How to Teach our Children - The 4th of July

Little boy bodies cannonball into 4th of July fun!  They squeal and run, throwing red, white, and blue water balloons at Papa.  I serve up cherry pie while Nana keeps the sweet tea flowing.  And as the sun begins to set we pile into a caravan of cars to find fireworks.  

This celebration of freedom is perfectly marvelous!

Yet each year I long to use this week for more than fun, as I decorate our porch with banners, and make that Jello American Flag with my children.  I can't imagine I'm alone in this desire to teach my children the history of our Nation's freedom, so today I've invited my dear friend, (History Buff, Homeschooling Mama, and Author of the Pinterest-worthy educational website Celebrating Holidays), to inspire us to teach our children the rich roots of America's Independence.

Angie Mosteller naturally segues from history lesson to bible lesson, to heart lesson within the course of a recipe.  She shares the songs and symbols of our Nation's journey to Independence as she makes holiday crafts with her own children, and invites us in to learn alongside. So without further ado, I welcome Angie.

It is a joy for me to join you in Wendy’s living room today!

Wendy and I share a passion for creating meaningful traditions in our families -- we especially love holidays when we get to fill our homes with creative food and decorating. But more important than our domestic endeavors is our desire to impart to our children the rich Christian heritage that is associated with our holidays.

The history of July 4th is replete with accounts of Godly men and women whose passion for independence was deeply rooted in their Christian faith. In fact, Sam Adams, known as the Father of the Revolution, said the following words on signing the Declaration of Independence:

We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient.

Later, John Quincy Adams (sixth president of the United States and son of John Adams, second president of the United States and member of the drafting committee for the Declaration of Independence) said:

“Is it not that, in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? …The Declaration of Independence … laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.”

I want my kids to understand the passion and the faith that inspired the birth of our nation. For that reason, I make sure to discuss some aspect of history with them as we sit and eat our freshly grilled hamburgers, prepare to sing a patriotic song, or wait to watch fireworks. I happen to love researching history, as well as gathering creative ideas and traditions, for celebrating holidays. With the hope of BLESSING you, I have posted these free resources at celebratingholidays.com.

For now, I am off to get started on baking a “Happy Birthday America” cake.

May your July 4th celebration be rich and meaningful!

Angie

Friends, I can't encourage you enough to stop by celebratingholidays.com and register to receive Angie's email updates.  Your family's recipe box, songbook, library,  and movie repertoire will grow, holiday by blessed holiday.

Start today, by reading through her links on the 4th of July.  Let's learn together How to Teach our Children - The 4th of July

More than Red, White, and Blue

The Fourth of July is stars and stripes, with color coordinated, jam filled layer cakes.  Independence day fun in backyards, from sea to shining sea, with a bowl full of cherries, and a great big platter of corn bread.  American food sustaining American kids as the sun dips down and fireworks ignite the sky.  

But The Fourth is more than our freedom to play,

more than decorated porches.

So much more than red, white, and blue.

The fourth is a picture of salvation.

A glorious, sweeping tale of Amazing grace.

An epic story of a people redeemed and set free.

And a challenge to live free indeed.

So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:36)

But what does freedom look like when so many are still oppressed?   In other countries and our own free land as well.  What does being "free indeed" mean with over 200 Nigerian school girls stolen?  What does freedom look like when my water is free of parasites, and my soles are clear of chiggers, and my father didn't sell me to a brick maker for a meager debt he never could repay?

With fireworks three nights away, I am aware that the Fourth of July must be more than red, white, and blue. More than our history and our independence, it is our responsibility to live free indeed; free to fight for justice on behalf of those still bound.  It must, in this age when the number of men, women, boys and girls enslaved is the highest in human history.

We think of slavery as a practice of the past, an image from Roman colonies or 18th-century American plantations, but the practice of enslaving human beings as property still exists. There are 29.8 million people living as slaves right now, according to a comprehensive new report issued by the Australia-based Walk Free Foundation.

This is not some softened, by-modern-standards definition of slavery. These 30 million people are living as forced laborers, forced prostitutes, child soldiers, child brides in forced marriages and, in all ways that matter, as pieces of property, chattel in the servitude of absolute ownership.  (The Washington Post)

The 4th of July is more than red, white, and blue

when black, brown, and yellow are still enslaved.

But our awareness of this ugly reality is not enough;

it's the beginning, but it's not enough.

I don't want you to forego celebrating our Nation's Independence.  Celebrate it to the skies, where fireworks decorate our blessed joy.  But let your freedom propel you forward to live free indeed, as an advocate for those enslaved.  I'm committed this holiday to not grow complacent as the days and weeks and months spread out since the last big atrocity grabbed our hearts and attention. #bringbackourgirls empowered us in May, but now here we are in July, celebrating freedom while our Nigerian sisters are being sold for $12 to husbands.

Here are 3 things I suggest we do to advocate for those held in bondage today.

1 - Fast and Pray

The purpose of fasting in Biblical times was to fight with power against spiritual darkness.  What is darker in our present world than slavery?  Join me each Monday as we lift up the 60,000 women held captive in the sex industry right here within our free Nation's borders.  Or choose any country on any continent and pray for the poorest of the poor, where evil preys like pestilence.

2 - Join with International Justice Mission

Organizations like IJM are doing the dangerous but necessary work throughout the world, bringing detectives into hostile areas, finding slaves, and working with local governments to set them free by bringing perpetrators to justice.  By partnering with International Justice Mission you learn first hand the reality of this epidemic, how to pray, and how to give.  But the joy that comes from the testimonies of families set free is like the Fourth of July again and again and again... because freedom is still hard earned.  And you can be a part of it!

3 - Discover your Part

Honestly, I don't know my part yet.  But I know it starts with a hashtag and the signing of a petition like this one.  And I know that as our hearts becomes more supple to the reality and pain of  sex trafficked women, child soldiers, and mulit-generational families enslaved together, our individual freedom becomes more than red, white, and blue.  What exactly it will look in your life, I can't fathom.  But it will be as glorious as the unfurling of Old Glory.  Red, White, and Blue.

Please tell me how you are praying, and what you are doing;

That we might inspire one another

from Living Room to Living Room;

From purple mountain majesty,

across the fruited plains

of America.