Happy 4th of July! For those of us in the United States, the 4th of July is an annual celebration of our independence. But, it wasn't "just" independence our forefathers wanted; it was freedom as well. And, 236 years later we still enjoy the freedoms for which our forefathers fought and died, literally giving all they had for something they passionately believed in.
Because I have lived here my entire life, it is far to easy to take those freedoms for granted. Even the smallest of freedoms...we do have freedom of speech, freedom to gather peacfully to protest, freedom to practice our faith. But we also enjoy the freedoms to choose. We can choose who we marry. We can choose to go to trade school, college, or university without the government deciding what our profession will be. In North Dakota we have the freedom to home school our children. We can choose a private school instead of a public school. We can choose who we vote for in an election without fear of arrest. We choose who serves as president of our country; we choose who respresents our states in Washington DC in the House and Senate.
But there are many more "smaller" freedoms we enjoy and hold dear. We can choose our mobile phone provider, our healthcare providers, where we shop...maybe those things don't seem like much, but every choice we make is another freedom we enjoy. And, freedom isn't free...it has a price...
We have three sons, and all three have served in the military. One of our sons is still in the military, and although he is not a combat soldier, he serves to remind me of all those moms and dads and wives and children who have someone serving and have to spend time away from their families, oftentimes in life-threatening situations, so that I might enjoy the blessings that those freedoms bring me.
So, for all those who continue to place your lives on the line for me...I want you to know that I don't take YOUR service and sacrifices lightly...you help me to enjoy one of the most comfortable styles of living in the world, and give me the blessing of being able to sleep in a comfortable bed every night.
Thank you!
Journal Joy Printable Art Journal Pages
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As a sidenote, to help celebrate the 4th of July I have placed every item in my Etsy shop at 50% off. I have been busy designing printable journal pages that are available in PDF and JPEG formats. They can be simply printed out and used for journaling. They are sized at 8.5 x 11 inches.
The coupon, 4JLY12, is valid through the holiday and will expire at midnight. Just click on the sidebar on the righthand side of my blog to get you to my shop or click the link below:
Be sure to enter the coupon while checking out...the discount cannot be given after your order has been completed!
As always, thank you SO much for stopping by! I appreciate it!
Hugs and Toodles and wishing your a safe and Happy 4th of July!
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