My Country Tis of Thee

Sunday morning the Praise Team led our church worship with a group of patriotic songs.
A Song of Peace
God of Our Fathers
My Country 'Tis of Thee
Let There Be Peace on Earth
America , the Beautiful
God Bless America
All are special and beautiful, but I couldn't sing some parts because the tears kept getting in the way. Yes, it is "My country tis of thee" that I am concerned about. I feel some of the freedoms this great country was founded upon are being taken away from us.
My country,' tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims' pride,
from every mountainside
let freedom ring!
But then I tell myself to remember Who is really in control.
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.
And that is my prayer this July 4th.

Hydrangea is Blooming

This hydrangea was a gift last year (2008) in May. It was in full bloom then. A year later it is in full bloom again after successfully getting through the winter. Such a beautiful pink with blossoms so heavy they had to be propped.

Red Petunias? Or Are They?

Last fall I saved seed from a lovely red petunia that we had purchased. Six to eight weeks ago we started some of that seed, and now the plants are having their first bloom. How interesting! As you can see, we got quite a variety of shades of red. These are the only ones in bloom today, and each one is a little different, in shape as well as color.