Happy Birthday, America!

Two hundred and thirty-five years ago, our Founding Fathers took a huge risk. When those delegates from the original 13 colonies gathered in Philadelphia for the Second Continental Congress and decided that complete independence from the British Crown was the only option, they were risking not only their freedoms, but their lives as well. Once those men signed the Declaration of Independence, they became traitors. They would all be hanged if they were caught.

Those great men were extremely bold in their decision- never before had a nation established that the strength and power of its government was derived from its citizens and not from its leaders. The idea that all men were created equal, endowed by their creator, with certain inalienable rights, among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, was indeed foreign at the time. And although they weren't fully ready to implement this ideal with regard to slavery, they started a movement that is fully realized in the freedoms we enjoy today.

Ours is the greatest of nations, and we have those brave men that gathered in early July 1776 to thank. If it wasn't for their courage and forethought, there is no telling what our world would look like today. God bless our great nation!

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for His inheritance. (Psalm 33:12)