Fourth Of July + A Flag Giveaway!

Please enter yourself for a beautiful "Waving Flag" Christmas ornament just like this one, from Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland as my gift to you in celebration of the FOURTH OF JULY!

(Drawing will be held one week from today! Send your friends over, this is a beauty!)

Soon, I will post a nice tour of Bronner's for all of you to see!

July 4th is one of my very favorite holidays: full of meaning, bought for me at a price I have not had to pay. It's a special time to enjoy our families, food, and fireworks and our FOREFATHERS...and all those soldiers out there across the globe who have given up safety and security to sacrifice for US.

They are truly great, yet many or most of THEM will not have the day off like we will, to barbecue, visit with their families or to watch a relaxing fireworks show.

INDEPENDENCE IS A SINGLE WORD,
AND A GLORIOUS IDEA:
FREEDOM.

WE HAVE LIVED IT AS A PRIVILEGED NATION
AND WE MUST WORK TO PRESERVE IT
FOR OUR CHILDREN AND THEIRS.

FREEDOM DOES NOT INVOLVE A GUARANTEE OF ANY SORT FOR OUR LIVES: IT ONLY GRANTS US THE FREEDOM TO MESS IT UP OR MAKE IT GREAT SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE FREE TO CHOOSE FOR OURSELVES.

Remember the SOLDIER who willingly chose a life of sacrifice, and pray for them all.

Remember our responsibility: VIGILANCE.
The soldier is busy defending our nation's security and sovereignty, and it is our job to be vigilant here at home and watch what's going on in Washington, D.C.

Am I WORTHY of the sacrifice of the American Soldier?
Am I GUARDING the hard work and sacrifice of the Founding Fathers?

Here are a few scenes from around the house this fourth of July weekend. I will be TYING ON MY APRON and traveling July 4th to our state's capitol to give a few hours to defend the costly and hard work of our SOLDIERS and FOUNDING FATHERS while I am still able to do so.

Then when we get home, we'll have a smoked beef brisket on the grill, (that has been marinating for days!) and enjoy family with a picnic. Then about dusk, we'll be parked and waiting from the back of the pickup truck to watch the beautiful and thrilling fireworks show while we munch on caramel corn!

Just a reminder of what our forefathers endured to insure that you and I would live freely (from an email I received from the American Freedom Alliance):


Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.
Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated.
But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.
Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKean was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson Jr, noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over his home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The Redcoats jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:

"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America.

The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It's not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

My thoughts are with the family and the captured Marine that has been taken in Afghanistan. Please pray for his safe return.

LONG MAY SHE WAVE...O'ER THE LAND OF THE FREE,
AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE!

GOD, Please BLESS AMERICA.