Yesterday was the Fourth of July. We had a cookout at our house with only about half of the potential family members attending this annual amount. That meant that we were twelve in number. Other family members were as far away as Michigan, Virginia, Florida, and Maine. We missed the absent ones, but were thankful that we knew they would have been here if they were not someplace else.
The Fourth is a special time of the year for us as Americans. It is a time to remember how we came to be a nation in the beginning. We have never been a nation without fault, but we have always been a nation on the right track. People have paid a high price for us to have the blessing of freedom.
The flag is the symbol of that freedom. Catherine and I are the glad owners of a very special flag. It was given to us by our grandson, Brian, when he returned from his first tour of flights above the country of Iraq. It was very special when we opened this flag last Christmas and saw that Brian had bought the flag and took it with him so that it had actually flown over the nation of Iraq. That certainly made it very special.
We are in our eighties so it should be expected that we would cherish the heritage of our country, but think about what an encouragement it is to know that a captain in the Air Force would know what a special thing that flag would be. The only way that he could know that was for it to be just as special for him.
We should never take being an American for granted. Millions of people in this world have no comprehension of what real freedom is. Our forefathers put their lives on the line in order to establish this free nation. They may not all have agreed about just how it should work, but they all agreed on the subject of freedom. Men in the south fought for this freedom when they still held slaves. How could the compilers of the Constitution do that? How is it that the people of this free nation can see the inconsistency in that today when people lived with it back then?
We need to thank God for the gift of freedom. We look at the prosperity of our nation and think that we are a wealthy nation because we are free. Let us never presume on the goodness of God. He blesses those who follow in His ways and He even blesses those who don’t know Him. He makes the rain to fall on the good and bad. It is great to be able to celebrate freedom like we do. Enjoy it today. There are those who would take it away from us and that is sad. It means that they do not appreciate this great gift.
We cannot allow people to enslave us with power or thought. More people have been enslaved by ideas than those who have been conquered by armies. My freedom requires that every other person must be free so we can enjoy it together. The Fourth of July is a great reminder that we live in a great nation of people bound together by great ideals and great ideas.
The Fourth is a special time of the year for us as Americans. It is a time to remember how we came to be a nation in the beginning. We have never been a nation without fault, but we have always been a nation on the right track. People have paid a high price for us to have the blessing of freedom.
The flag is the symbol of that freedom. Catherine and I are the glad owners of a very special flag. It was given to us by our grandson, Brian, when he returned from his first tour of flights above the country of Iraq. It was very special when we opened this flag last Christmas and saw that Brian had bought the flag and took it with him so that it had actually flown over the nation of Iraq. That certainly made it very special.
We are in our eighties so it should be expected that we would cherish the heritage of our country, but think about what an encouragement it is to know that a captain in the Air Force would know what a special thing that flag would be. The only way that he could know that was for it to be just as special for him.
We should never take being an American for granted. Millions of people in this world have no comprehension of what real freedom is. Our forefathers put their lives on the line in order to establish this free nation. They may not all have agreed about just how it should work, but they all agreed on the subject of freedom. Men in the south fought for this freedom when they still held slaves. How could the compilers of the Constitution do that? How is it that the people of this free nation can see the inconsistency in that today when people lived with it back then?
We need to thank God for the gift of freedom. We look at the prosperity of our nation and think that we are a wealthy nation because we are free. Let us never presume on the goodness of God. He blesses those who follow in His ways and He even blesses those who don’t know Him. He makes the rain to fall on the good and bad. It is great to be able to celebrate freedom like we do. Enjoy it today. There are those who would take it away from us and that is sad. It means that they do not appreciate this great gift.
We cannot allow people to enslave us with power or thought. More people have been enslaved by ideas than those who have been conquered by armies. My freedom requires that every other person must be free so we can enjoy it together. The Fourth of July is a great reminder that we live in a great nation of people bound together by great ideals and great ideas.
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