Four on the Fourth

Now I have four rental houses to consider for my parents to move into. One very old but charming house nearby, one brand new, one five years old, and one ten or fifteen years old. Each with different landlords, different arrangements. A lot to think about...
We had a fabulous celebration yesterday of our minister's twenty-five years of preaching. We all drove two hours to the old church building where he gave his first sermon at the age of fourteen. His extended family had all conspired to surprise him with this party, and he was really surprised! His mother had a cousin cater a barbeque lunch, we all made ice cream and cookies, and we had a grand feast sitting out under the trees. Then, we all went inside and his father read some things and reminisced about David's early days. The elders led a chain prayer asking blessings on him and his family, and then the floor was opened up for a gentle "roasting" (as Phil says, there isn't much bad to tell about him). It was a real blessing to be among those folks. We stood and sang "God Bless America" in a big circle at the end. Drove home, napped while the Tour de France was on, caught a few minutes of the World Cup, and then it was time for major fireworks.
I cried to think a year ago I was standing in an orphanage near a field in Ukraine watching a small handful of firecrackers for about ten minutes. Last night they were going off for nearly two hours in all directions around our house. Nashville, the nearest city, hosts the third largest celebration in the country. We watched some of it on TV (what a finale!), as well as the performance in the nation's capital -- both of which I missed last year. It's mind-boggling the differences between our country and most others. Let us never take it for granted.