The Land of the Free and Brave Heart

9/11/2001 - To quote a famous president, "A day that will live in infamy"

The image of the plane flying straight into the towers on Good Morning America that Tuesday morning is seared into my brain! And then the images rolled past - each one more horrible than the last! American mourned! The flags flew proudly! We were a nation united in a common cause - defeat evil - that evil that the "average" man or woman had little clue about until suddenly planes were crashing out of the sky: one, two, three, four... and were there more??!!

This morning on my way to pick up a friend for church I passed a well-known fast food place and noticed the American and their chain flag both flying at half mast! At first I thought, "O, 9/11 - honor the dead!" And as I continued to drive and reflect suddenly I was slammed with the thought, "NO! While we do mourn the dead killed in terror by Islamic radical terrorists, we should be flying our flag high! This is the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

The terrorists want us to cower. They want us to lower our stars and bars! They want to destroy us forever!

Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

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!
--Francis Scott Key, 1814

Our star-spangled banner will yet wave as long as our God is the One in Whom we trust! We are the land of the free and home of brave hearts at His discretion! To God be the glory!

Chasing the Small Stuff

Occasionally beached whales make the news. Recently I saw an article about 300 beached whales. These whales were chasing small stuff - sardines in this case - and got trapped on the beach at low tide. They were so preoccupied by sardines that they encountered danger and death on the beach. The "small stuff" drew them and preoccupied them. They perished as a result.

In life we chase "sardine small stuff." When the "small stuff" fills our focus, we forget more important things. The "small stuff" gets our whole world out of whack.

Jesus put what we should focus on very simply: love God first and most and then love others. We love God because He first loved us. God made a huge sacrifice to demonstrate His love for us. He sent Jesus to the cross.

Recently Islamic extremists in Somalia killed two young sons of a pastor. The pastor, his wife and remaining son fled for their lives to a refugee camp in Kenya where they live without shoes or shelter. The loss of a son is huge! I'm sure that family understand God's love in a deeper way than before their loss. What God did to demonstrate His love was an incredible act! He gave up Jesus to show His great love for us!

We can love others simply because we see what love looks like in God's demonstration of love for us. God touches our hearts with His love and changes us forever! He gives us His love so we can love Him first and others next.

Loving God first and others second is the way to change our world one heart at a time!

The beached whales lost their way chasing small stuff. We too chase "small stuff" to our peril. Our focus must be on God and then others!