Children On Thanksgiving

With Thanksgiving approaching (for those of us in the U.S., at least), I thought you might enjoy these excerpts from a book called Then Some Other Things Happened, a collection of short pieces about history written by eighth graders and compiled by Bill Lawrence, a teacher and columnist.

The Pilgrams were a bunch of English wonderers who wanted to worship as they wanted to. They excaped the Church of England and came over here because they heard that American churches were different.
The May Flower was the ship with which they came in. It didn’t have a bathroom on board so there was quite an oder. Priscillia Mullins was the captain.
First the Pilgrams had gone to Holland but left when their children started developing customs there. After a stopover at Williamsbug when a large storm blew them off course they landed on a big, slimey rock in Massatusetts. They spent the winter there.
Before they got off the ship even they drew up an agreement for the people of Plymouth to agree on the voting for governors and congressmen. They kept this hid in the May Flower Compact. Lord Delaware was elected the first governor of Plymouth Rock.
A friendly Indian named Rhone Oak showed the Pilgrams how to plant corn by putting it in the ground. Rhone Oak had been the first Indian to come to America. He traveled around with Miles Standy and translated language. He knew enough English to interupt.
Another interupter for the white man was Squanto, who was called that because he was so short. Squanto drew up a declaration to give the settlers freedom of goverment in the new land. The Pilgrams gave the Indians thanks for all this and that’s what started Thanksgiving.
The Pilgrams then appointed Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Abraham Lincoln later pronounced it and gave it to them and it soon became a national holiday all around the world.
These people always wore old shoes with a big buckel on the top of them. The men wore pants that only came a little ways past the knees and the girls wore funny bonets. But if these people wouldn’t had of come to America the United States wouldn’t be like it is today.

Thanksgiving — a time for turkey (with all the trimmings), family get-togethers, football, and pumpkin pie. But, more importantly, it is a time to be reminded of how God has richly blessed us. It’s easy to forget the source of all we enjoy. Perhaps we would do well to be reminded of the warning given to the Israelites as they entered the land of Canaan:

Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, lest — when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage . . . then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth. (Deuteronomy 8:10-14, Deut 8:17-18 )

Source: Allan Smith: Thought for the Day

.