I BELIEVE IN AMERICA. I believe it became great because of its faith in God, its hope for independence, and its love for freedom.

I believe in America. I am grateful for its glorious past; I am awed by its unbelievable present; I am confident of its limitless future.

I believe in America. I am not ashamed to take my hat off and stand at attention with my hand over my heart when Old Glory passes by. I do not apologize for the lump in my throat when I repeat the “Pledge of Allegiance.”

I believe in America. I am not embarrassed by the tears in my eyes when I hear “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

I believe in America. Like millions of our citizens, I want a free choice, not a free hand-out. I prefer an opportunity to prove my abilities on the job rather than a license to demonstrate my frustrations in the street.

I believe in America. I am an old-fashioned American with a new-found determination to do my part to make democracy work—to cast that ballot, pray for my leaders, serve when and where I can, and emphasize her positive qualities.

I believe in America because she is still the most generous of all nations---giving untold millions in aid to Third World countries and sending missionaries to feed the hungry and starving souls of our world.

I believe in America because she is good! She is good because her doors are still open to those of other lands, remembering that she is made up of those who came to these shores searching for freedom and opportunity.


In a few days we will celebrate America’s 231st birthday. She deserves a festive salute. After all, she broke free from British shackles, survived a civil war that nearly cost her national soul. She fought and won against two foreign enemies on soil not her own, stood against aggression in Korea and Viet Nam, and kicked some desert sand in the face of a two-bit dictator in the Middle East before ending his tyrannical reign.

Let the fireworks begin. Let the bands play. Hoist up the Stars and Stripes. It’s time to proclaim what’s good about our nation. Are we perfect? Of course not! We have lots of challenges before us, but what nation on earth is any better? May the motto, “In God We Trust,” found on all our currency, be forever emblazoned on the hearts and minds of our people.

I believe in America!

MOONSTRUCK! That’s what I was, right from the get-go. Somehow I knew almost from the very beginning of our relationship that my wife and I were destined to share our lives together.

The year was 1954 and the occasion was a not-so-blind-date. I knew who she was---had seen her around high school, but didn’t really know her. I had been “fixed up,” as the saying goes, with a cute little blonde. The arrangement was such that after the basketball game, I was to escort her home---a walk of about one-half mile.

The date was December 10 (which we continue to celebrate yearly). It was a bitter cold evening and as we headed for her home, I suggested that we stop at Chase’s Restaurant for a snack. I even remember what we ordered---cheeseburgers, fries, and vanilla shakes. The total bill was under $5.00! Those were the days!

When we finished eating, I reached for my wallet to pay the bill and to my utter horror, came up empty-handed! To say that I was embarrassed would be an understatement. I had no choice other than to appeal to her generosity. “What a schmuck,” I thought. “You’re off to a great start. She’ll think you’re a moocher, for sure.” Actually, in the years to follow, this incident would develop into a pattern. More than once my wife has had to “bail me out” when I was caught short.
Was it love at first sight? Nah, not really. It was more like infatuation. She was attractive, bright, popular, and above all, very, very sweet. I liked being with her from the start. And, of course, she fed my ego by laughing at my stupid jokes and sympathizing with my moanings. I guess she understood that she had hooked up with a bit of a melancholy.

However, as the dates continued, infatuation developed into something far greater---a desire to be with her all the time and make her happy. If that is what love is, then that’s what happened. We didn’t “fall in love”; we intentionally dove into it.

Did I kiss her on the first date? I honestly don’t remember, but if I did, it was more like a peck on the cheek. As we stood there on her doorstep, I had one eye on the surroundings. I hadn’t yet met her parents and the lights were still on inside.

Chase’s Restaurant is gone now and I can’t remember when we last had a cheeseburger, fries, and shake, but the memories linger---memories of long walks, even longer talks, shared dreams (many of which came to pass), and an ever-blossoming love and respect for each other. As of this writing we are about to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. You see, after that first date, we never dated anyone else. Our life together has been absolutely wonderful---not without a few bumps here and there, but all in all, amazing. We are both convinced that it is mainly because our duet became a trio. God has been the stabilizing force in our marriage. His love has been flowing into us and out toward each other.

Little did we know what that first walk would lead to---down the aisle, pushing the baby carriages for two boys, moving into the ministry---in every case, hand-in-hand, heart in heart.

In order to keep the fire burning, we have discovered some important principles to live by. Here they are:

o Stay close to the Lord
o Talk about everything
o Keep on dating
o Compromise, compromise, compromise!
o Laugh a lot together
o Take time to listen to each other and respect each other’s opinions
o Keep dreaming about the future

Next month we head for British Columbia to celebrate a half-century together, thanks to the generosity of our children. It will be another memory-builder that will stay with us perpetually.

MOONSTRUCK! That’s what I am. And if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing (except for the wallet). That was a special night, filled with simple, yet profound moments---enough for a whole lifetime!

AN ATHEIST, with the help and support of the ACLU, brought legal action against the U.S. government, claiming they were biased in that they did not provide a holiday for atheists. The judge’s reply: “You atheists already have a holiday.” “How so?” answered the infidel. The judge, pointing to a calendar, replied, “Look, its right in front of you---the first of April!”

Psalm14:1 and 53:1 both say the exact same thing: The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Did you hear about the God-fearing astronomer who once made a small planetarium and invited an atheist friend to see it? He had this little machine that represented the various planets of the solar system in their orbits. The atheist who had made a study of astronomy in his leisure was delighted over the precision with which the planets and their satellites were represented. He was duly impressed. “Who made this apparatus?” he asked.

The God-fearing astronomer dryly replied, “Oh, it made itself. I had bits of metal here in my laboratory, pieces of leather there on the shelf, other machine parts on the floor. The wind blew through the window one afternoon. At the same time there was considerable vibration in the building because of passing trucks. Gradually these pieces arranged themselves in their present form.”

The atheist was amused. “What nonsense,” he exclaimed. “Suppose the parts did come together by accident. Their correspondence to the planets in their orbits must have been worked out by some competent mathematician, someone with intelligence, someone who could think.”

“O, well,” said the God-fearing man. “There was a kind of blind purpose in it all. The various parts seemed to want to come together without realizing what they were doing. The wind was blowing very hard that day and that helped it along.”

The next time you take a look through a telescope or microscope, ask yourself, “Did such a complex universe create itself?” Its kind of laughable, isn’t it?