Happy Independence Day!

Kalynn woke up proudly proclaiming this morning..."It's Independence Day!" We had a big day planned for lunch. My in-laws and my mom came over and we grilled steaks, corn-on-the-cob & shrimp. I did my usual thing of displaying all the food in pretty dishes. I used my red, white and blue pieces for the fruit and fruit dip and the olives (black & green) and garden-fresh tomatoes. I made a peach cobbler made from the peaches from the peach tree in the back yard. I also had garden-fresh jalapenos! (yum!) For Father's Day, Jack received a Better Homes & Garden Grilling Cookbook. He used it today...and this was some of the best grilled steaks he has ever cooked. He also made watermelon lemonade...that was also very good. I love holidays...a time for the family to get together. Of course, it also another reason for me to use my dishes to make everything look all pretty. I love to make it all special for everyone.

July 4, 1776, we declared independence from Great Britain. In America, it is commonly celebrated by fireworks, picnics, barbeques and even baseball games. We sing songs such, The Star Spangled Banner, America The Beautiful, My Country 'Tis Of Thee and I Am Proud To Be An American. And, as I sit here and blog, my kids are quietly playing the the other room and Jack, my in-laws and my mom are playing a game of marbles (wahoo). They are laughing and making jokes. The sound of laughter and fun times is definitely the sound of independence.

But, as a Christian, we have another sort of independence to celebrate. I Corinthians 6:9-11 says, "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." We can declare independence from the sin that once ruled our lives. We are no longer dependent upon that lifestyle...but we are FREE. Like the old song by the Gaither's says, "I'm free from the fear of tomorrow, I'm free from the guilt of the past; For I've trades my shackles for a glorious song, I'm free, Praise the Lord! Free At last!" For those with a little more 'modern style' of music...DC Talk sang a song "Free At Last" - "Shackles had me down but He gave me a new sound. So reclaim my name from the lost and found. Ya see, something's got me jumpin'. And I think it's the way that He can take a hard man and turn him into soft clay. Out of the darkness, the Father has sparked this. The spirit's alive while the flesh is a carcass. If you're seriously curious about my past...Well I once was lost but I'm free at last! Free, free, I'm free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm free at last. Free, free, I'm free at last. Thank God Almighty I'm free." No matter what style of music you like the best, the message is still the same...THANK GOD I"M FREE!

Independence Day has a dual purpose for celebration in our household. I am thankful that we live in America...the land of the free and the home of the brave but above ALL, I am thankful for the opportunity to live for God...free from the dross of this world. As a closing thought, I want to leave you with a quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower (our 34th President)..."Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its living giving roots, it will wither and die".