"The Flag Still Stands for Freedom"

"I have the right to do anything," you say-but not everything is beneficial. "I have the right do anything"-but not everything is constructive. No one should seek their own good, but the good of others. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 NIV

I'll admit Sunday, I had no idea what was going on. I don't watch football, so protesting it would be no problem for me anyway. I don't get all the money that is spent on watching a bunch of guys running around the field to try and get an oblong brown thing from one end of the field to the other, but those who want to watch I'm sure you enjoy it.

So Monday, I finally realized why these football players were not respecting the US flag and the National Anthem. At first I was upset, (I still am a little) I mean how dare they do this! After all, a lot of trouble was made to form this country. Truth is our country was founded because of a protest. A protest against the British Government where we declared our freedom. So now we have our freedom to do this.

Then I wondered what would George Washington think, would he approve of this display of disrespect? What would Besty Ross think, after all from what I learned, she sewed the first American flag. Would they be pleased? All that thought and fighting to help make the United States of America, and here two hundred plus years later we have no value for it.

What about Frances Scott Key? He was sure that the fighting throughout the night at Fort McHenry would see British flag flying over it in the morning, but to his glorious surprise "By the dawn's early light the flag was still there." Would he be pleased to see these protesters not respecting the flag?

Another thought occurred to me, how many of us at our jobs actually take once a week to stand and sing "The Star Spangled Banner" as a part of our work week? I mean I do because I am a preschool teacher and day care provider, so at least five days a week we pledge our allegiance. How many of us even stand up in our homes or at a bar/restaurant when the National Anthem plays? I'll admit I usually stay seated when it plays and I am home. In fact, I am probably busy doing something else.

I also thought about those Olympians who are so proud to hear "The Star Spangled Banner" play after they have one their gold medal. Sometimes it's kind of funny to watch them as they stumble through the words as they lip it or sing it, still they are very proud to be representing our country.

What about those serving our country? I can only imagine their feeling of pride when they arrive back home and see that Grand Ole Flag waving for them. I actually got to be in an airport and wave a flag for one of our service men arriving home. He couldn't see his family at the gate, but he was so happy to see all those flags and know he was Home.

Sure I understand that no one should be disrespecting out police, those who are here to help keep order and peace. Yes, something should be done to show this is not acceptable. But maybe there's a better way. A team taking goodies or something to a police station, showing them, "Hey, we're here for you!" I believe that would say so much more than taking a knee(Unless you're praying) while the National Anthem is playing.

A Good Friend

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Do not forsake your friend, or a friend of your family. Proverbs 27:9-10a NIV

To have a good friend is worth having. There have been many times I have been frustrated with my husband, my kids, or a situation at church and I have been able to call my friend so I can share. There have been times when she's been frustrated as well and she has called me.

Funny how at first she wasn't even someone I thought would be one of my best friends, but here we are twenty-six years later and I wouldn't want to live my life without her to call on.

Even with this close friendship I often wonder "what advice should I share with her, or should I just let her share and be there for her?" Sometimes it's hard to know, and some of us have found out the hard way that sharing our heartfelt advice can be taken the wrong way.

So how do we know when we should help our friend not walk off the cliff? Or should we just let him/her fall off?

Usually, when I think I need to share something I pray about it. I know I don't have all the answers, but I know the One who does. Then sometimes I'll write it out and share with someone else if this sounds loving and not critical. After that, then I'll share knowing this came from the heart.

What if the friend takes it all wrong though? What if she/he now thinks you are the worst person on the earth and refuses to talk to you?

I guess if he/she is really a good friend eventually the friendship will be restored. Maybe one day he/she will see the heartfelt sincerity of what you had to say. Maybe he/she will realize that you were only trying to help him/her not walk off the cliff at least without a parachute.

A verse I like to teach the kids is "A friend loves at all times"  Proverbs 17:17 I teach them this so they realize even if I'm mad at my friend I still love him. A good friendship is worth keeping even if you don't like what he shared with you, after praying about it each of us actually see that what she said might have had a sense of  truth in it.

Fifty Hours

Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV

Last week, we endured the wrath of Hurricane Irma. By the time she arrived in our area her wind speeds had lighten some, I believe our maximum wind gusts were around 80 MPH.

The Lord had given me peace that all would be alright. I believe, He also guided me to start bagging ice and to even board up our windows. Something we hadn't ever done before. In fact, all of our neighbors were boarding their windows as well, a rarity in our neighborhood.

Something I didn't do was constantly watch the weather updates, sometimes this can cause undo worry. I did track the storm when the updates from the Hurricane center came in, I figured those were pretty accurate updates. At one point the day before the storm arrived the eye was to go right over our home, then it was over where our church is, and then over into the next town. When I heard this I did have a little bit of worry, mainly because of tornadoes that pop up unexpectedly. Still though I trusted God would see me and my family through.

We tried to stay busy, we worked on a puzzle and played lots of games. We finally even decided to sit down and watch a movie. We didn't even get ten minutes into the movie when we lost power. Somehow I knew we probably would.

I thought we would tell stories, like around a campfire. Unfortunately, no one was feeling creative. So I took my handy dandy flashlight and pulled out trivia games. So by lantern light we played "Twenty Questions", it was fun and kept our mind off of the storm.

I managed to fall asleep, in my dark room to the sound of pouring rain and wind gusts. Our children decided that they would try to stay awake for when the eye went near to us, they were thinking it would be like welcoming in the New Year. I did wake up a few times, nothing had changed with the wind and rain so I'd fall back asleep. Until I woke up and it was really quiet, could it be the eye or was the storm over? I tried to fall back asleep, but without power I had not idea what time it was. Besides there was a glow of a Bible verse on a shirt I had made, "Whether I turn to the right or the left, your ear will hear a voice behind you saying "This is the way walk in it.' " Isaiah 30: 21. Finally, I got up and it was 5:30 (I thought was 6:30, guess I need to go back to learning how to tell time on an analog clock).

I quickly got a shower (I do mean quick with just enough hot water). I woke husband, and we waited for daylight to see if we received any damage. Our sons were soon up (our daughter slept in) and as soon as they could they went outside. Lots of branches down, fence panels, but our four trees still stood and no damage. Praise God!

That day passed pretty quickly with branch clean up and wasn't to hot because Irma left us some wind gusts and clouds to keep the temperature down. Our in-laws had power so we were able to use their generator which was very welcoming, so I didn't have to lose our food in the fridges. We managed to cook on a camp stove and our grill. It was like camping.

The second day though brought back the heat, luckily we were able to plug in a fan into the generator and we managed to make it through. I figured I could endure, after all people in other countries do. Cold showers were better than no showers and we ate. I did begin to grow a little frustrated when my water wouldn't boil so I could cook rice. An hour later, the rice finally got done. Still I could endure.

"Hallelujah!" I yelled when I heard the beep telling me we had power. I was so excited! Only 45 hours, not to bad. I knew electric crews were working around the clock. It was short lived though, it flickered on and off a few times. Once I believed it was on for good, even settled down for "Wheel of Fortune" sure enough it went off again. This time it didn't come right back on. Another game night by lantern light.

This time when we went to bed though, it was a lot hotter. It was hard to fall asleep. "Lord, I don't want to be ungrateful or discouraged, but I was really hoping that was our power being restored. After all, the other people around us have it. My parent's home had their lights restored. But still I will be patient."

I managed to fall asleep, but was soon awoken by our children returning home from work. I believe I was sweating in places I never sweat before. It was hard to fall back to sleep. When our sons abandoned ship, they were sleeping at my parents house since my one son is house sitting for them I felt even more discouraged. "It's too hot here," our oldest said.

I went back to God, " God, I will endure this. I will stay strong, but if there is anyway you could restore our power. I mean I can't even work without it." I tossed and turned some more, then I heard the beep again. Really, our power restored again! I waited because I wasn't sure if it would stay. Finally, after 20 minutes I thought this time might be it, so I turned our A/C back on. Just the ceiling fans on made a difference in the heat, but it was so nice to feel cool air again.

Fifty hours we were without power. Some didn't lose it and others are still waiting for it to be restored. Some are dealing with flooding, something that we didn't have too. We persevered and I tried to remain faithful to God. I hope I produced more endurance to help me through any other trials that come my way, and can help people see God is faithful we just need to trust and endure.

Go Away Irma!

So 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. Isaiah 41:10 NIV

People around here are fearful, mostly because of the unknown of what Hurricane Irma might do. It is fresh in our minds what Hurricane Harvey did to Texas.

The store shelves are without water, can goods are gone, and gas stations are running out of gas. People are jumping and waiting in long lines. Some have even hopped in their cars and skedaddled out of Florida at a snail's pace.

Whenever I think about this storm and begin to feel fearful, I simply stop and remember God is with me. I seek Him and I find the peace I need.

I am reminded that God can calm the storm and keep me safe. The disciples were on a boat with Jesus and a storm formed. It was a strong storm and they were fearful, they also could not understand why Jesus simply slept through it. Finally, they woke him up and He simply told the storm "Be still." The storm immediately stopped.

A couple months ago, we were setting up for our water day at church. The sky was full of storm clouds and was even rumbling a little bit. We are under a lot of pressure to build God's kingdom at our church, and I knew this day was important for us. So several times I yelled out, "In the name of Jesus, go away! Be still."

It didn't happen instantly, but sure enough. The bad weather stayed away long enough for us to have our event. The other amazing thing was we had a record number of people attend. It was an awesome day!

So as we prepare for Hurricane Irma, I believe that God will protect us and guide us as to what we should do before, during , and after the storm. We will keep praying and trust in His peace and guidance for we know He is with us!