Happy Birthday, America.   I didn’t get you a gift, but I wanted you to know on this special day that I still consider you a gift to me.  I know I tend to take you for granted and at times I seem to be indifferent towards the problems you face.  I complain as if these challenges are new, but the truth is freedom has never been easy.  You continue to be a work in progress.  I am quick to point out your faults and slow to pick up on what is still good with your landscape.  I know that you are much more than a place, you are a principle.  A principle birthed from the conviction of those who believed that freedom was a cause worth fighting for.  They sought to form a government that would and I might add, has stood the test of time.   You are not perfect, but there is certainly nowhere else that I would rather rest my head or raise my family than on your shores. It is my prayer that on this, your 234th birthday, that we as a nation will once again lift our eyes unto the hills from where our help comes.  May your first official words remind us of what our country is all about:
“…We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness….”   Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776

A grateful citizen,
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There is no pretty way to say this – I was in a bad mood.  I didn’t mean to be in bad mood, I didn’t want to be in a bad mood, but that’s where I was – in a very sour kind of way.  The strange thing for me about moods like this is that anything might cause them, or just nothing particular can bring them on.  Once there, they can be difficult to climb out of and have a way of tainting everything and everyone around you.  It happened a few days before the start of VBS and the stress level for the Lewis household was pretty high.  We were all very tired. Kathy was working on last minute VBS details and Jami was at our house working on a song they wanted to teach the kids.  That is when my foul mood took a nasty turn.  As Jami listened to the song over and over again making up the choreography – it hit me.  She is listening to RAP music!  Are we going to teach the kids at VBS a rap song?  I was not a happy camper.  You see, for the most part, I am very tolerant when it comes to musical styles and have crusaded this cause among Baptists (hymns, choruses…) for years.  However, on this day, I was confronted with my own prejudices.  I was against using this style, not because it’s wrong, but because I simply did not like it.  I formed an opinion about it before I ever really listened to the words.  The fact is the Lord can be worshiped and should be worshiped in a multitude of ways.  I was WRONG.  As it turned out, the rap became one of the favorite parts of Bible school for young and old alike.  When I got pass my prejudice and listened to the words, I became aware of how dead on it was.  If you missed them sharing it last Sunday, you missed a real blessing.

A fellow pilgrim,
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Week 1 of the “10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe Series” with pastor James Lewis during Wednesday evening service. The series will continue throughout the summer months following meals in the multi purpose center. Contact the church office for more information.

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