Keep the American Spirit

I felt a sense of pride as I pulled into my condo community today and saw American flags mounted on all our mailboxes in honor of Flag Day.  The banners representing our country fluttered in the breeze and at times snapped to attention when a stiffer wind blew. In light of recent terror attacks on our citizens. I also felt a sense of sadness that enemies both foreign and domestic are attempting to destroy our American way of life.

Some things never change. One hundred years ago today President Woodrow Wilson officially established June 14, 1916 as Flag Day.  He spoke these wise words:

“Many circumstances have recently conspired to turn our thoughts to a critical examination of the conditions of our national life, of the influences which have seemed to threaten to divide us, of forces within and without. Stand with united hearts for an America which no man can corrupt; no influence draw away from its ideals; no force divide against itself.”

We need to pray for our country as never before that we the people will appreciate and protect our country, not only for ourselves, but for the generations that will follow.

Several weeks ago I asked fellow bloggers to submit a guest piece. In the patriotic spirit of the recent Memorial Day and upcoming Independence Day, I received the following from Debbra Stephens. Debbra has published Bible studies on the Gospels and the book of Ephesians. She is on the women’s ministry team at her Marietta, Georgia church and blogs at www.DebbraStephens.com. Welcome Debbra.

Make It Memorable

"With holidays come memories. I usually choose to remember only the fond ones, of course. That doesn’t mean that I haven’t experienced bad holidays—I just choose not to dwell on them.

I don’t want to remember how many spare ribs I’ve burned, pies I’ve ruined, or potato salad recipes I’ve attempted. And I certainly don’t want to recall relational tensions, family feuds, or feelings that got wounded.

What types of things do you dwell upon?  Choosing to dwell upon the admirable and the lovely helps to shape positive attitudes. It’s not to deny reality, mind you. It’s simply a choice…a wise choice. When practiced, it eliminates attitudes that have the potential to rob the atmosphere of joy, truth, or worse, create great difficulties. This is nothing new. It’s an age-old principle—tried, tested, and proven true—and handed down by the Apostle Paul. It’s something I like to call the 4:8 Principle.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, 
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, 
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

I look forward to every opportunity to make family holiday celebrations memorable. I want to be positively all there and leave the negatives where they belong—in the past, forgotten and forgiven. And following the 4:8 Principle ensures just that."

Today I reached 20,000 clicks on my blog www.twolatebloomers .  
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