Happy Fourth!

 

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed His grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

'Nuff Said

Thanks, Martin!

By living the life he did, and dying too young, Martin Luther King did more for the people of this world than most others could accomplish in a long lifetime.

"Let freedom ring!" And continue to ring. Let's not ever forget what we came from so we never go back there again.

My Heart is Heavy

I am still in shock over the terrible quake in Haiti. Every time I see footage of people still trapped, people injured with no medical care, no food, no water, no place to sleep, I want to cry. The media has informed us that the best way to help is with cash. Be careful who you give cash to, but you can always give money to the Red Cross, and for faith-based organizations you could donate to World Vision or Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, a little-known, but very well run relief organization within our denomination.

Now is not the time for political posturing, or blaming. I have heard the most outlandish statements from well-known people in this country and it APPALLS me that someone could say these things. An evangelist has said horrible things and one of the ultra-conservative talk show mouthpieces has faulted the president for actually wanting to help these people because they are black.

Time for that evangelist to hang up his pulpit and retire, and I wish that talk-show guy would just SHUT UP!

Anyway, I'll step off my soapbox now and go find my credit card so I can get money to CRWRC as quickly as I can. God bless the lovely people of Haiti.

As Close As I Will Probably Ever Get

Watching Air Force One land in Belgrade, MT. It flew over my house and I got a couple of decent pictures. Couldn't get tickets to the Town Hall Meeting, but I'm watching it on TV. This is the first time since Teddy Roosevelt that a sitting president has visited the area.


Now to hear the give and take at the meeting. Let's hope all parties stay civil. Mr. Obama is good at keeping his cool, so that will be a plus.

Fireworks

A few snaps of our local fireworks display last night. They do a really nice job. Stan took these, I took some, but my camera battery died, and therefore it decided to act up just before it croaked. Enjoy!

God Bless the USA!

Sitting here waiting for my pies to bake and watching the flag waving out on my porch, I started thinking about what it really means to be an American. It occurred to me it's kind of like what it really means to be a Christian.

First we must welcome the stranger into our fold. We can't judge and we need to be sure said stranger knows he's welcome. ("Give me your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free.")

We must know, even though we have this wonderful "thing," we must respect those who don't share it. We must communicate our message of hope with love and kindness.

We should learn all we can about others and their ways. How can we tell anyone we have the better answer if we don't know what we're up against?

Remember, just as Jesus started a "new religion," the founding fathers of this country also started from scratch and formed it with people from other cultures who wanted something better.

Most of all, leave your judgementalism at home. Love others as Jesus did, sacrificially, and realized no one person is superior to another.

Have a blessed holiday and remember all those who sacrificed so that we could come together as individuals to form this wonderful country.