The American Flag

Many of you know how much I love my country and love our flag. This week I'm sharing a poem by American poet Joseph Rodman Drake.


"The American Flag" by Joseph Rodman Drake

When freedom, from her mountain height
Unfurled her standard to the air
She tore the azure robe of night
And set the stars of glory there.

She mingled with its gorgeous dyes
The milky baldric of the skies
Then from his mansion in the sun
She called her eagle-bearer down
And gave into his mighty hand
The symbol of her chosen land.

"The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus

I get tired of hearing so many bad things about our country and decided to share this poem by Emma Lazarus.


"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand.
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame."
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Positive Thinking

Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."


Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

Whatever you face today, God is not finished with you.

Norman Vincent Peale is known for loving God and for positive thinking. He said, "It isn't what's happening so much as what our attitude is of what's happening."

Dr. Peale also suggested we should develop a positive attitude when we're at the bottom. We can't go any lower, so we should have hope.

Phillipians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I hope you have God's peace today no matter what you face.


Psalm 29:11 "The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace."