Do you feel it?  There’s a groundswell of hope as bright as a severe clear November sky.  As the trees change colors and prepare for their winter’s rest, and the ground is blessed with moisture that gives life to the season’s last blooms, there is an expectation that this winter will not be as dark and bleak as the last four have been.

President Washington is credited with saying “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is force.  Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”

Colorado has experienced a summer of uncontrolled fire and the devastation and loss that goes along with it.  Not one of us escaped the oppressing smoke – though we may have escaped the flames.
 
Not one of us as escaped the effects of an uncontrolled government, either.  Now we see clearly that we have allowed our servant to become our master, and we have been burned.
 
When we are the American Government’s master, and God is ours, then freedom can blossom.

Vote Republican this fall to start the change.  Then rest this winter, knowing that whatever seeds of creativity or perseverance you decide to cultivate, you will be able to reap the fruits of your own labor.

But by all means, tend the fire!

Look what I found!  Quoted below, un-edited, is an old document that eloquently cuts to the heart of the principles of freedom, the assaults against it, and the steps that must be taken to revive it.  I hope you’ll take the time to read it; it’s only about 3,000 words long, including all the signatures at the end.  As you read it, consider that these very words formed the foundation, along with our United States Constitution, that allows us to overthrow our ruling political party every two to four years peacefully at the ballot box. 

We will have to use some of our time and money, and we may have to endure some condescending remarks and bad press from the other party; but our very lives and fortunes will probably not be endangered – as were the lives and fortunes of the men who signed this document.  Consider also what your life would be like without this freedom and what you are willing to sacrifice to make sure that this upcoming election is not the last one in American history where the ballot box is the only weapon used.       

I’m sure you’ve heard of this document before – we call it our

A good friend sent me an email on Friday, November 8th, suggesting that with Veteran's Day on the following Monday, we should do something that evening at the Boulder County Movie Nights to honor our Veterans.  As usual when I'm looking for something patriotic, I opened my copy of the Course of Study for the Public Schools of Colorado, printed for the school year of 1912.  And, as usual, it did not disappoint.  I couldn't help but think that if our current course of study for the State of Colorado was still only 296 pages long and still included a curriculum for all grades in all schools that offers suggestions for teaching all classes, but leaves the implementation of said teaching to the local teachers and families, then our children might still be getting a good education.  And if it was still suggested that "the following patriotic service is to be committed to memory," then the generations of students since 1912 might still know why it is so wonderful to be an American Citizen.

FLAG RITUAL
Prepared by Dr. John Grasse
(From pages 295 and 296, the last pages in the 1912 Course of Study for the Public Schools of Colorado, Issued by The Department of Public Instruction.)
 
The following patriotic service is to be committed to memory and used upon all patriotic anniversaries and occasions by the elementary and high schools.  The extent and frequency of its use in the elementary grades will be determined by the principal.

FIRST – Color-bearer enters room carrying the flag.  The pupils all rise to their feet and remain standing until the flag leaves the room. 

In 1992, I called my mother to let her know that we had pulled our daughter out of her private school and planned to start home-schooling her.

“No!” was her reply.  I wasn’t smart enough.  I should let the experts educate her. 

My high school diploma and one year of college didn’t qualify me to teach an eight year old – even my own little eight year old, who I knew better than any one else.  So what good was the education I’d received from the “experts”?

But this thing was more than my opinion verses my mom’s.  This was the first big assignment God had for my husband and me after we’d realized that He is real and that He actually wants to be involved in our lives.  God already had everything in place for us – a group of home-school friends, a solid Bible teaching church, and a desperate conviction of our need to do this for our daughter, and eventually for our son, also.

My mom became a home-school advocate and my biggest fan after a year of receiving weekly hand-written letters from the kids.  She could see the steady improvement of their penmanship and use of the English language.  She read about the things we were doing and the adventures we had.  When she came to visit, she got involved by teaching art classes to our group of home-school kids.