Sunday Morning Sunshine: 4th of July Celebration

 Let Freedom Ring

Amen!

Rambling Friday: The Good Ole Summertime!

"Summertime is always the best of what might be."

I love this fun quote! 

For me, summertime is

a wonderful time of:

warmth, sunsets and bicycles

The fourth of July and what all it stands for!

Lying in clover and studying the stars

Long country walks and spotting something unexpected 

Watching the birds (and rabbits) playing from our porch swing

Sitting by the pond and listening to the frogs croak

And more...much more!

HAPPY SUMMER!

Rambling Friday: July 4th Tidbits and a Recipe

I thought it would be fun to share some things about July 4th! 

Enjoy! 

* The Declaration of Independence was signed by 56 men from 13 colonies.

* The average age of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence was 45. 

The youngest was Thomas Lynch, Jr (27) of South Carolina.  

The oldest delegate was Benjamin Franklin (70) of Pennsylvania. 

The lead author of The Declaration, Thomas Jefferson, was 33.

* The stars on the original American flag were in a circle

 so all the Colonies would appear equal.

Benjamin Franklin proposed the turkey as the national bird

but was overruled by John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, 

who recommended the bald eagle.

 Every 4th of July the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia is tapped 

(not actually rung)

 thirteen times in honor of the original thirteen colonies.

And for fun, a great recipe you may enjoy this Fourth! 

Recipe:  

2 pkg (8 oz each) of cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup of sugar

2 Tbsp of lemon juice

1 tub (8 oz) of Cool Whip, thawed, divided

1 graham cracker crust pie shell lining

Strawberry halves for stripes

Blueberries for stars

Beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice in large bowl

 with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. 

Gently stir in 2 cups of Cool Whip.

Spoon into pie crust.

Refrigerate 3 hrs or until set.

Spread remaining cool whip over top.

Arrange berries in rows to resemble flag.

Enjoy! 

Happy July 4th! 

Serious Wednesday: Enjoy Your Freedom!

Freedom! What does it mean? What is freedom?

Big questions in this world of -- should I say...turmoil? Change? Disagreements? Injustice?

BUT...we do have freedom of:

• religion
• press
• freedom to have a trial by jury
• freedom to assemble peaceably
• freedom to petition the government

Freedom means more than just the right to act however I choose. It's greater than that: it stands for everyone to have an equal opportunity for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The definition of liberty is having the ability to act according to your will as long as it doesn't affect the ability of someone else to act according to his/her own will. 

Definition:

Freedom:  to be free from something
liberty: to be free to do something


Today, as we celebrate Independence Day, July 4th, let's remember how important it is to have freedom. Because without it, we would have to SAY what the government wants us to say. Because without it we would be thrown out (or worse) of the country if we didn't believe what the government believed.

Let's never take our freedom for granted, but be thankful we live in the great United States of America!

Happy 4th!

Sunday Morning Peace: Our Declaration of Independence--Coming UP!

JUST REMEMBER!

OH, Say, Can you see,

by the dawn's early light . . .

Oh, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand

Between their loved homes and the war's desolation;

Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-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 doth wave,

O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

--Francis Scott Key

Just remember!

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace

Heroes of the Faith by Edgar De Witt Jones

. . . continued from Wednesday's post.


By faith James Madison gave richly of his scholarly mind to form the Federal Constitution.


By faith Andrew Jackson fought the battle of the impoverished and underprivileged many against the privileged few.


By faith Abraham Lincoln bore the awful burden of four purgatorial years seeking to preserve the Federal Union.


By faith he carried a dreadful war to its conclusion without hate in his heart saying, "I have not only suffered for the South, I have suffered with the South."


By faith Woodrow Wilson in the dreadful heartbreak of a world war dreamed a dream of a warless world in which the nations should be leagued together to keep the peace.


By faith he glimpsed that promised land which, like Moses, he might not enter.


And what shall I more say?

For time would fail me if I should tell of that unnumbered host:
the unnamed
and obscure citizens
who bore unimagined burdens
sacrificed in silence
and endured nobly
that a government of the people
for the people
and by the people
might not perish from the earth.


May we never take our freedoms for granted!
Love live the memories of our true American heroes and heroines!
Blessings
 

Oh, Say,
Can You See?

Soldiers are men . . . most apt for all manner of services and best able to support and endure the infinite toils and continual hazards of war. --Henry Knyvett

Never give in--never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. --Winston Churchill

Freedom isn't free. --anonymous

Victory belongs to the most persevering. --Napoleon Bonaparte

Blessings!

Talking About . . .


My friend Ann sent this on to me. Makes one think.


THE 4TH OF JULY

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

• 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 McKeam 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 the Nelson 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 enemy 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.

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!

It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.



Hope you had a thoughtful and pleasant holiday!



Quote:
When you cease to make a contribution, you die. --Eleanor Roosevelt

Blessings

Freedom Thoughts

Fourth of July is almost here. I thought about that and how much I enjoy the day. Then I thought what does freedom mean to me?

Here's some thoughts:

Sacrifices:

• Our ancestors who fought and argued and stood and bore with "big deals" to gain what they considered freedom. I profit from that vision.
• The boys and girls (men and women!!!) who go now to service to fight for what we have here in America. Many of them suffer: death, injuries--some they never recover from both mentally and physically.
  

Memories:

• Of the past Independence Day celebrations, with family and friends and people I love.
• Knowing that year after year others I don't see often or can't see on that day are enjoying their day the same as I can and do.

Freedoms:
I enjoy so much:

• the right to be with people or be by myself. To have friends or be a hermit
  
• the right to take up the profession I want to do, whether grave digger or NY stock investor
  
• the right to worship God as I want. Or not.
  
• the right to say what I want, within reason. Something that makes sense, or total nonsense.
  
• the right to think and be and do. Or live like an idiot, too.
  
• the right to drive a vehicle, fly a plane, walk, bicycle, ride a horse.

The right to be thankful or carry a chip on my shoulder.
The right to vote for who I think is the right candidate. And the right to say so.
The right to smile or drag my nose on the ground. Who cares?

This July 4th I give thanks for both the small and big pleasures in my life:

• family, aggravating, refuse-to-listen-to-my-reason family, ugly, fat, skinny, beautiful family members. They're MINE!
  
• awesome fireworks that light the sky and that tell the world "we're free."
• Songs that give me peace and melancholy and happiness and thought.
• Summer food like burgers and hotdogs and marshmallows and fresh corn and new potatoes and strawberries
• A place I can call home.
• A car that takes us where we want to go
  
• a hubby who gives and cares and loves

Have a safe and glorious one!




Quote:
The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. --Chinese proverb


Blessings

Independence Day

What does it mean to me?

Fireworks, of course.
Hotdogs (you been listening to the news about the hotdog eating contests?)
Hamburgers, baked beans, potatoe salad, fresh tomatoes and new potatoes
Grilling out
Picnics
Family
Fun
Travel
Home
Time to read a good book

Then there is:
The privilege of reading what I want
Hearing the news (biased that it is)
Worshiping the way I want
Enjoying the privileges of the good ole USA (in spite of her problems)
Feeling outrage at unjust accusations against our wonderful country
Taken-for-granted security
Our beautiful soldier boys and girls and their work to keep our country safe
The way they look in their uniforms
The way they move in their uniforms--the proud, steady, and sincere desires in them

I love the:

• Declaration of Principles: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

• Lincoln's Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal . . . that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

• Thomas Paine's fervent statement: "These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph."

• Patrick Henry's bold words: "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
  

Happy Birthday, America!

Summer Hints:

• Bikes, Blades, and Skates: Make sure kids wear protective gear

• Barbecues: Set a line that kids are not allowed to cross. Have adult supervision.

• Sunburns & Dehydration: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. are the most dangerous times. Sunburn can happen on cloudy days. Use cute hats and sunglasses. Use sunscreen. Water and sand reflects the sun's rays and increases the chance of sunburn. Use light colored clothes. Serve water often.

• Water: Anything that can collect water is a danger to children. Children can drown in inches.
  

Cindy Woodsmall Trivia:

Cindy's giving a way an Amish quilt on her website.
Check it out & mention I sent you there!
www.cindywoodsmall.com

Quote:
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it not less than in the excitement and gladness: touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments and life itself is grace. --Frederich Buechner


Blessings