4th Of July

Greetings All!  I LOVE the 4th of July.  I always have, but I remember the first July 4th that really, really hit home for me.  I had been suffering and recovering from Guillaine-Barr Syndrome for about a year and KNEW what it felt like to be trapped, enslaved and tortured.  No, none of those things by the hands of another, but rather by the effects that this horrific syndrome had on my very own body.  Having been taken down to the deepest depths of my inner recesses and stripped of all that made me free and independent.  Paralysed, blind, in the most excruciating pain ever (child birth has nothing on Guillaine-Barr) with no end in sight.  I had to depend on everyone for everything.  That July 4th in 2001, while on my road to recovery and listening to music, watching our fireworks 'bombs bursting in air' I began to cry and relate and realize that I am truly free!  Thank you to all the men and women that have served our country and have set us free.  Thank you to all that continue to 'sit on the wall of America' to continually ensure that freedom.  To you I am ever grateful!

I can't stop and think about our American Freedom without pausing to reflect on our God Given Freedom through Christ.  Scripture says, "It is for freedom that He set us free!"  How profound.  He did not set us free to be enslaved in guilt or condemnation or sin, but so we could be truly free in and through Christ.  Free to be love.  Free to live without sin (or to be forgiven from such sin).  Free to go to heaven simply because we accept Christ through grace.  So mostly, Thank you, Jesus, for our freedom!

Here I am 11 years later and this is what we do around our house:

Organic and Whole Wheat Cake - and it is delicious!

Twirling in her American Flag Tutu

Laughing in her American Flag Tutu

So, what do you do to celebrate our independence?  What to you think about and reflect on?  What does this holiday mean to you?  Leave your thoughts in the comments section below (just click on the comments link)...I would love to hear from you.