If we are to find true CONTENTMENT we must HUMBLE ourselves, PRAY, SEEK GOD’S FACE(turn to Him),and TURN AWAY FROM OUR WICKED WAYS!

Then, FREEDOM WILL RING!

We just celebrated the birthday of our nation. A baby nation in comparison to the world nations. A nation that was formed as one nation under God!

We have been blessed to celebrate this holiday for the past three years with our best friends! They have generously and humbly opened up their home to us on Newport Beach. We walk, swim, play in the sand, body surf, boogie board, ride bikes, play games, cook together and eat together! Best of all we refresh and renew our bodies, minds and spirits! It is truly a gift from God to our family!

One of our favorite memories of our times together in Newport is the way they celebrate the Fourth of July! We have participated in the neighborhood parade and decorated our bikes and scooters and walked together celebrating our country’s birthday! We picnic in the park and end the day on the sand looking out at the ocean as magnificent fireworks burst into the open sky above!

This year we were unsure if we would be allowed by our state to even travel!

We prayed and were excited as things began to “open up!”  We packed our cars and made the trip from Northern California to Southern California. We arrived to find out that the parade and the festivities have been canceled but we would still be able to celebrate as friends and family! We spent two days at the beach before the state closed the beaches. On the evening of July 3rd, at sunset, as we walked along the boardwalk of the beach we witnessed the highest surge of surf we have ever seen! As we neared the end of our walk, the surf had risen so high that it was coming up and covering all of the sand beach area and nearing the homes that are beachfront properties.

It was truly a sight to see and nothing we had ever experienced in our years living in Southern California.

We returned home, made dinner and sat outside around the fire pit eating together.

The street began to get crowded with cars and we heard sirens all around us! The surf was continuing to rise and it was washing through and flooding the streets!

This would lead to a Fourth of July celebration like we’ve never experienced before!

The beaches were closed, the streets were flooded, covid was back on the rise, places of worship were told they couldn’t sing, and racial tension was still at an all-time high!

Where was God in all of this?

Asking His people to look to Him!

This experience led me to lean into God like never before! To look to Him and remember that He is my help, our help!

When we are celebrating our FREEDOM on a day our Nation sets aside to celebrate our FREEDOM and our FREEDOM seems to be wavering as much as the American flag flying overhead, where does our help come from?

The answer is and always will be the same…

“My help comes from The Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 121:2

And it is echoed further in Psalm…

“Our help is from The Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 124:8

Again and again as God’s people are doing their best to live this life He has given them,  they face trial after trial just as we are! 

The answer was and still is the same…

OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD!

No matter if it is help on a personal level we need or help as a Nation…OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD!

He is the maker of heaven and earth!

He is the Creator and the author of Life! 

He is the only One in whom true FREEDOM is found!

TRUTH BOMB

FREEDOM IS FOUND IN HUMILITY: When God’s people humble themselves and pray He will heal their land.

Nothing feels like or looks quite the same right now. The sense of loss and change can leave us feeling helpless and that can lead to hopelessness!

But we are never without help and never without hope!

GOD IS OUR HELP! He is still on the throne and He is never caught off guard!

Speak Truth Love