Today is the day we celebrate the freedom we enjoy in this nation as a result of the blessings of God and the brave action of the founding fathers of our nation and the brave military men and women who have served our nation and have given the ultimate sacrifice. I say brave because the founders of our nation the framers of the Declaration of Independence were committing an act of treason by saying they and we would not be ruled by the British Crown. Their action was a sentence of death for them had their actions not succeeded. This action was the result of a dream. A dream of all mankind from the earliest days of civilization. That dream is and always has been to be free. Free to worship God as we choose and to pursue happiness and prosperity as we are able. Free to dream and live without oppressive government dictates and interference. The last sentence sums it up well as it reads, " And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. " Divine Providence here means God regardless of what the liberals want to make it mean.
Today my local newspaper " The Enquirer " ran a full page of " The Declaration of Independence " and another page with large print insert proclaiming " In God We Trust " with many comments of the founding fathers. This second page was an advertisement by Hobby Lobby, Hemispheres and Mardel Stores, 7707 S. W. 44th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73179 www.hobbylobby.com/ministryprojects-In association with www.wallbuilders.com. You may recall one of my recent blogs talked about wallbuilders and the presentation they made at my church.
As I read the Declaration of Independence I got chilly bumps just as I always do. Our nation is the only one in the world which has produced such a document and where the founders so clearly indicated their actions were based on the blessing and rights granted to man by God and asking for the protection of God and his judgement of their intentions. I become very distressed when I see, read and hear our news outlets down playing the character of the founding fathers and that they were not at all motivated by or belief in God. I am further depressed that the majority of our schools do not teach anything about our Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and amendments. The vast majority are frankly ignorant of just what the Declaration of Independence says. There is a glimmer of hope on this horizon as several states have now enacted laws that require some teaching on these subjects and require reading of the documents.
The Declaration of Independence did not create the United States of America, but its proclamation of " unalienable rights endowed by our creator " was a founding principle of our nation.
The 4th of July always brings back very fond memories for me. During our career in the U. S. Air Force we had the privilege of serving and living in the Washington, DC area for many years. Some of the highlights of those years were when Jan, I and our four little girls would go down to the Washington Monument and watch the fire works. Oh, they were glorious and loud. At different ages of the girls there seem to always be one who was afraid of the noise. Other memories were listening to the various military bands and coral groups perform on the US Capital steps on the 4th. Those were great times and great music. Needless to say another memory was the heat on those 4th of July nights and coming home hot and sweaty with no air conditioner in the car or the apartment. My we are spoiled today. I searched through my many boxes of 35 MM slides hoping I might run across one that would show those fire works but no such luck.
Today I will celebrate by thanking God for his blessings and asking Him to forgive us as a nation for casting Him aside in many of the celebrations we have on this day. I pray He will forgive us and heal our nation. I pray for our service men and women for their sacrifice, service and for protection. I pray for our elected officials that they will recognize that the only authority they have to rule comes from our Creator and that they will look to Him for guidance. I have a few ribs in the slow cooker, some baked beans ready to heat up later this afternoon. I have a big bowl of fresh fruit cut up and ready to munch on today. I plan to watch the fire works on TV tonight and one of the concerts that PBS will air.
Again Happy 4th of July and I love each of you. Grandpa Bill
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