mind, that George Washington understood that every action he took established precedent, as you read his Thanksgiving proclamation of 1789.

Other presidents have made Thanksgiving proclamations since Washington. Tom Gehl included excerpts from Lincoln’s proclamation in his excellent blog piece from last year, For The Giving of Thanks.