One of our favorite talks at the history conference was about Israel Putnam. Who is he?, you might ask yourself. He was a real man of courage, one of those great men in history that we want our children to emulate. Putnam was a farmer in Massachusetts that immediately left his plough in the furrow, mounted his horse, and left for Cambridge when he received word of the battle at Lexington & Concord. Washington was appointed commanding general and Putnam was one of the four major-generals. Ohhh!! I didn't know that (because we don't really know our own history as well as we think we do).
Israel Putnam made that famous statement, "don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes". You see, the colonists were low on gun powder and needed to conserve until they were sure of defeating their enemy. Israel Putnam was not afraid to face battle, or death. His example sustained his men. His compassion was overwhelming, even in the face of battle. His courage was of a lion - simple, direct, genuine. He truly had a heart of mercy.
Putnam defines courage for us...doing what he is called to do in the face of fear, in the fear of the Lord. Putnam knew whom to fear . . . God!
Kerry
1 comment:
Mr. Beck, I may be wrong (haven't seen the code), but I think inserting a break tag between your images on your right collumn will fix it from being put at the bottom instead of along side the left collumn.
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