Am I Patriotic?

   "I  do solemnly swear  that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."*

I took this oath when I joined the Air Force and each time I reenlisted.  To me, joining the military was the epitome of patriotism.  I still get chills when I watch a military parade, hear the National Anthem, observe the military honor guard at Arlington or a military funeral, visit the monuments to the fallen in Washington DC.  I love songs such as God Bless America, America the Beautiful, This Land is Your Land, God Bless the USA, The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

However recently I've been rethinking patriotism, at least how it seems to be understood and practiced, especially by Christians.  At the refugee conference this summer, one of the speakers challenged my thinking on this very subject.  To whom is our first loyalty? God? Or Country?  Too many in Evangelical Christianity  elevate country above God.  Right now, our country is straying very far from God.  We are embracing sin as normal, we are persecuting those in our country who hold to Biblical truth.  Our highest offices in the land are violating the Constitution at every turn, and not being held accountable.  

Do I love my country?  Absolutely.  I still think this is the best country on earth. We have been blessed beyond measure, but I feel that the days of blessing are rapidly drawing to a close.  Even though the prophesy I've been reading the past several weeks is specifically about Israel, Judah and Jerusalem, I cannot  help but see it as directed towards us as well.  It is at the same time scary and exciting.  Scary because unless our loved ones who are walking in outright rebellion to God repent, they will suffer tremendous consequences, and exciting because it means that the Lord's return is imminent.

So, am I patriotic?  Yes, but. My loyalty is to God first. 

 *<http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/oathofenlist.htm>

Music Box

One of the favorite movies from my childhood was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  I'm sure you are familiar with it, it was made in 1968 and tells the story of an inventor who's inventions have failed over and over again. He doesn't give up, he's only momentarily discouraged, until his children stumble upon this wonderful car.  After he restores it, they are transported to a horrible land where children are outlawed.   His children are taken captive, and Caracatus and Truly must rescue them.  In order to do so, they disguise themselves as life-size music boxes.  It is at this point that Caracatus discovers that he has fallen in love with Truly, and while she is singing as the music box, yearning for the time when she will be free, he's echoing her words by telling him how much he loves her already, and that she just needs to see that to be free. 

How may times am I like Truly, standing, turning, locked on a music box of my own making while the One who loves me is longing to set me free?  

Travels......

What’s your favorite part about visiting a new place — the food? The architecture? The people watching?

The Colosseum.

The Ancient Ruins.  The Roman Circus.  Trevi Fountain.  The Spanish Steps. The Vatican and all her museums. The people - oh the people! Masses and masses of them, on every street.   The variety of clothing that those in service to the Catholic church wear, depending on their Order.  The ceremonial clothing of the Swiss Guards.   The food!  Stopping every block and sampling gelato, wine, pizza.  Those are my impressions of Rome.   Those are the images that come to mind when I think of visiting that great city. 

Then on to another ancient city - Florence! 

David in all his glory, both in the square and in the museum.  All the Renaissance art - every where you turned.  Walking through the Uffuzi, and being impressed with the fact that, yes, I DID remember some art history.  I was impressed by the arrangement of the museum; you could see the development of art throughout the centuries.  If I could go back and soak it all in for a long time, I would. 

Paris - Oh Paris.  Beautiful city.

Instead of gelato shops, there were crepe shops on every corner.  Of course, there is the most famous structure - the Eiffel Tower.  Then there are the Boulangerie -the French bakeries with all the wonderful pastries!   And of course the  beautiful cathedrals of Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame

The Louvre, with its incredible art; the Pompedieu Museum with its modern art.  So very much to see and absorb that four short days were not nearly enough. 

So, my answer to the question - yes, all of the above!  

Fly on the Wall

I would love to have been a fly on the wall in the Upper Room when Jesus was with his disciples.  Just to be able to sit at his feet, learning and hearing all that he had to share, and seeing and hearing the reactions of the disciples.  The thing is, I don’t have to wish for this.  I am blessed to sit at His feet every day absorbing the truths of Scripture, and He is present with me, but to be able to sit at his physical feet, what would I do?  There are so many questions I would (and do) ask him. 

·         Why is Dianna still so far away?  She knows you and knows the truth, yet seems so—indifferent. That terrifies me. 

·         How do I reach out to the lost and hurting in my family who are so very angry that they are denying Your existence?   The reality is that they know who you are, yet refuse to acknowledge you because of the depth of pain at the hands of those who claimed to be Christians.  Lord, please heal their hurts and draw them back to you.

·         How do you want me to serve you?  Am I serving in the ministries you want me to?

·         What does the future hold for Amanda?  For Matthew?  For Abby and Ian?

·         When are you going to return?

o    Yes, I know the answer to this one: 

He told them, “You don’t get to know the time. Timing is the Father’s business. What you’ll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be able to be my witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the world.”   (Acts 1:7-8  The Message) 

Lord, I need that power now to be a witness to you.  Please fill me with your power and strength for today.  

Traveling

I'm working through a journal prompt book on my Kindle,  365 Days of Writing Prompts, published by WordPress.com. Today's prompt is Tell us about the farthest you’ve ever traveled from home.  It did start me thinking....

Home. Where is home? Is it where I live now? Is it where I grew up?  

Home is where I am.  Right now, home is Tucson, Arizona.  This house has actually been home longer than any other place.  I've lived in Tucson for almost 14 years, 13 years in this house.  I've never lived any where else quite as long.  True, I lived in the Dayton area for a total of 17 years, with an 18 month interruption for our time in California, but not in the same house.   There are good and not-so-good memories of that time.  So, at times Dayton and Fairborn, Ohio are home.

Home when I was a child was Cleveland.  That's where I grew up and lived until I was 18 and joined the military. However, we lived in several different locations in Cleveland as well.  The first I remember was our house on Hall Avenue in Lakewood.  

From there we moved to Cleveland Heights, 

which was the last place I lived in Cleveland.  

Mom and Dad moved to Beechwood, but that was never home for me.

In reality, the answer is essentially the same for both. I've traveled to Hawaii - farthest away from Cleveland, and I've traveled to Italy, the farthest away from Tucson.  But when I think of my travels, I realize how much more I want to travel before the ability to do so is gone. I've been to Portugal, where we lived when Chuck was born. We went to England for a week, but just stayed in London.  On that trip, we also went to Germany, but because we were in transit, we didn't see much.

Since marrying Tom, we've gone to Italy and Hawaii together.  I went to Paris with Becky.  There are still so many places I want to go.  I want to go to Africa, and that chance may still be coming. I do envy Amanda her amazing experience last year in Sierra Leone. I want to go to Greece.  After seeing all the history and culture in Italy, this is the next historical place I really want to explore.  I want to go back to Italy - there is so much to see there and we barely touched the surface.  I want to see Pompeii, the Cinque de Terre, the Almafi Coast.  I want to explore the mountain villages in Switzerland. I want to see the castles in Germany.  I want to spend a lot of time in Great Britain. 

There is so much world out there to explore. Will I ever be able to see any of it, other than vicariously?  That question will have to wait for an answer.  

(I wanted to post some more pictures, but I'm having technical issues. Ugh. Sometimes technology is a bugger!) 

Nature

I am always impressed exploring and spending time in nature.  I can't say I remember the first memorable time - likely it was hikes and picnics at Squire's Castle.

 I am in awe of nature, especially at night when we are camping in the White Mountains - there's no light pollution and you can see the Milky Way clearly. 

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It is then that I look up at the sky and marvel at God's creation and remember Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the Glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.    And Romans 1:20 comes to mind:  For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse.  

Given the choice, I prefer to be in the forest, or the beach - in nature in other words, than in the midst of the city.  The city is nice, and has its points, but for refreshing and relaxing with the Lord; you need to be surrounded by His creation, where you have no other distractions and hear Him speak to you in a still, small voice. 

Deserts. I love living in the Tucson desert. Yes, summers are hot, but from October until March it’s beautiful. Oh, we get winter storms, but it doesn’t snow very often, and when it does it’s a beautiful white dusting on the cactus that is gone by mid-day.  I love the variety of cacti, catching a glimpse of a roadrunner, coyote or javalina running by, seeing the mountains.  I love watching a storm roll in, and the smells just before the rain starts, then the glorious rainbows that follow.  I love the huge open skies, especially at night when I can see the Milky Way.  I’m struck at those times with how insignificant I am in this vast universe.  

What don’t I like about deserts?  The rattlers, scorpions, bugs, spiders, cactus spines – like a rose, they are beautiful but have deadly spikes!  I especially don’t like spiritual deserts, and I seem to be in the middle of one right now, with no discernible way out.  I feel at times like I’m wandering, think I found a way out, only to discover that those are my own tracks that I’m following.  

So what happens when I find myself lost in a spiritual desert?  I look for that way out, because I know it's there. I need to take my eyes off the ground and quit looking at my steps and getting sidetracked by following something that will just leave me wandering in never-ending circles. I won't find the way out by looking down, but looking up.   I need to stop looking back at where I've been, but look ahead to where I'm going.  Reading in Experiencing God this morning reminded me of that.  One of the passages of scripture was Philippians 3:14-15 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

Look at that night sky. It is filled with stars that will guide me out of the desert, if I only let them and know how to read them and apply what I read.  Those stars are found in the Word of God.  Ask the Lord to show me the way out of the desert. And He will.