My Country

Every day as a little girl in elementary school, we stood and said the pledge of allegiance to our flag. Then we sang the first verse of this song.

It has been with me ever since.

My country, ’tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty,
Of thee I sing;
Land where my fathers died,
Land of the pilgrims’ pride,
From ev’ry mountainside
Let freedom ring!

There is another verse I also remember singing:

Our fathers’ God to Thee,
Author of liberty,
To Thee we sing.
Long may our land be bright,
With freedom’s holy light,
Protect us by Thy might,
Great God our King!

I love my country, I love my freedom, I love my God.

The Human Vending Machine

This thought just now popped into my mind…’human vending machine’…

Is that all some of us feel we are, or are letting ourselves become?

Are we allowing others to ‘put money into us’ and take out of us what they want without our genuine approval?

This could go in a multitude of ways…in our job, in our family, in our friend relationships, etc., etc., etc.

Think about it…have we lost our humanity and become a vending machine where we allow others, no matter what their rank or status to stand before us and tell us what they want and we give it to them no questions asked?

Yes, we are to be giving, loving, helpful and serving others, but to be treated like a disposable machine with no say-so, no opinion of our own, only following the will of others is not how we were designed.

We each are a unique valuable piece of God’s creation with a purpose. We are not another cog in the wheel that can be replaced if broken off and discarded.

Every single one of us…you included!!!…has value and an output to give in this world that is your own style, with your trademark on it to be used to benefit this world.

You were not designed… created… to be a mere follow-a-longer, but to offer input, a different perspective, a good suggestion, a new way of doing the same old things.

You are not to quench or allow others to quench the you in you!

You have a right to think, and a right to speak up for yourself without another’s approval.

We do not have a right to withhold the good inside of us from coming out because someone else might not like it.

Remember, you are not a human vending machine, only giving out what others want or say. You are a human being with a free will and mind to use and develop and grow to become a strong and better person and help others become better stronger human beings, if in no other way than by watching you.

We have a big responsibility don’t we? But we are up for the challenge!

Live!!!

God said, “Live!”

God wants us to live. God wants his creation to live. God wants his creation to prosper. God wants his creation to be well. God wants his creation to do good. God is for us!

God is for good and increase in every area of our lives. God is interested in us because he made us and gave us his desires.

God is for moving forward, he’s not for moving backwards.

God is not holding us to the past.

God is for good attitudes. He wants us to be happy and joyful all the time. He does not want us stuck in despair.

God does not want us being jealous or envious of others, because what he’s done for them he wants to do for us too.

God wants each of us to be motivators…to be motivators of other people to help them want to do good, to help them want to succeed and then to succeed.

God is for life. God is for us.

God says to us, ” LIVE!”