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All
the Bible verses in this edition of The Presidential
Prayer Team
for Kids Update are from The New Living Translation
of the Bible.
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1.
As people across our country get
ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, pray
that a true spirit of thanks and gratitude
to God will rise up everywhere.
Pray that people will recognize how very
much they have to be thankful for, because
God has been so good to our nation.
2.
Remember to tell
God thank you for all the blessings he has
given you--your home and your
family, even your school and your church.
Remember to tell Him you love Him. You can
even ask God to help you develop a more
thankful heart!
3.
Since lots of people will be
traveling over the holidays, pray
for the safety of everyone. Pray
that people will drive carefully, and ask
God to protect all Americans as they fly
or take trains or boats during the holiday
season.
4.
It is still really important
to pray for our
troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Pray that they will be safe, and that God
will protect them from harm. Pray also that
our troops will be successful in defeating
those who are working against democracy
in those countries.
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Secretary
of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld
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Secretary
of Treasury
John Snow
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President
George W. Bush prays with troops
before sharing Thanksgiving dinner
at Fort Campbell, KY, in November
of 2001. "This Thanksgiving, Americans
are especially thankful for our
freedom," said the President. And
we are especially thankful to you,
the people who keep us free," he
told the troops.
Photo courtesy of the White House.
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President
Bush has these special words for all Americans
as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.
As
the Pilgrims did almost four centuries
ago, we gratefully give thanks for the
beauty, abundance, and opportunity this
great land offers. We also thank God
for the blessings of freedom and prosperity;
and, with gratitude and humility, we
acknowledge the importance of faith
in our lives.
Throughout the Thanksgiving holiday,
let us renew our commitment to make
our country and our world better...
--George W. Bush
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Praise
the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for He
is good! His faithful love endures forever.
Who can list the glorious miracles of the
Lord? Who can ever praise Him half enough?
--Psalm 106:1-2
No
matter what happens, always be thankful,
for this is God's will for you who belong
to Christ Jesus.
--1 Thessalonians 5:18
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The
most important thing about Thanksgiving
is to be thankful! That's right. It may
seem obvious, but sometimes with all the
other things going on, we can forget what
the day is all about.
Since
you are a member of The Presidential
Prayer Team for Kids, you are the perfect
person to help everyone remember the purpose
of Thanksgiving! You can start out by remembering
to express your thanks to your teachers,
parents and other loved ones for the many
good things they do for you every day. Try
to use some meaningful words when you express
your thanks, like: "Mrs. Smith, I'm really
glad you're my teacher," or "Mom, you make
the best dinners ever! Thanks!" You'll find
that the more you practice an attitude of
gratitude the better you'll get at it.
Read
the poem below. We're including it here
so you can share it with your family on
Thanksgiving. Perhaps you could ask your
mom or dad if you could read this poem at
the dinner table, before or after the meal.
Or you could even use it as your mealtime
grace for your Thanksgiving feast. You could
make a copy for each person around your
table and ask that everyone read it together.
There are lots of ways you can use this
poem. What ideas do you have?
Lord, behold our family here assembled.
We thank Thee
For this place in which we dwell;
For the peace accorded us this day,
For the hope with which we expect tomorrow;
For the health, the work, the food
And the bright skies that make our lives
delightful,
For our friends in all parts of the earth,
and our friendly helpers...
Let peace abound in our small company.
--Robert Louis Stevenson
Scottish novelist and poet, 1850-1894
Click
here to print this poem as a poster.
Image courtesy of myfreeclipart.com. |
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Did
you know that the whole story of Thanksgiving
started with a group of people called
the Pilgrims? They were devout Christians
in search of a place to settle where they
could freely worship God. The Pilgrims
did not want any government telling them
which religion they had to follow or what
ideas they had to believe.
Originally
from England, the Pilgrims moved to the
Netherlands to see if they could find
religious freedom there. Things went well
for awhile, but eventually they decided
they couldn't stay because they didn't
like the influence of that place on their
children.
In
time the Pilgrims (who were also called
Separatists) came to believe that if they
were to preserve their religious freedom
they would have to create a new place
to live where God's laws were honored
and obeyed--perhaps a new colony in the
New World. They fasted and prayed and
asked God's help in deciding where to
go and what to do. Jamestown, Virginia
became their intended destination. But
God had a different plan for them!
Embarkation
of the Pilgrims
by Robert W. Weir.
Image courtesy of the Architect
of the Capitol. |
This
painting, called Embarkation of the
Pilgrims, shows the leaders of the
Pilgrims, including William Brewster holding
the Bible, Pastor John Robinson, Governor
Carver, William Bradford, Miles Standish,
and their families in prayer as they were
preparing to leave Delft Haven, Holland
on July 22, 1620. This ship was called
the Speedwell and they planned
to take it all the way to Virginia. They
sailed to the coast of England to meet
up with the merchants who would accompany
them in another ship called the Mayflower.
Both ships began the journey, but the
Speedwell started leaking so badly
that the Pilgrims dared not go any further
in it. They headed back to England, and
eventually sold the Speedwell.
Everyone got on board the Mayflower
and they all sailed together in one ship--one
fairly small ship! It was tiny compared
to the large vessels that cross the ocean
today.
This painting
shows the Mayflower at anchor
off the coast of Cape Cod.
Painting courtesy of Pilgrim Hall.
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Though
their intended destination was Virginia,
the Mayflower ended up sighting land just
off the coast of what is now Cape Cod,
Massachusetts. After the rough ocean journey,
they were happy to see this spot!
Anchoring
their ship in a safe spot in Plymouth
Harbor, Massachusetts, they would face
many challenges, including the cold November
winter that had set in.
This painting
by an anonymous artist shows one
idea of what it looked like when
the Pilgrims finally came ashore
in Plymouth.
Painting
courtesy of Pilgrim Hall. |
Governor
Bradford reported on their landing with
these words, (Note: You'll see that Governor
Bradford wrote and spoke an older form
of English. Some spellings are different,
but if you use your imagination, you can
get his meaning just fine.) "Being thus
arrived in a good harbor and brought safe
to land, they fell upon their knees &
blessed ye God of heaven, who had brought
them over ye vast & furious ocean, and
delivered them from all ye periles & miseries
therof, againe to set their feete on ye
firme and stable earth, their proper elemente…
Being thus passed ye vast ocean, and a
sea of troubles before in their preparation
(as may be remembred by ye which wente
before), they had now no friends to wellcome
them, nor inns to entertaine or refresh
their weatherbeaten bodys, no houses or
much less townes to repaire too, to seeke
for succoure. What could not sustaine
them but ye spirite of God & His grace?"
Click
here for another artist's look at the
landing of the Pilgrims.
The
First Thanksgiving
by Brownscombe.
Image courtesy of Pilgrim Hall.
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As
Governor Bradford observed, things went
from rough to tough for the Pilgrims,
but they didn't let that stop them, because
they believed they were on a mission with
God. It would have been great if they
had landed somewhere with a settlement
and buildings and people who could welcome
them. But since there was nothing there,
the Pilgrims had to build their homes
and settle in during a very harsh and
cruel winter. Many became sick and died,
but those who lived kept on trusting God
and working hard. They planted many crops
and in the fall of 1621 they had a good
harvest--so good and so plentiful that
they felt they must celebrate and thank
God for His help.
Governor
William Bradford showed his godly leadership
by calling for a big feast. Three days
were set aside to give thanks to God and
celebrate the help He had given the Pilgrims.
Bradford invited all the members of the
Plymouth Colony and all the Indians who
lived nearby. The first Thanksgiving was
born! Here is part of a passage from Governor
Bradford's own pen, but this time the
language has been modernized:
They
began now to gather in the small harvest
they had, and to fit up their houses and
dwellings against winter, being all well
recovered in health and strength and had
all things in good plenty. For as some
were thus employed in affairs abroad,
others were exercised in fishing, about
cod and bass and other fish, of which
they took good store, of which every family
had their portion. All the summer there
was no want; and now began to come in
store of fowl, as winter approached, of
which this place did abound when they
came first (but afterward decreased by
degrees). And besides waterfowl there
was great store of wild turkeys, of which
they took many, besides venison, etc.
Besides, they had about a peck of meal
a week to a person, or now since harvest,
Indian corn to that proportion. Which
made many afterwards write so largely
of their plenty here to their friends
in England, which were not feigned but
true reports.
This photograph
from Plimoth Plantation shows what
two of the participants from the
first Thanksgiving celebration may
have looked like. |
Many
people came to the first Thanksgiving
celebration. The Pilgrims were good neighbors,
and they invited all the Indians who lived
nearby, including Massasoit, a chief who
had been very friendly and helpful to
them.
Since
the days of the Pilgrims and Indians and
Governor Bradford, the tradition of Thanksgiving
has changed and grown. There have been
many different efforts to remind Americans
to take time out to thank God. During
the American Revolution, the Continental
Congress called for days of thanksgiving
and prayer.
Portrait of George Washington courtesy
of the National Gallery. |
On
November 26, 1789, President George Washington
called for a special day of thanks. Click
here to read his words.
In
1817 New York State adopted Thanksgiving
Day as an annual custom. President Abraham
Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in
November, 1863 as "A day of thanksgiving
and praise to our beneficent Father..."
Since then each president has issued a
Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually
designating the fourth Thursday of each
November as the holiday.
Today,
people celebrate Thanksgiving in all kinds
of ways. The most common thing we do isn't
that different from what those original
Pilgrims did.
How
will you celebrate Thanksgiving this year?
Whether you are with your family or out
helping others, be sure that you take
some time to tell God how very much you
appreciate His goodness to you! And have
a great Thanksgiving!
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