Page 51 - Moms For America

 Read the following excerpt and answer questions. Raising a New Generation of Patriots by Kimberly Fletcher “Sometime around 431 AD, St Patrick travelled to Ireland to teach Christianity to a people who were at that time, a violent, corrupt, and paganistic culture. Traditionally when priests and clergy went into a community they went with the intent to convert. They would meet with tribal leaders, frequented their councils and seek to win favor with the men. But when St. Patrick arrived on the shores of Ireland, he had a different idea. Instead of going with the intent to convert pagans he went and walked among the people. Instead of spending his time in councils with tribal leaders, he spent his days at the rivers where the women washed their clothes and his nights at the fires where they cooked their meals. In spite of all the advice, training and council he received to do otherwise, St. Patrick spent his time serving and teaching the women of Ireland because he firmly believed if he could convert the women, he would convert Ireland. And that is exactly what he did. St. Patrick’s success in Ireland was so profound that it not only converted a nation, it became the beacon of light for the entire Christian world during the dark ages. St. Patrick could have gone to Ireland and done what everyone else had done before him, but he knew that if he did, the results would be short lived and he desired lasting change—the kind that only comes from the deep faith of true conversion. What he needed was a mighty change of heart among the people of Ireland. And St Patrick knew if you want to change the hearts of the people of a nation, you go to the heart of that nation— the mothers. He had a choice—change a few men for a short time, or influence a nation for generations. He chose the latter. He went to the women first, taught them, touched their hearts, and then those mothers converted the nation—one tender heart at a time.” 1. In what ways have women influenced your life? _________________________________________________ 2. If you are a young woman, what ways can you prepare to use your influence for good? _________________________________________________  Read the following article and do your own research to learn about Abigail Adams. With your parents, consider watching the John Adams mini series. Abigail Adams: A Mother Patriot by Kimberly Fletcher In 1775 as war raged around her Boston home, Abigail bravely cared for her young family alone while her husband was away, serving his country. Her son, John Quincy, later spoke of this time as “the space of twelve months (in which) my mother, with her infant children, dwelt, liable every hour of the day and the night, to be butchered in cold blood.” 1 Many of the women of the Revolutionary era were Quakers and Christians who were adamantly opposed to war. And yet, they supported the battle because they deeply believed in the dream of America. John Quincy spoke of his mother’s influence. “My mother was the daughter of a Christian clergyman, and therefore bred in the faith of deliberate detestation of War...Yet, in that same spring and summer of 1775, she taught me to repeat daily, after the Lord’s Prayer, and before rising from bed, the Ode of Collins on the patriot warriors...” 2 Abigail instilled a love of God and Country in her children. She stood courageously against the evils of her day and supported her husband all throughout his long life of public service. Abigail was a strong supporter of the battle for independence. She frequently opened her home as a headquarters for the minutemen. Her son, John Quincy, later spoke of this. There were “some dozen or two of pewter spoons,” he said, “and I well recollect going into the kitchen and seeing some of the men engaged in running those spoons into bullets for the use of the troops! Do you wonder that a boy of seven years of age, who witnessed this scene, should be a patriot?”3 This is where patriotism comes from. It comes from a young child seeing their mother put her hand over her heart, from seeing their father carefully fold the flag, from witnessing their grandfather remove his hat when the flag goes by. They feel it, they see it. And when parents share with them why they do it, why they feel America is so great—what the dream is all about, then liberty will be secured because the children will know what it means to be American, and they will love her too. Kids 3: Ladies First Moms for America ✯ Cottage Kids 7