Patrick was obviously happier about our friend's dog than he was about the parade. This was the only smile we got out of him the entire time! He sure looked cute in his Patriotic outfit, though. Well, except for the shiner he is sporting under his right eye. Between that and the inflamed mosquito bite on his cheek I am certainly a finalist in the "Mother of the Year" award!
Yesterday we were playing in the swimming pool. We have a little wading section and I was sitting there with Patrick. (Doesn't it always happen when you are sitting right there?) Anyway, he saw a toy floating in the deeper water that he wanted and he was about to try to crawl toward it. I sat him back up and went to get it myself. Well, I guess he was determined to "walk" around the edge of the pool to get it, so he went crawling toward the side, quickly since he knew I told him to sit still. He slipped and knocked his eye on the side of the pool. It was immediately swollen and bruised, so I knew he was going to have a good shiner! Amazingly, he only cried for a couple of seconds, proving that I may have another stunt master on my hands.
Today is the day we celebrate our freedom as a nation. Our family is passionate about passing on a legacy of freedom to our children. I am disheartened by what I see going on in our great nation and the freedoms that we are steadily losing. I am sad for my children and grand children and the debt we are leaving behind. I am so grateful for those who have lost and/or risked their lives to protect our freedoms and I pray that we do not let those freedoms slip through our hands. I found a quote from John Adams today. It says, "Posterity, you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make good use of it. If you don't, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it!" I have to wonder what Mr. Adams would say if he were here today. I wonder if he would be sorry about the pains he and many others took to secure the liberties that we seem so bent on throwing away. Less than 300 years later, and our nation is teetering on the brink of self-destruction.
Abraham Lincoln said, "America will never be conquered from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." I am convinced through my study of history and civilizations that a nation that allows the breakdown of the family is an unstable nation. God instituted the family in the very beginning, so He obviously thought it was a structure of utmost importance. I praise the Lord for the movements that are dedicated to strengthening the family. I am so thankful that there are many, many people out there who strive to end abortion, who strive to strengthen marriages, who strive to raise godly offspring.
I believe with all of my heart the truth proclaimed in 2 Chronicles 7:14, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." God can heal our nation and maybe He will. There are scores of people who are passionate about freedom - first and most importantly in Christ and then also for America. There are young people all over our nation who are excited to learn the lessons that our history teaches us, learn what our Founding Fathers wanted us to know when they wrote our Constitution, and who are ready and willing to follow God into the battle that lies ahead. However, the blame for the state of our nation clearly lies at the feet of the Redeemed. God has not promised to heal our land based on anything that unbelievers do or do not do. The results of this promise hinge on His people! That's me, and maybe that is you! We are the ones who are called to humble ourselves and seek His face and turn from our wickedness.
I hope that one day my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can live in a country that is truly free once again. A nation that has God's hand of blessing clearly on it, as America has always had. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Psalm 33:12 Our nation was founded by men who knew God as the Lord. Even the ones without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ acknowledged the hand of Providence and how it guided the affairs of men. This is the basis on which our nation was founded and this is the only basis on which our nation will be saved!
However, I agree with another thing John Adams said, and that is this, "You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe."
The thing that is even more important than a free country is living in true freedom. The freedom that the world doesn't give. The freedom that no government or society can take away. This freedom is found all over the world, in the hearts of those who have stepped from darkness into Light. Living in the Kingdom of Light means that you are untouchable by godless governments and any other restraints of this world. No matter where you live or what your circumstances, if you are adopted by the Most High God, then you are free!
"So if the Son sets you free, you are free indeed!" John 8:36
This freedom is found in prisons and underground churches all over the world. These are the rights that can never be repealed or restrained by human law. These are the freedoms truly worth dying for.
So today as you celebrate with family and friends, as we will be doing, when you watch the fireworks light up the sky - remember that freedom is worth fighting for. Teach your children the true lessons of history, but even more importantly, teach them about the One who came to set the captives free!
Happy Fourth of July!
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