Rededicate 250

 

Just a few of the many wise words spoken at the Rededicate 250 rally in Washington today:

 (from a Facebook post - author unknown)

1.Donald Trump

Donald Trump read from 2 Chronicles 7:

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

 

2. Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard askedAmericans to humble themselves before God.

She reflected on how America’s founders “didn’t stride forward in pride” but instead “knelt” and “asked for God’s mercy” just weeks before declaring independence.

“They asked for his guidance because they knew that the cause before them was beyond their own strength," Gabbard said. “Now, today, exactly 250 years later, we gather here on the National Mall to do the same, to give thanks, to ask for forgiveness, and to humbly ask once more for God's mercy and guidance as we enter the next 250 years of this Republic."

Gabbard also said leaders too often see themselves as “the controllers.”

“We lose sight of the fact that we are tiny, and our time on this planet is extremely short, and yet we see ourselves as the controllers competing with each other over who is number one,” she said. “But the truth is, there's only one number one, and that's God.”

 

3. Vice President JD Vance

Vance said America has “always been” and remains a “nation of prayer”, pointing to George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving proclamation, and argued that faith has been part of America’s identity since before the nation’s founding.

“The duty Washington describes to honor, obey, and give thanks to our creator was woven into America's character long before the founding,” Vance said. “… We have always been and still are a nation of prayer. And thank God for that. In times of suffering and in times of triumph, millions of Americans continue to turn to prayer and their faith in God.”

Vance also quoted the late Charlie Kirk while arguing America’s moral foundation is rooted in religion.

“As my dear friend, the late, great Charlie Kirk put it, all law reflects a morality. Neither law nor morality appears in a vacuum, but ultimately come from religion."

The vice president also praised what he described as a growing return to faith among young Americans, saying many are seeking “meaning,” “direction” and “closeness with God. Prayer is not merely something we do in times of crisis."

 

4. War Secretary Pete Hegseth

Hegseth said George Washington and his troops faced cold and starvation while the future of American independence appeared grim when they took refuge at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777.

As men began to desert, Washington wrote to Congress asking for help, writing that the army may starve, dissolve or disperse, according to Hegseth. But Congress could offer little help at that time.

Even Washington’s pastor had lost faith, according to Hegseth, writing to the general that he should surrender and ask forgiveness from the British king.

“But George Washington did not lose faith,” Hegseth said. "We know the painting of him at Valley Forge. One hangs in my office. Kneeling in the deep snow, his hat and sword nearby, Washington bows his head amid all the bleak nights, the loss and despair, the lack of proper support, George Washington performed a profound act. He prayed.”

“Let us pray as he did. Let us pray without ceasing. Let us pray for our nation on bended knee. And let us ask our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as Washington did on that momentous day.”

 

5. House Speaker Mike Johnson

“Heavenly Father, we thank you," Johnson said. "Thank you so much for this great day that you've given us here, and we remember that your mighty hand has been upon our nation since the very beginning."

Johnson reflected on the Revolutionary War and the founding of the U.S., noting that the Second Continental Congress held a day of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

"Just weeks later, Lord, on July 4th, 1776, you gave 56 patriots the courage and the conviction to sign their names to the Declaration of Independence, forming 13 distinct and disparate colonies into a new nation which would become, by your mercy and grace, the freest, most successful, most benevolent nation in the history of the world.”

“Our founders acknowledged and boldly proclaimed the self-evident truth that every single person is created in your image, and that we are endowed by you, our creator, with our unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

 

6. Cissie Graham Lynch, granddaughter of Billy Graham

Lynch said Sunday that America “especially” needs God now, arguing America’s strength comes from faith and prayer with a foundation rooted in the belief “we need God.”

“For 250 years, this nation has returned again and again to the God who created this beautiful country that we get to call home. We do this not because we're perfect people. We're not. But woven into the fabric of America is a deep and persistent belief that we cannot persevere on our own — that we need God,” Lynch said.

Lynch argued America’s “true source of strength” is found “when we humble ourselves before God.”

 

7. Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King

"This nation was founded on godly principles," King said. “We are one blood” and people of all races “can learn to live together as brothers and sisters.”

She also pushed back on the idea of a strict separation between church and state, saying “It's never a good idea to try to leave God out of anything.”

“It's time for us all to repent — to go to God and say we got it wrong, help us get it right”

 

8. Jonathan Roumie, actor playing Jesus in “The Chosen”

Roumie urged Americans to recommit to faith and the idea of being “one nation under God” and said prayer has been central to both his life and America’s identity.

“At the center of faith lies prayer,” Roumie said. “… Prayer is a kind of heavenly cargo shuttle, lifting our wants, our needs, and our gratitude toward heaven, open to anybody and everybody, willing to humble themselves at the feet of their creator, faithful and fallen alike."

Roumie said faith is essential to playing the role of Jesus “because if God hands you the assignment of portraying on a global stage his own son, the Savior of the world … and you do not have faith, Lord help you.”

“For 250 years we have endeavored to be one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. May we be that nation once more. May we rededicate ourselves to all that the Lord is calling us to these next 250 years. And may we, the citizens of the United States of America, never cease praying for our leaders, for each other, for our nation, and for the world.”

Shabbat 250 and America Re-dedication Day

 

 This is a wonderful article about Shabbat (Shabbat 250) linking this day with  this coming Sunday, May 17 - the day President Trump has designated as America Re-dedication Day and to Shavuot.  Wouldn't it be wonderful, Gail-Friends, if Yeshua our Messiah came during this week?  I'm ready -- and I hope you are, too.

Shabbat Shalom my friends.

 This is the link for the article - at First Fruits of Zion.  I highly recommend their site. 

Shabbat 250 and the Coming Messiah

And here is the link to information about the Rededicate 250 observance on Sunday, May 17.  The event in DC will be aired by Intercessors of America on YouTube:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPqlkz7Ys3Y

Something Big Is Happening

 

 This article is by Yehudah Glick - from Facebook

 

"Something very big is happening.

 

President Trump called on the Americans to dedicate a national Shabbat in honor of America’s 250th anniversary.

 

Charlie Kirk has written a book calling people back to the Sabbath — not as a cultural accessory, not as nostalgia, but as a response to the spiritual exhaustion of our time.

And I don’t think this is small.

I think this is one of the most important religious developments happening in the West right now.

Because Shabbat is not just a “Jewish day off.”

Shabbat begins at the very beginning of the Hebrew Bible.

Before Sinai.

Before the Exodus.

Before the Jewish people are even formed as a nation.

At the end of creation itself, the Torah tells us:

God created the heavens and the earth — and then He rested.

That means Shabbat is built into the architecture of the universe.

It is the weekly testimony that the world has a Creator.

That man is not God.

That productivity is not the purpose of life.

That technology must have limits.

That family is sacred.

That time can be holy.

That the universe is not an accident.

That history is moving somewhere.

For thousands of years, the Jewish people carried Shabbat through exile, persecution, wandering, and darkness.

Every Friday night, in every land, Jews lit candles and declared quietly — sometimes against the entire world — that Hashem is the Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, Jerusalem, and Zion, the King of the universe.

And now something remarkable is happening.

The nations are beginning to hear the music of Shabbat.

Not perfectly.

Not fully.

Not always with the same language or the same obligations.

But they are hearing it.

They are beginning to understand that a world without Sabbath becomes a world without soul.

A world without Sabbath becomes a world of noise, screens, markets, anxiety, loneliness, and endless motion.

A world without Sabbath forgets its Creator.

And this is exactly what the prophet Isaiah saw.

Isaiah spoke of a future in which the “foreigners who join themselves to Hashem” would honor His covenant and keep Shabbat.

He saw a time when the House of God would be called:

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

This is not the erasure of Israel’s unique covenant.

It is the opposite.

It is the light of Israel beginning to shine outward.

It is the nations recognizing that the God of Israel is not a tribal deity, not a private inheritance, not a symbol of the past — but the Creator of heaven and earth, the King of the universe.

That is why this moment matters.

When political leaders speak about Shabbat, when Christian voices call people back to Sabbath, when non-Jews begin to recognize the holiness of sacred time — I see more than a cultural trend.

I see an echo of redemption.

I see the world, tired and broken, slowly remembering the first truth:

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

And if the world can remember the Creator, perhaps it can also remember the purpose of creation.

Shabbat is not an escape from the world.

Shabbat is the world as it was meant to be.

Peace.

Faith.

Family.

Holiness.

Creation returning to its Source.

May this awakening grow.

May the nations come closer to Hashem.

May Israel embrace its calling with courage and love.

May Jerusalem and Zion become a light to all peoples.

And may the whole world come to know the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — the Creator of the world, the God of Israel, the King of the universe.

This is huge.

And I believe we are only seeing the beginning."

 

And I pray it is so, Gail-Friends.  My prayer is for all in Israel, America, and the world to return to Adonai's Word, His Will, and His Ways - and to accept Yeshua as the Messiah and Savior.  

A Mothers Day Letter to America

 

I say "Amen" to this letter.   God bless all mothers.  And God bless General Flynn, a good American who's suffered so much for our country.

A Mother's Day Letter to America

By General Mike Flynn

There are some things a man does not write about until he is old enough to understand what he was given. I decided since it is Mother’s Day, I am setting the news cycle aside for a moment, because some truths are bigger than the daily fight.

I grew up as one of nine children in a small house in Middletown, Rhode Island. My father was a hard man with a soft heart, and he never asked the country for anything he had not first given it. My mother, Helen, held the center of our home together through every season of our lives. She raised nine of us, fed us, clothed us, prayed over us, taught us right from wrong, and somehow still found the energy to fight for her community. She ran for office at the local level at a time when most women her age were told to stay quiet, and she refused to. She taught us to kneel before God and to stand before no man. She taught us that we serve the country that gave us life. She taught us that strength is measured by what we carry, not by what we complain about.

When I look back at every hard day I have ever had, and there have been more than a few, I hear her voice before I hear my own. That is what a mother does. She becomes the first sound in your conscience and the last voice in your prayers.

The Founders understood something that this culture has allowed itself to mock. They understood that the Republic does not begin in the Capitol. It begins at the kitchen table. It begins with the mother who teaches her child to read the Bible before he learns to read a screen. It begins with the woman who tells her son that lying is beneath him and that running from his duty is worse than failing at it.

John Adams said the Constitution was made for a moral and religious people and would be wholly inadequate for any other. The men who built that moral and religious people were trained at home, by their mothers, long before they ever sat in a classroom or stood in a regiment.

We have spent generations laughing at that woman. 

Hollywood mocked her. The universities re-educated her daughters against her. The federal bureaucracy taxed her family until she had to leave the home she wanted to stay in. The technology companies took her children's attention and sold it to the highest bidder. Then the same culture that broke her down turned around and asked why our young people are anxious, fatherless, faithless, and unwilling to defend the country that raised them.

You cannot remove the mother from the Republic and expect the Republic to survive. It is that simple. It has always been that simple.

Fifth-generation warfare, the kind I have written about and warned about for years, is fought for the human mind. The terrain is the heart, the imagination, and the soul of a child. The first defender of that terrain is not a soldier. It is a mother. Every American mother who turns off the poison and reads to her child instead is defending the country. Every mother who walks her family into a church on Sunday is defending the country. Every mother who shows up at a school board meeting and refuses to sit down is defending the country. She is protecting the next generation of free citizens, and she is doing it with greater consequence than most of the officials elected to do the same job.

That is not sentimental language. It is an operational reality. The enemies of this country know it. They have studied it. They target the family because they understand that if the American family falls, the Nation falls behind it. Mothers are the front line. They have always been the front line.

I cannot write this without saying what needs to be said.

For ten years, my family carried a weight no family should ever have to carry. Ten years of investigation, of slander, of legal warfare waged by the most powerful institutions in this country against one American and the people who loved him. My wife, Lori, never broke. My sisters never broke. My daughters-in-law never broke. My mother, watching from heaven, never let me break either. If you have ever wondered what holds a man together when the full weight of a corrupt federal system is trying to crush him, I will tell you. It is not bravado. It is not press releases. It is a wife who looks you in the eye at the end of the worst day and tells you to keep going. It is the women in your life who refuse to let evil have the last word.

Everyone reading this knows a woman like that. Honor her today and every day after.

The Almighty did not make you for comfort. He made you for purpose. There is no purpose more sacred than the one He placed in your hands when He gave you a child.

Almighty God, on this Mother's Day, we thank You for the mothers of this Republic. Bless the mothers raising children in fatherless homes. Bless the mothers who buried a son or daughter in uniform. Bless the mothers who pray through the night for a child who has lost his way. Bless the mothers who walk into school board meetings shaking and walk out unbroken. Bless the mothers in heaven who still watch over us, including my own. Strengthen them, protect them, and use them, Lord, to raise up the next generation of patriots this Nation will need. In Your Holy Name we pray, Amen.

To every mother reading this, thank you. You are the reason this Republic still has a fighting chance.

Happy Mother's Day.

National Day of Prayer 2026

 

 Today, May 7 is the National Day of Prayer, which was declared in 1952.  Let us all praise and thank Almighty God for the blessing of being born and raised in this wonderful country.  The prayer event is being held in Washington D.C. and televised on Fox and other national outlets.  If you cannot see it live, you can see it later on YouTube.

My prayer today is for Americans to return to His Word, His Will, and His Ways. I am 75 years old and went to public schools during the 1950s and 1960s.    How blessed we were to have public schools that had the Ten Commandments on the walls of our classrooms.  How blessed we were to have Bible reading and prayer during our home room sessions.  How blessed we were to have teachers who were not afraid to speak of their faith during their teachings.  How blessed we were to live in an era that respected and honored and obeyed God's Word.

I pray that the future years will be a Golden Era of blessings.  He has blessed me and I pray He will bless us all with health, strength, vision, and purpose in our remaining years on this earth.

I pray and believe in the Name of Yeshua, the Messiah.  Amen

I recommend the International Intercessors of America website for many prayer resources you can use:

https://ifapray.org/blog/national-day-of-prayer-today 

 

Another Atempt on our President's Life

 

 Last night we saw another attempt to stop our president.  A shooter attempted to attack the White House Press Association dinner at the D.C. Hilton Hotel.  The evil ones that desire to kill, steal, and destroy don't give up.  But, our powerful Lord covered him, and others in the room, from destruction.

All glory to You, Adonai.  You covered President Trump with Your feathers and sheltered him and Melania with Your wings.  We thank You for protecting them, Vice President Vance,  Speaker Mike Johnson, and all of the other Cabinet members who were at the event.  

Father, something is seriously wrong with those charged with protecting our president.  This is the report on Factually of the many times he has been attacked, including thwarted attempts:

 https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/assassination-attempts-against-donald-trump-7f4853

In the rally where he was shot in 2024, it was just so plain to see that the secret service was lax in their preparation for the event, plus other mistakes.

No one was hurt in the event ballroom, but a secret service agent was shot by the attacker.  Thankfully, the agent was wearing body armor.  The shooter was taken down and is in custody.

Father, I am so thankful for our president.  Even after the chaos died down, President Trump wanted to continue the event, but was persuaded not to.  He did speak from the White House later that night.  He had such a great attitude, thinking of and encouraging people to continue to speak freely and live freely.  He plans to hold the event again in thirty days.  His courage never fails.  He never gives up.  He is the man for such a time as this.

The look of horror on the First Lady's face stays with me this morning.  God bless her and keep her.  She lives with the knowledge that her husband is hated and attacked on every front.  She is a woman of courage and poise.  A mentor and a role model for girls and women.  She is the woman for such a time as this. 

Father, thank You for protecting them, guiding them, and helping them to get through this dangerous time in history.  

Our president is working day and night to turn our country back to YOU.  Back to common sense,  integrity and to the founding principles of this country.  I pray You will use this horrible assassination attempt to turn people, especially news journalists, back to YOU.  I don't even watch the mainstream media because they are purely propaganda machines for the agenda of the New World Order.  I pray for eyes, ears, and hearts to be open to see this truth.  Bring them to their senses.  I pray they will turn to You, Your Word, Your Will, and Your Ways.

In Yeshua's Name I pray. Amain. 

 

 

America Reads the Bible

 

Please join me in passing on President Trump's announcement about the week-long public reading of the Bible in Washington, D.C.  I believe what the Bible says:   

 

So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)

 

Let's pray that we all will be convicted to obey His commandments.  America has become a lawless society.  But I cling to this promise:

 

 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:11) 

 This live event can be found online at this link:

America Reads the Bible

Presidential Message Commemorating 250 Years of the Bible in America

The White House

April 17, 2026

This week, I send my best wishes to every citizen gathered at the Museum of the Bible, on the National Mall, and all across our country participating in America Reads the Bible, a historic initiative in which nearly 500 Americans will take part in a public reading, over the course of one week, of the entire Bible—from Genesis to Revelation—to celebrate 250 years of the Bible in America.

From Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World and the first permanent English-speaking settlement at Jamestown to our founding in 1776 and to the present day, the Bible has been indelibly woven into our national identity and way of life.  Nearly 400 years ago, a decade after the arrival of the Mayflower, the legendary John Winthrop powerfully invoked Jesus Christ’s Sermon on the Mount as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew:  “We must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill.  The eyes of all people are upon us,” Winthrop said, imploring his fellow Christian settlers to stand as a beacon of faith for all the world to see.

In the decades that followed, the truths of Holy Scripture remained deeply embedded in our culture—not only within the walls of our churches but in our homes, schools, courtrooms, and public square.  Nearly 150 years after Winthrop’s storied sermon, on July 4, 1776, our Founders echoed Holy Scripture in the central animating principle of the Declaration of Independence:  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

From the declaration of those immortal words at the very beginning of our Republic, and ever since, the Bible has enduringly illuminated our system of Government, given life to our constitutional framework, bolstered our educational institutions, and informed our deepest civic and moral identity.  The 1787 Northwest Ordinance—one of our Nation’s earliest and most formative laws—stated that “Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.”  Two decades later, John Adams, our second President, wrote the following to his fellow Founding Father Benjamin Rush:  “The Bible contains the most profound Philosophy, the most perfect Morality, and the most refined Policy, that ever was conceived upon Earth.”

In every generation, through every trial and triumph, God’s Word has guided our people and our country to incredible new heights.  During the first inauguration, George Washington, setting a precedent for all future Presidents, put his left hand on the Bible and took the oath of office, after which he kissed the Bible.  In his First Inaugural Address Washington stated:  “No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States.”  In President Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he quoted the Bible 4 times, mentioned God 14 times, and invoked the power of prayer 3 times as he sought to bring the country back together after a bloody 4-year Civil War.  As more than 70,000 American troops prepared to land on the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt took to national radio and prayed that God’s blessings prevail over “the unholy forces of our enemy.”  And at the height of the Cold War and the righteous crusade that he led to defeat atheistic communism, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed 1983 to be the Year of the Bible, writing:  “Of the many influences that have shaped the United States of America into a distinctive Nation and people, none may be said to be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible.”

Today, during our 250th year of American independence, the America Reads the Bibleinitiative invites all citizens to once again acknowledge our Nation’s extraordinary Biblical foundations and to give thanks for the countless ways in which God has been the sacred source of our unity and national strength.  This one-week event, during which leaders in faith, Government, business, and entertainment will read every verse and chapter of the Bible, will inspire countless citizens to rediscover the Biblical truths that have animated our Republic for two and a half centuries and to pray that the Bible will continue to guide us—as individuals, as a people, and as a Nation—for the next 250 years and beyond.

I applaud every citizen participating in the America Reads the Bible initiative.  Together, we will honor Holy Scripture, renew our faith, usher in a historic resurgence of religion on American shores, and rededicate the United States as one Nation under God.

What's Happening at Golden Cottage?

 

Y’all ! Time is flying by! Right? But, I’m back. I just realized I haven’t done a Golden Cottage update since January.

We had really cold weather in January through mid-March – and our yard was hit hard. This is a rare photo here in central Florida – that's  FROST, Gail-Friends !

 

 Mr. Green Jeans (aka Rabbi Jem) worked so hard to protect our plants. He brought all of the potted plants and flowers onto the back porch to protect them. Put rugs down on the floor. Covered them with sheets. He did this three times, y’all ! All of them survived. And the plants in the yards were covered with sheets or wrapped in blankets. Most survived, but sadly, some didn’t. Some – time will tell. Like our plumeria tree. But, we have hope!

Our dog Lucy was happy to wear her sweaters!  And Toonie was happy to stay in the warm house.  (He usually prefers to stay on the back porch all day long.)
 

 

 

We had to have beautiful camphor tree taken out of our front yard.  We noticed that Lucy, was eating the camphor berries.  I Googled it and found that the berries are very toxic - damaging to the liver.  Our beloved dog, Zoe, died of liver failure, so she had probably been eating the berries, too.  (We miss her so much.) So, we had the tree removed.  Everything looks so bare now, and I grieved the loss of it.  I miss the tree's shade in the mornings and watching the birds visit there.  So, my sweet Jem bought me some new plants and flowers to cheer me and brighten up the yard.

 

I love gardenias because they remind me of Mama's bush beside the house where I grew up.  They smell wonderful.

 

We celebrated Valentine's Day with more flowers (roses are my favorite cut flowers)  and a visit to a Mexican restaurant on Merritt Island.  Their food is great and the presentation is beautiful.  Our meals came with edible flowers.  Jem ate his - but I decided to wear mine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Oh, and I must tell you about the vest I'm wearing in the picture above.  It's a heated vest that I bought for Jem.  It was so cold that day, he let me wear it.  We've both gotten a lot of wear out of it during this cold winter.  It is wonderful.  We bought one for our son-in-love, William because he works outside sometimes.  He said he didn't think he get much wear out of it, but he REALLY has worn it a lot.   

Our daughter, Amanda, sang with a local band, Gold Tone, at an Irish pub in Cocoa Beach. This was soooo good. The music was a combination of Celtic tunes and popular songs. I particularly enjoyed the combination of instruments, including the hammered dulcimer. It was lovely, y’all. I love dulcimer music. I remember one time when Amanda and I went to Barberville for a dulcimer workshop. She’d never played the hammered style, but she sat down and played it like she’d been playing all of her life. Yep. She’s talented like that.  

 

We visited the annual Merritt Island Birding and Wildlife Festival.  This year, it was in Cocoa Beach.  We met this author of several bird books.  He was very interesting to talk with.  

 

 

 

This is a little owl that was captured by a local wildlife rescue team.  He's missing one eye.   

Also in March, Amanda, our grandson Jonathan, Jem and I went to an event called The Heavens Declare, presented by Science Partners.  I'm so sad that I didn't get photos.  It is an astronomy workshop from a creationist perspective. The presentation included an inflatable planetarium that shows "the Gospel in the Stars".  It was educational and very interesting.  The only bad part is that you have to crawl into the planetarium on your knees and sit on the floor once inside.  Trust me -  this is a bad idea for a seventy-five year old lady like me.  Jem didn't go in.  He said, "I don't think it's a good idea."  So TRUE, y'all!  Now, we BOTH know our limitations.  I'll never do that again.  But, if you ever hear of this workshop, go to it and you won't be disappointed.

Last week, we visited Jacksonville University.  Jem and some of his Shangri-La shipmates presented a plaque and scholarship to a Naval Reserve student. The young man couldn't attend, which was sad.  He's greatly admired by his unit because he's an outstanding student, both scholastically and physically. He was an enlisted man who decided to go back to school and become a Navy officer. He is married, with two young children.  So, this $5000 scholarship will be a blessing.   The USS Shangri-La Reunion Association awards this scholarship every year.

 

 

 

The event also was to place a memorial plaque dedicated to the crews of the USS Shangri-La from 1944 to 1971.   The bell is the original ship's bell from the Shangri-La aircraft carrier.

 

We really enjoyed our visit to Jacksonville.  It was good to visit with these friends and others we met up with.  We also enjoyed our visit to the Chamblin Book Mine where I found four wonderful books.  I'll share them with y'all next time.

 

Blessings to You All, dear Gail-Friends!

 

 

 

A Prayer for America

 

 Heavenly Father – we praise You and thank You for protecting, providing, and guiding us through another week. And we thank You for Your Holy Shabbat. May You be pleased with our rest and our obedience to Your command.

We praise You that You hold the universe in Your mighty hands. We praise You for Your mighty works and for Your mercy on us. We are tiny compared to Your universe . . . and yet, You think on us and care for us. How blessed we are to have Your Spirit to comfort us and Your Word to guide us. Thank You for preserving it over thousands of years. Thank You for those in Israel who guarded, protected, and preserved it. Thank You for life in America. Thank You for shedding Your grace on our country.

Thank You for our Messiah, Yeshua – our Passover Lamb. Thank You for the blood that atones for our sins. This week, as I read the Torah portion about how much blood was required for atonement, I am once again humbled. I’m reminded how important the blood was. Sin is costly. Thank You that we don’t have to bring an animal and shed its blood. It’s easy to gloss over it – take it for granted or lightly, but Yeshua’s sacrifice was difficult and costly – just like the Temple sacrifices. It cost a lot for a man to bring his best, precious animal to sacrifice. But that’s what You required. Thank You that Yeshua, Your only precious son who was willing to give His blood for us. Our Passover seder brings it to our remembrance each year. We need that reminder. We praise You that He is risen from the grave. Our Passover Lamb – our Risen Lord and Savior. Haleluyah to Your Name, Adonai. Forever we will give You praise.

This week, we pray for our president, his cabinet, our lawmakers, and our military. We pray for our senators to have opened eyes and ears to see and do the right thing as they vote on funding for the DHS. Open the eyes and ears of Democrat voters to see how demonic it is to punish TSA workers and ICE agents by denying them payment for their work to protect our citizens. Bring them to their senses, Father.

We pray for the war with Iran to stop. We pray for all affected by this war. For all of the countries involved. For the military. For those who’ve lost loved ones. For those who’ve lost homes through the bombings. War is horrible. Help and comfort them all, Father.

And we pray especially for the peace of Jerusalem. I pray for the Israeli leadership to return to Your Torah. I once heard Netanyahu say that he depends on the Torah observance of the Hassidics to protect Israel. Open his eyes, as well as President Trumps eyes, to the fact that Adonai holds countries and leaders accountable for their sins against You. I read that just this morning in Leviticus 4.

Father, I ask forgiveness for my country and its leaders who have thrown Your Torah behind their backs. I did so when I was ignorant of Your laws. Church leaders taught that it was no longer applicable. They were wrong. Many people are ignorant of Your Word and wonder why their lives are such a mess. I was one of them. My reading of the New Testament letter of I John taught me the truth. A close study of the words of Yeshua in the gospels opened my eyes. When I began to obey Your laws, my life turned around. I am blessed beyond measure. I will thank You and praise You forever.

On this day, Father, grant us Your peace and rest as we turn away from the world and draw near to You. You are our God. You are our Lord. You are our King. You are our Deliverer. Haleluyah forever.

May Your face shine upon us. Blessed be You, our loving Father. Thank You for drawing near to us on this, Your holy day. We pray, and believe, in the mighty name of Yeshua our Messiah and Savior. Amain. 

 

Our God Reigns!

 

When I was growing up, there was a very popular song played on secular radio called "He's Got the Whole World In His Hands".  When I read this article on Facebook, the song came to mind.  Sometimes I get discouraged when I see the evil, horrible, disgusting things happening in our country. Then I'm tempted to give up. To stop telling people the TRUTH about what's not being reported on the propaganda machine (mainstream news).  To stop contacting my representatives about current agenda items in the House and Senate.  To stop taking a stand for righteousness in my city, country, and state.   But then, God arises!!  Hope comes!  Strength comes! Because I remember the battles Adonai has fought for me personally, and for my beloved country.  Listening to this song energizes me to continue in battle for America:  LET GOD ARISE!

Then, I remember this encouragement from His Word: 

"There is a reason the Books of First and Second Kings disturb modern Christians, and it is the same reason they disturb modern governments. Those books prove beyond argument that God does not merely watch history. He interrupts it. He removes kings. He raises shepherds. He humbles empires. Scripture says plainly, “He removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:21). That statement is not poetry. It is policy. Every throne on earth exists on borrowed time, and every ruler answers to a higher throne whether he acknowledges it or not.

 

The modern world teaches you that power flows upward from the people. God teaches you that power flows downward from Him. Pharaoh learned it. Nebuchadnezzar learned it. Ahab learned it. When a king defied the Word of God, he did not lose power because of political opposition. He lost power because heaven revoked his permission to sit there. “For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another” (Psalm 75:6–7). Every rise and every fall is a spiritual event before it is ever a political one.

 

This is why the prophets terrified kings more than armies did. Ahab feared Elijah more than he feared Syria. Herod feared John the Baptist more than he feared Rome. Why? Because a prophet carried something no army could carry: the authority of the Word of God. One sentence from heaven outweighed ten thousand soldiers on earth. When Elijah said dogs would lick Ahab’s blood, no military strategy on earth could prevent it, because the outcome was already decided in the courtroom of eternity (1 Kings 21:19).

 

Nothing has changed. The same God who ruled in the days of Kings rules now. Nations still rise. Nations still fall. Leaders still think they are in control, but heaven still holds the leash. The question is not whether God is involved. The question is whether you recognize it. Because the same God who removes kings also saves sinners, and the same authority that topples thrones can rescue a soul. History is not random. History is ruled.”

Anonymous (found on Facebook)

REDEDICATE AMERICA

 

This article is from the website for Liberty Counsel  www.lc.org

President Trump Calls To “Rededicate America” Back to God

Feb 9, 2026

Last week, President Donald Trump announced at the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast that on May 17, 2026, there will be a major prayer event held on the National Mall to “rededicate America as one nation under God.”

The special prayer event is part of America’s 250th birthday celebration titled, “Rededicate 250: National Jubilee of Prayer, Praise, and Thanksgiving.” The 12-hour sacred dedication event promises that “In speech, song, and storytelling, we will bear witness to the extraordinary story of how God has powerfully and wonderfully shaped the United States of America — remembering the people, sacrifices, and defining moments in which God has powerfully manifested Himself in our history.”

President Trump has invited Americans from across the country to come together on the National Mall on that day to pray, praise, and give thanks. During the announcement, he noted a spiritual renewal and rising church attendance in America. He praised this trend declaring that “to be a great nation…you have to have faith” and “you have to have God.”

While President Trump did not specify the reason May 17 was chosen, the Continental Congress had declared May 17, 1776, a national day of fasting and prayer before the Founders signed the Declaration of Independence.

“Almost 250 years after our Founding Fathers took one of the greatest leaps of faith in human history…it reminds us that prayers strengthen, prayers heal, prayer empowers and prayer saves,” said President Trump. “Quite simply, prayer is America’s superpower.” 

In his hour-long speech, President Trump also made a second announcement that the Department of Education has new guidance intended to protect the right of teachers and students to pray and express their faith in public schools.

“Public schools must permit students to pray privately and quietly by themselves, whether in class, at an athletic event, or before a meal,” reads the guidance. “Students may also pray in a speaking voice on the same terms as any other student might engage in non-religious speech.”

The new guidance also stipulated that students must be allowed to express their religious faith in assignments, and at school events when they are permitted to speak. Also, school employees can pray at work on the same terms as the students, states the guidance.

The Department of Education ultimately directed schools take a “general principle of neutrality toward religion” as not to prefer or discriminate between religious and secular groups, activities, or expression. 

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “We welcome President Trump’s call to national prayer and to rededicate our nation back to God as it approaches its 250th anniversary.  President Trump’s announcements convey the foundational truth that faith and freedom go hand in hand in our nation. Furthermore, every individual—whether teacher, student, or citizen—retains the right to pray, to express their beliefs, and to live out their faith without fear of government censorship.”

Border Security

  

With all of the chaos and controversy surrounding immigration, I thought this article would be helpful to my dear Gail-Friends. Please join me in praying for peace . . . and for common sense to prevail in our beloved country.

This article is by House Speaker Mike Johnson.  I saw the news clip yesterday where a reporter used Scripture to frame his question.  Speaker Johnson's response is perfect. 

"In the press gaggle following today's vote, I was asked to defend the Biblical case for border security and immigration enforcement. I did so, and then promised to post a longer explanation that I drafted during the Biden Administration. Here it is, and I hope it's helpful:

 

Despite the insistence of the progressive Left, people of all religious faiths should support a strong national border—and Christians CERTAINLY should. Critics are fond of citing particular Bible verses out of context to claim that Christians and Jews are being “unfaithful” if we oppose their radical open borders agenda. It has become increasingly important for us to set this record straight.

 

Perhaps the verse most often cited by the Left is Leviticus 19:34. Whether they know it or not, that passage happens to be from the instructions Moses delivered to the Israelites when they were on their journey through the wilderness in Sinai, before they reached their own Promised Land. The verse reads as follows: “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.” (KJV)

 

CONTEXT IS CRITICAL

 

It is, of course, a central premise of Judeo-Christian teaching that strangers should be treated with kindness and hospitality. We are each called to love God first and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Deut. 6:5, Lev. 19:18, Matt. 22:36-40, KJV). However, that “Greatest Commandment” was never directed to the government, but to INDIVIDUAL believers.

 

The Bible teaches that God ordained and created four distinct spheres of authority— (1) the individual, (2) the family, (3) the church, and (4) civil government—and each of these spheres is given different responsibilities. For example, while each INDIVIDUAL is accountable for his or her own behavior (e.g., Exodus 20), the FAMILY is commanded to “bring up children in the training and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4) and “provide for their relatives” (1 Tim. 5:8). The CHURCH is commanded to make disciples and equip people for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-13), and the CIVIL GOVERNMENT is established to faithfully uphold and enforce the law so that order can be maintained in this fallen world, crime can be kept at bay, and people can live peacefully (Rom. 13, 1 Tim. 2:1-2).

 

To be properly understood, anytime a command is given in Scripture, one must first determine to WHOM that command is directed. For example, when Jesus taught us as His followers to practice mercy and forgiveness and to “turn the other cheek” (Matt. 5:38-40, KJV), He was not giving that command to the government. To the contrary, when government officials ignore crime, they are directly VIOLATING their responsibilities before God.

 

Indeed, the civil authorities are specifically charged to do justice, to ”bear the sword,” and to serve as “the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Rom. 13:1-4, KJV). As the Bible warns: “When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong.” (Ecc. 8:11, TLB)

 

Read in its context, the passage in Leviticus 19 makes perfect sense. Showing love and kindness to a stranger was not a command given to civil government, but instead to individual believers. That same principle is emphasized in the New Testament. When Jesus spoke of embracing, caring, and providing for “the least of these” (E.g., Matt. 25:31-40), His instruction was given to His disciples, and not the local authorities.

 

The Bible is clear that Christians should practice personal charity—but also insist upon the enforcement of laws (like our federal immigration statutes) so that “every person is subject to the governing authorities” and “those who resist incur judgment” (Rom. 13:1-2).

 

BORDERS ARE BIBLICAL

Many on the Left today, and even some at the highest levels of our government, consider themselves “globalists” who envision a utopian world order where there are no borders between countries at all. Their fantasy will simply never be realized, and their basic premise (that man is inherently good and perfectible on his own) is the opposite of the Biblical truth that man is fallen and in need of redemption that is available only through salvation in Jesus Christ.

 

The Bible speaks favorably and consistently about distinct nations of people (see, e.g., Gen. 18:18, Num. 32:17, Psalm 67:2, Matt. 28:19, Rev. 5:9, 7:9, NIV), and about borders and walls that are built to guard and secure people, property, and jurisdictions (see, e.g., Deut. 19:14, 27:17, 32:8, Acts 17:26, NIV). When Nehemiah heroically led the Jewish remnant to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after their enemies had destroyed those walls, he was doing the noble work of God (Neh. 1-6, NIV).

 

Maintaining a secure border is not an offensive measure, but a wise, defensive one to prevent chaos and safeguard innocent life. As Rev. Franklin Graham once summarized, “Why do you lock your doors at night? Not because you hate the people on the outside, but because you love the people on the inside so much.”

 

THE CURRENT CATASTROPHE

 

Right now, because of 64 deliberate policy choices and executive orders of the Biden Administration, America is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and national security catastrophe at our open southern border. More than 10 million illegal aliens from around the world have entered the U.S. since Joe Biden became President, the majority of whom are single, military-aged men. Among them are countless violent criminals and more than 300 suspects on the terrorist watchlist. Cartels are making billions trafficking young women and unaccompanied minors, and many are suffering unspeakable abuses along the way. The Fentanyl that China and the cartels have pushed into the U.S. has become the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-45.

 

As the peril increases and communities across our country become more and more overwhelmed with the crushing financial burdens of managing the influx of illegals, American citizens (and even a few Democratic governors and mayors) are finally demanding a return to sanity. America has always been a haven for people legitimately seeking asylum from danger in their home country, but we must insist they pursue a course of legal immigration and not simply ignore our laws.

 

Of course, the President of the United States must be the first to uphold our laws. Every citizen should insist that President Biden immediately use the eight broad statutory authorities he has right now to secure our borders and stop incentivizing illegal immigration. Among his most important executive authorities is 8 U.S.C. 1182(f), which empowers a President to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate” if he “finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”

 

AN AUTHENTIC CHRISTIAN RESPONSE

 

Due in large part to our Judeo-Christian foundations and the deep religious heritage we enjoy in this country, America is the most benevolent nation in the world—by far. However, we cannot maintain that strength and generosity if we surrender our own safety and sovereignty. Preserving law and order and securing our borders should not be partisan issues, but matters of common sense. These are certainly responsibilities fully authorized by the Bible—and expected of us by God.

 

Any time liberals attempt to bolster their “open borders” agenda by citing Scripture out of context, they should be kindly corrected with the facts (2 Tim. 2:24-25). Christians are called to love unconditionally, serve selflessly, and defend the defenseless. We are also called to stand for, and work to ensure, just government. Justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive pursuits. To the contrary, God specifically requires His people to practice both (Micah 6:8). Despite the unfounded claims of the Left, supporting a strong national border is a very Christian thing to do. The Bible tells us so."

*article from Speaker Mike Johnson on Facebook

** photo from flikr 

Praying for My Beloved Country

 

Gail-Friends, please join me in prayer for America.  You can add your prayers AND praises in the comments below. It's important to know the truth about what's going on, so please see my posts about alternative news outlets.  We are in a war between good and evil.  There is violence in our streets.  Our leaders and law-makers need our prayers and support - President Trump and his cabinet, the congress, courts, city, county, and state officials. Our peace-keepers need our prayers and our support - police, state troopers, sheriffs, military, national guard, and especially ICE.

We believers are called to fight in this war, too.  Please see my previous posts about our spiritual weapons: FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.

Dear Heavenly Father – We praise You and give You all glory, honor, and praise. Even when things look dark and hopeless, we cling to You, our Rock! As we watch the demonic chaos in the streets of Minneapolis and other cities, we REMEMBER to cast down imaginations, and every thought that exalts itself against Your Truth. Blessed are You, oh Lord our God, King of the Universe, Creator of all and Master of all. You are in control no matter how dark things seem. You hear our prayers, and we know that You have not given us a spirit of fear...but of peace, and love, and power through Your Holy Spirit. HALELUYAH!

We praise and thank You for the good things we’ve seen over the past week:

The truths that are coming out about paid protesters in Minneapolis and other cities, and for the work of independent journalists who are boldly going where the mainstream media will not go. God, we pray for their protection.

For the gift of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Trump by Venezuala’s Maria Corina Machado for his "unique commitment" to Venezuela's freedom and his actions in support of their cause (following U.S. involvement in the ousting of Nicolás Maduro). HALELUYAH! He is a man of peace, having helped to end eight wars over the past year.

Thank You, Father, that President Trump was able to influence Iran not to kill 800 anti-government protesters. We pray for peace in Iran.

HALELUYAH! America’s economy is improving: gas prices and mortgage rates dropped, and the trade deficit hit a 16-year low, attributed to President Trump’s trade policies.

Thank You, Father, that changes are being made related to children’s vaccines, costs of medicines, and healthy diet /food guidelines. We pray for President’s new health care plan to be favored and passed by the Congress.

We give You glory, Father!

Lord, I pray along with everyone here for accountability for those who have tried to steal, kill, and destroy our beloved country. We pray for these traitors to be prosecuted and brought to justice. It is time, Father, for the TRUTH to be told.

We pray for our Supreme Court judges as they hear oral arguments related to transgender athlete bans - to make a wise, common sense, scientific, and Biblical decision. And I pray for every judge that makes any decisions that are against Your Word, Will, and Ways to be removed – from the highest to the lowest court.

We pray about the elections coming in the months ahead… for godly, righteous  men and women to run and be elected to office.

We pray for all election fraud to be revealed and prosecuted.

Father as I watch the news, I ponder how many people there are who fight against what President Trump is doing to save our country. You spoke this to my heart :

They cannot see or hear spiritually. They never will see and hear what you see and understand – UNLESS AND UNTIL they (like the prodigal son) come to their senses. They see through the eyes of pride – wanting and doing their own will and ways...just as you once did...until you were humbled. Just like the prodigal son when he woke up in a pig pen and covered with their waste. He came to his senses and said to himself, I will go to my fathers house. You did the same.

Yes, Father, thank You for Your patience with me and for You bringing me to my senses. So I pray for blinded eyes, deaf ears, and foolish or evil hearts to be humbled – for them to come to their senses, repent (turn to Your Laws, Will, and Ways), and to recognize Yeshua as our only payment for turning our backs on you. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life – and I pray for a burning fire in myself and everyone here to share this truth. Give us divine appointments to share the Torah and Yeshua.

I pray this blessing over my Gail-Friends:

The Lord bless you and keep you; 

the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; 

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.