The 49th Parallel and Pembina

To wrap it all up:

It 1823 the United States Army dispatched Major Stephen H. Long to Pembina (PEM-bih-naw) to officially locate the 49th parallel and, therefore, the U.S. / Canadian border as defined by the Treaty of Ghent.  He found that all but one cabin in Pembina was located on the U.S. side - and that one cabin actually straddled the 49th parallel.

Pembina was a very strategic location for the time because it linked the U.S. to the Hudson Bay territories.  The real estate adage, "location, location, location," has been forever true.  Even so, in 1823 when Major Long arrived there were only 350 people living in Pembina.  That's a pretty isolated location though, so it's really a pretty sizeable number.

Fifty years later, in 1872, another 60-man boundary team was commissioned and headquartered at Fort Pembina to use more "modern" equipment and locate the 49th parallel more precisely, finally ending any dispute about its location.

Minnesota was a state by 1858; it wasn't until 1889 that North Dakota became a state.  So Pembina is located at the very northeast corner of what would become North Dakota, one river-width from Minnesota, and literally one step from Canada.

One of the things keeping Pembina alive today is an unlikely business:

These guys produce 75% of the tour buses in America.  I had to get Granpa out of there fast before he decided to go custom order one!!

John Jacob Astor and the North Dakota Fur Trade

England's Hudson's Bay Company was chartered in 1670 and was the first established in North America.  About 1774 they moved inland to the North Red River area. 

Canada's North West Company was founded, in 1779.  Though their rivalry was fierce and bitter, by 1821 the two companies merged, retained the name Hudson's Bay, and is still in existence today.  Wow!  A company - an anything - in existence for 343 years!  You can even google it and find www.hbc.com (also known as The Bay).  You might even be buying from them and never knew that they were THE Hudson Bay Company!!

The only other long-term contender for the Red River fur trade was John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company.   (Not the best picture - but what do you expect for the 1700's?)

Library of Congress

Astor was born in Waldorf, German.  He heard about the fur business on board ship coming to America.  By opening new markets in Canada and the Great Lakes region his company became so successful that it was/is considered the first American business monopoly.  By 1800 he had a fortune of $250,000 - in the dollar of the day, not today's dollar!  In the next few years he had planned to flood Astoria (now in Oregon) with fur-trading posts, but the British captured them during the War of 1812.

Fur-trading pretty much came to a halt in the 1990's due to the efforts of wildlife conservationists.

Some reference material said Astor also made money in the opium trade - which is believable since China was one of his ports 'o call for the fur trade.

John Jacob Astor was also the founder of the rich and famous Astor family of New York.  One of his descendants died on the Titanic by allowing women and children to take his place on the rescue boats. 

Now That The Packages Have Been Opened

Now that all the Christmas gifts have been opened back in Texas, I can show folks what keeps me busy during the day in North Dakota as a medical travelers wife:  This year it was crocheting.

Calin's

Nina's and a poncho for her doll

Rylee's

These aren't much in the way of gifts, and there are older grandkids that, let us say, get really un-excited when they get a handmade gift, so there had to be some cash, too.  I looked at buying cards to put the money in, but that just didn't seem like much fun.  Then I found my solution:

Little Kids

Big Kids

Then  you box them up by family for shipping.

Christopher's Family

Jamie's Family

Larry's Family

 Toss in an envelope for the parents (one is always a kid at Christmas time!),

 and hope that someone is around with a camera when it comes time to open the packages.

Fur Sales in Europe

Land 'o gumption!  Look at the HATS the men were wearing back in Europe in the 1600's!!  No WONDER they wanted to start wearing beaver-skin top hats!  That guy kneeling in the front, showing furs to the dude, that guy is even wearing HIGH HEELS!


Give me good ol' Western wear any day:

Why, I’d wear this coat today!  Especially here in North Dakota in January!

That fringe used to be longer but they would cut it off and use it for all kinds of things - like we use zip-ties today.  Yeah.  I'm glad I'm an American.  :-)

The Ox Cart Trade

By the 1840's, after the establishment of the 49th Parallel as the border between Canada and the U.S. and after the English and French had retreated above that, the principal means of getting the furs to market was first by ox cart.

Look at the size of those wheels!

The very first such cart used in the Red River fur trade was built in 1800 by Henry Alexander who was living in Pembina.  The trail they followed from Pembina to St. Paul, Minnesota was known as the Old Pembina Trail and covered a distance of 471 miles.  By 1869, 2,500 carts rattled and squeeled their way down the Trail loaded with furs and then back up with trade goods for Indians and settlers.

Looks like an 18-wheeler caravan of today's Interstate highways, huh?

A few years earlier the first steamboat came up the Red River of the North, and by 1878 the first railroad was completed as far up as St. Vincent, Minnesota.  Obviously, these methods of transportation replaced the ox cart almost completely.

Packing the Furs

Trappers couldn't change the weight of the hides, but they could have a bit of control over the size of the bundles.  This is a fur press:

Mighty big contraption for compressing a pack of furs.  Me?  I'd just sit on 'em.  Lord knows my backside is wide enough and heavy enough to squash the air outta that whole stack of furs!

The Chippewa (or Ojibwe) and Fur Trappers

Pembina soon became the center of a vast trade territory whose main object of commerce was furs taken mostly from the Dakota side of the Red River and from western Canada.  When the French, English, and American fur trappers arrived and intermarried with the tribes creating the Metis, they would all meet in Pembina to prepare for buffalo hunts.

Skin that puppy! 

The Chippewa were among the largest groups of Native Americans - First Nations north of Mexico - living half in Canada and half in the U.S.  They were the first to insist on detailed, written treaties with the white man, and they even have the Midewiwin Society as a well-respected keeper of detailed and complex scrolls of events, history, songs, maps, memories, stories, (and get this!) geometry, and mathematics.  In 1745, they used the guns of Europeans to drive the Dakota Sioux farther south onto the American western plains.  They were known for their skill in making birch bark canoes, using birch bark for their sacred scrolls, cultivating wild rice and creating copper arrowheads for hunting - man AND beast!

By the end of the 1700's, the Ojibwe controlled nearly all of present-day Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and Minnesota areas. They also controlled the entire northern shores of Lake Huron on the Canadian side and all the way west to the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.  (Sounds like these were the guys that would have inhabited the Indian Nation the British wanted to establish as a buffer between Canada and the U.S.)

Trappers were here as early as 1729, and as early as 1738 the French laid claimed to the area now known as Fort Pembina. It wasn't until 1780 that it was considered "inhabited," with the first trading post (Fort Panbian) being built in 1797 by a Frenchman with the Northwest Company. 

John Adams was serving as second president of the United States (1797 - 1801), and the Dakota Territory would not be under United States jurisdiction for several years to come.  The Louisiana Purchase from Napoleon by Thomas Jefferson wasn't until 1803.

The Hudson Bay Company of England built a fort in Pembina in 1803 and occupied it until 1823.
The first permanent settlement began in 1812 by (surprise!) Scottish and Irish settlers.  They either tore down the Frenchman's Fort Panbian or incorporated it into their Fort Daer.

Religion arrived in 1818 in the form of two priests sent by the Bishop of Quebec.  His diocesan boundaries went from the Great Lakes, to the North Pole, to the Pacific Ocean! In 1823, when Pembina was determined to be on U.S. soil, the Englishmen relocated their priests and business to Fort Gary in what is now Winnipeg.  The clergy didn't return until 1848.

Whew!!

Furry Critters

Even after the coming of man (especially the white man), the area abounded in furry critters,

(Not like that, Granpa!  Up close like THIS...)

 An American Marten










              and a Fisher.




Martens are like Minks, and they nest in trees like squirrels.  The Fisher is two to three times larger than the Marten and doesn't have the light patch on his chin and chest.

Granpa's picture does show their size difference better than my pictures, huh.  Maybe his way is better ... maybe.

There was also the beaver:

Beaver were big dudes weighing in at 30-40 pounds, but could be monster dudes weighing up to 70 pounds!  See his furless flat tail?  When there was danger around he would slap the water with his tail to alert his buddies.  It was also good (along with his webbed feet) for swimming.  His teeth were like chisels and set deep into the jaw bone so they didn't get pulled loose by all the gnawing.  I think I read somewhere that they also grew continuously so they never wore down.

Now, how many of those furs would it take to fill these packs?

First you set the traps, then you run the traps, then you skin the critters, tan the hides (or at least prep them), then you take them to the trading post in Pembina.  THIS is what is known as back-breaking work!

In one of my way-back-when earlier posts (November 14, 2011), I related the museum-learned fact that to buy a handmade Quaker-style hat in the 1840's, hunters could trade 100 rabbit hides.   Like I said, they used hides like money.

Earliest Settlers in North Dakota

We are talkin' ear-r-r-rly settlers, as in 5500 B.C. to 400 B.C.  Now, this is positively before Al Gore came up with Global Warming, but during this time it was very dry and warm around Pembina.  From an archeological dig in the area a part of a jaw bone was found and forensic anthropologists came up with this representation (like they do on the TV show, "Bones,") of what the woman that jaw bone belonged to might have looked like:

Her menfolk hunted with a nifty weapon called an atlatl.  Our sons learned about the atlatl in a church summer survival camp when they were teenagers.

The atlatl is a spear-throwing tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing.  (Mightly long dart!)  It pre-dates the bow and arrow.  There is a notch at the back end that you rest the dart or spear on:

They may not have known what "leverage" was, but they surely knew what worked.  The foot long throwing device allowed the hunter to throw a spear the length of a football field at a speed of sixty mph!  The additional velocity would be absolutely necessary to bring down something as large as the American Bison much less a Wooley Mammoth.  (Do you know what the daddy buffalo said to his son when he went off to his first day of school?  Bi-son!   Thank you, my Facebook friends!)

(I don't know why they depict that woman with such a not-happy look.  Surely even back then there were things worth smiling about.  Smiling keeps you healthy.  Everyone needs to smile more, hence the bison joke. :-)

Pembina, North Dakota

Pembina (pronounced PEM-bih-naw) is the oldest settlement in the Dakota Territories.  It got its name from the Indian words "anepeminan sipi," meaning high bush cranberries.  The neat thing about IT is that the berries remain on the bush all winter - until someone or some thing comes along and eats them:

Like maybe a certain berry-eatin' man I know:

Gooood-lookin' feller, ain't he?

The Border

Did you know that Napoleon was defeated in the Spring of 1814?

After defeating Napoleon, the British plan was to move all of their troops to the United States and expand the war that they started with us in 1812.  The idea was to force us to give up our access to the Great Lakes and to take part of the Louisiana Purchase that Napoleon had sold to us in 1803.  (Napoleon had needed money to fight his war in Europe.)  The British were attacking with three different forces:  one in D.C., one in New York, and one in New Orleans.  (Ever heard a song called, "The Battle of New Orleans,"  by Johnny Horton?)

You remember the War of 1812 - when Washington, D.C. was invaded and the White House burned by the British?  Then they were driven out by a hurricane that killed more British than any battle...

The Treaty of Ghent ended the war of 1812 and was signed in the neutral territory of Ghent in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (now Belgium), and simply said, enough is enough.

December 1814

Can you believe that it was the RUSSIANS who brokered the U.S. / British peace treaty?  That's the Russian Ambassador shaking hands with John Quincy Adams in the painting.  However, with the Treaty of Ghent, no territory changed hands, captured troops were handed over by both sides, and slaves were returned by the British - or paid for.  BUT, it did establish the U.S. / Canadian border at the 49th parallel.  The British HAD wanted land designated to create an Indian Nation which would act as a buffer between the U.S. and Canada in the Northwest Territory (Ohio to Wisconsin).  I wonder how that would have changed the face of America today?

And now you know why the U.S. / Canadian border is such a nice straight line:  it's the 49th Parallel.  Well, until you get over to the New England states...  That was an okay outcome for the War of 1812.

Gettin' Closer !

As we move on toward the border, through stands of frozen trees...

and open fields ... with ... what's this?

why!  It's a coyote!  See how bushy his tail is??  (Sorry for the blur, but cloudy, foggy weather and great distance isn't conducive to good photography.)

We're headed for an old French fur trading post in Pembina (pronounced PEM-bih-naw).

It sits right on the edge of the North Red River - considering the fact that the waterways were the super highways of yester-year, that's a really good place to set up shop, eh?  I'm told that there is no other building in North Dakota that is older than this one.  Antoine (pronounced An-twon) Gingras was one of the richest men of the northern plains in the 1840's.  Among other things, he was a proponent of self-government for the Metis.  (Fur traders often married American Indians and their children were called Metis.  Their culture was totally different from either parent group.)

So that's all there is to the old French fur trading post.  Bummer.  They should at least have a buffalo hide tacked to the outside wall...

Headed to The Canadian Border

So, it's December 15th, and we finally decide to brave the weather and head north to the border.

It's foggy with dry, blowing snow.  It's only 70 miles to the border, but we've got Big Bertha (the monster sleeping bag) in the back seat, I always take enough snacks to keep a small army happy, a thermos of hot water for hot tea (to keep ME happy), and bottles of water.  Larry gave us a roadside emergency flasher before we left Texas, so we figure we're good even if we go off the road.

Occasionally there are isolated homesteads...

ancient cemeteries ...

and scenery that is worthy of the name, Frozen North.  This won't thaw out until Spring. (Brrrrr !!)

Beautiful!

Christmas Gifting

Well, Granpa and Granny Beth conspired and combined to give me a treadmill for Christmas!  Granny Beth noted that it will only work if I get on it.  (Oh, so true!)  So, we set it up in the living room in front of the TV (that way maybe John will get on it, too.)  It has six pre-programmed workouts, gives a continous read-out of time, distance, and supposed calories burned, or it lets you set the tread for anywhere from 1 to 10 mph.  It folds down and will fit in the van very nicely (though it weighs about 100 pounds!)

I gave John some cash with orders to buy something for himself, since I NEVER get it right.  I also got him a popcorn popper, a mug for his coffee cup collection, an EggBeat dock for his iPhone that amplifies sound without any batteries or power of any kind, and a 10" skillet As Seen On TV.  That skillet is so slick you can't even get the eggs to hold still long enough to get the spatula under 'em.

We attended the Christmas Eve candlelight service at Grace Baptist here in Grand Forks, North Dakota.   It was very, very good.

We do hope your Christmas holidays were all you wished for and that Christ was your true reason for the celebrating!

The Best Gift-Giving

As I try to remember Christmas (and birthdays) past, it occurs to me that I don't remember the gifts - I remember the people.  As I've already said, I'm not a good gift giver - unless you count the fact that I try to be an encourager.  (Sometimes, when I'm being a mother, I have to be a corrector, but I think most of the time I'm an encourager 10 times for every one as a corrector.)

But back to gift-giving...

If it's a loved one you're trying to give to, truly, all they want is you.  I remember smiles, and relatives trying to get along with each other, and smells, yummy food we would only get on special occasions... I remember conversations and incidents (like my oldest brother reaching across in front of a cousin for food, and the cousin bit his arm!  That's where I learned what a boarder-house reach was - and that it was bad manners, not good practice.)  I remember people and places (like my 40th birthday party Momma arranged at the lake - and the flatbed train cars that we had to stop for carrying Army tanks toward the Gulf War.)  I remember what I think was my last Christmas as a child with my father - he gave lots of gifts, but I didn't see or hear from him again for years.

Isn't a gift supposed to reflect our love for the receiver?  Seriously, do you really think the receiver wants us to stress out over what to give?  If there truly is love, what else is there to give?  What greater gift can there be?  Share YOURSELF!  Share your smile, be an encourager, share a hug or a touch.  And do it all year long, not just during the holidays.  Give of yourself, not your pocketbook.

Give! And it shall be given back, shaken down and overflowing - like Frosted Flakes!  (see last year's Christmas post :-))

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL !!

Gift Giving

I'm not a good gift giver.  Never have been.  Seems I never will be.  One of our daughters-in-law says my language of love is food because I always make sure the kitchen is full of everyone's favorite foods when they come visit.  But gift giving?  No matter how full of love my heart is I never can seem to pick out the right gift - or it's the right thing that goes horribly wrong...

Granpa is on call for the next four days - including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  If he's in the middle of watching a movie on TV when he is called out, it's just tough luck.  So I thought it would be a perfect gift to get him a TiVo so he could record the rest of whatever he was watching.  I called TiVo and explained our "traveling" and that most places had cable TV (as opposed to satellite or old-fashioned off-the-airway TV).  The technician said not only would this work in our different housings but we could even hook it up in hotel rooms.  Cool!  They had a unit that records up to 45 hours (that would be over 20 movies or 40 hour-long programs!) for just $59.  I'll take it!

Then I get an email suggesting I go ahead and call the cable provider for a cable card that will insert into the back of the TiVo unit.  ???   Ooo-kaaay...  I discover that we have to take the old cable converter box back to the cable company and swap it out for the card.  Hmmm.  That means we'll be without TV until we can get the TiVo hooked up.  I enlist a friend in this Santa project, and he helps me work out the logistics.

Granpa's on call and therefore late getting off because, as usual, they have a Stat Echo right at getting-off time.  But I am SO excited when I pick him up from work!  I tell him on the way home that he's gonna get an early Christmas gift and as soon as we get home he has to, without fussing, sit down and open it.  He can't turn the TV on or go to the bathroom or even get a drink of water ('cause I didn't want him to notice the TV wasn't on or try to turn it on) - and remember, NO FUSSING.

So he dutifully complies and seems very pleased with the TiVo idea.  I knew he would want to wire it to the TV himself (guys are like that), so he gets busy with that while I get supper on the table.  He's running through the on-screen set up and gets to the spot where it says connect to the internet.  I'm like, huh?  Well, we have a wireless hot-spot, will that work?  No.  It says to connect to the land-line phone.  Nope, don't have a phone line.

I knew it!  I knew it!  I simply canNOT give gifts.  Aargh!

We call the 800 number.  Gotta have the phone line or high-speed internet connection to get the programing.  Can we watch TV tonight thru the TiVo cable card?  Nope.  Can't even get out of the set-up until we connect to something.

So that's it.  We have to undo everything I spent the whole day doing - tomorrow, because the cable company is closed for the evening - AND we can't even watch anything on TV tonight.  My gifts aren't just bad, they somehow manage to devolve into TERRIBLE.

Bless Granpa's heart.  He is SO nice to me!  He's sweet and loving the rest of the evening, even laughing at my misery in a warm gentle way.  I suggest he do some on-line research to see if he can accomplish my gift idea through some other technology.  (At least that will give him something to do since he can't watch TV...), and he discovers that there is nothing that a traveler can easily do to record TV without a lot of help from the landlords (i.e. getting a cable card and a land-line or internet hookup).  Maybe we should go back to the the ol' VCR tape recorder??

This even messes up the popcorn popper I got him...  I'm just NOT a good gift giver.  From now on it's gonna be strictly cash!

Columbine, Colorado

On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness.. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,
Your words are empty air.
You've stripped away our heritage,
You've outlawed simple prayer. 

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,
And precious children die.
You seek for answers everywhere,
And ask the question "Why?" 

You regulate restrictive laws,
Through legislative creed.
And yet you fail to understand,
That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact. What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him. To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"
    
                                                  - Darrell Scott

Wonderful, Healing Balm

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty that they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
But Jesus, their Savior; the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms, and He called them by name.

And in that moment was the joy that only heaven can bring,
Those children all flew into the arms of their King
And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

As if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes, and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools."
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"Come now my children, let me show you around."
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, Pennsylvania

Evil

Maybe the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut will make people admit Evil exists, Evil is THE reason. Once they realize that, they'll ask, well, how do you fight Evil. There, of course, is only one answer - Jesus.

Is there Evil in each of us? Well, the temptation to sin is in each of us. We need to admit that Evil exists, and that we are tempted by sinful things. Jesus was tempted, too - but with the strength of the Scriptures, Jesus held Satan off. We can, too.

It's so simple. Realize Christ is the only protection there is against eternal damnation, and the only path to eternal salvation.

Accept Christ's gift to us this Christmas. Invite Him into your homes and your hearts. Show Him through your life.

Find a Christ-filled church (NOT JUST ANY CHURCH) and learn more about this very special Christmas present. Go Sunday morning. Most are having Christmas Eve(ning) services. Go then. Go, and learn that there is a way to prevent Evil and to survive Evil. 

 

Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."     John 14:6

Newtown, Connecticut

Newtown, Connecticut: The school was supposed to be locked down 10 minutes before the gunman arrived. It's not the gun's fault, it's the lock's fault.  HONESTLY!! Get real!  It is the nature of evil !! Lock's aren't evil, gun's aren't evil. Inanimate objects are not / can not be evil. People who leave their souls open to evil are subject to the Evil One; people who truly give their souls to Christ are protected. Americans have removed Christ from schools - so why SHOULDN'T the Evil lurk there??

Father in heaven, thank you for loving all of humanity, loving us enough to send Your Son to die for our sins.  If we will just acknowledge what You have done to save us from our sinful nature, we can look forward to an eternity with You, knowing Your love more intimately than ever.  I know, Lord, that You may not stop Evil - that is up to US by accepting Your Son, focusing on You and living by Your Word.  Evil made itself evident in Newtown, Connecticut this morning.  I know that You were there, too, with the children and staff, quickly drawing them near to You as Evil took their lives.  I pray that each soul already had a personal relationship with You.  Please let Your presence be felt by each parent, sibling, grandparent and relative.  Please let them know Your peace which surpasses understanding.  Lord, I pray that every person who has had to go into that school today also feel Your love and compassion and mercy.  It is in the name of Your Son, Jesus, that I pray.  Amen and Amen.