PRAYERS & POEMS FOR SCOUTERS

"I will hold Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." - Charles Dickens.

Now Hear this Lord
Unknown

Before I lay me down to sleep

And fall into a slumber deep

Hear this little prayer of mine

Hope it gets to you in time

Bless those on land and sea and air

Who fight for freedom here and there

Send special blessings from above

Protect them with your shield of love

Return them safely, we humbly pray

To the Land of the Free

And the Home of the Brave

What Is A Leader?
Heart of America Council

L Learn, Listen, Laugh

E Encourage, Educate, Enthuse

A Assure, Accomplish, Accept

D Direct, Devise, Develop

E Explain, Envision, Evaluate

R Recognize, Reach, Re-create

Heart of America Council

Dear Father,

Be with us today as the little boys burst in for their important meeting.  Be with each Cub, the one who jostles., the one who disappears with a book, the one who works so carefully.  The one whose face is always smudged.  I love them all and thank Thee for the privilege of knowing them in these years when each is so completely his honest self.  Help me engage their wonderful enthusiasm in worthwhile projects which catch their imagination, for then all trouble ceases and we move ahead like a canoe in swift waters.  I ask Thy blessing on their rumpled heads and pray that in some measure these meetings may help them grow to be their own best selves. Amen.

- Josephine Robertson

(Skits, Puppets, Ceremonies 1963)

A Fathers Prayer
Heart of America Council

Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know Thee and know that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the paths of ease and comfort, but  ‘under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenges.  Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously.  Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness; the open mind of true wisdom; the meekness of true strength.

Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, “I have not lived in vain”.

Douglas MacArthur

Don’t Forget He’s Just A Boy!
Heart of America Council

Get to understand the lad -
He’s not eager to be bad.
If the right he always knew
He would he as old as you
Were he now exceeding wise,
He’d be just about your size.
When he does things that annoy
Don’t forget he’s just a boy.
Could he know and understand,
He would not need a guiding hand.
But he’s not you and hasn’t learned
How life’s corners’ must be turned.
Doesn’t know from day to day
There is more to life than play.
More to face than selfish joy.
Don’t forget - he’s just a boy.

Being just a boy he’ll do

Much you will not want him to.
He’ll be careless of his ways,
Have his disobedient days.
Willful, wild and headstrong too,
Things of value, he’ll destroy,
But reflect, he’s just a boy.
Just a boy who needs a friend -
Patient, kindly, to the end.
Needs a father who will show
Him the things he wants to know.
Take him with you when you walk
Listen when he wants to talk.
His companionship enjoy.
Don’t forget he’s just a boy.

Author Unknown

“YOU CAN ‘T NO MORE TEACH WHAT YOU AIN’T LEARNED THAN YOU CAN GO BACK TO WHERE YOU AIN’T BEEN”.

A Dear Friend sent this to me.  Could be changed a bit for Mom or Dad.

POSITION: Parent

Job Description: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment.  Candidates must possess excellent communication and  organizational skills and be willing to work various hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.  Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities.  Travel expenses not reimbursed.

Responsibilities: This is for the rest of your life.  Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating.  Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.  Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.  Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework and den projects.  Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.  Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.  Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices.

Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.  Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.

Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

Possibility For Advancement And Promotion:
Virtually none.  Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

Previous Experience: None required, unfortunately.  On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

Wages And Compensation: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.  When you die, you give them whatever is left.  The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

Benefits: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

The Key
Heart of America Council

The key to getting along with others is when you are wrong be easy to change and when you are right be easy to live with.

The key to the Cub Scout Program is FUN.

A key to teamwork. is remembering that Greater is he who gets ten men to work than he who does the work of ten men.

The key to success is to climb the ladder instead of sitting and waiting for the elevator.

The key to involvement is TRY IT - YOU’LL LIKE IT!

A key to Good Leadership is consideration.

A key to a smooth running pack is teamwork.

A key to the success of not becoming completely wrapped up in ones self is to remember that when that happens you are a very small package.

The key to character is to be yourself for character is what you do when no one is looking.

A key to being helpful to others is to remember that the important person is the other fellow, not yourself.

(Balboa District Pow Wow)