Thanksgiving

I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and offer an excerpt from Peter Marshall's The Light and the Glory on the first Thanksgiving and the events leading up to it.

If any one event could be singled out to mark the turning point of their (the Pilgrim's) fortunes, it would have been what happened on a fair Friday in the middle of March. The men were gathered in the common house to conclude their conference on military instruction, when the cry went up, "Indian coming!"
Captain Standish shook his head, even as he went to look out the window - to see a tall, well-built Indian, wearing nothing but a leather loincloth striding up their main street.
"Welcome!", he boomed in a deep, resonant voice. The Pilgrims were too startled to speak. At length. they replied with as much gravity as they could muster: "Welcome."
"Have you got any beer?" he asked them in flawless English. If they were surprised before, they were astonished now. The Pilgrims looked at one another, then turned back to him. "Our beer is gone. Would you like some ... brandy?
The Indian nodded.
They brought him some brandy, and a biscuit with butter and cheese, and then some pudding and a piece of roast duck. To their continuing amazement, he ate with evident relish everything set before him. Where had he developed such an appetite for English food? How, in fact, had he come to speak English? For that matter, who was he and what was he doing here?
But they would have to wait, for obviously he did not intend to talk until he had finished his repast. Finally the time for answering questions came. His name was Samoset. He was a sagamore (or chief) of the Algonquins, from what is now Pemaquid Point in Maine. He had been visiting these parts for the past eight months, having begged a ride down the coast with Captain Thomas Dermer, an English sea captain who was known to the Pilgrims by reputation. He had been sent out to explore the coast for the Council for New England, the company to whom they would now be applying for a patent. Apparently Samoset's sole motivation was a love of travel, and he had learned his English from various fishing captains who had put in to the Maine shore over the years.
Now they asked the crucial question: What could he tell them of the Indians hereabouts? And the story he told gave every one of them cause to thank God in their hearts. This area had always been the Territory of the Patuxets, a large hostile tribe who had barbarously murdered every white man who had landed on their shores. But four years prior to the Pilgrims' arrival, a mysterious plague had broken out among them, killing every man, woman, and child. So complete was the devastation that the neighboring tribes had shunned the area ever since, convinced that some great supernatural spirit had destroyed the Patuxets. Hence the cleared land on which they settled literally belonged to no one! Their nearest neighbors, said Samoset, were the Wampanoags, some fifty miles to the southwest. These Indians numbered about sixty warriors. Massasoit, their sachem (or chief) had such great wisdom that he also ruled over several other small tribes in the general area. And it was with Massasoit that Samoset had spent most of the past eight months.
Who were the Indians out on the Cape who had attacked them? These were the Nausets, who numbered about a hundred warriors. The previous summer they had attacked Captain Dermer and killed three of his men. The Nausets hated the white man, because several years before one Captain Thomas Hunt had tricked seven of their braves into coming aboard his ship on the pretext of wanting to trade with them. He had taken them, along with twenty Patuxets , to Spain, where he had sold them into slavery.
By the time he was done with his tale telling, it was nightfall. Samoset announced that he would sleep with them, and return in the morning. Captain Standish put a discreet watch on him, but Samoset slept the sleep of the untroubled. And in he morning he left, bearing a knife, a bracelet, and a ring as gifts to Massasoit.
That was the last they saw of him until the following Thursday returned accompanied by another Indian who also spoke English, and was of all things, a Patuxet! The second Indian was Squanto, and he was there to be according to Bradford, "a special instrument sent of God for their good, beyond their expectation." The extraordinary chain of "coincidences" in this man's life is in its own way no less extraordinary than the saga of Joseph's being sold into slavery in Egypt. Indeed in the ensuing months, their was not a doubt in any of their hearts that Squanto, whose Indian name was Tisquantum, was a Godsend.
His story really began in 1605, when Squanto and four other were taken captive by Captain George Weymouth. The Indians were taken to England, where they were taught English. When Squanto finally managed to make it back home and stepped ashore six months before the Pilgrims arrived, he received the most tragic blow of his life: not a man, woman, or child of his tribe was left alive! Nothing but skulls, bones, and ruined dwellings remained. In despair he wandered into Massasoit's camp, because he had nowhere else to go. And that chief, understanding his circumstances, took pity on him. But Squanto merely existed, having lost all reason for living.
That is, that was his condition until Samoset brought news of a small colony of peaceful English families who were so hard pressed to stay alive, let alone plant a colony at Patuxet. A light seemed to come back into Squanto's eye, and he accompanied Samoset when the latter came to Plymouth as Massasoit's interpreter, for the chief himself had come, with all sixty warriors painted in startling fashion.
Out of this meeting came a peace treaty of mutual aid and assistance which would last for forty years and would be a model for many that would be made thereafter. Massasoit was a remarkable example of God's providential care for His Pilgrims. He was probably the only other chief on the northeast coast of America who (like Powhatan to the south) would have welcomed the white man as a friend.
When Massasoit and his entourage finally left, Squanto stayed. He had found his reason for living. These English were like little babes, so ignorant they were of the ways of the wild. Well, he could certainly do something about that! The next day he went out and came back with all the eels he could hold in his hands - which the Pilgrims found to be "fat and sweet" and excellent eating. How had he ever caught them? He took several young men with him and taught them how to squash the eels out of the mud with their bare feet and catch them with their hands.
But the next thing he showed them was by far the most important, for it would save every one of their lives. April was corn planting month in New England as well as Virginia. Squanto showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn the Indian way, hoeing six foot squares in toward the center, putting down four or five kernels, and fertilizing the corn with fish. At that, the Pilgrims just shook their heads; in four months they had caught exactly one cod. No matter, said Squanto cheerfully; in four days the creeks would be overflowing with fish.
The Pilgrims cast a baleful eye on their amazing friend, who seemed to have adopted them. But Squanto ignored them and instructed the young men in how to make the wiers they would need to catch the fish. Obediently the men did as he told them, and four days later the creeks for miles around were clogged with alewives making their spring run. The Pilgrims did not catch them, they harvested them!
Now the corn was planted. Pointing spoke-like toward the center of each mound were three fishes, their heads almost touching. Now said Squanto, they would have to guard against wolves, adding that the wolves would attempt to steal the fish. The Pilgrims would have to guard it for two weeks, until it had a chance to decompose. And so they did and that summer twenty full acres of corn began to flourish.
Squanto helped in a thousand similar ways, teaching them how to stalk deer, plant pumpkins among the corn, refine maple syrup from maple trees, discern which herbs were good to eat and good for medicine, and find the best berries. But after the corn there was one other specific thing he did which was of inestimable importance for their survival. What little fishing they had done was a failure, and any plan for them to fish commercially was a certain fiasco. So Squanto introduced them to the pelt of the beaver, which was then in plentiful supply in northern New England, and in great demand throughout Europe. And not only did he get them started, but he guided in the trading, making sure they got their full money's worth in top-quality pelts. This would prove to be their economic deliverance, just as corn would be their physical deliverance.
The Pilgrims were brimming over with gratitude - not only to Squanto and the Wampanoags who had been so friendly, but to their God. In Him they had trusted, and he had honored their obedience beyond their dreams. So Governor Bradford declared a day of public Thanksgiving, to be held in October. Massasoit was invited, and unexpectedly arrived a day early, with ninety Indians! Counting their numbers, the Pilgrims had to pray hard to keep from giving in to despair. To feed such a crowd would cut deeply into the food supply that was supposed to get them through the winter.
But if they had learned one thing through their travels, it was to trust God implicitly. As is turned out, the Indians were not arriving empty handed. Massasoit had commanded his braves to hunt for the occasion, and they arrived with no less than five dressed deer and more than a dozen fat wild turkeys! And they helped them with preparations, teaching the Pilgrim women how to make hoecakes, and a tasty pudding out of cornmeal and maple syrup. Finally they showed them an Indian delicacy: how to roast corn kernels in an earthen pot until they popped, fluffy and white - popcorn!
The Pilgrims in turn provided many vegetables from their household gardens: carrots, onions, turnips, parsnips, cucumbers, radishes, beets, and cabbages. Also using some of their precious, they took summer fruits which the Indians had dried and introduces them to the likes of blueberry, apple, and cherry pie. It was all washed down with sweet wine made from wild grapes. A joyous occasion for all!
Between meals, the Pilgrims and Indians happily competed in shooting contests with gun and bow. The Indians were especially delighted that John Alden and some of the younger men of the plantation were eager to join them in foot races and wrestling. There were even military drills staged by Captain Standish. Things went so well (and Massasoit showed no inclination to leave) that Thanksgiving day was extended for three days.
Surely one moment stood out in the Pilgrims' memory - William Brewster's prayer as they began the festival. They had so much for which to thank God: for providing all their needs, even when their faith had not been up to believing that he would do so; for the lives of the departed, and for taking them home to be with Him; for their friendship with the Indians - so extraordinary when the settlers to the south had experienced the opposite; for all his remarkable Providences in bringing them to this place and sustaining them.

As I said earlier, this excerpt was taken from Peter Marshall's excellent book, The Light and the Glory, the first in a series he wrote on American history.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pundit or Prophet?

I recently read a fascinating book by Joel C Rosenberg, a work of fiction called The Copper Scroll. It's actually the fourth book in the series. I was vaguely aware of his first book The Last Jihad but never read it. The guy is an interesting combination of influences. He has an inside-the-beltway background, and is an Evangelical Christian from an Orthodox Jewish background. He also has an uncanny knack for writing things that come true. The Last Jihad opens with Muslim extremists using hijacked aircraft in a Kamikaze attack on an American city. So what you ask? He actually wrote this before 9/11. The Copper Scroll deals primarily with a search for Temple treasure supposedly buried since the destruction of the second Temple in 70 A.D. (C.E.) and the tantalizing clues contained in a scroll that was found at the Qumran site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. This scroll was uncovered in 1956 I believe, and was unique in that it was made of copper, not papyrus or animal hide like you would expect. It took scholars 4 years to figure out how to unroll the scroll without destroying it, but once they did, they were surprised. It was unlike any other scroll they had found in that it contained clues to the location of 63 ( I believe) different caches of treasure from the Temple, ranging from gold and silver in enormous quantities to the golden utensils used in the Temple. Archaeologists and scholars have dreamed for over 40 years now about finding this treasure, and what is might portend for the future of Israel and that finding it would be the final capstone to a growing interest in rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.
The book is is quite a page turner and action packed from beginning to end and covers a lot of geopolitical ground very astutely. He also has a new nonfiction book called Epicenter: Why the Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future. I read the first chapter online and it picks up where his fiction leaves off, explaining what he thinks might happen and why. I'm not sure how this guy stayed under my radar for so long except that, politically, I have kind of unplugged myself lately, being pretty burned out and alienated by what has been going on in Washington lately, so the folks I used to listen to regularly, like Rush Limbaugh, I hardly ever hear anymore. I'm also totally out of touch with Christian publishing these days, and although he didn't start out with a Christian publisher, Joel Rosenberg's books are currently being put out by Tyndale (you know, the Left Behind guys). Anyway if you want a fascinating perspective on what's going on in the world, give this guy a read. I know I've got some catching up to do.

Now I'm saying this in Love...

It seems to me that, as dangerous as generalizations are, the Evangelical branch of the Church here in America has lost sight of it's mission in the world, and could stand to spend some time reading the Gospels from a fresh perspective. Standing up for one's values and beliefs in the face of a secular culture is admirable, but lets make sure that we are standing up for the right things. What is really more important? Letting society know that we disapprove of what they stand for and the way they live (even when scripture is clearly on our side), or showing these people the love of Christ? Is it really our primary job to make sure these people know what they are doing is wrong? It seems to me like that is the job of the Holy Spirit. Take a look at how Jesus did it. The main group of people he spent a lot of time pointing out sin to were the ones everyone acknowledged as the religious ones. It seems like we do it backwards. The ones he spent time hanging around are the ones we point fingers at and boycott. Don't get me wrong - moral standards are important, and we should never compromise our beliefs, but Jesus managed to find a perfect balance. He really did love the sinner. These days when "love the sinner but hate the sin" is mouthed, it usually means someone is about to get pounded over the head by someone else's dogma. Jesus loved, touched, spent time with, drank wine with the folks the religious leaders of the day would have nothing to do with. He loved these people, but never compromised his standards. Are we showing the love of Christ by telling someone that because they are a part of a certain lifestyle then we won't do business with them? If Nazareth's local harlot came to Jesus' carpenter shop to commission some new furniture, would he have turned her away because of her lifestyle? I'm thinking not.
It seems that the church is divided into two camps when it comes to certain issues. There are the churches who condone ( or minimize) the sin in question, and there are the churches who condemn the sin and proclaim that they love the sinner in question, but have a funny way of showing it. Scripture is pretty clear that you will know the followers of Jesus by their love, and in my humble opinion, if you have to tell someone that what you are showing them is love, then it might not be. It reminds me of when I hear someone say, "I don't mean to judge." That usually should be followed by the phrase, "but I am going to anyway."
I don't mean to be banging the table over this stuff but it has bothered me for a while. It's kind of like when I was a kid in the Baptist church, and I would read something in the Bible and wondered why we didn't believe that in the church today. I would usually get an explanation when I asked but it frequently sounded like theological double talk.

All I'm saying is that it seems like Jesus reached a lot more people doing it his way than we are by doing it ours. I am currently seeing things being done Jesus' way at the Vineyard more than I ever have anywhere else and it is very refreshing.

Less is More

Well I have officially lost 50 lbs. now, and am feeling much better. I don't get tired quite as easily, and my legs and knees don't bother me quite as much, but I still have a good ways to go...
I set my first goal at 50 lbs. and as an incentive to help motivate myself, declared that I was going to invest in an MP3 player when I hit my mark. Well thanks to the support and generosity of several family members I am now doing my best to fill up a 4g iPod Nano (green, since they don't make a purple one). I actually did do a little research and talked to a few friends who have non-iPod type players as well as my brothers who both have iPods, and decided to drink the Kool-Aid (just kidding, calm down) and buy an Apple product. I have actually been using iTunes for several months and like the way it works. I also enjoy audiobooks, or more accurately, I used to enjoy audiobooks when I worked at a place that rented them many moons ago, but MP3 players are the logical format for listening to the unabridged audiobooks readily available these days so I haven't messed with them much, but now I plan on getting my feet wet.
Back to my first topic though, I have set my next goal and am working on my next 25 pounds. More updates to come!

Bond? James Bond?

Well I have enjoyed Bond movies on TV for years and have several personal favorites that I watch when I see them on, however I don't recall having ever paid to see one in the theater until today. I suppose there haven't been inspiring Bond movies (as far as I'm concerned) since I have been old enough to have a say in what movies I attend. I enjoy most of the Sean Connery ones and the early and mid period Roger Moore ones, but after that they all start to look alike.
I was therefore surprised to find myself interested in the latest Bond movie after having seen a trailer and hearing a little about it. I shrugged when I heard the news about Pierce Brosnan being fired and Daniel Craig being cast. We went and saw it today and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Craig is not another prettyboy who seems afraid to get his suit dirty. The movie starts with him being promoted to double 0 status and portrays him as a efficient, capable killer with a penchant for excessive violence, and he doesn't play to a lot of the standard Bond cliches. When asked the eternal question, "shaken or stirred?", he responds, "Do I look like I give a damn?" Also the plot is actually interesting and not the standard "eccentric rich guy trying to take over the world from his secret hideout" scenario. The movie was a little longer than I expected but it was thoroughly enjoyable and will hopefully breath some life into a franchise that hasn't interested me in years - even when they show them free on tv. I reccommend it. Not deep but lots of fun.

Baby Harkins

I want to congratulate Carter and Kelly Harkins on the birth of their baby boy, Reagan. I will repost the announcement on his site and recommend that you head over there if you want to see some pictures or video. Their site is aboutthebaby.com. You will both be great parents!



HEAR YE! HEAR YE! A NEW KING IN THE REALM!
Trumpet fanfare would not be enough to herald the amazing moment we witnessed today, at 2:32 pm CST. Reagan Dayle Harkins entered the world at 8 pounds, 20.5 inches long and completely and totally healthy and magnificent. Mom spent a few more minutes in surgery having a cyst removed (the hospital was running a two-fer deal) and is recovering remarkably well. Our hearts are filled with a tenderness and love that I must say is surprisingly protective and strong. I've held many babies and never felt what I feel today. This miracle of childbirth, and the amazing cloud of joy and contentment it brings has swallowed us whole. God is beyond good.