Happy Independance Day!

"I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts." Psalm 119:45

We truly are blessed to live in this land of freedom. Quite often I find myself reading a book that is set in another country or another time, and I am just amazed at how fortunate I am to live in the country I live in. When I read about women who live in muslim nations, and how they spend their lives wrapped in cloth, my heart breaks for them. For women in India who live in a state called "purdah", where once they marry their muslim husbands, they spend the rest of their lives in hiding. No one sees them except family- they have their own part of the house that they dwell in, and in the rare chance that they may come out to travel or go to the market or something, they where so many layers of clothing- called a burqa- to keep anyone from catching a glimpse of their face.

Yet I was born here, in a country that was founded on God. It was founded by people who were seeking freedom from religious persecution elsewhere. And we still are permitted to worship God in any way we choose, several hundred years later. So while we celebrate this weekend, I think we need to be mindful and remember how blessed we truly are. I am fortunate enough this weekend to be able to celebrate with family, and that in itself is a blessing, as we weren't sure we were going to be able to do that this year. We live in a wonderful place, in a wonderful time, and God is truly wonderful. I'm going to take that thought with me into this weekend.

And here's why. If I wake up each morning and worry that I'm going to have a bad day, the bad day is sure to follow. If something bad does happen, it doesn't take long before that carries over into the rest of the day, and before I know it, I've had a bad day through and through. Instead, I choose to wake each morning and count my blessings. I choose to be thankful for another day. Yesterday I was oh-so thankful for the beautiful thunderstorms that turned the lawn a vibrant green again, and gave my gardens a much needed drink. This morning I choose to be thankful for the sunshine- it will be wonderful to send the children out to play while I ready the house for a few days away and do some packing. By filling my mind with joy each and every morning, I am prepared to try and keep the bad out. So that when I do have something bad happen, it happens, I process it, and then I move on. So I choose to go into this weekend with the joy of the Lord in my heart and in my head.

Happy Independance Day everyone! Be blessed- and I'll be back on Monday. :-)