Wishing all our U.S. readers and your families a wonderful 4th of July! Since I (elfgirl) will be offline pretty much all day, I thought it might work well to set up an Open Thread for the holiday. A couple discussion starters…
— What’s your favorite 4th of July memory?
— For what are you most thankful as an American?
— What are you praying for our country today?
May the Lord help each of us who know Him today to rejoice in the freedom that Christ has won for us.
The 4TH OF JULY is a gift given to me. It is a gift that was won and earned by others and today kept and preserved by others. The gift is the Constitution of the United States of America, but it is more than that, it is a whole way of life that was alien to the world until godly frontier men struggled under reponsibility to design a nation and government. It was won by war and kept by war until this very day. This is the gift.
Every good gift deserves some gratitude in return, and it is here that I take a profound pause, for of what type or degree of gratitude is sufficient for the immense gift that has been given to me?
It is not uncommon today for people to do, or not do, a thing because such is legal or illegal. We see such in our polititians, schools, and homes. If a thing can be done, it is their responsibility to do it whether or not it is a moral thing to do. This is defined by many as “freedom”, that which was won on the 4TH OF JULY, but it is not freedom, it is libertine-ism. It produces people who are the least that they can be. For me, this is a thankless mis-use of that great gift that was given to us at so great a cost to so many.
For me, my gratitude forces me to use the gift to be the most that I can be. There are many things that are legal that I must not do. There are even some things that are illegal that I must do. I need to be the most noble, the kindest, the most godly, the hardest working, the most worshipful of a God who is really the source of every gift, that I can possibly be. I must be the highest and the best that I can possibly be. I need to be the most that I can be. If I am anything less, I am a thankless and libertine soul who will spend other’s great capital and gifts upon my own pleasures. Instead, I must join those other patriots in preserving and giving thanks for that which we celebrate today. I must elect and encourage leaders of strong character. I must worship my God with abandon and completely. I must tell my family and others what great and rare gift has been intrusted to us. I must thank, at every opportunity, those that defend it today. I must work hard at a vocation that is a human investment in others. Anything less than all of this is not thankfulness nor gratitude at all.
I do, today, thank both God and the country’s founders. I thank all those who serve today to defend and keep this land.
DonGander
A very happy Fourth of July.
God Bless.
My prayers today for my country are that we can reclaim our position of both friendship and leadership in the world. I pray for our troops that they come home safely. I pray for the day that children and the earth are more important than oil and money. I pray for the day, and I hope it is far, far sooner than 565 days, when George W. Bush leaves the White House. The Scooter Libby debacle has destroyed any confidence I might have once held in the current administration.
[i]Since 1776, on every July Fourth, the Declaration of Independence has been posted in public places, published in newspapers and read aloud. Its bill of particulars contains these two passages defining royal tyranny and justifying revolution:
[b]He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers. … For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments.[/b]
Happy Fourth. [/i]
You’re guilty W and you’ve got to go.
As a small child in Philadelphia [early/mid fifties] 4th of July meant parades that my parents took me to where I watched servicemen dressed in their uniforms march smartly to band music. The adults took off their hats and placed their hands over their hearts as the colors went by, and I learned to do the same. Even then, my little heart swelled with feelings of pride and patriotism. There were neighborhood picnics, American flags everywhere and, of course, spectacular fireworks as evening fell.
This past Sunday at church, our choir led the congregation in God Bless America and Onward Christian Soldiers and to this day, I cannot make it through the whole song without tears of emotion.
I pray that God will continue to bless this wonderful and unique country. Yes, I am a firm believer in American exceptionalism. I just pray that God will not abandon us even in the face of rampant sinfulness.
Two favorite memories:
First, my father used to play in a community band (a large and fairly well-known one). Every year on the evening of July 3, they play a concert in a big, open field area on the university campus, complete with fireworks timed to go off as the band ends the concert with patriotic tunes. We didn`t stay in town for it every year (see below) but when we did, it was a blast!
Second, my father`s side of the family has a HUGE (and I really do mean huge) family reunion lakeside in SC. His parents both had large families. My grandmother was one of 11 children and my grandfather one of 10. The reunion is the surviving siblings and their direct descendents and families from both sides. Again, we weren`t always able to go (in fact, I haven`t been able to go the last few years due to work constraints) but it is a GREAT time when we get all the `cousins` together.
With both memories, I am eternally grateful for the relationships with which God has blessed me. And in both situations, recognition and honor is given to those who have served our country and kept it free.
God bless America on this, our celebration of independence. Let freedom ring!
I remember sitting on the curb, watching the parade. When the bands came by, especially when the big bass drums were on the outside of the lines, the sound reverberated in my chest. It was a strange sensation but I still remember it 60 years later.
I also remember the hush that would fall over the onlookers when the buses carrying the Blue Star Mothers and the Gold Star Mothers came by. Especially for the Gold Star Mothers, the men would remove their hats and place them over their hearts. WWII was a fresh memory and our armed forces were in Korea. It was a different time.
I wondser how many realize today the freedom isn’t free and that we are in a struggle for the survival of Western Civilization…
RalphM
My reflections are on “The Grace to Maintain Our Liberties”
http://inchatatime.blogspot.com/2007/07/grace-to-maintain-our-liberties.html
Happy 4th, everybody!
Watching the fireworks finale on July 4, 1976 – Bicentennial of our Country at Disney World in Florida following my shift as a peon worker. I graduated with the class of 1976, so we had patriotism on our minds for over a year. Litening to The Star Spangled Banner and understanding what the words really mean.
[i] Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hail’d at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro’ the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watch’d, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro’ the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?[/i]
My Dad is retired Air Force and my brother retired Army, both with experiences that make me proud to be their daugher and sister. I am thankful to them and every person who has served our country for her need. Without them we would not be free, without them we will not be free.
I pray for revival. That each of us will place the needs of others ahead of our own needs. It is this mindset that gave us freedom, and keeps it.
— What’s your favorite 4th of July memory?
Going to fourth of july parties and lighting off fireworks with friends as a kid.
— For what are you most thankful as an American?
I’m thankful for a country that still values the freedom and responsibilty of individuals to a greater level than (as far as I know) all of the other more socialistic western rich nations. I’m thankful for property rights, free speech rights, and for the right to keep and bear arms.
— What are you praying for our country today?
revival
My fondest memory of the 4th is the bicentennial in 1976. I felt a lot of hope and optimism both personally and for the country.
I am thankful for the liberty we have. At heart I’m an individualist, and this country allows and promotes autonomy of the spirit.
I pray that our leaders (in all three branches of government) always remember that we are an experiment in an open society where liberty is the cement that bind us together.
My favorite July 4th memory: Pops Concert at the River Stage in San Angelo, TX.
I am thankful for my career in the US Army, and for all my comrades-in-arms who served with me, before me, and came after me, and a government that has had peaceful transfers of power by actions at the ballot box for over 200 years.
My prayers today are for our nation, its leaders, its military and its people; may we all remember from whence come our rights and freedoms, and give thanks and praise to our Lord and Savior for grace and forgiveness.
I usually spend part of the 4th watching “Victory at Sea.” My dad was on the USS Hornet CVS 12 during WWII. He spent the war 80 feet under the surface in the machine shop.
Later, my mom and I will go to the cemetary and put a little flag on his grave. Today would have been their 67th anniversary. He died 9 years ago.
I praise God for the citizen soldiers and the leaders who knew that anything but total victory was suicide.
I pray for revival for our nation and from that revival we would have wise leaders ruling our nation again.
I love the Fourth: my favorite memories are from my childhood when–in Connecticut where I grew up–there was a wonderful parade with bands and floats and flags and banners. Then we went to the Sound to watch the fireworks. Sometimes, we went up to Boston to hear the Pops on the Esplanade. And when we lived in CA, we went to the Hollywood Bowl and heard wonderful patriotic music–with Big Bird conducting!–echo through the hills.
We will have family for a cook out. My daughter pointed out that we usually cook our supper outside so this is nothing new. But we’ll have lights and some sparklers and it will be fun. And we will thank God for what we have, for our ancestors upon whose “shoulders we stand” (I am originally a Connecticut Yankee with ancestors who came and fought in the Revolution!). And we will pray for peace in the World and in our Land and safety for our military and our government.
As I read some of the responses above I got a little angry at some of the invective–the condemning of the President and the “putting down” of the Government and the denigrating of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But I paused and realized that that is what this Great Country is about: the ability of each citizen–and of those who would like to be citizens–to express opinions that are different from mine. I have learned to love the speaker while not agreeing with the opinion.
Have a wonderful, happy, and [b]MEANINGFUL[/b] Fourth of July!
(Now why can’t I get those formatting things to work?)
My favorite memory is being at my grandparents’ cottage at the lake and watching fireworks over the woods at the west end of the lake.
I am thankful for this country’s rich heritage and for great men like President Lincoln and my dad.
My prayer for the USA is that we stop walking away from our religious roots and return to that which can truly ground us as a nation.
My favorite Fourth of July memories are of sitting under the lion at the head of the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, Fla., and watching the fireworks go up over the Matanzas River and all the boats in the bay. This in the days before the thing was orchestrated to music, etc. Just fireworks. And on one memorable evening something went wrong and they all went off almost simultaneously quilting the sky in colored light for a display that lasted about five minutes but was totally incredible. Earlier still, there was the memorable family fishing trip to a relative’s pond. My mom packed a picnic and we bought soft drinks at a convenience store … and when we went to open them we found out that they were the just-going-out-of-fashion cans without poptops. My dad took his pocket knife to them. 🙂 Then there were the Fourths we went tubing and swimming at the blue springs owned by other relatives where the water was cold and the color of a Coca-Cola bottle. *sigh*
Favorite memory: First time I watched our town fireworks display. It wasn’t much by big-city standards but the fireworks went off directly overhead and seemed to fill the sky.
Most grateful for First Amendment freedoms (e.g., freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion) and the rule of law.
Praying today for wisdom in dealing with the mess in Iraq.
I have many memories of 4ths spent around the world. Being away from home is wonderful to remind you what you are really celebrating, and how much it really matters.
Perhaps the most vivid was one spent in Southeast Asia in 1972. We did our best, which turned out to be pretty good, to have BBQs, games, and even a bit of singing. It was a good time out period to remind ourselves what it was all about, up until a spectacular fireworks display started, courtesy of the VC and the USAF.
Another, quieter 4th was in Mexico City in 1968. At that time, there were many Americans there running international businesses. The residents of “Gringo Gulch,” which was more a national community rather than a colonia, had some great 4ths, though much of the beverages were distinctly non-traditional. To be very non-PC, Mexico was an equally sharp reminder of how much we as Americans had to celebrate.
I remember many things, including a 4th of July church service at my cathedral in 1976 (prior to the new PB) with a HUGE processional (remember the days when flags were allowed in processionals? Just one other thing taken away from us in the past 30 years), including a large revolutionary war fife and drum group, flags and buntings everywhere, all the music patriotic and the bodies were packed into every nook and cranny of the place. Something that will never be seen again.
Another thing that will never be seen again: My dad (the pyro) and his fireworks displays in our back yard. The shows were so good that the firemen from the fire station behind our house all brought their lawnchairs. They all “ooooh’d and aaaaaah’d” right along with us….
PS I am thankful for having grown up in such a place and in such a church. It is ALL gone now. But I am thankful just the same.
My brother and I used to drive outside the city limits of Houston to buy fireworks, then “smuggle” them back to our house. I clearly believe in the concept of guardian angels, otherwise I don’t see how we survived! My best memory, like others of you, is 1976. I was in the habor in Rota, Spain wathcing the fireworks on board the USS Guadalcanal. We had just come back from Lebanon and I had been promoted to 1st Lieutenant the day before.
This is a eulogy for a sacred place.
On the 4th, my family drove to a little lake in New Hampshire. It is called Lovell Lake and it is in Sanbornville, a tiny town not too far norh of Rochester. Long years ago, in ’28 as I recall, my grandfather bought this piece of land for my grandmother, so she would have a camp of her own. He built her a little place of rough pine, more or less 24X24, set on black locust posts. It had two tiny bedrooms and an L shaped single room that was everything else. It sat on a high, steep slope, about 40 feet above the water, surrounded by ancient pines, so big that my brother and I, even grown up, could never come close to getting our arms around one. The water was clear, clean,bright, so that the sun , shining through the water, left a moving reticulation of golden lines on the gravel and sand on the bottom. And it was quiet. All the other camps were more or less like ours, hidden, quiet, with neither plumbing nor electricity. I cannot remember I time when I was not there. This was my cathedral, the holiest place I knew.
About 30 years ago, my sister and her husband bought a tiny, rundown camp next door. First they improved it, then they exanded it a little, then they put in running water and plumbing, then they expanded it again, with hardwood floors, wall-to-wall carpeting, a modern kitchen, a tv, and eventually, a grand piano. By now they had a great surburban house like the house they lived in, in Conn. And of course, my brother-in-law became exceedingly sensitive to property values. Finally, 20 years ago, he decided he was a homosexual, and he brought his boyfriends there where they lay on the wharf together, in each others arms, and the house became a gathering place for homosexuals. At the same time, land around the lake was bought by suburbanites as investments; they cut down trees and built large, upscale houses, they made lawns that ran to the water’s edge and had commercial lawn people to tend them. They filled the lake with Ski-nautique boats pulling multiple skiiers and the jet skis multiplied until the lake roared all night long. Then they formed an Association to make sure tht no one not like themselves could build on this little lake.
Every year, long ago, we had our 4th of July lunch on the wharf, then we swam and swam, and I lay down on the warm boards, closed my eyes and listened to the small waves tell the old story.I can smell he sunwarmed boards even now. The loons sang and the waters were held, it seemed to me, in God’s hand, and the quiet was everywhere.
To watch a sacred place profaned,coarsened, degraded, corrupted and commercialized, is to die alive, to die before your very eyes. Have you walked into an old church that has become a redemption for glass and bottles? Then you know what I know. Goodbye to the 4th of July in the perfect place in a perfect time, never to be seen again. The camp is still there but now my sister owns it for a while; yet she is in despair, for this primitive camp is assessed at $300,000 and her taxes are brutal.Goodbye to the lake and the 4th of July. LM
drjoan, you should listen to this. The President condemned himself.