The Fourth of July holds special meaning for me. In the past, with children in the home, we made a “flag cake” decorated painfully slowly with white icing, blueberries, strawberries, and tiny marshmallows Now it’s the grandchildren’s task.
This year’s a bit different. Our kids and grandkids and our daughter-in-law’s visiting sister’s family mean that Ev and I and Nancy will celebrate somewhat differently. Yes, we’ll do the hamburgers, etc. here in the dining room at Glenbrooke, and we’ll do…..
Once again we attended a festive band concert to honor our country’s July 4th celebration, and once more, one of the featured pieces played was a time to honor our veterans with the special tunes for the Marines, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Merchant Marine, and now Space Force. The audience clapped for each veteran as he/she arose at the appropriate time. One veteran was ninety-four years old, and struggled to stand. The conductor, the awesome Aaron Collins of the Space…..
As you may or may not know, June 21 is the longest daylight day of the year. Although I rarely advocate Wikipedia as a source of all knowledge, you might want to read its information about summer solstice and its meaning to cultures from earliest times. It was especially sad to see desecration of Stonehenge yesterday by climate protestors. It is thought this remarkable circle of stones in England was used to…..
Today is the celebration of Flag Day, and, incidentally, my grandpa’s birthday. The American Flag was dedicated in 1777, 246 years ago today. My Grandpa always celebrated it with strawberry shortcake. In 1946 , President Woodrow Wilson marked the anniversary of that decree by officially establishing June 14 as Flag Day. Here’s a poem I memorized in school when schools taught history. Here’s a poem I memorized in grade school when teachers taught us to respect the flag. Yes, we pledged…..
Today we celebrate and remember the sacrifices made on D Day eighty years ago today. I ask today, what is the price of freedom? Are the battles we still face, of open warfare, of addiction, or poverty, of prejudice, of crime, of deprivation, of famine, of domestic violence, of oppression, of Communism, of Marxism, of evil in all its forms–worth fighting against and conquering?
Sin in all its form is evil. Whenever…..
Events the last few days for me have circled around the word Adversity. I am currently writing a short story for the Space Coast Writers’ Guild anthology with that title, have in the last month read two books involving World War 2 struggles, prejudice, and survival, have spent three days semi-sick, have interviewed a dear woman I’ve met here at Glenbrooke, and grieved at the manipulation of the justice system in this country. One of the last sentences in my…..
This week I have been affected by two (there are more) accounts of persecution. One, the death of the “butcher” or Iran, infamous for killing women, even young girls, for refusing to wear the hajib and follow strict anti-feminine edicts. I was appalled when out President invited a “moment of silence in his honor.
The second is the reading of a book for our book club. It accounts the horrendous persecution of the Jews in World War II and those…..
It is good that we take stock once in a while as we review our relationships, especially the hurt ones in our families. One of the things we prayed for on Pentecost Sunday was the mending of relationships and the peace that can and will, eventually, follow. Today’s verse is from Psalm 62 verse 7 which says, “My salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge.” Many times the Psalmists refer to places of…..
For Christians, Pentecost is always a special observance. After Christ’s resurrection, Jesus ascended to heaven where he reigns until the time of the Second Coming. Had he not ascended, His message worldwide could not have occurred. The third aspect of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit was given to us so that God’s message can be part of our lives whatever generation or wherever in the universe we dwell.
Our service this morning included the praise songs and hymns which feature…..