God Bless the USA

Last night I was listening to Acapella's version of "God Bless the USA", it's a beautiful rendition. They changed the first verse from "I'd thank my lucky stars" to "I'd thank my heavenly Father to be livin' here today". And how true that is. I love America and I feel so blessed to be an American. I still believe in the American Dream, that here you have the opportunity to reach for the stars and get some of them! No country is perfect, we all know that but the US is the strongest and the post powerful country in the world. We have protected our freedoms for 232 years now! That is something to wonderful to celebrate!!

"The flag still stands for FREEDOM and they can't take that away!

And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.

And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me."

Let's say a prayer for our military today. Let's thank them for their service and sacrifice. There are still men and women dying to keep our freedom. Regardless of what you feel about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, our military is performing the ultimate sacrifice. They are WILLINGLY putting their lives on the line to keep the fight away from our shores. They are preserving our freedoms by letting go of their own. And by that I mean they have set aside their comfort of the American way of life for a war zone. They have volunteered to say good-bye to their families and their churches so that the rest of us don't have to. They know the importance of our Declaration of Independence. They are seeing firsthand what dictatorship and lawlessness does to people. Our military sees the suffering and is making a difference in the lives of the innocent people! I cannot find the words to express my gratitude for our military. And of course this is extremely personal to me, my husband and brother-in-law have served in the middle east on and off for the past 7 years. Michael will be leaving again in August to continue the fight. I will miss him terribly but it won't compare to the pride I will have knowing that he is doing his part to protect us all.

This year we have an important election coming up. I know that opinions run deep and emotions run high when it comes to politics. There is disagreements in both my immediate and extended family. I do think it's important to vote and have a say in our country's leadership. I urge everyone to do so, VOTE! But more importantly, I urge all the believers out there to pray. Pray for our country and our leadership. Set aside your personal wants and push for "your" candidate and today just pray that whatever the outcome of this election that God will have His hand on our leader. That God will bless our country and help lead us in a good direction. Pray for all the branches of our government, that their hearts will be reached that we will start to put "In God we Trust" back into action. GOD BLESS THE USA!!!

Let's be truly thankful for all we have! Have a wonderful and safe 4th! God Bless!