Challenge for the Fourth of July: Read the Declaration and the Constitution

I'm giving you easy access to the Declaration. And here's a link to the Constitution. Know what you celebrate! It's not about the burgers, soda, and ice cream treats! Have a blessed 4th and thank God for this amazing country. Keep her strong and good. Pray the rosary daily!

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Have a Blessed Independence Day!

 

I plan to read the Declaration of Independence while I watch fireworks on my computer. Too hot to go see the real thing, especially after we did the honey harvest yesterday which is always a hot job. I'm sure we'll have some sparklers and Roman candles after sunset. Hope all my readers have a fun day planned and may God bless and protect you on this last 4th before we celebrate our 250th year as a nation next 4th of July. Let us pray with zeal for our country and her political leaders that they may be men and women after God's own heart.

God Bless America and Bring Her to Honor Christ the King!

Have a blessed Independence Day!

Will Part of Your Holiday Prep Be to Read our Founding Documents?

Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia - 1787

I'm starting to set up for our 4th of July celebration. We're having three families over to swim and cook out and look forward to the happy laughter of all the children. We'll probably all go over to the fairgrounds later for the wonderful fireworks display that rivals any we've ever seen except for Reagan's inauguration. 

Read the Declaration of Independence and Pray for our Poor Country!

Editor's comment: Note the highlighted text and ask yourself, Do we at present 
have a government that operates with "the consent of the governed?" Or does our current government see the governed, the people, as an impediment to their rule? We need to turn our eyes to the midterm elections and throw out a cabal of despots who have inflicted "repeated injuries and usurpations all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States."

In Congress, July 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

The Rest of the 4th of July Story...

Before I describe the rest of our weekend activities, I want to give a shout out to a fellow blogger, Dymphna, who asked for prayers for me and Susan in her post on July 2nd. I love her "random thoughts" posts. In fact, I love everything about her blog and go to it almost every day to see if she's posted anything new. She finds some of the most beautiful religious art I've ever seen. 

The internet can be a serious source of evil, but when I think of the people I never would have "met" or learned from without it, I am so grateful! God bless you, Dymphna! And thanks for your concern for me and Susan.

And now to "the rest of the story" about our activities on July 4th.

Home from Retreat -- From Five Days of Silence to....

...a 4th of July weekend bash! 

Coming off a silent retreat is always a little bit of a culture shock, this year more than usual since I came home to three of my children and their families settled into Camp Kreitzer for the weekend. One of our daughters lives nearby so they head home at the end of the day, but the other four adults and nine children are in residence until Monday -- five granddaughters in the six-bed "girls dorm" and the four boys in the downstairs family room. The adult couples get bedrooms. We are blessed to have a big house that we bought  to be our family retreat center when Larry retired. We considered the little retirement cottage, but, after prayer, decided that wasn't God's plan for us.

This past year Camp Kreitzer was a refuge for a homeless mom and her son for several months and for a friend transitioning from being a full-time RVer to moving on to another phase in life. But our favorite Camp Kreitzer events involve family. Larry and I are never happier than when Camp Kreitzer is bursting at the seams with our children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. Holidays often see a crowd ranging from all the littles to the adults.

On Independence Day Do We Look More Like Philadelphia in 1787 or Paris in 1789?

Those who are ignorant of history are condemned to repeat it. What is happening represents the long-planned Marxist plan to overthrow America. The riots are part of the plan -- to create a crisis. Wake up, people! Don't just celebrate Independence Day today, resolve to fight to take back our country from liberals and socialists. Do you know the candidates running in November in your area? Have you looked at their policies? Have you read the platforms of the Democrat Party and the Republican Party? Which is more in line with godly principles?

Pray for our Country on this Fourth of July!

God Bless the USA! May we return to loving and honoring Him in the weakest and most vulnerable among us -- the infants in the womb, the sick and handicapped, and the elderly. Have mercy on our nation, O Lord.

Happy Fourth! Enjoy our National March Played by the President's Own

Everybody Loves a Parade...

...so we had one at Camp Kreitzer for the 4th of July. If you want to read about it, visit my Gramma blog. When I'm together with my family, especially the grandchildren, it gives me real hope for the future. As someone once said, "Children are God's opinion that the world should go on." And they are the future! Let us raise them to be warriors and witnesses for Christ.

I Woke Up This Morning Filled With Hope! Let's Reclaim the Rainbow.

No matter what the Supreme Court does...no matter what the Vatican does...no matter what my local bishop does...no matter what Barrack Obama or the Congress or the Democratics and Republicans do...GOD IS STILL GOD!

So, yes, I'm celebrating this INDEPENDENCE DAY. Christians, we are independent through the power of the Holy Spirit. Think of the early Christians. They were free even in prison. They went singing to their deaths knowing that for all the persecution, they were the fortunate ones -- not the mobs screaming for their blood. Think of Maximilian Kolbe at Auschwitz. Who was more enslaved? He and his fellow prisoners or his captors locked up in hate, enslaved by the devil?

You know what I'm doing today? My husband and I are going to Mass to thank God for this beautiful country that in the past offered so much hope to so many people. We can be that country again. I hope some of our visiting grandchildren will go with us. Then we're going to the dollar store to buy a bunch of patriotic balloons to take to the nursing home. What a joy it will be to have my grandchildren give out the balloons to the residents and staff wishing them all a blessed day. Then we'll stop at Sheetz to buy treats for the kids.

And then....we will celebrate the rest of the day honoring marriage and family with food and fun and fireworks.

As the day closes, we will pray the rosary for our poor country through the intercession of Our Lady of Hope. Being a gloomy Christian never helped anyone. I refuse to give the rainbow, the sign of hope, to those celebrating sodomite marriage. I reclaim it as the sign of the covenant with Abraham. God promised his descendants would be like the sands on the seashore. Christians, let's get busy changing this sinful world starting by reclaiming our own families and neighborhoods.

Our Lady of Hope, pray for us!

Reflection on Independence Day: What is there to Celebrate?

As I think about our country and its founders on this 239th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, I wonder what we have to celebrate? Certainly not our government's honoring the beliefs of our founders. Our political leaders and the courts, especially the Supreme Court, have turned upside down everything in which the men who signed the Declaration believed.

The Bill of Rights is in deep trouble. Freedom of Religion is a joke. The powers that be have said we are free to worship in our churches, but they've locked the doors to keep us inside telling us not to bring our narrow-minded opinions into the market place. And certainly we may not exercise our moral values on the job. Christian nurses and doctors have been fired for refusing to participate in abortions. Christian photographers and florists and bakeries, you better provide services for sodomite marriages! Teachers, don't you say a word against sex ed or sodomite marriage or the gay-straight alliance. Sure, you can have moral values as long as you shut up about them.

Hope You're Having a Family Fourth!

This country was founded on strong families. Think of the pioneer families described in the Little House books. What spirit and gumption they had! And they were people of prayer as well.

So we're starting our fourth with Mass praying for restoration of the family. As my grammar school civics book taught, the family is the basic building block of civilization -- and I don't mean the bizarre permutations of "family" we have today. I'm talking about the nuclear family. Surprisingly, even the U.N. has affirmed the "natural family" as the "fundamental unit of society" and the "natural environment" for the education and development of children. (Read more here.)

So praise God today for the family and enjoy all the festivities with your loved ones. We especially look forward to sparklers and the Woodstock fireworks! Have a Happy 4th of July!

It's Independence Day: Pray for Our Poor, Battered Country

Lady Liberty is under direct assault from liberal mobs who don't give a hoot for law except to use it as a bludgeon to target those who disagree with them. Hence we have Obamacare pounding people of conscience and federal and local laws designed to suppress dissent and deny reality.

Instead of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave, we are living in the land of the over-regulated and the home of the wimps. What must our Founding Fathers think of the California law that allows "transgendered" people to use restrooms, showers, locker rooms, etc. that correspond to the way they feeeeeeel instead of the biological reality of who they are. Feeling like a woman will NEVER turn a biological male into a biological female. Little boys will still be little boys no matter how many tutus hang in the closet or how many operations disfigure their bodies.

Sadly, this Independence Day can be summed up by describing America as a land where citizens have the independence to believe and legislate any nonsense no matter how unreal or untruthful. In this new, improved (according to liberals) country, everything is up for grabs and each individual can create his own reality based on...whatever! Our new national motto has changed from In God We Trust to In (fill in the blank) I trust. As for the former motto E Pluribus Unum (From Many, One), that has degeneration to From many, even more. We no longer have a common language; we no longer hold common beliefs. The country is unraveling while bobble-headed liberals tell us we are getting better and better. Ah...if only it were true!

But, as the Christophers say, it is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. Each of us is responsible to be a light in his own family and community. Like the glorious little sparks of light in the June sky, each of us can be like the little firefly who twinkles in the night. Darkness can never overcome the light, because darkness is nothing! It is simply the absence of light. So each time one of us lights up, darkness is defeated. And while many serve the darkness, like the Texas pro-aborts chanting, "Hail, Satan!", they are doomed to ultimate defeat because they serve an already-vanquished prince. May they change allegiances before they share his doom!

So light your lamp and place it on the lampstand to give light to all in the house. And when you watch the fireworks tonight, remember to shine your glorious light of Christian truth and love for all the world to see. Will you pray the rosary today for our country and push back the darkness? That's my plan.

In God We Trust: Happy 4th of July!

As you listen to our National Anthem consider the 4th and final verse and pray for our poor country. We will only continue to be the "land of the free and home of the brave" to the degree that we honor the "Power" that has "preserved us a nation." Pray that all patriots put their trust in God and obey his laws which were made for our happiness. When we throw out the laws of God, we guarantee the misery of our country and our people.

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!

God Bless America on this 4th of July

Pray today for all those who offered their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for our country. May we continue to dedicate ourselves to making this "one country UNDER GOD with liberty and justice for all" especially the most vulnerable.

Happy Fourth of July

Pray for liberty and justice for all -- born and unborn.