Posted by Larry Miller on August 29, 2010 under Why | 
The speaker told us the story of slave trader John Newton and his encounter with the truth about the evil he had done, and about his redemption through the work of Jesus Christ. The sound of a bagpipe playing Newton’s song, and theme of his later life, Amazing Grace, drifted across the crowd. Finally, more than half a million voices were raised with the words that told of Newton’s life, the speaker’s life, my life and the lives of everyone that has found peace with God.
Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.
T’was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed. Read more of this article »
Posted by Larry Miller on May 23, 2009 under Why |
This country of ours was born out of a conflict. It was a conflict between those who wanted to claim God’s gift of freedom and those who wanted to keep them subservient to the British Empire. They believed our creator designed us for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. They stood up to the most powerful military force of their time and, because of dedication and determination, our founding fathers succeeded in throwing off the chains of the British Crown. But it was at a terrible cost.
Families lost their homes, farms and plantations, but more importantly, fathers, sons, brothers, some to British musket balls and bayonets, some to disease. These brave freedom fighters gave their fellow countrymen what would become the greatest nation on earth. They had no idea of what was in store for these United States of America… they just wanted to be free, and they wanted their sons and daughters to grow up on a land where liberty, not a monarch, reigned.
Whether it was the frozen fields of Valley Forge or the dark-of-night bayonet attack at Yorktown, these farmers, shoemakers and black smiths gave their time and devotion to the fledgling county. Some of them gave their lives. These are the people we remember on Memorial Day.
These brave souls along with those who stormed the beaches of Normandy on D-day, who flew the bombers that decimated the Third Reich’s ability to make war, the Marines who dug the enemy out of Iwo Jima and the hundreds of other battles from steamy jungles to burning deserts where victory was won at the price of America’s finest men and, sometimes, women. These are the people we honor this and every Memorial Day. Read more of this article »
