My husband loves maps, so I’m sure that when he saw “map” mentioned in the subject line of an email, he immediately opened the email. Then after he read it, he shared it with me. Perhaps it’s one of those little stories that make the rounds by email, but it seemed appropriate to share this blessed Sunday, enjoy it again if you’ve read it already.

A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby , and said, “Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today.”

After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. “Oh,” she said, “on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together.”

I know, I know, the negative beat goes on by many people and many in the media, but I don’t care, I voted for George W. Bush, and I’d do it again. I know that posting this will set me apart, slot me, put me in a category…and guess what? I don’t care about that either. Here’s a bit of background, and the first reason why I’d vote for Bush again…the war.

About 9? 10? years ago when the candidates were just beginning to be named, when I heard George W. Bush was on the list, lets just say I had a feeling, call it woman’s intuition, a sixth sense, or just something resonating in my spirit (I like that last choice), I knew he would be our next President. There was really no reason for that feeling, I wasn’t one to follow politics back then…until then. I’m afraid I don’t have any sense about who will win the next election, but I did then.

Almost as soon as he became President he was under attack…and then on September 11th we were under attack. I still find it surreal to think that about an hour from my home planes crashed into two beautiful buildings that graced the horizon on many of our travels; that a plane headed for Washington DC crashed in PA; that a plane crashed into our Pentagon; that people died from letters that contained Anthrax. The mind doesn’t like to remember such things, we want to block it out and get on with our spoiled American lives, but we can’t, we shouldn’t.

At that time we were a united Nation, and wanted one thing, to get the people that got us. And President Bush lead us into war first in Afghanistan and then Iraq, and the rest is history. Oh, I know that every single decision made was not perfect, who has ever heard of a perfect war? War is never, ever pretty, and no leader has ever handled every decision with perfection…read your history books…not the ones altered by the new wave of “revisionist history”, the old history books. Some new history books and biographies are good too, but keep a close, and skeptical, eye out for the spin.

I do believe this is a necessary war, and am so thankful that President Bush was in office during that time…and President Clinton was out. President Bush is determined and not swayed by negative press, he isn’t a people-pleaser. You can’t be a people-pleaser and lead a Nation at war, especially in our spoiled Society. (Yes, I know that not everyone reading this is spoiled, I am generalizing.)

And the economy….what do you people who think that it’s all the “present administration’s fault” whenever anything happens expect during a time of war? What time in history when we have been at war have we not had to make sacrifices? Spoiled, spoiled Americans, that is what we have become.

Thank you, President Bush, for not swaying, thank you for spending time on your knees before God throughout your Presidency, thank you for the emotional sacrifices that I’m sure you have made by sending young men to war, and most of all thanks to the people who have willingly made sacrifices.

As we look ahead to the next election, think, what is more important, “change”, or staying the course? What will you sacrifice in this “gimme-gimme” society? Perhaps this is why McCain is closer in thinking to Bush when it comes to our involvement in the war (please don’t be ashamed of that, McCain…stand for what you believe!) and perhaps this is why we see Obama slowly changing some of his positions on the war in Iraq (flip-flop away, as long as you flop in the right place).

While I continue to re-think the direction I want to take this blog (I’m not sure I’m interested in posting about the latest political controversy, or “he said-she said” type posts anymore), I thought it good to take some time this week to remember what a great Nation we really are. You hear truckloads of negatives every day when you turn on the news, so maybe this should be a place to come to hear something positive.

For today, I’d like to share a daily reading that I received from “In Touch” by Charles Stanley, a popular preacher, focusing on what is good about America … in fact, some of the things that we hear negative press on are mentioned in a different light, I hope you enjoy:

God has certainly blessed the United States. He’s extended His hand of provision across this great nation. Yet, how often do we fail to thank Him?

As most Americans prepare to celebrate our independence next week, it’s fitting to take a moment and offer thanks to God. He’s provided so abundantly for us. Think about how God has blessed us in the following areas:

First, our godly heritage. History shows that many of the men who signed our Constitution were Christians. This country was founded on biblical principles and a Christ-centered interpretation of justice, fairness, and equal opportunity.

Second, He’s blessed us with natural resources. Just think about the blessings God’s placed at our feet: ore, minerals, oil, forests, lakes, pastures, farmlands, and more. He’s provided what we need for ourselves and enough to care for other countries around the world.

Third, we should appreciate our economy. The free enterprise we enjoy in America is a remarkable blessing. We excel in innovations because we’re at liberty to follow our passions.

Finally, God has placed us in a free country. You should thank God for the election process and the freedom to personally impact the direction of this nation. It’s an amazing blessing that’s completely foreign in many parts of the world.

This weekend, slow down a bit and look around. Try to intentionally notice the Lord’s blessings in your life. What do you need to thank Him for?