Liberty

Happy Birthday, America!

Today we remember the bravery of the those who established the foundational concepts of our country.

Immersed in the culture and strength and faith of the early immigrants who came to America seeking freedom to live and prosper and worship, the men who signed the Declaration of Independence risked their lives and livelihoods on the principles of liberty and equality. They traded earthly security for freedom from tyranny as they raised their voices in challenge to the King of England and in support of the truths that lay at the heart of this new land.

Though we have often replaced liberty with license and equality with entitlement, we remember and thank God for the vision and courage of our forefathers.

I am thankful to be an American. I am thankful to have enjoyed life in this great country.

I am most thankful for the freedom that I have been given to worship and serve God, Who alone makes this life possible and worthwhile.

I pray that the poignancy of this day will draw our heart and eyes upward as we look to the the only One Who can make us free indeed!

John 8:³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

America the Beautiful

O beautiful for spacious skies,For amber waves of grain,For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America!God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!O beautiful for pilgrim feetWhose stern impassioned stressA thoroughfare for freedom beatAcross the wilderness.America! America!God mend thine ev'ry flaw,Confirm thy soul in self-control,Thy liberty in law.O beautiful for heroes provedIn liberating strife,Who more than self their country loved,And mercy more than life.America! America!May God thy gold refineTill all success be nobleness,And ev'ry gain divine.O beautiful for patriot dreamThat sees beyond the yearsThine alabaster cities gleamUndimmed by human tears.America! America!God shed his grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea.

Katharine Lee Bates, 1893

Photo – Montana Plains, Beth Mims