Happy Birthday U.S.A.

When July comes around each year we begin to think about the 4^th of July. For most it means a holiday from work and for some it means watching a fireworks display with the family. Of course, the real emphasis has to do with the fact that 234 years ago in 1776 the 13 colonies of America declared their independence from Great Britain. Since those humble beginnings we have become the greatest country on the planet.

The comedian Yakov Smirnoff said that when he first came to the United States from Russia, he was amazed at the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says "on my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk…you just add water and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice…you just add water and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder and I thought to myself, what a country!"

People in foreign countries envy us for all the material wealth we have, but most of all for our freedom. We are privileged to live in such a wonderful nation. Remember the words to the pledge of allegiance?

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Remember the words to the national anthem?

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

July 4^th is a good day to remember how much God has blessed America and we her citizens.