I Love This Land!
“This land is your land,
This land is my land
From California to the New York Island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me."
From the time the Declaration of Independence set in motion the United States of America to this present day when we celebrate that declaration, the expansive boundaries of our land have invited people of the world to come and participate in this movement of freedom. Our history contains dark moments and moments when freedom’s torch burned with brilliance.
In our work and our leisure in these days following our national holiday, give some time to thinking about the multitude of blessings you experience in this land. Today is a day to spend time asking yourself questions about how you can make this land of opportunity a better “melting pot” for all people. Today is also a day to give thanks for founding fathers, for dedicated women and men, for leaders who carry forth the drumbeat of freedom.
This is a day which God has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
--Ben Keckler
07.08.10
Showing posts with label Patriotic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Patriotic. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Daily Devotion - Wednesday, July 7
A Mountain Top Story
Have you ever been to Pikes Peak in Colorado? On a clear, clear day the Peak is visible on the western horizon for well over an hour before you get there. In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired by the view from the peak that she wrote some beautiful lyrics and then kept revising them until 1911. Finally the hymn was ready for publication.
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
AMERICA! AMERICA! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
--Ben Keckler
07.07.10
Have you ever been to Pikes Peak in Colorado? On a clear, clear day the Peak is visible on the western horizon for well over an hour before you get there. In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired by the view from the peak that she wrote some beautiful lyrics and then kept revising them until 1911. Finally the hymn was ready for publication.
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
AMERICA! AMERICA! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
--Ben Keckler
07.07.10
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Daily Devotion - Tuesday, July 6
Struggles with Independence
More than two hundred twenty years ago, one Revolutionary Army officer wrote George Washington a letter suggesting that a country with Mr. Washington as king was more preferable than “a nation under a republican form of government.” George wrote a letter that included these words:
“I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself,
you could not have found a person to whom your schemes
are more disagreeable--………
Let me conjure you this, if you have any regard for your country—
Concern for yourself or posterity—
Or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind…..”
--George Washington
November, 1782
The temptation of powerful kingdoms is really great. The father of this nation realized that true strength would come as people patiently work to create a republic where sharing by all could mean scarcity for none. Most of us are quite affluent, especially when we look at the majority of the world. Thanks be to God that Mr. Washington took time to realize his “help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121: 2)
Long may this land be bright with freedom’s holy light!
A prayer for today: God of our leaders and our God, build within us a deepening respect for our brothers and sisters in this land. Empower us to work for greater and better tomorrows in your global village. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.06.10
More than two hundred twenty years ago, one Revolutionary Army officer wrote George Washington a letter suggesting that a country with Mr. Washington as king was more preferable than “a nation under a republican form of government.” George wrote a letter that included these words:
“I am not deceived in the knowledge of myself,
you could not have found a person to whom your schemes
are more disagreeable--………
Let me conjure you this, if you have any regard for your country—
Concern for yourself or posterity—
Or respect for me, to banish these thoughts from your mind…..”
--George Washington
November, 1782
The temptation of powerful kingdoms is really great. The father of this nation realized that true strength would come as people patiently work to create a republic where sharing by all could mean scarcity for none. Most of us are quite affluent, especially when we look at the majority of the world. Thanks be to God that Mr. Washington took time to realize his “help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121: 2)
Long may this land be bright with freedom’s holy light!
A prayer for today: God of our leaders and our God, build within us a deepening respect for our brothers and sisters in this land. Empower us to work for greater and better tomorrows in your global village. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.06.10
Monday, July 5, 2010
Daily Devotion - Monday, July 5
Independence Reflections
Throughout this week the devotions will have a patriotic theme. We begin with some lyrics that you will recognize immediately. Try to get the feeling that Samuel Smith might have had as he penned these words 170 years ago. The first public performance was July 4, 1832 in Boston.
My country ‘tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty: of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside let freedom ring.
My native country—thee,
Land of the noble free, thy name I love:
I love thy rocks and rills, thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song.
Let all that breathe partake, let mortal tongues awake,
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
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.
As we think about independence almost a decade after the tragedy of September 11, I must ask if two reactionary wars have made our land brighter or dimmer? Maybe there is something to taking care of our land and our people from shore to shore. If we struggle with that priority, America will truly be blessed.
A prayer: God of our mothers and fathers, create a sensitive and seeking spirit within me and within all my brothers and sisters who live in this nation of freedom. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.05.10
Throughout this week the devotions will have a patriotic theme. We begin with some lyrics that you will recognize immediately. Try to get the feeling that Samuel Smith might have had as he penned these words 170 years ago. The first public performance was July 4, 1832 in Boston.
My country ‘tis of thee,
Sweet land of liberty: of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim’s pride,
From every mountainside let freedom ring.
My native country—thee,
Land of the noble free, thy name I love:
I love thy rocks and rills, thy woods and templed hills,
My heart with rapture thrills like that above.
Let music swell the breeze,
And ring from all the trees sweet freedom’s song.
Let all that breathe partake, let mortal tongues awake,
Let rocks their silence break, the sound prolong.
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.
As we think about independence almost a decade after the tragedy of September 11, I must ask if two reactionary wars have made our land brighter or dimmer? Maybe there is something to taking care of our land and our people from shore to shore. If we struggle with that priority, America will truly be blessed.
A prayer: God of our mothers and fathers, create a sensitive and seeking spirit within me and within all my brothers and sisters who live in this nation of freedom. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.05.10
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Daily Devotion - Tuesday, July 7
Where Are You Looking These Days?
“Never look down to test the ground
Before taking your next step:
Only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon
Will find his right road.”
--Markings by Dag Hammarskjold
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Dag Hammarskjold was a person of incredible insight. His spiritual diary, Markings, is filled with some pretty remarkable statements, statements that demand some attention. Today’s quote is intended to remind us of a vision we need to claim.
These words seem helpful as I write my final patriotic reflection for the past July 4th holiday. During this past year many of us (probably all of us) have spent quite a bit of time looking down and testing the ground. One way of describing the world's post 9/11 lifestyle is that people are consumed looking for the land mines that might be hidden right in front of us!
Hammarskjold reminds us that “getting on the right road” requires vision, vision into the distant tomorrows. What are the dreams you are dreaming? What work are you doing now because your eye is fixed on a far-horizon dream?
The old Hebrew hymn, Psalm 8, finds the author looking to the Lord and praising the majestic name of God. The writer looks at the wonder and the marvel of creation, finding in the creation a God who cares. It seems there is a distant horizon out there where peace is a reality. It seems there is a distant horizon where creation is singing the same song. It seems there is a world where there can be sharing by all and scarcity for none.
Working toward sustaining a global village where there is such hope may be a far horizon but it is the deepest patriotic thing that we can do. Hope you had a blessed 4th of July.
Prayer: God of all creation, help me to look up and see the far horizon that you’ve placed before all of us. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.07.09
“Never look down to test the ground
Before taking your next step:
Only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon
Will find his right road.”
--Markings by Dag Hammarskjold
Former Secretary-General of the United Nations
Dag Hammarskjold was a person of incredible insight. His spiritual diary, Markings, is filled with some pretty remarkable statements, statements that demand some attention. Today’s quote is intended to remind us of a vision we need to claim.
These words seem helpful as I write my final patriotic reflection for the past July 4th holiday. During this past year many of us (probably all of us) have spent quite a bit of time looking down and testing the ground. One way of describing the world's post 9/11 lifestyle is that people are consumed looking for the land mines that might be hidden right in front of us!
Hammarskjold reminds us that “getting on the right road” requires vision, vision into the distant tomorrows. What are the dreams you are dreaming? What work are you doing now because your eye is fixed on a far-horizon dream?
The old Hebrew hymn, Psalm 8, finds the author looking to the Lord and praising the majestic name of God. The writer looks at the wonder and the marvel of creation, finding in the creation a God who cares. It seems there is a distant horizon out there where peace is a reality. It seems there is a distant horizon where creation is singing the same song. It seems there is a world where there can be sharing by all and scarcity for none.
Working toward sustaining a global village where there is such hope may be a far horizon but it is the deepest patriotic thing that we can do. Hope you had a blessed 4th of July.
Prayer: God of all creation, help me to look up and see the far horizon that you’ve placed before all of us. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.07.09
Monday, July 6, 2009
Daily Devotion - Monday, July 6
Not Ready To Forget Independence Weekend
“This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California to the New York Island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.”
From the time the Declaration of Independence set in motion the United States of America to this present day when we celebrate that declaration, the expansive boundaries of our land have invited people of the world to come and participate in this movement of freedom. Our history contains dark moments and moments when freedom’s torch burned with brilliance.
This holiday weekend I hope you spent some time thinking about the multitude of blessings you experience in this land. Today is also a day to spend time asking yourself questions about how you can make this land of opportunity a better “melting pot” for all people. Today is also a day to give thanks for founding fathers, for dedicated women and men, for leaders who carry forth the drumbeat of freedom.
This is a day which God has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Prayer: God whose blessings are more than I deserve, accept my thanks for this land and the freedom that I enjoy. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.06.09
“This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California to the New York Island,
From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.”
From the time the Declaration of Independence set in motion the United States of America to this present day when we celebrate that declaration, the expansive boundaries of our land have invited people of the world to come and participate in this movement of freedom. Our history contains dark moments and moments when freedom’s torch burned with brilliance.
This holiday weekend I hope you spent some time thinking about the multitude of blessings you experience in this land. Today is also a day to spend time asking yourself questions about how you can make this land of opportunity a better “melting pot” for all people. Today is also a day to give thanks for founding fathers, for dedicated women and men, for leaders who carry forth the drumbeat of freedom.
This is a day which God has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Prayer: God whose blessings are more than I deserve, accept my thanks for this land and the freedom that I enjoy. Amen.
--Ben Keckler
07.06.09
Friday, July 3, 2009
Daily Devotion - Friday, July 3
Journey to Pikes Peak
Have you ever been to Pikes Peak? On a clear, clear day the Peak is visible on the western horizon for almost two hours before you get there. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were privileged to sit near the Peak and spoil the granddaughters with some ice cream in the town of Manitou Springs. Back in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired by the view from the peak that she wrote some beautiful lyrics and then kept revising them until 1911. Finally the hymn was ready for publication.
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
AMERICA! AMERICA! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
Prayer: God whose blessing we experience in more ways than we can imagine, continue to watch over us and shed your grace upon our land. Amen
--Ben Keckler
07.03.09
Have you ever been to Pikes Peak? On a clear, clear day the Peak is visible on the western horizon for almost two hours before you get there. Just a few weeks ago, my wife and I were privileged to sit near the Peak and spoil the granddaughters with some ice cream in the town of Manitou Springs. Back in 1893, Katharine Lee Bates was so inspired by the view from the peak that she wrote some beautiful lyrics and then kept revising them until 1911. Finally the hymn was ready for publication.
O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.
O beautiful for Pilgrim feet, whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat across the wilderness!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved in liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
AMERICA! AMERICA! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness and every gain divine!
O beautiful for patriot dream that sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears!
AMERICA! AMERICA! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea!
Prayer: God whose blessing we experience in more ways than we can imagine, continue to watch over us and shed your grace upon our land. Amen
--Ben Keckler
07.03.09
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