COME AS A CHILD - LESSON 124 - LOCUSTS AND HEAVY DARKNESS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

I wonder what was going through the mind of Moses in the middle of all the plagues of Egypt?  Of course he would have been realizing how powerful his God is, and I'm sure he would have been thankful for the fact that God was not punishing the Israelites along with the Egyptians.  Do you think he ever wondered how long and how many plagues he was going to have to predict to Pharaoh?

As we have studied Moses in the act of helping God deliver Egypt, we have seen the river turn to blood.  We have seen frogs and gnats and flies.  We have seen the people have to deal with boils.  We have seen the death of livestock and hail.  All of these plagues have come upon Egypt because of Pharaoh’s hard heart.  

A funny thing is happening now though; God keeps telling Moses that He is the One who has been hardening the heart of Pharaoh and his officials! God doesn't say this every time; but many of the times He does.  Why would God harden someone’s heart?  Would that not be taking away their free will?  We are told that God gives us free will and lets us make our own choices.  Seems very strange for God to be doing this.  

In the beginning of Chapter ten of Exodus God explains His actions.  He is doing all of this for a reason!  It is so that He may perform his signs among the Egyptians and right in front of the Israelites so that Moses can see and tell his children and grandchildren how God dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how God performed signs among them!  It was so Moses and his children and grandchildren and all of the people of Israel might KNOW that God was God, and the ONE TRUE GOD was teaching His people the first commandment – "Thou Shalt Have No Other God’s Before Me."  Moses and Aaron were the two witnesses who could claim that they were actually there on the scene when God showed Egypt his power and might and sovereignty.

Even way back before God formally called Israel out and gave them the ten commandments, He was beginning to teach the people the best way to live.  The beginning of knowing the best way to live is to know, believe and recognize that God is above all and over all.  It was VERY important for God to get His people to see and understand that He did not want them worshiping pagan gods and He did not want them to put any other gods before Him.  God was calling out a people to be His own special nation, a nation set  to bring the whole world to salvation in the end.  He needed them to start out believing in His sovereignty.    

This lesson of the best way to live was SO IMPORTANT to God that He was willing to use some stubborn, selfish people who were deceiving others in order to teach the rest of the people the truth.  The truth was that Pharaoh wasn't really in charge!  God was in charge!  Pharaoh and his people had always worshiped false pagan gods and now THE REAL GOD was showing the Egyptians as well as His own people which of all the gods was REAL.  Not only did God want this generation of Israelites to know and recognize Him as THE ONE GOD; He also wanted them to pass down this truth to every generation that came after them.

And you know what?  It has happened just as God proclaimed it should happen.  Each year as we celebrate the Passover Seder, we teach our children about the plagues of Egypt.  We get detailed so they can know exactly WHO the God of the Hebrews is that we now worship and they can make a distinction between the REAL God and the false gods.  They can see in the story the consequences of believing in each.  Through the story of the plagues they understand the sovereignty of God.  They see that the REAL God brings life.  They see that the false gods bring death.  What could be more important to be teaching our children?  It is a lesson that is reviewed in detail every year, just as God has commanded.  Just as God was teaching the Children of Israel way back when; so we must be teaching today!  

God intended for this to be one of the first lessons to children in learning how to worship.  It is vitally important.  I say this from my own experiences.  Yet; today as I look around I also see these lessons have been set aside by many as unimportant and "something that happened to the Jews a long time ago, that do not pertain to us now."  Nothing could be further from the truth!  Though it is not openly spoken of you can see the seeping into our culture of the ways of pagan gods.  This is out there surrounding us every day, it is just not mentioned.  It is hardly noticed because we have become accustomed to it all.  You almost get the feeling of "if you ignore it, it will go away."  The worst thing a culture can do when paganism is seeping in is to ignore the situation.  That is exactly what Satan wants to happen.  That is what happened with the Egyptians, and God was not about to let that happen to the Israelites too.  They were to continue to KNOW the TRUTH and pass it down to all of their generations.  The fate of the world hinged on this one fact.    

Think about this as you study the rest of the story, and later we will go into the prophetic meaning of all of these plagues.  God had more than one reason for us to notice these details.  They may mean the difference in how we survive in the end times; but more on that later.  Let's get back to following Moses and hear the rest of what happened with Pharaoh. 

So Moses and Aaron went again to Pharaoh and said to him, “This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says : “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?  Let my people go so that they may worship me.  If you refuse to let them go, I will bring locusts into your country tomorrow.  They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen.  They will devour what little you have left after the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields.  They will fill your houses and those of all your officials and all the Egyptians – something neither your parents nor your ancestors have ever seen from the day they settled in this land till now.”

Moses turned and left Pharaoh to chew on those words.

Pharaoh’s officials were standing there with him and they turned to Pharaoh and asked him “How long will this man be a snare to us?  Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God.  Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?”

So they brought Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh and he told them to “Go, worship the LORD your God, but tell me who will be going.”

And Moses told Pharaoh that they would go with their young and their old, their sons and their daughters, and their flocks and their herds, because they were to celebrate a festival to the LORD.  Today we know this festival as The Seven Days of Unleavened Bread.  It occurs on the days following Passover and is considered part of the Passover festival.  The ancient Hebrews were the first to partake of a week of unleavened bread right after the first Passover happened in Egypt.  When this festival is celebrated we remember coming out of Egypt, leaving sin behind.  The leaven in the bread is symbolic of sin; and it is left out; just as happened with the Israelites we will hear about later in this story.  It is symbolic today of our desire to leave pagan gods and their ways out of our lives and stay true to The One God of Heaven and Earth.   We will speak further of this as we go along in the continuing story of how Moses led the people out of Egypt.  Right now, Pharaoh is being extremely difficult and hard-hearted again!

At first Pharaoh said “The Lord be with you.”  Then he hesitated and asked out loud, “If I let you go, along with your women and children………..Well….  Clearly you are bent on evil!  No!  Have only the men go and worship the LORD, since that is what you have been asking for.”

After Pharaoh decided that only the men could go; Moses and Aaron were driven out of Pharaoh’s presence.  That wasn't what God had commanded.  It would NOT work.  The Passover isn't just for the men, though it IS an annual requirement for every head of each household.  It is set in place for ALL THE HOUSEHOLD; each family including men, women, boys and girls, young and old alike.  All are invited to be a part of God's table, and God's feast and festivals.  God had declared that ALL of the people be allowed to go out to the wilderness and proclaim a festival to worship Him.  

Because of this mistake on Pharaoh's part, God said to Moses; “Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.”

Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night.  By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all of Egypt and they settled down in every area of the country in great numbers.  There has never been a plague with so many locusts; nor will there ever be such a plague again!  

The locusts were so many that the ground was black as they covered it.  They devoured everything in sight, everything growing in the fields and on the fruit trees.  Nothing green remained on a tree or a plant anywhere in the land of Egypt. 

When Pharaoh saw this he panicked!  He summoned Moses and Aaron and said that he had sinned against their God and against them.  Pharaoh asked them to forgive him once more and he also asked them to pray to the LORD to take away the deadly plague.

 

Moses prayed to the LORD and the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. 

The swarms of locusts were all gone now; but again the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not let the Israelites go!

This being the case; the LORD told Moses to stretch out his hand toward the sky so that darkness spread over Egypt.  

It was a darkness that could actually be felt.  

When Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky the total darkness covered all of Egypt for three whole days.  No one could see anyone else or move about for three days.  Still, during this same time,all of the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

 

Once again Pharaoh called to Moses and told him to “Go worship the LORD.  Even your women and children may go with you; only leave your flocks and herds behind.”

Moses explained to Pharaoh that they must have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD God. Who goes to a festival without an offering?   Moses explained that in order to do this the livestock must go with them; all of them.  They would need them for sacrifices as well as food for the festival.   And when he said this the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart again.  He was not willing to let them go.  He told Moses to get out of his sight!  Pharaoh said he never wanted Moses to come to appear before him again!  He threatened to kill him if he ever saw his face again.  

“Just as you say,” Moses replied.  “I will never appear before you again.”  

It can be noted that Moses never again appeared before Pharaoh.  Now Pharaoh had no one to intercede between him and God.  He was isolated without any help.  Sometimes God isolates us without help in order to draw us unto Him and help us to come to our senses.  This didn't seem to work with Pharaoh.  Unless Pharaoh learned to speak directly to the REAL God of Heaven and Earth instead of his fake gods; he and Egypt were doomed.  Pharaoh had made a very bad decision in giving up his intercessor.  It was totally up to Pharaoh to turn to God and change things for Egypt.  Pharaoh wasn't learning the lesson.     

Don’t you know Moses was glad to go?  I’m sure he was pretty tired of having to deal with Pharaoh!  Do you have any Pharaoh's in your life?  Deal with them as long as God bids you to do so; then leave when God tells you to "go."  Only God knows if they will ever turn or not.

So now we have seen the Egyptians go through two more plagues; one of locusts and one of total thick darkness that could be felt.  

Why do you think God sent locusts and thick darkness on the land? 

The plague of the locusts focused on Nut, Osirus and Set, the false gods of the harvest.  The locusts took away all of the crops, leaving nothing for harvest.  The wheat and rye, the latter crops that had survived the hail were all gone now.  These are the crops that God's people always see around Pentecost.  They always brought an offering of barley at Passover and the wheat offering was offered at Pentecost; but Pharaoh's people in Egypt did not have any crops left to give to their fake gods.  Only the people of The One True God of Heaven and Earth had sufficient sacrifices and they were the only people now willing to offer them up!  

There was absolutely nothing left to harvest in all the land of Egypt.  Where were the gods of the harvest that usually protected their crops?  This is clearly a case of God saying He is the only real God.  It was as much for the Israelites to see as the Egyptians.  God intended for the Israelites to tell these stories to their children and grandchildren in order that the truth of God would be passed down from generation to generation and the horrid mistakes of the Egyptians of worshiping the wrong gods would never be repeated again.

The plague of the darkness was clearly an 'in the face' move of God toward the most worshiped pagan god named Ra.  Ra was the god of the sun.  There was no more sun!  For there days thick darkness covered the earth.  The sun god was dead!  There was no sign of Ra anywhere.

God was clearly showing that these false gods were not real gods.  They did not even exist.  They were imaginary in every way, and they had no power at all.  All of the things they stood for were turned on them and they never showed up to defend themselves!   What better proof could be offered?   

Ra was the god that was supposed to be Pharaoh’s ancestor.  That was where the power of Pharaoh was supposed to come from.  There clearly was no power passed down from Ra to Pharaoh, for Pharaoh was helpless now and sitting in the darkness without even the light of his false god.  Only the Israelites had light.  That is because the REAL God of the Hebrews is the Father of lights.  In HIM there is no darkness at all.  The Israelites could see clearly while the Egyptians groped around in the darkness.  Pharaoh had no one to turn to this time; not even Moses.

SEASONS - A SOUTHERN STYLE FATHER'S DAY GATHERING

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

June 19th will be a time to get the whole family together for Father's Day 2016.  We are blessed in that we will be spending the weekend with our daughter who lives in another state and bringing our grandson back home with us for a week of fun activities.  That also means all of the other three kids will be seeing my husband all of the next week too!  Large families are so much fun, the activities never end.  

This year will be very different for me.  My Father has a new residence in heaven; so I will not be able to physically to be with him.  He is still such a part of who I am, so I know he will be with me in spirit.  I will be cherishing all of the special memories I have of celebrating with him in the past, and I will be appreciating all of the wonderful fathers of relatives and friends that are still with us on planet earth.  

There are lots of new and almost new Dad's in our family circle this year, so that happy thought counters the sadness of missing my own Dad.  

It will be a great year to focus on honoring my own husband's great job of being an awesome father to our grown children, and a good time for honoring two of my favorite Dad's; the fathers of my two and one-half grand children!  We are so proud of our grandchildren, and so very proud of their Dads!  What a blessing it has been for us to have them in our family.  Words cannot express how perfect it feels.

It is also a very significant day for my own husband, since he is looking around and realizing the positive proof of all of his hard work and efforts over the years in raising four of the most wonderful kids on earth.  I want him to have a very special day full of blessings.  No one could have ever imagined a better father than he has been to our children.  I marvel at how they have all turned into great adults that care about God's Kingdom and the world around them.  Most of the credit goes to the excellent guidance they have received from their father.  I am grateful, and I know they are!

One of my favorite Father's Day memories is from a Sunday afternoon when my Dad was still living, when we celebrated a Southern Style Father's Day.  Here are the notes I penned from that memory when it was happening several years back.  I'll warn you, there is NOTHING healthy about this meal; but hey, we are celebrating, right?

I think it might have been Father's Day 2011:

 If we get everyone together in one place, then we won't have to go to so many places and we will all enjoy each other's company together for a longer time, right?  The more the merrier!  

I've called the kids and the parents.  I left out my red, white and blue decorations after Memorial Day because my Dad is a veteran, and he enjoys our country's colors, not to mention the fact that I won't have to redecorate for Independence Day!  It was great to have these decorations around to celebrate Flag Day too.  Somehow summer events just seem to coordinate without even trying hard.  I like for the atmosphere at home to be a lot less formal and very laid-back for summer, and all of this works well together.  I like to pretend we live in a beach cottage even though we are actually several hours from the sea; and I try to take full advantage of any outdoor activities I can make happen in the summer.  

Now it is time to focus on Father's Day.  I think we will go Southern Style.....

My husband likes to drink his coffee from these Christmas mugs all year - I've quit trying to change that!

 I feel strongly that our fathers deserve a place of honor.  They should have their own special day in which to be treated like kings.  

I've included a few candid photos of our family's Father's.  You will notice from most of these pics that they all have one great trait in common; they like to have fun and they like to make family memories!  Many of these pics are not from Father's Day, but just from times that they were very busy BEING fathers.

This year I plan to express our sentiments to the Dads by having an "after-church -southern-style-luncheon."  

I think "southern style" will definitely suit the mood and style of our Dads this year.   I've found a few great tried and true old southern recipes and put together the menu.   You will notice that many of the recipes use buttermilk.  This is because my Dad LOVES buttermilk.  He loves it so much that our kids have always teased him about it.  One year for Christmas they wrapped up a quart of buttermilk and gave it to him for a present because they said "there is nothing you would like better than this quart of buttermilk!"  They had to keep his gift in the refrigerator for a few days!  We have laughed about that day a lot over the years, and that is why I always try to chose a few "buttermilk" recipes for Father's Day. 

SOUTHERN STYLE FATHERS DAY MENU

Appetizers:  Cheese Truffles with a Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Tray

Drinks:  Tea/Water, Wine for the ladies and Elephant Beer for the guys. - (one of my husband's favorite flavors of beer), Sweet Tea, Lemonade and Cold Ice Water

Salads:  Watermelon Surprise AND Old South Potato Salad

Bread:  Homemade Southern Style Buttermilk Biscuits with Gravy

Main Course:  Southern Fried Buttermilk Chicken

Side 1:  Carrot Souffle

Side 2:  Garden Fresh Baked Zucchini

Dessert: Strawberry Ice Box Cake AND Fig Cake With Buttermilk Glaze

CHEESE TRUFFLES

Apples, sliced

Pears, sliced

Grapes

1 cup bacon, cooked, cooled and crumbled

Pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce

4 teaspoons finely chopped onions

2 containers (4 oz.) Crumbled Gorgonzola Cheese

8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened

Combine cream cheese, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese, onion, Worcestershire sauce and pepper in a bowl and beat with a mixer until well blended.  Cover and chill for several hours.  Roll the cheese mixture into round balls.  Roll the round balls in the crumbled bacon.  Serve on a platter of apple and pear slices with grapes surrounding it all. 

WATERMELON SURPRISE

1 pkg. baby lettuce, washed

6 cups watermelon, cubed without the seeds

1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup pepper jelly

1 Tablespoon lime juice

2 Tablespoons grated onion

In a bowl whisk together the rice wine vinegar, pepper, salt, pepper jelly, lime juice and grated onion.  Slowly pour the vegetable oil into this mixture. Stir well.   Add the baby lettuce and cubed watermelon to the mix and saturate well.  Cover and keep refrigerated until time to serve.  Remove to a serving platter.  After arranging on the platter, sprinkle with toasted pecans and crumbled Gorgonzola cheese.  This is very tasty and makes a lovely and colorful presentation.

                                                                           SOUTHERN STYLE BISCUITS

1/4 cup shortening
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
melted butter
Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender or fork until crumbly.  Add buttermilk, stirring together until moistened.  Roll out dough 1/2 inch thick.  Cut with 2-inch round cutter.  Place on greased baking sheet.  Brush with melted butter.  Bake at 425 degrees for 14 minutes.  Serve with brown gravy if desired, as well as some homemade preserves.

SOUTHERN FRIED BUTTERMILK CHICKEN

(This takes 3 days if you do it right, and will feed about 10 people)

2-3 lb. fryers cut up into pieces

4 cups buttermilk

6 Tablespoons crushed garlic

6 Tablespoons onion flakes

1/3 cup parsley

1/3 cup thyme

1/3 cup tarragon

1 Teaspoon paprika

4 cups flour

1 Tablespoon pepper

6 cups vegetable shortening

Step 1 (first night) - Brine your chicken pieces in kosher salt and water overnight.

Step 2 (second night)- Soak the brinned chicken in mixture of buttermilk, garlic, onion flakes, parsley, thyme, tarragon and paprika overnight.

Step 3 (third night) - Drain chicken, leaving residue of spices on chicken.  Fill a paper sack full of the flour with a little pepper mixed in.  Put the chicken pieces in the large brown bag of flour and shake.  Let sit for five minutes then shake again.  Melt vegetable shortening into a large iron skillet.  Fry chicken until crispy and brown on both sides (about 20 minutes for each side).  Remove to a paper towel lined tray.  Cover tray, cool and refrigerate until next day. 

Step 4 - Wrap chicken in foil. Heat in the stove at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Remove, place in a decorative serving dish and serve while hot. 

CARROT SOUFFLE

2 pounds carrots, chopped

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

ground cinnamon

Boil carrots in water until tender.  Drain.  Mash carrots and butter.  Add sugar and eggs.  Beat at medium speed with electric mixer 2 minutes.  Stir in flour and baking powder.  Pour into greased baking dish.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 1 hour .

OLD SOUTH POTATO SALAD

4 pounds potatoes (unpeeled)

8 ounces sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons mustard

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 bunch chopped green onions

1/2 cup parsley

3 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

Boil potatoes in large pot over medium high heat until tender.  Drain.  Cool.  Cut potatoes into thin slices.  Combine sour cream, Mayonnaise,mustard, salt and pepper.  Layer in a clear baking dish, potatoes, sour cream mix, green onions and parsley, layer same again.  Cover and chill 1 hour.  Sprinkle with bacon before serving. 

                                                    
                                                        STRAWBERRY STACK CAKE

2 Small Crates of Fresh Strawberries (washed and sliced, except leave some pretty ones whole too)

3 1/2 cups Whipped Cream

1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1 large box Graham Crackers

2 ounces Dark Chocolate (chopped fine)

Whip the whipping cream until it forms peaks.  Slowly mix in the confectioners sugar and vanilla.  Spread a thin layer of whipped cream in the bottom of a glass oblong baking dish.  Lay six whole graham crackers over this.  Spread a layer of strawberries over that.  Repeat this process until you have four layers of graham crackers.  Spread the last of  one-half of the whipped topping over the top layer and swirl with a spoon for decorative purposes.  You should have half of the whipped topping left over.  Heat it until bubbles form around the edges.  Remove from heat and drop in the chopped dark chocolate.  Stir together until chocolate is melted and well blended into a gouache.  Pour into a squeeze bottle and drizzle over cake.  Cover and refrigerate for six hours.  Garnish with fresh strawberries before serving. 

FIG CAKE WITH BUTTERMILK GLAZE

Ingredients For Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup chopped fresh figs

1 cup chopped pecans

Ingredients for Glaze:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon light corn syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together first 7 ingredients.  Fold in eggs, oil and buttermilk.  Stir in vanilla.  Fold in figs and pecans.  Pour into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes.  While cake is baking make a glaze by boiling all of the above glaze ingredients in a small saucepan for 3 minutes.  Pour over cake. 

You can rest assured that there will be no need for entertainment.  With this many fathers in one room, there will be lots of stories to share!

 

Happy Father's Day Dads!!!!!!

SEASONS - FLAG DAY - REMEMBERING BETSY ROSS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

June 14, 2016  is Flag Day.  So what does that mean to us? 

Do we Americans really know anything at all about the history of our flag? 

You know, we didn’t always have “Old Glory.”  In 1775 American ships in New England waters flew a flag with a green Pine Tree on a white background with an inscription that read “An Appeal To Heaven.” 

The Continental Navy had a red and white striped flag with a snake in the middle that said “Don’t tread on me.” 

There were many other flags being flaunted by many different groups.  The Sons of Liberty flew a red and white striped flag.  The New England flag could be seen in certain area of the country, and it displayed a green pine tree in the upper left corner (this area of the flag is called the canton) with red white and blue stripes.  The Forster flag displayed six small white stripes for a canton on a solid red background.

In January of 1776 the grand union flag in Continental colors was displayed on Prospect Hill.  The British Union Jack was in the canton and there were 13 alternate red and white stripes.  It is said that George Washington, himself, replaced this flag with the one commissioned to Besty Ross at a later date.  Prospect Hill, dominated the road from Charlestown and had great strategic importance in the Revolutionary War.   This place was known as the "Citadel"  The castle there, dedicated in 1903, is a monument commemorating the fortifications on top of this hill.  A tablet inside reads:  "This tablet is erected in memory of the soldiers of the Revolution and of the Civil War who encamped on Prospect Hill and of the banners under which they valiantly fought."

Too many flags were being flown by the American colonies.  It was confusing and dividing.  There needed to be one flag that everyone could rally around which represented the hearts and souls of the people now living in America. By this time four generations of families had grown up in the new country. 

Betsy Ross was born in 1752 in Philadelphia.  Her maiden name was Elizabeth Griscom.   She was the great granddaughter of a carpenter who had arrived in New Jersey from England in 1680.  Betsy, as she later came to be called, was one of 17 children born to her Quaker parents.  She attended Quaker school with her sisters and became a very good seamstress.  When she turned 17 her father apprenticed her out to become an upholsterer.  It was while she was in school that she fell in love with another apprentice named John Ross.  He was NOT a Quaker and her parents and religion forbid her to marry him.  She defied them in 1772 choosing to give up her family and religious belief in John’s favor.  It was quite the scandal in Philadelphia.  The Quakers as well as her immediate family completely cut all ties to her. 

John and Betsy, working completely alone with no outside help from those who were shunning them, opened up an upholstery shop that became famous in the area.  The thing that set them apart was Betsy’s marvelous skills as a seamstress.   It was during this time that the State of Pennsylvania commissioned Betsy and John to make the flags for their naval ships.  Betsy designed what is now known as The American Flag.

In 1776 at the start of the American Revolution, John Ross was killed in a gunpowder explosion.  Betsy acquired his property and kept up the upholstery business.  She worked day and night to fill the demands of the shop for orders of flags for Pennsylvania. After a year of being a widow, Betsy remarried.  Her new husband named Joseph Ashburn was a sailor.   In 1781 the ship he was on was captured by the British and he died in prison soon after.  Once again Betsy was a widow. 

In 1783 Betsy was remarried to a man named John Claypoole.  John had been a friend of Joseph’s and they were in prison together when Joseph died.  John, having escaped, delivered the news of Joseph’s death and his last endearing words to Betsy and that is how the two became acquainted.  John had spoken with Joseph when he was dying.  His last words were of his love for Betsy.  Joseph asked him to deliver his final words to Betsy as a personal favor from a friend.  Betsy had a long and happy marriage to John Claypoole.  It lasted for 34 years. 

In 1817 after a long time of disability, John died, leaving Betsy a widow for the third time. Finally, at the age of 84 Betsy Ross died too,leaving behind more than the simple legacy of a seamstress.  50 years after her death her grandson shared the story of how she sewed the first American flag:.

As the story goes, while Betsy was married to John Ross they were visited by President George Washington.  His visit seemed to have inspired Betsy's thinking in the sewing of the flag in June of 1776.  Harper’s Monthly picked up on Betsy’s grandson’s speech about his grandmother’s life and published the story in 1873.  Everyone across the country of America at that time loved and read Harper's Monthly.  That is how Betsy Ross became famous for making the first American flag, many long years after her death. 

Due to the fact that this story is a legend without proper documentation, many nay-sayers have tried to discredit the life work of this brave and courageous woman named Betsy Ross by denying that the story is true.  Even if she had not sewn the flag, Betsy Ross's legacy would stand as a prime example of what American women have endured throughout our nation’s history.  She stands for the decency of faithful marriage between a man and a women.  She stands for brave widows in the country that have used their skills and talents to raise and care for their children in extraordinary, unique and exemplary ways.  She stands for personal integrity and self education in every aspect of daily life.  She stands for hard work in the midst of constantly changing circumstances.  Let the nay-sayers be silent about Mrs. Ross and give her the national identity she deserves for the symbol of her life’s work!  She has made us proud! 

The National Historic Park in Philadelphia summed up the contribution of our flag being sewn by Betsy Ross in this way:   “Betsy Ross sewed the first American flag. When we view the flag, we think of liberty, freedom, pride, and Betsy Ross. The American flag flies on the moon; sits atop Mount Everest, is hurling out in space. The flag is how America signs her name. It is no surprise that Betsy Ross has become one of the most cherished figures of American History.”

I can think of no greater way to describe the life of Betsy Ross and the contribution she made to America by giving us that beautiful flag we now call Old Glory.  We who are truly Americans at heart still display this flag in our homes and across the land. 

God bless America.  May she return to being faithful to The God who made her great; and may she return to the honor and glory that has long been represented by this flag that proclaims the liberty and freedom of one nation under God.

SEASONS - DAY 50 - ARRIVING AT PENTECOST

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Jesus knew that after His resurrection and ascension into heaven we would feel lost without Him.  The Holy Spirit resolved that problem, connecting heaven and earth, the Messiah and His Bride even when they were apart in time and space.

June 11 at sunset begins the time of Pentecost for those of us who follow the Hebrew calendar dates.

For 50 days now we have been counting from the days of the time of the offering of the omer, the first of our first crops for the year, counting from Passover to Pentecost just as God showed our ancient ancestors to do.  

In ancient times the offerings were only physical, but in today's world and in the time of our living, those who faithfully observe this traditional custom are offering up the best of the best of our spiritual AND physical offerings beginning during the week of Passover and observing the count of the days until Pentecost.  

We offer from what we have to offer to The One God of Heaven and Earth, the One who came down in the form of our Savior, Jesus Christ to save us from ourselves and we begin during these next 50 days to examine in a closer, more intimate way, how this works in our lives as we count up the time, waiting on God's greatest gift until The Son of God returns, the giving of God's Holy Spirit. 

We have been counting through seven weeks and seven holy Sabbaths, trying to open our eyes wider to the will of God in our daily lives.  Seven times seven days of counting from the time of the omer offering, just waiting to come to the day that God has appointed and made sacred which we now know as Pentecost, or as the faithful Jews call it; Shovout.  

Each day of the counting we have been studying the attributes of God and attempting to apply His goodness and the holy traits of His character to our lives in a daily, routine manner.  

We have been on yet another journey of considering and examining our lives before a Holy God, listening to God, thinking of the fact that He IS God and we are made from the dust of the earth, learning to live dependent and in awe of Him, and waiting on the day of celebrating the giving of The Torah first, then the completion and fulfillment of that by the giving of The Holy Spirit.

The first event gave us God's advice on the best ways to live.  We received the Torah containing The Ten Commandments of God.  The second event gave us God's solution to how mankind can achieve this.  We received abundant LIFE through the holy offering of Jesus Christ on a cross.  He died on what He created for the ones that He created and He rose to new life!  The greatest offering, given on Passover just as the story has always unfolded, brought it's fulfillment as an engagement gift on Pentecost!  His holy death and resurrection took away our guilt and inability to fulfil the first requirements and made the blessing abundant and possible for us!  It is only by these two precious gifts from our Beloved that we can do anything at all worthwhile on this earth.  

We have been counting and waiting and learning and growing all the while.  We have also been preparing our hearts for a wedding to the Son of The King!  Now we reach day 50.  We have reached the Day of the celebration of Pentecost!  It is just the same as becoming engaged officially and announcing the wedding plans to the world!  The Son of God has proclaimed His Beloved Bride; His one true holy church.  Those who have God's Holy Spirit living inside of their hearts and bodies belong to Him now.  He has officially proclaimed us as His own, and He will return for us one day to take us to The Marriage Supper of The Lamb.  The Passover is our way of rehearsing this moment.  We have all been schooled and are now simply like the ten virgins in the parable who were told to keep oil in their lamps and wait on the groom.  He is coming back for us!  We must be ready.    

Pentecost is a glorious day!  At first we received the law, then we received a gift from the one who has overcome the dependency we had on the law.  We have received a huge, loving package from heaven from our Groom!  He has sent us by special delivery a very special gift that will help to keep Him safely inside our hearts until the wedding feast.

Can you see the symbolism?  Those who count the days cannot help but see, it is hard to miss it when you are waiting on the times to be fulfilled.  Pentecost is full of symbolism.  We were told that Jesus asked his disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait on that first Pentecost after the Ascension.  When the Holy Spirit came down from heaven men were filled with God's Presence from within and it appeared as if flames of fire were resting on their heads as they spoke the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in all languages to all people groups.  This reversed the tower of Babel.  For the first time, everyone heard each other and understood without a language barrier!  It was the language of the heart of God speaking to those whom He loves very much! It was an amazing day!  A day we celebrate constantly, not just once a year, but a day definitely to be commemorated and exalted above all other ordinary days.   Many wear red on this day to remember the flaming tongues of fire.

Many people also relate the symbolism of a dove to the day of Pentecost.  Do you know why? 

When you release a dove it returns to its home; if it is at all possible the dove does not return ANYWHERE ELSE but home.  If it can't find home, the dove will always be seeking home.   

Remember the story of Noah, when he released the dove in order to search for land?  Perhaps Noah released the dove from the ark to see if it could find their old original home prior to the flood.  We don’t know how far away the ark landed from Noah’s old homestead.   When the dove could not find home, he returned to Noah.  Personally, I don't think God wanted Noah to find the old because He had made everything new.  Noah gently and lovingly took the dove back inside the ark and waited seven more days.
  

After Passover when we came to know and believe in how Christ died and was resurrected to new life, we also began to feel the change and renewal He brings to us.  It is our belief in his death and resurrection that makes this possible.  Like the dove; God’s Holy Spirit is always seeking a place to land inside our hearts.  He searches and searches until He finds it.  We begin to prepare for this by believing and repenting of our sins.  Our souls start to change, and begin to be renewed, like the land of the earth after the flood.  The first seven days are a time of considering what it means to change, to be renewed and refreshed by the power of  a Holy God. 
   

Noah knew that doves always return home.  This was just one of the reasons for sending out the dove from the ark, just as Jesus ascended into Heaven, yet through The Gift of God's Holy Spirit he remained at home with us.   

Another reason Noah had for using a dove was that he knew that the dove would always return for his mate, just as we know Jesus Christ will one day return for us and take us to that heavenly home that The Father has prepared for us.  

If the dove had found home; he would have returned for his mate to take her back home with him.    Not only would the dove return to the ark and Noah, but when Noah took the dove back inside the ark it would go straight to the cage of his mate and if the dove had found green food it would regurgitate a portion for her.  

In the second of the seven weeks we have realized that Christ our beloved is going to return for us, the church, His bride.   In our dwelling on this thought, we have begun to prepare; to do the things that brides do when they are waiting on their wedding.  Like the mate of Noah’s dove, we wait and count the days.  God is feeding us all the while on His Word, teaching us on our journey as we wait on our marriage to Christ.  


Doves will not touch unclean things.  They only eat the good green food preferably grown

from the best fruit trees of the land.  Noah could observe the dove feeding his mate and know if the dove had found dry land in the vicinity of home.   

Also Noah could tell after a while by the droppings of the dove if greenery had been eaten on the journey.  

So, when the dove returned Noah took it in and watched it as it flew back to it's mate.  Noah observed that the dove was not able to feed its mate indicating that it had not found enough green growing food in the land to eat and it was not yet time for Noah's family to step out of the ark onto their new life.  Noah waited patiently, as did the dove.  When Christ returns; what will he find on this earth?  Will it be ready? 

 In the third of the seven weeks we are still not yet ready for strong food.  We are still gaining the strength of believing and being cleansed from the inside out, still repenting, still longing for our mate to return to us.  On the third week we know we are halfway through the waiting and we must become more acutely prepared for the return.  We begin to ponder and think through the things that are most important for our upcoming marriage to The Lamb of God.

The old sages talk of how the earth grieved as the flood waters went down.  Legend has it that the earth was ashamed because it would not yet have crops grown when the appointed harvest times arrived for the next offerings to God.  The earth had to start anew with growing things.  When we give our hearts to Christ, we too have to start anew with a growing process.  It takes time, we must be patient and wait on God.  Fruitfulness does not come to one instantly after salvation; there is a process of sanctification involved in our growing in The LORD.  These fifty days that we count and wait remind us to be patient and keep pursuing the One we love with all our hearts.  Sanctification is a process.  We fall and we get up and we repent and we start over again and again.  The fifty days of counting remind us not to give up!
    

Noah saw the dove's mate that faithfully waited in the ark for the return of her beloved, and he saw the dove's mate's sure return with nourishment and strength and hope for the one he loved and cherished.   Noah knew the returning dove brought hope of home again.  
   
In the second month and the twenty seventh day of the month God spoke to Noah and said “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your son’s wives with you.”   And God told Noah to bring the animals out of the ark too.  They all came out and back onto the earth.   It was time!  New life was beginning!  

Today many in God's church are grieving.  Our hearts grieve because we are not yet ready for our groom.  Our hearts have to start anew with growing.  We have a growing process to go through in order to be ready.  We must start!  Time is passing.  Everyday is precious. 

The fourth, fifth and sixth weeks are huge growing times in our waiting on Pentecost to come.  We realize the urgency of time; just like a bride seeing the days of the calendar unfold.  In these times we experience the putting into practice of the things that God has shown us.  We can't just think it; we must be DOING!   Our hearts are getting stronger, more able to respond to God, ready to be filled in the seventh week with an extra blessing of God’s Holy Spirit.  

We have prayed for The Holy Spirit to come and on this very special day we receive that wedding gift that says, "keep this until I come for you, it is to remind you that I am close, that I am coming!  It is to help you know that you have My heart at all times, even when you are in the storm, even when the water is deep and you cannot walk on your own, even when you are not sure that the water is receding."  

Pentecost comes as a special wedding gift from our Groom in Heaven.   It is to encourage our hearts and make our lives better!   We come to it at the end of  the act of counting our days, hoping, studying the Word, having faith, waiting on God's timing.
  

When God sent out The Holy Spirit for the first time after the Resurrection on The Day of Pentecost, The Holy Spirit found God's followers very similar to a dove seeking his mate. The intention was to gather and eventually bring back home a whole and perfect bride for the Messiah.  This day from God, which He had appointed long ago was like sending out an invitation for mankind to come inside the ark of heaven and find rest with God forever. No need to worry.  We are safe until the flood is over.  No more tossing and turning through the seas of life and floods, but it was an offering of peace, a time for renewal!

Like Noah standing and waiting for the dove's return from the bow of the great ship, the Messiah would be waiting for the Bride in heaven.  The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem, much like the dove's mate waiting faithfully in the ark.  Often in the refining work of God’s Holy Spirit a process of waiting is involved.  This is why we take the time to count the days!  We, like Noah, must be sensitive to this fact.  Noah had to wait patiently for seven more days before he sent out the dove again.  

Why seven more days?  

Why not eight, or nine or ten, or only one?  

Because; Noah was a faithful keeper of the Sabbath.  Every seventh day was a day of corporate worship, a time that Noah and his family set aside to spend with God.  They put aside their work and chores and they focused on God’s will for the next week of their lives.  Together they worshiped and rested and the animals rested and worshiped with them.   

As they rested, they listened to what God had to say to them without any worldly distractions.  This was a special set-aside time for seeking God’s face.  
To miss a Sabbath would be unthinkable to a man like Noah.  He understood that God had appointed sacred times and seasons.  He was always counting and waiting on the Seventh Day.  This is why many believe that the dove was being sent out on the Sabbath day, maybe as a type of thank offering from Noah to God and also a way of seeking an answer from Him on what to do next.  

Noah would make his offering and wait on God to answer.  This happened like clockwork, every seventh day.

The second time that Noah sent out the dove it came back again, but this time Noah saw the dove feed it's mate little green olive leaves by regurgitating his food and sharing a portion with his mate.  This strange process brings to mind a picture of a godly man who would never just hand his wife and children a bible and tell them to read it and understand it on their own.  He ingests the word into his soul and lives it out himself first, taking it into his own heart before giving it out to others.  He chews on it, digests it, and when the time is right, he pulls the nutrients out of it for his own family.  It is the same in sharing God's Holy Spirit with others.  The Spirit must first live inside of us before we have the ability to pass it on to others.    

I smile each time I think of this and remember that my granddaughter is named Olivia.  I have prayed for her from the time she lived inside her mother's womb, even before that, and her name is so symbolic of Pentecost and the receiving of God's Holy Spirit.  I know the root word "olive" means so much.  I am thankful that she was given this name.

This practice of feeding used by the returning dove to bring nourishment to his mate told Noah that there was dry land once more and that land contained olive leaves.

Olive leaves were such a wonderful sign!  To this day the people of God often go out during The Feast of Tabernacles and bring back olive branches to build the temporary shelters they inhabit for the feast.  They probably think of Noah and remember the faithful dove when they do this act.  These olive branches used for building during the feast days are symbolic of Jesus sending The Holy Spirit to dwell with us in the temporary shelters of our physical bodies until he could return to us again.  I love how the Holy Days of God are all interconnected with one another.  Passover leads to Pentecost and Pentecost is still celebrated in The Feast of Tabernacles at the end of the sacred year.  One lesson of God builds on the next.  God was so wise in teaching us these things this way; humans can be so forgetful, but when we live them out through celebrating these Holy Day, we remember!
  

Jesus knew that after His resurrection and ascension into heaven we would feel lost without Him.  The Holy Spirit resolved that problem, connecting heaven and earth, the Messiah and His Bride; even when they were apart in time and space.    They were always beloved to one another, connected in their hearts and souls.  It became official on Pentecost!  This is what is achieved by the gift of The Holy Spirit dwelling inside of each of God's children.  This Holy Spirit living inside of someone is how you will recognize them as a child of God.  The indwelling of The Holy Spirit is what causes people to be resurrected from their graves into new life in God's Kingdom.

When the Holy Spirit comes to us, our bodies become temporary shelters; little temples or tabernacles created and designed especially to house The Spirit of God; just as the ark was the temporary shelter of the dove and Noah.
  

How significant that the dove brought back an olive leaf to give to his mate who was faithfully waiting inside the ark, never doubting his return.  This is one reason why Olive oil is symbolic of the Holy Spirit.  It is always used for anointing people with the power and healing strength of God.

Many, many years later, after the flood of Noah, God gave his prophet Zechariah the ability to see into the future.  Zechariah spoke and wrote of two olive trees and olive oil and olive branches that he saw in visions from God.  His visions helped the church (the dove’s faithful waiting mate) to see and understand that Jesus (represented in our story by Noah) is the source of that great old Olive tree and through His Holy Spirit (represented by Noah's Dove) the golden oil of grace flows out to believers that keep their lamps burning and/or those who stay filled with God’s Holy Spirit.  

God's people, much like Noah as he prepared the great ark, must stay ready and be prepared for whatever God tells them to do and where ever God leads them to go.  This is true of the church now in this day and time more than it ever has been in His-Story (history.)

Noah witnessed God at work through the dove just as we witness God at work through His Holy Spirit.  

It must have been hard for the dove to leave his mate behind.  He must have wanted some way to comfort her as she rested and waited for him in the comfort of the ark.  Jesus must have felt the same as He left the earth full of his followers and returned to His Father to complete his purpose.  He gave us The Comforter, The Holy Spirit to help us while He was away from the earth.  The Holy Spirit is our connection to our Beloved, Christ.

The Olive branches symbolized hope of a better future and hope is always the beginning of a new and better life.  

Noah’s family had hope, but they were still inside the ark, so Noah waited seven more days and sent the dove out again seeking an answer from God on when to leave the ark.  This time the dove did not return.  This must have told Noah that the world was once again ready for habitation.  However, Noah and his family did not leave the ark until God said for them to leave.  Noah again waited seven more days. 

Are you prepared to leave the ark of this earth and meet your Bride Groom in heaven?  Are you ready, filled up with the oil of God's Holy Spirit?  If not, you simply need to ask of God and it will be given to you.  Hold up your clean and believing hands (cleaned from repentance and as an act of believing faith) and receive God's greatest gift into your life today.  This is the oil that never runs out.  All you have to do is ask with a true heart.  God is waiting on you to ask.  

With Pentecost accomplished, just like that new world that Noah's family stepped into, a whole new beginning comes to God’s church.   My favorite quote from the lips of Jesus is:  "I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW."

Praise to Almighty God for The Sacred Appointed Day of Pentecost!