Stand Up, Step Up, Step Out

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

All my life, these words have been a reminder of what this country was meant to be. That purpose is something that many today have forgotten about.

Flags above the Freedom Rock in IA

What happened to the days when the sight of the Stars and Stripes waving in the sky above us was enough to cause us to raise our heads high, puff our chests out and walk with more purpose than we were a moment before?  Where has our American Pride gone?

Oh, sure.  The people of this country are full of pride.  They're proud of their accomplishments.  They're proud of the their perfect hair, their perfect bodies and their perfect relationships.  All of which are, in reality, far from perfect. We're so proud, we can't see the rest of the world past our pointy, stuck-up nose. But we've lost the pride we once had as a people in who we were as a country.  Because we used to be able to take pride in who we were as a country. But now? What do we have to take pride in?

It's time that we,  as Christians in the United States of America, took a stand and did our part to bring this country back to something we can be proud to be a part of.  I've heard a lot of people say that it's too far gone.  That there's nothing that could bring us back from where we've fallen to.  And maybe they're right.  Maybe this is the end of the U.S. as we know it.  Heck, maybe it's the end of the world, and Jesus is coming back soon.  Or maybe, just maybe, God's waiting for us to stand up, step up, and step out. Maybe this time it's up to us to begin the journey back towards Him.  He does not expect us to make the whole trip on our own, but He's already taken the first step...now it's our turn.

Semper Fi

Niagara Falls, May 2011-Doesn't have anything to do with the post, but I thought it was pretty . :)