... for Freedom!

Since this is the first post, I should probably provide a little background. I am a single woman with a beautiful 5-year old daughter named Hannah. We live in a small town in Ohio, near my sister and parents. We spend our free time in Walt Disney World.

My sister is the natural born creative one, and she has been blogging for more than 2 years. If you are interested, you can find her blog at www.enlightenmyeyes.blogspot.com. I am not a very creative person, but what I do have is a whole lot to be thankful for. So this is my poor attempt to say thanks to my Father for His unending gifts. If I meet my goal, I will have a post every day, thanking Him for one of His blessings. It shouldn't be hard, since I have so much to be thankful for.

So here goes, the first thing I am thankful for is freedom. On this anniversary of the birth of our nation, I can't help thinking of the young men and women risking their lives to make sure that I can worship the way I choose, work where I choose, adopt a child and live on my own as a woman. On Friday, a young man from my high school, who graduated in 2005, came home from Afghanistan. He suffered some pretty severe injuries, including the loss of his sight, more than half of his hearing and being paralyzed on his left side. He will spend the rest of his life dealing with these injuries while I can continue to enjoy the many freedoms I have from being born in this country. When he came home, the town gave him a parade. My daughter attended it and I asked her to tell him thank you for protecting us. As the good little girl that she is, she did, but it occurred to me, when have I said thanks? So here it is, "Thanks, Josh!"

And thank you, Father, for allowing me to grow up in America, where I don't have to wear certain clothes and where I can own property. Where I can choose how I worship my God and how I raise my child. Where I get to live where I want to and say what I want to.

Today, I am thankful for freedom!