I'm Thankful for my Faith Family!

Families who pray and play together, stay together.

Today, I realized, after emailing a friend, how thankful I am for childhood memories of the church I grew up in. We always celebrated Easter,Veteran's Day, 4th of July,  Thanksgiving, Christmas,  and tied each of those holidays into our faith because We Are One Nation Under God. Here's the Pledge of Allegiance that we said every morning before school began.

I Pledge Allegiance to the Flag

Of the United States of America,

And to the Republic for Which It Stands

One Nation Under God, Indivisible,

With Liberty and Justice for all.

Did you know that there is also a Bible pledge: 

I Pledge Allegiance to the Bible, God's Holy Word,

I Will Make it a Lamp Unto My Feet

And a Light Unto My Path

And Will Hide Its Words in My Heart

That I May Not Sin Against God.

and a Christian pledge?:

I Pledge Allegiance to the Christian Flag

And to the Savior for Whose Kingdom It Stands.

One Brotherhood, Uniting All Mankind

In Service and in Love.  

We also celebrated school milestones like graduation with Promotion Sunday when children and young people were given a certificate because they were moving up to different Sunday School classes based on their age and grade in school. There were also awards given for best attendance and recognition given to Sunday School classes that had grown the most during the year. I always looked forward to those kind of things because they were my own personal milestones during the year. I guess what has brought them to mind is after last month's posting, I received the news that one of my first Sunday School teachers has graduated to heaven. Her name was Mrs. Ardella Hale.

I wrote this poem when a church friend asked me to help her to compile our church history for a seminary school project.

Our Church Family Quilt: A Warm Treasure From Heaven By Dolores J. Rush. 2008.

Our church family is like a patchwork quilt,
Begun some fifty years ago and designed with love.
It is a godly pattern, rich in memories,
Sewn by the Creator above.

Patiently weaving the fabric of our lives,
He stitches us together with golden threads that endure,
While challenges have added strength
To make our inheritance secure.

God pieced hearts together into blocks
Surrounded by His grace and care
And tied it through the batting of his comfort
Into a cozy coverlet we share.

He embroidered glimmering threads across the top
And sewed on elegant lace; binding us into one.
One family, composed of created people,
Made beautiful by his Son.

Yes, a patchwork of people, related by faith
Women, children, and men.
Warm treasure from heaven, this family quilt --
A legacy from Him.