FLAG robert-linder-fcFEnjBmm14-unsplash LORD God, as we begin our day, we come before Your throne and bow in Your presence. Thank You for our nation—the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave—the country You gave us. As Christians, true believers in Jesus Christ, we have been complacent and sometimes apathetic about the rights, freedoms, and blessings You have provided. While we have been asleep, the evil one has sewn tares and gained ground on our watch. He seeks to de

FLAG robert-linder-fcFEnjBmm14-unsplash Almost fifty years ago now, my daughter and I took part in America’s 200th Birthday with our church at the time, St. Jacob’s United Church of Christ. Lorrie was only eleven months old and not walking. So, when we marched in Salem, Ohio’s parade down State Street, you guessed it, I carried her the whole way. But at age 23, that wasn’t a problem for me. Lorrie and I sported matching 1776 dresses and bonnets I had made, which remain hang

www.freepik.com Love is in the air! Can you feel it? Even in bitter cold and knee-deep snow, our hearts warm with love for our spouse, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and all the people who make our lives complete. If we think about it, during our lifetimes, we’ve experienced a gamut of love: fresh, new love, passionate love, comfortable love, anticipated love, and lost love. But no love as inclusive, all-encompassing, or as perfect as God’s love for us.