IN SEASON - FLAG DAY

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Today is Flag Day.  So what does that mean to us?  Do we Americans really know anything at all about the history of our flag?  Here are some of the facts you might not have realized.

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 the

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 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 the 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, alone and completely out of their own efforts, 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.  Her source of inspiration for this flag's composition will be discussed later in this article.  

 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 she 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 sewed 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 hurtling 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 Old Glory that we who are truly American’s at heart still display 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 on one nation under God.

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 74 - AN UNCHANGEABLE BLESSING

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Isaac grew very old and he was blind.  He knew he was about to die.  He called Esau to his side and told him to get his bow and arrows and go out to hunt some wild game for him.  He said when Esau returned and they shared this meal he would give him his blessing. 

They did not know that Rebekah was listening and that she overheard the conversation.   As we will soon see, ease dropping is a very dangerous way to pass your time.  I've often wondered how things would have turned out if Rebekah had been busy  minding her own business and going about her own life that day and had not had the time or inclination to be listening to other people's conversations.

When Esau left Rebekah told Jacob what she overheard.  

She instructed Jacob to go out to the flock and bring her two young goats so that she could prepare the tasty food that Isaac liked.  She then wanted Jacob to take the food to him and receive the blessing from him.  

Jacob argued with her that Esau was hairy and he had smooth skin.  He knew when his father touched him he would know he was Jacob.  Jacob could imagine himself getting discovered and getting cursed instead of blessed by his dying father.   Isn't it strange that this was the argument instead of the fact that they would be deceiving Isaac with a lie.  Jacob wasn't worried about doing wrong; he was simply worried about getting CAUGHT doing wrong.  This whole set up was sadly of the devil.

Rebekah said the curse, if it happened, could be blamed on her.  She begged him just to go and do what she was telling him to do.  Just as Sarah had done previously when things were not going exactly her way, Rebekah took matters into her own hands instead of trusting God.  She made her own plan and included Jacob in her scheming.  Neither of them gave one moment's thought to the fact that what they were doing was wrong!

So Jacob, as usual, pleased his mother.  He brought her back two young goats and Rebekah prepared the food just the way Isaac liked it.  She found some of Esau’s clothes and put them on Jacob.  She covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck with goatskins.  Jacob took the tasty food she had prepared in to Isaac.

Now Jacob smelled like Esau and he had the feel of Esau, but Jacob was not Esau.  Sometimes things look and feel like the right thing, but they are not.  That is usually when we make the same mistake as Isaac in this story; we bless the counterfeit instead of the original.  This is always a serious matter and it changes lives and outcomes in ways that we never dreamed would happen.  Christians should take this thought seriously today, as we go through end times.  Jesus warned us not to be deceived.  Is your worship real or counterfeit?  Are you truly following the path of God or is it a counterfeit that Satan has stalled you out with.  Are your ways and actions true or are they done for convenience and acceptance?  Are they just superficial or genuine before God?  In the end it is God who gives the blessing.  Unlike Isaac, our All Knowing God will not be deceived by only what He sees and feels.  God is not blind.  He looks straight through us and sees our hearts and our true intentions.  He KNOWS who we are and we cannot fool him with all of our worldly trappings that fool the world.

When Jacob called his father “My Father” Isaac asked who it was.  Jacob lied and said he was Esau.  Jacob told Isaac to sit up and eat some of the game he had brought and to then bless him. 

Isaac was not so dumb.  He asked:  “How did you find the game so quickly, my son?”  He was referring to the meat in the meal.  Jacob replied, “The LORD your God gave me success.”   It is one thing to lie, but to lie in the name of God is truly disgraceful!

Much like Jacob in this story, the church is full of fake Christians.  They come and offer the meat from other gods and if we are not very careful, we will partake of the wrong meal.  We are so easily deceived, just as Isaac was in this story.  Jesus told us about this in a parable about a wolf in sheep clothing.  Things are not always what they seem.  Test them with the Word and the Spirit of God before you partake.  It is a serious matter that we face.  It was a serious matter that Isaac faced. 

Isaac still seemed doubtful, and he told Jacob to come near so he could touch him to be sure that he was his son, Esau.  Jacob went close to Isaac who touched him and Isaac noted that he sounded like Jacob, but his hands were the hands of Esau.  Isaac seemed convinced finally, and he proceeded to give the blessing to Jacob.  Right before he started Isaac asked one last time; 

“Are you really my son Esau?”  Jacob replied “I am.”  We see here that just like Peter when Christ was being tried, Jacob lied three times about who he actually was.

Jacob fed Isaac the game and they drank some wine.  Then Isaac told him to come near to him and kiss him.  So Jacob kissed him.  Then Isaac could smell Esau’s clothes and he began the blessing:

"Ah, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a field that the LORD has blessed.

May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness -

An abundance of grain and new wine.  

May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.

Be lord over your brothers, 

And may the sons of your mother bow down to you.

May those who curse you be cursed, And those who bless you be blessed."

Thus, Jacob, right or wrong, received the blessings passed down from God to Abraham to Isaac.  A blessing is forever.  It cannot be changed or reversed.  When it is spoken, it is spoken.  There is no going back.  Jacob would be blessed no matter how it came about.

Sometimes things happen in life that seem out of order.  There is still no need to worry about the fact that God is in control and working through every action of every human being.  God let this happen.  In the end, it worked out for the best, though it seemed wrong at the time.  

God sees the end of the picture, and we can only see where we are right now in time.  God knew that of the two men, only Jacob truly worshiped Him.  Even though Jacob sinned terribly, he still recognized that God was God.

Apparently Esau was caught up in a pagan world.  He did not appreciate, understand, value or respect these blessings, but Jacob did.  

Actually, if you look at their sins; neither son was deserving.   

Perhaps that is why it happened the way it did.  There are probably a million other reasons that we could point to on this side of history, but for now we just have to know that things transpired the way they did,  and God allowed it.  

The mistake of this blessing brought about change in many ways for both of Isaac's sons, as we will see later.  Both of these men's characters were completely reformed from the actions and events that spun out of this one incident in time.  The whole time God was in control.

No sooner than Jacob left his father’s side after this blessing, Esau returned.  He prepared the game and brought it in to Isaac.  He told his father to sit up and eat the game so that he could then give him the blessing. 

Isaac asked “Who are you?”  Esau replied:  “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

How devastating it must have been for Esau when his own father did not recognize him and suspected HIM of being the impostor!  Esau had plenty of faults, but the one thing he had going for him all along was that he was close to his father.  They shared a close relationship and Esau truly loved Isaac.  This must have bothered Esau more than losing the blessing.

Trembling with anger and dismay Isaac asked, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me?  I ate it just before you came and I blessed HIM – and indeed he will be blessed!”

Esau let out a loud, bitter cry and said “Father – Bless me – me too, my

Father!”

But it was too late.  Isaac told Esau how his brother came deceitfully and took his blessing.  Esau noted in the conversation that Jacob had been rightly named!  Remember that Jacob means to trick or to deceive.  Esau said “that is the second time he has taken advantage of me:  He took my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing!”

Once again Esau turned to his father and asked:  “Haven’t you reserved ANY blessing for me?”

Isaac, sadly and more or less thinking out loud shook his head and told Esau he had made Jacob lord over him, all his relatives and his servants.  He said he had sustained him with grain and new wine.  

What was left for Esau?

Esau wept and begged for a blessing until his father finally, in his frustration and dismay, said this over him:

"Your dwelling will be away from the earth's richness,

Away from the dew of heaven above.

You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother.

But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck."

Is that not the strangest blessing you have ever heard?  

At first it almost sounds like a doom-filled curse, but a little hope is offered in the end.  Esau must have been beside himself with regret at this point.

Thus, the grudge between Jacob and Esau grew even wider.  Esau made a pledge to himself that he would kill Jacob after he had mourned his father’s death.

Someone told Rebekah about Esau’s intentions, and she immediately sent for Jacob and told him Esau’s plan.  She insisted that Jacob flee to her brother Laban’s house in Harran.  She told him to stay there for awhile until his brother’s fury subsided.  She said she would send for him when this had come to pass.  Her words were “Why should I lose both of you in one day?”  Of course she meant she would be grieving for Isaac and did not want to lose Jacob too.  

 Sometimes when you make your own plan instead of trusting God to do his work; you lose.  Rebekah was about to lose the two most precious men in her life.  She wasn't just losing them, she was losing them after she had done harm to them.  It must have been a terrible time for Rebekah.  Her heart must have been breaking more and more each minute.

Then Rebekah turned to Isaac and told him how disgusted she was with living with Esau’s Hitite women.  She told him that she wanted Jacob to take a wife from among the women of her home.  She convinced Isaac that Jacob should leave for Harran to find a wife.  It was a great plot to hide him from Esau for awhile without disturbing the last days of Isaac.  I'm sure by now Isaac, as disgusted as he was with Jacob's actions, also feared for his life and the wrath of Esau.  

Can you imagine how miserable Isaac must have been to have been deceived by his son and his wife so close to the end of his life?   

Troubles from the world come to everyone.  Isaac; the one who had been willing to give his life so many years ago for all of mankind, suffered from the actions of the three human beings that meant the most to him because they had not followed the ways of God.  They had taken their own paths and listened to the lies of the enemy.  They had let the devil chose their way instead of God.  This surely would not have been the way Isaac wanted to leave this earth, but that is the way it happened in spite of all the good Isaac had done. 

Rest assured that God does His best work when mere men fail.  

God had not forgotten Isaac's faithfulness, and He was in control of all of these descendants of Abraham; even when they refused to listen.

FUN UNDER THE SUN ENJOYING THE OUTDOOR MARKET OF MT. LAUREL

(Writing and Photography by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Mt. Laurel is a lovely place, even if you aren’t there on Market Day, but Market Day is very special. 

The day I was there it felt like God had put up His bluest sky just for me!  It seemed He had intensified the landscape with bright blazing colors. The delicious scents of fresh cut flowers and the heavenly aroma of the amazing foods being sold at the market were so inviting. 

The moment I drove into the community, I felt completely surrounded by beauty.  This new urban-type community conforms to the land, and serves it’s inhabitants well by keeping everything needed for a rich daily life within walking distance of their homes.  There are beautiful churches, a school, shops, restaurants, a library, a grocery store and a hardware store, as well as other business establishments.  The architecture was lovely, quaint and well planned. 

Each front door of the homes seemed to say "Welcome!  Come visit me today."  I passed rocking chairs on porches that whispered, “Come sit a spell.”  There were comfortable benches scattered in shaded nooks.  I resisted the temptation to stop at a few of the open houses, just to peek into their lovely rooms, and to wonder through the streets and step inside the very interesting and unusual shops and restaurants.  Every little area looked like a place where I would enjoy sitting down with coffee and a good book.   

I had no time for that today though, after all, I was here for the out-door market which is held every Saturday starting in the spring and lasts through the summer.  The day can get away before you know it, and those marketers like to start early in the cool morning air.  I’m told that most of what is sold here is grown on the property locally and organically.  The growers host various educational classes to teach people the science of maintaining and growing your own food and eating and living nutritionally.   I didn’t need anyone to teach me that I had stumbled upon a good thing. 

Who could resist the smell of freshly baked bread?
I certainly could not pass it by.  The samples get you every time too, especially when they have all those jars of fresh jam and honey to add to the already perfect backed goods.

If you can "can" it, you can find it here.  Amazing how many flavors, just waiting to be tasted.

Veggies and flowers make a perfect combination on any table.  Forget planning out the tablescapes, this is a natural tablescape; designed by the greatest of all designers.

Just look at the beautiful sunflowers!  You know, I'm sure I passed the field they came from on the way in.

Do you have a little girl in need of a dance costume?  You've come to the right place.

Or maybe she only needs a hair bow.  You can find it here.  There is even a tea party going on for Moms and daughters around the corner after the market.   

Maybe you would like some cheerful glassware for your spring table.  Aren't these wonderful?

If you don't want to prepare your own veggies for cooking, someone here has done it for you!

This is truly a fruitful place.  The peaches were to die for
.

Soon my tummy and my shopping bag were full of fresh foods and crafts for the home.

I passed the people walking their dogs and the moms pushing their babies in strollers and made my way back to my car.  A beautiful window box caught my eyes as I was leaving.  It looked "just perfect."  It said in flowers how I felt about this beautiful day.  I gave thanks to God for the experience and headed for home to try some of the goodies I had found.

 

COME AS A CHILD LESSON 73 ISAAC AND THE SEVEN WELLS

(Written by Sheila Gail Landgraf)

Time was passing on in the life of Isaac and Rebekah.  They stayed very busy looking after their household.  

Isaac did some farming in the land.  He planted many crops in that same year that he and Rebekah lived in Gerar under the protection of King Abimelech.  His crops were blessed by the LORD and the harvest that year was abundant.  This made Isaac a very rich man.  As a matter of fact his wealth grew so much that he became extremely wealthy and was probably among the richest men in the land.  He wisely invested in more flocks and herds and these became so numerous that all of his neighbors, the Philistines, greatly envied him.  Thus began the ancient struggle over the land.  It existed even in the days of Abraham and Isaac, and it continues today. 

The Philistines had been warned by King Abimelech not to harm Rebekah and Isaac, but that did not keep them from getting revenge on Isaac for coming into their area and growing stronger and better and richer than they were.  Those crafty old Philistines went to the wells that Isaac’s Father, Abraham had dug and started filling them up with trash and dirt which stopped them from producing water. 

When Isaac went to King Abimelech about this problem the King of the Philistines told Isaac that he had become too powerful for the people of the land.  Abimelech asked Isaac to move away from them.  Abimelech was probably trying to avoid war among the people of the land and Isaac. 

So; Isaac moved from the main city of Gerar and camped in the valley.  Isaac reopened some more wells that had been dug by his father Abraham during his lifetime.  The Philistines had stopped up each of these wells after Abraham’s death.  It was nothing but a malicious act of spite.  They obviously did not have use for the water from these wells.  Isaac did though; and he re-dug them.  There were seven all together.  

Isaac renamed each of these wells using the very same names that Abraham had given them originally.  One of the wells Isaac re-dug contained fresh spring water. 

The Philistine shepherds of Gerar began to quarrel with Isaac in the valley too.  They claimed the water rights of the land as their own, and told Isaac the wells did not belong to him.  They probably wanted him to pay them for use of the water from the wells that he had re-dug himself, the same water that they had not needed previously when they had selfishly stopped the wells up for revenge!  The Philistines were always looking for a way to make a profit from someone else’s labor.  They were wicked and crafty in this way.

Isaac re-named the well that produced the fresh water Esek, because they disputed with him there.  This word in Hebrew means “contention and strife.”  That is exactly what the quarrel over the water was causing in the land, so that is exactly what Isaac called the well.  Isaac was not looking for a fight.  He gave the Philistines use of the well he had opened back up and moved on out of their way.

Isaac went out further in the land and re-dug another well.  They also disputed with him there.  Isaac called this well Sitnah, which means “opposition.”  He moved on from there too.

Finally Isaac dug a well from which the Philistines did not quarrel with him.  He called this well Rehoboth which means “room to live” and said “Now the LORD has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

From that spot of land Isaac went up to Beersheba.  In Beersheba God spoke to Isaac again and said:  “I am the God of your father Abraham.  Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”

Isaac built an altar in this spot and this was where he went to pray and call upon the name of the LORD.  He pitched his tent near the altar and had his servants dig another well there.

In a similar fashion as had happened with Abraham, Abimelech came to Isaac from Gerar with Ahuzzath (his lawyer and legal adviser) and Phicol (the commander of his army.)

It must have been pretty intimidating for Isaac to see these men ride up, and I think Isaac had lost his patience with them at this point.  Isaac actually had a very well equipped army at his own disposal, the trained servants of Abraham and their sons who had stayed in Isaac’s household.  Isaac asked those bold Philistines just one question: “Why have you come here to me, since you sent me away from your land?”

They said they had seen how God had blessed Isaac and they wanted to have a sworn agreement between him and them.  In other words, they wanted to make a peace treaty with Isaac.  Well!  It was about time!

Abimelech reminded Isaac that he had done him no harm and he wanted Isaac to say the same to him.  They proclaimed that they did not molest Isaac and had dealt fairly with him and had sent him away in peace.  They felt that God was with Isaac and this was the reason for all of his blessings and all of his wealth and prosperity in the land.  They called him “blessed of the LORD.”

So Isaac made them a feast (which was always part of any major agreement for peace) and they all ate and drank together.  The next morning all of the men swore an oath to each other.  They left Isaac in peace.

Later that very same day Isaac’s servants came in from the field telling him that they had found water at a well they had dug.  Isaac called that well Shibah; the same name that Abraham had given it after his oath with Abimelech.  Shibah means “the well of the oath” and it indicates “fullness” which doesn’t necessarily just refer to the water that they received from this well, but it indicates the life that they were living before God in this place.

The city there then officially became known as Beersheba.  Beersheba is a very interesting and complicated name to understand.  The root means “writing on tablets of stone made clear and distinct.”  The feminine as well as the masculine noun means a well or a pit.  The verb root means “My heart declares.” Some scholars have related the root-verb (barar) to some of the Semitic languages. These meanings would connote “shining, pious, kind, true, or even go to the more basic meanings “to be free or clear.”  The Hebrew verb suggests a “purifying or cleaning or polishing,” which is very interesting in light of prophecy that evolves around Ezekiel 20:38. This meaning also relates to “tested and tried men.” 

The stories that center around this important well of Beersheba are endless and full of meaning.  We could discuss them and the things that happened at this particular well and in Beersheba for days on end.  It was a very significant place in the history of God and mankind.

So we find that most things were going along very well for Isaac who was in the prime of his life, everything, that is; except for the troubles that Esau brought home.  Esau loved the Hitites and he rebelliously married Judith who was the daughter of Beeri (a Hitite) and Basemath who was a daughter of Elon (another Hitite.)

These two girls were a true source of grief for Isaac and Rebekah.