Blog Archives

TREASURE TROVE

7/30/2015

At times, perusing the daily news can be, well, downright depressing. As one country music song a few years back plaintively asserted, "we sure could use… a little good news… today". So it is with delight that I share some today.

It seems as if a family vacationing off the Florida coast has found part of the fabled lost 1715 Spanish treasure fleet. Altogether, the find included: 51 gold coins, 40 feet of ornate gold chain, and another single royal coin made for the then King of Spain, Phillip V.

Only a few of the latter are known to exist. The coin, commonly called a “Tri-centennial Royal”, is dated to 1715. Experts say that this one extremely rare silver-dollar-sized coin is probably worth close to a half a million dollars by itself.

Like many youngsters, I spent many an hour dreaming of finding some long lost treasure. As a teenager, I longed to go to Florida and find and recover every Spanish Galleon ever lost. Alas, it was not meant to be. But I am happy for others who were able to live some portion of that dream.

Of course, along the way, I have come to accept more than just the fact I will probably never possess any such fabulous treasure. I have also come to realize that no one really possesses anything, whether it is gold, silver, wood, or any other earthly substance.

Consider the fabled 1715 treasure lying somewhere off present day Fort Pierce, Florida. Capitan-General Don Juan Esteban de Ubilla had aboard his flagship, the Capitana, more than 3.5 million pesos in priceless treasure, including the Queen of Spain’s jewels, when he encountered a hurricane on July 30, 1715. Eleven ships in his flotilla sank with the loss of their crews and cargo.

Neither Captain Esteban, nor the Queen of Spain, nor even King Phillip V himself, ever actually possessed any of that lost treasure. In fact, before this, the Native Americans who had mined the gold did not possess it either. Nor ultimately do the current “owners”. For the simple truth is that, as the Bible affirms, “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”

This is why the Apostle Paul charges the young Timothy thusly (1Timothy 6:6-11):

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.

Paul, you see, knew that everything in this world is fleeting. Indeed, as the Apostle Peter (in 2 Peter 3:10KJV) tells us that everything in this world will one day disappear: “… the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

Little wonder, then, that Jesus, in His famed Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6: 19-21), told us: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for you treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

In light of this, I pose the following question today: Where is your treasure today? What do you long to possess? Better yet, where and what should it be? In Matthew 13:44, Jesus told this short parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”

When one stumbles upon God’s grace, and truly considers the value of the eternal life this entails, it will thereafter become all important and all consuming. So much so that everything in this world will pale by comparison. And that person will be rich indeed!

News source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/07/27/fla-family-finds-1m-sunken-spanish-treasure/30758901/.

Scripture source: http://biblehub.com/niv/.

THINGS THAT REALLY “MAT”TER

7/27/2015

We call it “LC2” (“LC Squared”) at our church. Each year, in July, we devote Sunday nights to Ministry Service Projects for our community and beyond. “LC2” stands for “Loving Christ and Loving Loudon County”. The purpose is to apply the love of Jesus Christ to our community and the world in His name.

This year’s projects have included landscaping and painting classrooms at local public schools, delivering food to local police and fire departments, prayer walking, visiting nursing homes, packing goody bags for local hospital patients, and the like. Last evening, I was privileged to deliver fruit trays to the nurses in our local hospital and ER rooms as a way of saying that we affirm and appreciate what all they do for others.

One of the biggest blessings my wife and I experienced through this year's LC2 program was an earlier Sunday evening spent processing plastic shopping bags for the making of sleeping mats. It takes around 1000 such plastic grocery bags, flattened out, cut into strips, and then tied into lengths for crocheting. The finished project is a waterproof woven plastic mat that can be rolled up and/or unfolded for a bed.

Each one takes about seven days worth of "man" hours from start to finish. So far, our church family has produced about fifty of these mats altogether. Once completed, they are taken by Mission Teams to Guatemala and distributed to the poorest of the poor.

The organization we have partnered with there is called Clubhouse Guatemala. Started in 2003 by Mike and Carla Parker, their ministry objective is to reach the lost people of Guatemala by going into remote villages and ministering to children and adults through shoe distributions, block parties, face painting, cotton candy, Backyard Bible Schools, and many other creative ways to show the love of Christ. You can read more about Clubhouse Guatemala and their various ministries here: http://www.clubhouseguatemala.com/.

The pictures below detail the process of making the mats, as well as the finished products. The picture that perhaps speaks the most is the last: that of a homeless man in Guatemala actually receiving one of these mats by a volunteer missionary.

In truth, this is what makes the whole process worthwhile. As Jesus Himself said (in Matthew 25:40), “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

YOU CAN DO IT!

7/24/2015

Today, I wanted to continue my thoughts on motivation from my previous post. In their 1990 book titled Strategies for Winning, authors George Allen and Mickey Herskowitz tell the story related by former United States Congressman and Presidential Cabinet Member, Jack Kemp:

“When I started out in life, all I wanted was to be a football player,” says Jack Kemp, who ended up in the pros for 13 years … Kemp recalls the encouragement he received from Payton Jordan, his coach at Occidental College in Los Angeles: “The coach called me into his office and said, ‘Of all the people on this team, I really think you have it. I want you to work just as if you were a pro-football player.'

“When I left that office, I would have run through a brick wall for Coach Jordan. Several years later, at a reunion, I found out that the coach had told all my teammates that same thing. I was furious! For only a minute. Then I realized that Coach Jordan had made every one of us a little bit better, had helped us to struggle a little bit harder, to reach our potential.”*

Mark Twain was once reputed to have said that he could live for two months on one good compliment! I understand this sentiment completely . And you probably do as well. We live in a world that offers criticism in ample quantities. So, whenever compliments do come our way, they are quite powerful. Jack Kemp’s testimony bears witness to this.

For this reason, we would all do well to consider the power of our words. With them, we can either tear people down, or we can build people up. The first option is easy enough. The second requires a little effort.

Proverbs 25:11 (ESV) states, “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.” Similarly, Proverbs 15:23 (NIV) says, “… How good is a timely word.” Jack Kemp understood this. So do I, and perhaps you also. In fact, so does anyone who has ever been motivated by the receipt of a timely word!

Why not make it your goal to find some way to compliment, to encourage, and thereby to motivate some unsuspecting person or persons tomorrow? You will be glad you did. And so will they – perhaps in ways that neither of you can even begin to conceive of today.

*SOURCE: https://bible.org/illustration/work-if-you-were-pro-football-player.

HANG IN THERE

7/21/2015

Everyone needs a little encouragement on occasion. Recently, Richard Feloni and Ashley Lutz wrote an inspirational article for Business Insider about several incredibly successful people who, despite having failed miserably at first, later went on to change the world.

In it, they state: “Rejection can feel devastating, but you shouldn't let it crush you. Some of the world's most successful people have failed - sometimes more than once. We've put together a list of highly successful people, from movie stars to scientists, who experienced massive failure before they found fame and fortune. Weaker people might have given up. Instead, these folks remained focused on their goals.”

Among others, the list of people they go on to write about, with a brief summary of each of their respective personal stories, includes:

1. Winston Churchill, who was estranged from his political party over ideological disagreements during the "wilderness years" of 1929 to 1939. But, at the outbreak of World War II on Sep. 3, 1939, Churchill was appointed to the British Admiralty, thus ending his "exile." The next year, he was elected prime minister at the age of 62.

2. Thomas Edison, whose teachers told him he was "too stupid to learn anything." Edison went on to hold more than 1,000 patents and invented some world-changing devices, like the phonograph, practical electrical lamp, and a movie camera.

3. Oprah Winfrey, who was fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore, where she said she faced sexism and harassment. But Winfrey rebounded and became the undisputed queen of television talk shows before amassing a media empire. Today she is worth an estimated $2.9 billion, according to Forbes.

4. Walt Disney, who was fired by a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas." Several more of his businesses failed before the premiere of his movie "Snow White." Today, most childhoods wouldn't be the same without his ideas.

5. Steven Spielberg, who was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times. He went on to create the first summer blockbuster with "Jaws" in 1975, and has won three Academy Awards.

6. R.H. Macy, who had a series of failed retail ventures throughout his early career. But at the age of 36, Macy launched R.H. Macy & Co., which grew to become Macy's, one of the largest department store chains in the world.

7. Soichiro Honda, whose unique vision got him ostracized by the Japanese business community. Honda was a mechanical genius who idolized Edison and rebelled against the norm. His passion for aggressive individualism was more fit for the United States, and thus alienated him from Japanese businessmen, who valued teamwork above all else. Honda then boldly challenged the American automotive industry in the 1970s and led a Japanese automotive revolution.

8. Colonel Harland David Sanders, who was fired from dozens of jobs before founding a successful restaurant. He traveled across the U.S. looking for someone to sell his fried chicken, and after finally getting a business deal in Utah, Kentucky Fried Chicken was born. KFC is now one of the most recognizable franchises in the world, with over 18,000 locations.

9. Dick Cheney, who dropped out of Yale. After having trouble adjusting to the culture and his classes, he dropped out, and then returned, only to drop out for good. George W. Bush once joked: "So now we know if you graduate from Yale, you become president. If you drop out, you get to be vice president."

10. Sir Isaac Newton, whose mother pulled him out of school as a boy so that he could run the family far, at which he failed miserably.   Realizing her son was not meant to till the land, she let Newton finish his basic education and was eventually persuaded to allow him to enroll in Cambridge University. Newton went on to become one of the greatest scientists of all time, revolutionizing physics and mathematics.

11. Vera Wang, who failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position. She began designing wedding gowns at age 40 and today is one of the premier designers in the fashion industry, with a business worth over $1 billion.

12. Sidney Poitier, who, when he first auditioned for the American Negro Theatre, flubbed his lines and spoke in a heavy Caribbean accent, which made the director angrily tell him to stop wasting his time. Poitier worked on his craft and eventually became a hugely successful Hollywood star. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor and helped break down the color barrier in the American film industry.

13. Albert Einstein, who, as a child, had some difficulty communicating and learning in a traditional manner. Of course, Einstein's communication and behavioral problems were not indicative of a lack of intelligence. He won the Nobel prize in physics for the discovery of the photoelectric effect, and his special theory of relativity theory corrected the deficiencies of Newtonian physics.

14. Fred Astaire, of whom, in one of his first screen tests, an executive wrote: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little." Astaire went on to become a Hollywood and Broadway legend.

15. Vincent Van Gogh, who sold only one painting, "The Red Vineyard," in his life; and that sale was just months before his death. If he had given up his artistic career after it proved to strain his financial and emotional well-being, the art world would be missing hundreds of paintings from a true master.

16. Harrison Ford, after whose first small movie role, an executive took into his office and told him he'd never succeed in the movie business. Ford's career went on to span six decades, and has included timeless starring roles in blockbuster films like the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" series.

17. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, who had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers.   Dr. Seuss became a legendary children's author known around the world for classics like "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham." His books have sold over 600 million copies.

18. Lucille Ball, who appeared in so many second-tier films at the start of her career that she became known as "The Queen of B Movies."   Then she got her big break when CBS picked up her and her husband, Desi Arnaz's, vaudeville act and turned it into the highly influential sitcom "I Love Lucy."

And, lastly, a young Henry Ford, who ruined his reputation with a couple of failed automobile businesses.   However, after conducting a search, he was finally able to find a partner who had faith in him. Ford proved he had learned from his mistakes when Ford Motor Company forever changed the automotive industry and culture with his assembly line mode of production.

I do not know what all you are destined to achieve in this world. But whatever it is, I hope you hang in there until you make the mark God intended for you to make.

SOURCE: http://www.businessinsider.com/successful-people-who-failed-at-first-2014-3?op=1.

ONE ADDITIONAL THOUGHT FOR TODAY

7/17/2015

In addition to the terrible news from Chattanooga yesterday, my wife and I received word late last night that a good friend of ours in our home state now has a stage four malignancy in his chest.

Our hearts and prayers go out to all those who are hurting this day.

Sometimes, the most appropriate words that can be conveyed in a given context have already been spoken. For this reason, I share this familiar passage today...

SMARTER THAN AVERAGE

7/17/2015

In my last post, I referenced a humorous baseball story. Given that the first part of this week witnessed the recurrence of two of Major League Baseball's annual rituals, the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game, interest in the classic American Pastime has been fairly high. I thought I would add to the hoopla with my post today.

Before being selected by fans as a member of the Major League Baseball All-Century Team back in 1999, Yogi Berra played most of his nineteen seasons as a catcher with the New York Yankees. In the process, he was named to American League All-Star teams during fifteen consecutive seasons, and was one of the few catchers ever awarded the Most Valuable Player Award, which he won three times.

He is also one of only seven Major League Baseball managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series. Including his time as a player, coach, or manager, Berra appeared in a total of twenty one World Series. Thirteen of these included World Series championships.

But he is perhaps best remembered for his numerous pithy and paradoxical sayings, often termed “Yogi-isms”. The folks over at Baseball Almanac have collected up quite a few of them. At least one or two of them will bring a smile to your face. Enjoy.

"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore."

"Baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical."

"Bill Dickey is learning me his experience."

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious."

"How can you hit and think at the same time?"

"I always thought that record would stand until it was broken."

"I don't know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads."

"If people don't want to come out to the ballpark, how are you going to stop them?"

"I'm a lucky guy and I'm happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary."

"I'm not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did."

"In baseball, you don't know nothing."

"I never blame myself when I'm not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?"

"It ain't the heat, it's the humility."

"It gets late early out there."

"I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house."

"It's like deja vu all over again."

"I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I'd never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field."

"Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets."

"Ninety percent of this game is half mental."

"Nobody goes there anymore because it's too crowded."

"So I'm ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face."

"Take it with a grin of salt."

"The game's isn't over until it's over."

"The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase."

"You can observe a lot just by watching."

"You should always go to other people's funerals, otherwise, they won't come to yours."

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there."

"We made too many wrong mistakes."

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

Lastly, and perhaps most fittingly, Yogi is said to have once quipped: "I never said most of the things I said."

And who said baseball isn’t entertaining enough?!

SOURCE: Baseball Almanac’s web site actually contains a collection of baseball related quotations spoken by Yogi Berra and about Yogi Berra. Check it out at: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/quotes/quoberra.shtml.

MR. FIX IT

7/13/2015

In an excellent blog post titled Taking Out the Garbage, Rev. Tony Cooke includes the following story first told by John Killinger…

The manager of a minor league baseball team who was so disgusted with the center fielder’s performance that he ordered him to the dugout and assumed the position himself.

The first ball that came into center field took a bad hop and hit the manager in the mouth. The next one was a high fly ball, which he lost in the glare of the sun—until it bounced off his forehead. The third was a hard line drive that he charged with outstretched arms; unfortunately, it flew between his hands and smacked his eye.

Furious, he ran back to the dugout, grabbed the center fielder by the uniform, and shouted, “You idiot! You’ve got the center field so messed up that even I can’t do a thing with it!”

Now, I don’t know exactly how true this little story is; but I love it nonetheless. We all know what it is like to make mistakes. Sometimes, our goof ups may be quiet small and go unnoticed by others. At other times, they may loom large and unfold in full view of others.

And sometimes, we may even feel like we have messed up so badly that there is no one who can fix it - no one at all. But the good news is that no problem is too big for God! No mess that we have created in our lives and/or the lives of others is so bad that God cannot do something constructive with it!

Through Isaiah the Prophet (41:10), God speaks this promise to each of us: “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

So, my friend, take heart. If you are at a place in your life where you are suffering the ignominy of some big mistake (or, to use the jargon of baseball, if you’ve just marked up another big “E” in the record book of life), do not despair. To err is human; but to forgive is divine. And our divine and merciful God is also a capable God. He can and will help us work through and overcome any shortcoming we might face.

For this very reason, the Psalmist joyfully proclaimed (121:1-2): “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD.” No doubt, the same God Who helped him, and gave him that great and confidential testimony back in his day, will do the very same for us when we mess up here in our day.

SOURCE: http://www.tonycooke.org/articles-by-tony-cooke/taking-garbage/.

LOOK AROUND!

7/9/2015

After my car wreck a couple of months ago, in which my ride was totaled, I decided to go with a little larger vehicle in order to be better protected. As I have also had the need on several recent occasions for the use of a pickup truck, I eventually bit the bullet and purchased a Ford F150. It is four years old; but it is new for me. What’s more, the local bank has been gracious enough to let me drive it until I can eventually get it paid for!

For this reason, perhaps, I can now relate very well to the following piece that I recently received from a friend:

A husband went to the sheriff's department to report that his wife was missing.

Husband: “My wife is missing. She went shopping yesterday and has not come home.”

Sergeant:   “What is her height?”

Husband:    “Gee, I'm not sure. A little over five-feet tall.”

Sergeant:    “Weight?”

Husband:    “Don't know. Not slim, not really fat.”

Sergeant:    “Color of eyes?”

Husband:    “Sort of brown I think. Never really noticed.”

Sergeant:    “Color of hair?”

Husband:    “Changes a couple times a year. Maybe dark brown now. I can’t remember.”

Sergeant:    “What was she wearing?”

Husband:    “Could have been pants, or maybe a skirt or shorts. I don't know exactly.”

Sergeant:    “What kind of car did she go in?”

Husband:    “She went in my truck.”

Sergeant:    “What kind of truck was it?”

Husband:   “A 2015 Ford F150 King Ranch 4X4 with eco-boost 5.0L V8 engine special ordered with manual transmission and climate controlled air conditioning. It has a custom matching white cover for the bed, which has a matching aftermarket bed liner. Custom leather 6-way seats and "Bubba" floor mats. Trailering package with gold hitch and special wiring hook-ups. DVD with full GPS navigation, satellite radio receiver, 23-channel CB radio, six cup holders, a USB port, and four power outlets. I added special alloy wheels and off-road Michelins. It has custom running boards and indirect wheel well lighting. The VIN number is 1HGBH41JXMN109186.”

At this point the husband started choking up.

Sergeant: “Don't worry buddy. We'll find your truck.”

On a serious note, I am now going through a weird experience as a result of acquiring a new (to me) vehicle. I find myself suddenly noticing Ford F150 pickup trucks all around me. No doubt they had been there all along. It is just that the process of searching for a vehicle and deciding upon an F150 has heightened my sensitivity to their presence. The roads seem literally to be full of them. As I have shared this with others, many have attested to having had a similar experience. They have also assured me that it will soon wear off.

Perhaps there is a scientific name for this phenomenon. I do not know. But I do know that it applies to more than just the acquisition of vehicles. As a Pastor, I have observed that those who are often the most sensitive to the plight of people who do not have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ are in fact those who have just found Christ themselves. Conversely, those who claim to have known Christ for some time, if they are not careful, can often lose their sensitivity to the plight of non-believers.

In the fourth chapter of the New Testament Gospel of John, Jesus travels through the Samaritan village of Sychar. His disciples had gone into town to buy lunch. He Himself sat down by the local well and struck up a conversation with a Samaritan woman. Through this conversation, He convinced her of the need she had for not only physical water, but also living water – a reference to the spiritual life as a result of a restored relationship with God that He was making possible.   That one conversation changed her life and that of many in her village forever.

Upon their return, however, His disciples were surprised that He, a Jewish male, was even talking to her. After all, she was a woman and a foreigner (a Samaritan). Jesus responded in verse 35 by challenging His disciples with this statement: “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

As you and I travel the roads of life, we are still challenged to open our eyes and look around us. As we do, we will likely see more than a few people who are searching for something of substance upon which to base their life. Jesus told many stories about how we should treat them when we do take notice. A classic example is the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the tenth chapter of the gospel of Luke.

But the first step is simply to open our eyes and to actually see them! If we do not ever take notice of the needs of others, we cannot hope to offer them anything of value. Besides, where would you and I be today if no one ever took time to notice us? More to the point, where would any of us be if God Himself had not taken notice of our plight and then sent His Son to seek and to save that which was lost?!

A MEANINGFUL RECITATION

7/6/2015

Well, another Independence Day has come and gone, replete with celebrations ranging from cookouts to water sports to fireworks displays. My family and I gathered for a long weekend and experienced all these things and much more, as we spent precious time together. I trust each of you had similar experiences.

Even though Independence Day, 2015 is now quickly fading into the past, I wanted to post one more relevant video. After having received so much positive feedback about my last one with John Wayne, I thought I would post another here today.

This one is a classic from days gone by. It was a segment from the old Red Skelton television show that aired back in the day. I hope you enjoy this short piece. I also hope that you are challenged by its message. I know I was.

SOURCE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGHdFmu5GU.

NOTE: Perhaps you caught the last few lines he added. How prophetic this man was!

I LOVE THIS PLACE

7/2/2015

I recently saw a bumper sticker that said, “I MISS JOHN WAYNE”. I understand the sentiment! For me, given that this is Independence Day weekend, the timing could not have been better.

The sight of it reminded me of a recording John Wayne once made tilted “America, Why I Love Her”. It was originally written by poet and actor, John Mitchum, and performed by John Wayne.

I thought it would be fitting to post it here on this day - America's birthday. Here is the clip:

The lyrics are as follows:

You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I'll explain...
Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?
Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?
Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?

Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines?
Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines?
Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar?
Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore...
Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock?
And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock ?

Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies...way up high?
Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?
Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea...
Or bow your head at Gettysburg...in our struggle to be free?

Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar?
Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore?
Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day,
Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display?
Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm?
Do you stare in disbelief I
When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?

From Alaska's gold to the Everglades...from the Rio Grande to Maine...
My heart cries out... my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.
You ask me why I love her?... I've a million reasons why.
My beautiful America... beneath Gods' wide, wide sky.

Truly, God has shed his grace on America! I hope one and all will be reminded of that during this special time. For, to quote from His Word, "To whom much has been given, much will be required."

SOURCES:

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuteyiYN6js.

Lyrics: http://www.dagensvisa.com/minata/dav/dav_10_sep.html.

Compact Disk: available at www.Amazon.com.