INDEPENDENCE

And so, another Independence Day has passed. As usual, there were hot dogs and beer and fire works and fun. Hopefully, some thought of how lucky we are to be independent...to live in a country that has a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Maybe you heard "America the Beautiful" or "God Bless the USA"; maybe, not. In some places, our national anthem was played: "The Star Spangled Banner" which many people think ends with the words "Play Ball!" You may have forgotten that this song is based on a poem. It would do you well, today, to read the fourth stanza of that poem...read it more than once...and place your trust and praise in the only place it belongs.

O! 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!
:D