SPECIAL FEATURED WRITER FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY - JACK BLANKENSHIP - LANCASTER, OHIO

"SHOOT THOSE FIREWORKS HIGH"
BY: JACK L. BLANKENSHIP


Sun's goin' down and we all can see the nightfall
Sundown is telling us why we're at the fairgrounds most of all
We all can't wait until we look up at the sky
Shoot'em! Shoot'em! Shoot'em! 
Shoot those fireworks high!


Ferris wheels and roller coasters tell us how our day began
Marching bands in a parade celebrating freedom in our land
Family reunions at the park gave us sunshine in the sky
Shoot'em! Shoot'em! Shoot'em!
Shoot those fireworks high!


Now here we are at the fairgrounds ready to shout loud
While we're huddled close together in a mighty big crowd
Bang! Bang! Boom! and with more Bang! Bang! Boom!
Sky full of God's glory is better than a witch's Halloween broom.


Red, white, and blue is what freedom is all about
Fourth of July will testify to us without any doubts
God proved America's flag is still waving in the sky
Shoot'em! Shoot'em! Shoot'em!
Shoot those fireworks high!


_______________________________________________________




"AMERICA ON ALTAR CALL"
BY: JACK L> BLANKENSHIP


Join me in prayer and please follow me every where
Join me and soon we'll be one on one in joyful prayer
Soon the two of us will have a prayer line no longer small
For forty days; we'll have America on altar call.


Hand in hand in back yards, town to town, and highways
Churches of all faiths and rich or poor will begin to pray
Children, mamas and daddies, and folks we don't know at all
For forty days; we'll have America on altar call.


For forty days; we'll have America on altar call
For forty days; throughout court houses and malls
Message in our prayers will say it was worth all the time
We pray no more hunger, wars, hate, or never-ending crime.


Angels in Heaven will see America has returned like it used to be
Angels in Heaven will see that our flag is still waving free
Started with two and now there's a million big and small
For forty days; we'll have America on altar call.





_______________________________________________________


"LOST SOMEWHERE IN TIME"
(JODY'S SONG)
BY: JACK L> BLANKENSHIP


Mama will see my sister Jody's photo every Friday
Mama sees it on a milk carton and she gets sad right away
Price of the milk is $1.95 and Jody's picture is more in her mind
Now my sister Jody is lost somewhere in time.


Jody's open bedroom window five years ago is the only clue
Jody's missing and every day mama's heart is broken and blue
Whoever took Jody much of been touch in his crazy mind
Now my little sister Jody is lost somewhere in time.


What keeps Jody's memory alive is every Friday at the store
Mama pushes the shopping cart and she cries even more
When she opens the store's freezer door where the milk is
Photo on the carton tells her she can't take anymore of this.


Shuts the freedom door and starts to pray to Jesus above
Now I'm a little boy who also lost someone we both love
Together we'll have Jody's photo price at the cashier's line
Now my little sister Jody is lost somewhere in time






Blankenship, a correspondent for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, performs stand-up comedy and is a storyteller who talks about his life, family, and relationship with Jesus. He has written 18 books of poetry, and his latest book, "Safety Deposit Box," was released in May.


A recipient of numerous awards, Blankenship was married to the late Karolyn Sue Blankenship and has two grown sons, Shawn Patrick and Michael Allen.

DAY 40 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (FREEDOM) - JULY 3, 2012

July 3



Luke 2:30 (The Voice Bible)


30You promised me that I would see with my own eyes
what I’m seeing now: Your freedom,

http://hearthevoice.com/search-bible

DAY 40 - DAILY DEVOTION - JULY 3, 2012

July 3

Standing on the Promises

“…He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23b)

Don’t you hate when people break their promises? I am so glad to know that God never breaks His promises.

Has God given you a specific promise that hasn’t come to pass yet?  Is someone or something trying to deter you from continuing to believe in the promise God gave you?  I want to encourage you to stand on His promise!  He will fulfill His Word. He is forever faithful!

As I was preparing for this devotion, I was reading about Russell Kelso Carter (1849-1928). Carter seemed to have a great life from being a great athlete, a successful teacher, and coach.  Then, he went on to become a Methodist preacher and a medical doctor.  Believe it or not, Carter was also a musician & songwriter. Around the age of 30, Carter began to have heart problems to where it was very serious, and the doctors did all they could to help him, to no avail. That is when he determined healing or no healing He took God at His Word.  Carter turned to God for his healing and began standing on His Promises for his healing.

Over the next months, Carter began to feel better and he was healed.  He lived another 49 years.  During the course of the months when he was still standing on the promises of God for his healing, he wrote the beautiful song, Standing on the Promises:

Standing on the promises of Christ my King, Through eternal ages let His praises ring, Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing, Standing on the promises of God.

 Standing, standing, Standing on the promises of God my Savior; Standing, standing, Standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, By the living Word of God I shall prevail, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises, I now can see, Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me; Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free, Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord, Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord, Overcoming daily with the Spirit sword, Standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises I cannot fall, Listening every moment to the Spirit’s call Resting in my Savior as my all in all, Standing on the promises of God.

Carter stood strong on God’s Word & Promise.  Let’s stand strong on all of God’s promises! He is faithful.

I believe God is anxiously waiting to fulfill all of His promises in and through you? Don’t let anyone or anything cause doubt or fear.

Let’s believe God for what He’s promised, and believe Him for even greater things!

“…He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23b)

In partnership with Katherine Clift of DailyLiveWorship


http://dailyliveworship.com/blog/standing-on-the-promises/

DAY 40 - DAILY PRAYER (FREEDOM) - JULY 3, 2012

July 3



A Fourth of July Prayer




We lift up our hearts, O God, on this day of celebration in gratitude for the gift of being Americans.


We rejoice with all those who share in the great dream of freedom and dignity for all.


With flags and feasting, with family and friends, we salute those who have sacrificed that we might have the opportunity to bring to fulfillment our many God-given gifts.


As we deny all prejudice a place in our hearts,
may we also clearly declare our intention to work for the time when all people, regardless of race, religion or sex, will be granted equal dignity and worth.


Come, O gracious God,
who led your children Israel from slavery, keep us free from all that might hold us in bondage.


Bless our country and join our simple celebration that we may praise you, our Source of freedom, the One in whom we place our trust. 



Ed Hays
A Pligrim's Almanac:
Reflections for Each Day of the Year, p. 111

DAY 40 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JULY 3, 2012

July 3



Washington, D.C., was in a panic as 70,000 Confederate troops were just sixty miles away near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 


The furious battle had lasted three days. 


As General Lee found his ammunition running low, he ordered General Pickett to make a direct attack. 


After an hour of murderous fire and bloody hand-to-hand combat, the Confederates were pushed back and the Battle of Gettysburg ended JULY 3, 1863, with over 50,000 casualties. 


President Abraham Lincoln confided to a general wounded in the battle: 


"When everyone seemed panic-stricken...I went to my room...and got down on my knees before Almighty God and prayed." 


Days later, July 15, 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving, Praise and Prayer: 


"It is meet and right to recognize and confess the presence of the Almighty Father and the power of His hand equally in these triumphs and in these sorrows...


I invite the people of the United States to...render the homage due to the Divine Majesty for the wonderful things He has done in the nation's behalf and invoke the influence of His Holy Spirit to subdue the anger which has produced and so long sustained a needless and cruel rebellion."

Lincoln, Abraham. 1863, in conversation with a General who was wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863, relating the panic in Washington, D.C., as General Robert E. Lee was leading his army of 76,000 men into Pennsylvania. Thomas Fleming, Lincoln's Journey in Faith" (Carmel, NY: Guideposts, February 1994), p. 36.

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DAY 39 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (GIVE FREELY) - JULY 2, 2012

July 2



Luke 6:38 (The Voice Bible)


38Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.

http://hearthevoice.com/search-bible

DAY 39 - DAILY DEVOTION - JULY 2, 2012

July 2



When WHY Isn’t Answered


Are you like me and have asked God some serious questions of “Why” something happened.  And, to make matters worse- no answer was given?  It seemed you were going along in life just fine, doing your best to live for God.  Until, all of a sudden, like a whirlwind, everything around you was completely devastated.


I know another person who can relate- Job.   Job had some horrible un-imaginable things happen in his life.  It says that Job lived righteously & loved God.  He was doing everything right, yet he lost his family, everything he owned, and suffered horrendous physical things like: boils (2:7), itching (2:8), drastic change of appearance (2:12), worms and running sores (7:5), corroding bones and gnawing pain (30:17), blackened skin and fever (30:30), and this happened over several months (7:3; 29:2).


Can you imagine going through all of that and still being able to say, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”  Job 13:15 KJV


I am learning even though I don’t understand and may never completely understand the “Whys” God is so faithful and He can be trusted.  We must continue trusting God no matter what may come our way. His mercies are new every morning!


God has such a compassionate heart for us, and I believe God sees and understands our tears, mourning, and even emotional break downs.  But, in the midst of it all, we must not let our mouths sin against God.  Resolve in your mind & with your mouth that you will continue trusting God and believing everything will work out for your good.  The devil wants us to give up and sin against God with our mouths.  The Bible says that Job didn’t sin with his lips against God.  Instead, he said, “…The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”


You may feel like giving up right now.  I want to encourage you with a scripture from Galatians 6,  “Let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time, we will reap a harvest of blessing, if we don’t give up.”


Look at the harvest Job reaped for not giving up.  He was rewarded to an even better wealthy state, a bigger family and his daughters were the most beautiful in the land, Job went on to live one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.


I see great reward coming!  Join me in shouting from the rooftops: Blessed be the Name of the Lord and don’t worry about the “Why’s”.  In fact, let the “Why’s” go in Jesus Name!  Blessed be the Name of the Lord!


“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” Job 13:15 KJV


In partnership with Katherine Clift of DailyLiveWorship

http://dailyliveworship.com/blog/when-why-isnt-answered/

DAY 39 - DAILY PRAYER (ECONOMY) - JULY 2, 2012

July 2

For a Better Economy

O God, I pray in the Name of Your Son, Jesus, for our country's economy. I know that even more than a strong military, a strong economy helps keep a nation powerful. Father, I ask that You would raise up people of skill and wisdom who will affect our financial future. Give them inspired ideas and a voice with the powers that be. Cause Congress to vote aright in these matters. Give them foresight so that provision might be made for our nation's future, not just its present.

Father, as the people continue to finance the spread of Your Word and help the poor all over the world, I pray that You would continue to prosper us more and more so that we may continue to assist others less fortunate, in this country and across the globe. Amen.

http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/america.htm

DAY 39 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JULY 2, 2012

July 2



One bullet grazed his elbow, but a second lodged in the back of President James Garfield, who, on JULY 2, 1881, was shot as he waited in a Washington, D.C., train station by Charles Guiteau, a member of a polygamist-type communist cult. 


Garfield had only been in office four months. 


Though not wounded seriously, unsterile medical practices caused him to die two months later. 


A distinguished Civil War major general, James Garfield had been a college president and a preacher for the Disciples of Christ. 


In his Inaugural Address, March 4, 1881, President James Garfield stated: 


"Let our people find a new meaning in the divine oracle which declares that 'a little child shall lead them,' for our own little children will soon control the destinies of the Republic." 


President Garfield continued: 


"Our children will not be divided...concerning our controversies. They will surely bless their fathers and their fathers' God that the Union was preserved, that slavery was overthrown, and that both races were made equal before the law." 


Earlier, as U.S. Congressman chairing the Committee on Appropriations, James Garfield stated July 4, 1876: 


"If the next century does not find us a great nation...it will be because those who represent the...morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces."


Garfield, James Abram. 1876, in a speech commemorating the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. "A Century of Congress," by James A. Garfield, published in Atlantic, July 1877. John M. Taylor, Garfield of Ohio - The Available Man (NY: W.W. Norton & Co., Inc.), p. 180.


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DAY 38 - DAILY BIBLE VERSE (BE STRONG) - JULY 1, 2012

July 1



Joshua 1:9 (The Voice Bible)


9This is My command: be strong and courageous. Never be afraid or discouraged because I am your God, the Eternal One, and I will remain with you wherever you go.

http://hearthevoice.com/search-bible

DAY 38 - DAILY DEVOTION - JULY 1, 2012

July 1



Care Free


As I sat watching my youngest daughter, Alivia, swinging on her swing this morning, the Lord reminded me that I needed to be like a little child.  I said, “How Lord?”  He gently said, “See Alivia her hair blowing in the wind, and she doesn’t have a care in the world.  She is enjoying the warm weather, the sun shine & etc.. Why?  Because she knows you will take care of everything that concerns her.”


I was reminded every second of every day, to cast all my anxiety’s, cares, concerns, dreams, frustrations, hopes, let-downs, expectations, could have’s, should have’s and would have’s on Him..


1 Peter 5:7 (AMP) “Casting the whole of your care all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.”


He also said,  “Stop trying to carry the load, you are weighing yourself down!  You cause yourself un-needed headaches, neck aches, and back aches with all your un-necessary carrying of such heavy loads that only I (God) was meant to carry.”


Will you join me in being like a child now? Care Free!!


I am so glad that I don’t have to carry the load anymore.  The load was burdensome and heavy.  I can already feel the lifting of my neck and shoulders back to the place they should be without hurt or pain.


Thank you Lord for carrying our cares & worries on the cross for us.  We are free of the worries of this world because of the load you carried at Calvary.  Thank you Jesus for affectionately caring so much for us, that you carried it ALL!!!


Glory and Honor to His Holy Name!


1 Peter 5:7 (NLT) “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”


In partnership with Katherine Clift of DailyLiveWorship

http://dailyliveworship.com/blog/care-free/

DAY 38 - DAILY PRAYER (PROTECTION FROM TERRORISM) - JULY 1, 2012

July 1



Protection from Terrorism


Father, I pray You prevent the destructive forces of terrorism directed against our nation. Provide protection from evil attacks and stop the aggressors that attempt to bring destruction to our nation and its people. May Your Hand of protection keep us safe.
I stand against the spirit of fear that accompanies the cowardice acts of terrorism. Allow our fear to turn to trust in You. May knowledge of terrorist planned attacks be revealed to those who provide our national and international security. Help those in power to act swiftly to avert all danger, protecting American lives and property.
Lord, provide strength, courage, and wisdom to our protectors. Give wisdom and insight to our government and everyone involved in the elimination of terrorism. Provide instruction in the development of effective and efficient anti-terrorist strategies that will give us an advantage against our aggressors, allowing this country to remain safe and secure.
I also pray that You enter the hearts of the instigators of terrorism, so they recognize the evil of their ways, and repent and denounce their cowardice acts of destruction against humanity. Without repentance, may they reap the consequences of their actions through Your Divine Justice. May the fear of our retaliation be greater than their hatred of democracy. Guide us in efforts to seek out and erradicate these merchants of death. Reveal to us the names of those responsible and in allegiance with terrorist organizations. Enable our military to become swift, powerful, and accurate in any action of retaliation. Help them keep the innocent safe as they stop these evil people.


Lord, help us to understand lifestyle changes that might be necessary to ensure our protection. Grant patience and tolerance to us in adapting to the safety precautions and measure that we might experience. Enable us to realize that the cost of inconvenience is a small price to pay for the safety of our families. Amen.


http://www.2heartsnetwork.org/america.htm#terror

DAY 38 - DAILY HISTORY - AMERICAN MINUTE FOR JULY 1, 2012

July 1



Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders charged up Cuba's San Juan Hill and captured it JULY 1, 1898. 


After eight hours of heavy fighting over 1,500 Americans lay dead or wounded. 


Just 4 months prior the U.S.S Maine was blown up in Havana's Harbor. 


Teddy Roosevelt resigned as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and organized the first volunteer cavalry, made up of polo riders, cowboys and even Indians. 


Forty years earlier, President James Buchanan stated December 19, 1859: 


"When a market for African slaves shall no longer be furnished in Cuba...


Christianity and civilization may gradually penetrate the existing gloom." 


President Ulysses S. Grant stated December 2, 1872: 


"Slavery in Cuba is...a terrible evil...It is greatly to be hoped that...Spain will voluntarily adopt...emancipation...in sympathy with the other powers of the Christian and civilized world." 


On July 6, 1898, after the Battle of San Juan Hill, President William McKinley wrote: 


"At a time...of the...glorious achievements of the naval and military arms...at Santiago de Cuba, it is fitting that we should pause and...reverently bow before the throne of divine grace and give devout praise to God, who holdeth the nations in the hollow of His Hands."


McKinley, William. July 6, 1898, in a Proclamation of a National Day of Thanksgiving. James D. Richardson (U.S. Representative from Tennessee), ed., A Compilation of the Messages & Papers of the Presidents 1789-1897, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, published by Authority of Congress, 1897, 1899; Washington, D.C.: Bureau of National Literature & Art, 1789-1902, 11 vols., 1907, 1910), Vol. X, pp. 213-214. A Compilation of the Messages & Papers of the Presidents 20 vols. (NY: Bureau of National Literature, Inc., prepared under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing, of the House & Senate, pursuant to an Act of the 52 Congress of the United States, 1893, 1923), Vol. XIII, pp. 6573-6574.


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