Our Fourth of July

Stole this pic from my daughter's blog! I love it. Great-grandfather with great-granddaughter.  We had such a relaxing few hours at the square in p-town last night.  Of course, I had to have some funnel cake and frozen pink lemonade. I shared with the baby.  That blue tongue is from italian ice her daddy fed her.  We sat around with family and saw friends and watched all sorts and types of people walk by. The weather was perfect with no humidity and in the low 80s.  The fireworks were slow but pretty...you can tell there's a budget crunch around here. But, regardless, we had a great time.  Traffic was a bear getting out...p-town must have had a record crowd.

Our patriotic musical yesterday morning at church was pretty amazing.  The congregation numbered about 1700 and everyone was in a clapping mood! Not only was the choir dressed in red, white, and blue, but so was most of the audience.  The giant flag that was rigged up to rise during the National Anthem...DID!! Hooray, I was a little nervous about that.

My boss was the narrator and soloist and did his usual excellent job. We never have to worry about him.  We sang "This Land is Your Land",  "Livin' in the Homeland", "Doxology", "We Shall Overcome" (which, by the way, was written in the 40s after WWII), and "Lean on Me".  Everyone had fun singing along on that last one...."call on me brother, when you need a hand", etc.

The media presentation showed pictures from the World Wars and Ellis Island and civil rights marches as we reflected back on our history as a nation.  The states were called out one by one and people cheered for where there were born.  And, of course, we could not go without our "Salute to the Armed Forces" represented by each branch of the military. There was much cheering and a standing ovation.  At the end the orchestra played "Stars and Stripes Forever" and everyone was given a flag. We listened and waved the flags and then capped it off with confetti guns that literally sounded like gunshots! Ha. I believe some folks were startled. Unfortunately, two of the guns didn't work and it was comical seeing the folks in charge of them trying to make them work.

Our pastor ended the morning by preaching a mini-sermon about the state of our nation.  He encouraged us to vote God's word, not political parties. America is at a crossroads with the leadership we have in Washington.  Stand up for what's right! There was much cheering and amen-ing all through the sermon.
Overall, just a wonderful day.

Today's agenda is celebrating my dad's 76th birthday! Our family is blessed through his faithfulness to the Lord throughout his life!