An Imperfect Christian Mom's COVID-19 Diary #12

 

It's Independence Day in America. A sad day this year. So much of the focus is on what divides us. So many lives, actions, and happenings politicized for the benefit of one party or another. Add to that the many who have lost loved ones this year and are still not able to grieve normally or gather with family and friends due to the current circumstances. All this is so distancing.

When the Declaration of Independence was signed, not all parties agreed; yet they worked together for the common good. Maybe we should watch the movie Independence Day with Will Smith and Bill Pullman to remember we are better when we all pull together. That seems so silly to say, but we really need to give more attention to having compassion for each other, helping each other, and remembering how great America is.

We were blessed to be able to vacation this year, but even we are staying closer to the vacation home than in other years. When we go out, everyone has masks on. Some restaurants have not survived the pandemic or are working at reduced capacity per restrictions or with reduced hours because of travel restrictions leading to no international work staff. Think of how those international students who planned to spend their summers working here are feeling, too. What has this pandemic cost them?

As things open up, some states are experiencing new spikes in cases. An end to this situation seems far away. A vaccine trial has been delayed. Maybe a pause or a push back in re-opening is on the horizon.

I'm okay with adjusting to this new normal, but my heart yearns to see forgiveness, compassion, and peace reign. Little acts of kindness mean so much--like the car full of teenagers who paid $5 toward our Dairy Queen bill yesterday simply because I let them into the drive thru line. I pray we can move forward as a country to a better place.


Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

~ 1 Peter 3:8-9

Happy Independence Day!

 

Wanted to take a minute from our vacation on the Outer Banks to wish all my fellow Americans a happy and safe Independence Day. Thank you to all those who serve(d) our country and their families. God bless you all and God bless America.

 Click the link below for some Independence Day history. http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/july-4th

Outer Banks Travels

Well, it's that time of year again. We landed in the Outer Banks on July 1.

First stop along the road was at Powell's Roadside Market. That's where we get our first batch of locally grown fruits and vegetables each year.

After unpacking, you know we had to visit the beach. The next day, some of our family joined us. It's been very hot and humid the past few days, but last night's rain has made things a bit more comfortable. 

We've visited some of our favorite places already:

• Jolly Roger Restaurant
• Miller's Waterfront Restaurant
• The Outer Banks Christmas Shop and General Store (new owners)
• The Hungry Pelican Deli & Ice Cream (new location)

And of course, we couldn't miss fireworks at the Waterfront Park in Manteo, where we got a chance to hear the 440 Army band play.

I'll share more from our trip soon.

Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing all our readers a happy, healthy and safe Fourth of July!

As a Busy Mom Thinks: Independence Day 2015

I'm sitting here at our friend's beach house on the Outer Banks this Fourth of July. The television news is both frightening and ridiculous--talk of terror threats on this sacred holiday blending in with the heated debate over the appropriateness of the Confederate flag.

The direction our country is heading causes dismay. Once a country that applauded achievement, it now decries success and calls it greed. Once a country that celebrated freedom of speech and freedom of religion, we now live in fear of offending anyone--especially if we are Christians sharing our faith. Instead of praising our cultural differences, we are suspicious and more divided than ever.

America remains the greatest country in the world. Democracy has stood the test of time. Yet, abuse of executive privilege has us moving closer and closer to socialism; as does a Supreme Court that ignores the Tenth Amendment:

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

We are at a dangerous turning point in our country. Either we are going to move closer to socialism or we are going to keep democracy alive and well. We are either going to allow the federal government to centralize control or we are going to elect people who work to keep control in the hands of the states (the people).

I am scared for our future. I am scared for our children's future. Every day I fear some new terror threat will impact our country and the people I love. As we sat and enjoyed the fireworks on the beach tonight, my husband and I were considering how easy it would be for a terrorist with a machine gun to wipe out hundreds of us as we were celebrating our country's independence.

September 11 changed our lives forever. But have we gotten smarter? Have we learned from it? Have we elected leaders who can deal with threats and keep us safe? Do those kinds of leaders exist anymore?

I pray for this country. I pray for its leaders. And I pray for my children and future grandchildren who will live through much more difficult times than my husband and I have known.

God bless us all, and God bless America.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Fourth of July to our readers!

Happy Independence Day!

As America celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence, our thoughts and prayers go out to all who have served and who are currently serving in the U.S. Military and their families.

God Bless America!!!

God Bless America
by Irving Berlin

God bless America,
Land that I love,
Stand beside her and guide her
Thru the night with a light from above;

From the mountains, to the prairies,
To the oceans white with foam,
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.
God bless America,
My home, sweet home.

Here's another excellent song that celebrates America:



To see Lee Greenwood's actual video you can go here.

Lastly, though I'm sure you know it, here are the lyrics to America's National Anthem:



The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!