It's that time again. Tomorrow night, thousands of people from all over Northern California will descend upon Twin Oaks Park in Rocklin, CA to celebrate this amazing country. There will be some very fun moments for the entire family throughout the afternoon and into the night. There will also be several poignant moments which surely will cause your heart to stir with emotion and pride. The United States of America is a relatively young country when compared to many which have ancient histories. Some of our history is rather unflattering. Such is the nature of our human existence. Our greatest strength is also our greatest vulnerability.
Freedom.
In this land of ours, we are free to pursue our God-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Throughout our history, heroes have laid down their lives as a sacrifice to provide us with, and to defend our freedom. Ironically, were it not for those who have heroically and selflessly put themselves in harm's way, people would not have the freedom to stand up and protest and criticize the very foundation upon which this country was built.
In God We Still Trust
At Celebrate America Saturday night, I am blessed to be singing solos in two wonderful songs. The first is one I've sung many years, Hero For Today. The second song is new to me, but it has quickly captured my heart. The song is called In God We Still Trust. The message is very close to my heart, and has been the subject of more than one post here on Crossing Paths. Many take offense to the presence of God in the foundation of our great country. Many point to the imperfections of our founding fathers, and their faith in God, in an effort to justify their pursuit to secularize and neuter this unique nation. As believers, we must stand up and let our voices be heard that we will not quietly and passively allow the mortar in our country's foundation, faith in God, to be removed systematically. The underwhelmingly small number of nay sayers have rattled the cages of the majority. In the ironic and completely inaccurate guise of "tolerance", they have shown absolutely no sensitivity to the overwhelming majority who love this country and believe in the moral fiber woven into stars and stripes by the blood of our Savior, and the men and women who have sacrificed their own lives.
I cannot wait to sing these songs, as well as the many others which will serve as a reminder of what our country is all about. This is not a political rally. People of all races, religions and political ideologies will make up the crowd of patriots tomorrow night. This is a night to put all our differences aside, and celebrate what unites us. Even if you don't subscribe to the idea that is "one nation under God", hopefully you can respect that those of us who truly seek to emulate the values and practices of Jesus Christ, genuinely love this country and those who don't share our beliefs. We simply wish that those who disagree with us would show "tolerance". But even if they hate us, we still love America. We are tenacious about protecting and practicing the freedom purchased for us on battlefields both here and abroad, as well as on the cross.
I hope you'll join us tomorrow night for Celebrate America! For more information, including details about our very special musical guest, four time female vocalist of the year, Natalie Grant, please visit www.CelebrateAmericaOnline.com.
God bless you, and God bless the United States of America!
