As soon as the calender turned to July, Miss A started talking all about July 4th, and how it would be America’s birthday (she has a REALLY BIG OBSESSION with birthdays).  She remembers watching the fireworks last year, and just thinks the 4th of July is a very important day.

I wouldn’t say I disagree with her, maybe just that i’m extremely a little less enthusiastic about it.  She’s young and doesn’t know a whole lot about politics yet (I thought that could at least wait until she’s seven), so she doesn’t have any reason to be skeptical.

My favorite thing about the 4th is that I always get great pictures.  Apparently my girls just mesh well with red, white and blue because I always have some fabulous patriotic pictures.

It’s kind of the highlight of the year, next to shopping for Christmas clothes, to pick out some adorable flagwear for the kids.

Sadly that’s about as deep as my thoughts go on this glorious holiday.  I want cute outfits to take pretty pictures that capture the essence of summer.  And we always succeed!

But now that my kids are getting a little older, I’m starting to wonder if maybe it should mean a little more than that.  Or maybe it’s just that I’m getting older, who knows.  I’ve just been giving a little thought to Independence day this year.

I know there are plenty of things to be irritated by in this country.  I won’t lie and pretend that everything is so perfect, and America is the gateway to Heaven.  I definitely have my share of complaints. 
But last night I went browsing around online, looking at world news headlines, and I have to say, it made me feel a little guilty.  It made me wonder if my country is just so awful, or if I’m just such a spoiled American that I expect everything to be exactly my way. 

Reading articles from mainstream news agencies I found a lot of awful things going on in the world that just don’t happen in America.  And if you go to Christian news reports, it’s even more shocking.

So I kind of came to the conclusion by the end of the night, that I need to be thankful.  As a human being, I need to be thankful for a country that is more respectful of human rights than most.  As a Christian I need to be thankful for a country that (so far) gives me freedom in my beliefs.  This is not true everywhere in the world, and in some countries people are dying for things I get to do everyday, like look at a Bible, or go to church.

I’m not real smart about politics, and I’m not some deep philosopher, but these are the thoughts that I’ve had leading up to today.  I think the bottom line is that, just like every other detail in my life, God has me right where He wants me, and I need to be thankful.  This country may not always be as free as it is today, and I don’t want to look back one day and realize what I’ve taken for granted.

True freedom will never come in this world, but in the meantime I think I should appreciate the amount of freedom I live in.  That’s what I’ll be thankful for today.  And of course for all the amazing people who live and die to protect the freedom I have.

And I can’t forget to be thankful for the red, white and blue, because it just makes everybody look good:)

Happy Independence Day!