Spring Break - Skillet, TobyMac, and DC

We celebrated Spring Break first with an amazing Skillet and Toby Mac concert. Skillet rocked our faces off while Toby Mac got the whole crowd up on their feet dancing. Way fun, even for this old guy.

We then drove to an old favorite, Washington D.C., and toured the Archives, the Smithsonian, the monuments, Arlington Cemetery, and Mt. Vernon, George Washington's home. We weren't able to get into Ford's theater where Lincoln was shot, but did go to the International Spy Museum just down the street.

It was a lot of fun to read the actual Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, see inscriptions on the monuments from our founding fathers and recognize God's hand in all of it. Our country has truly been blessed by the providential hand of God. Where else would the concept of inalienable rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of happiness have come from? Our freedoms and rights are truly grounded in the fact we were created in the image of God. Thankfully so many of our countrymen have bravely defended those rights over the years.

One of the most moving monuments was the one dedicated to FDR. FDR was elected to four terms and served during the Depression and WWII. He was the father of modern liberalism known for his projects to put people to work such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Works Progress Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority. He reformed our financial system and created Social Security, the FDIC, and the FTC.

The monument is four outdoor granite rooms depicting different scenes and issues from his presidency. One of those rooms dealt with the Depression and had a statue of unemployed men waiting in line and a quote nearby:

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little"

As I write this, I eagerly anticipate my small group starting up in just a few minutes, studying Francis Chan's Crazy Love. This weeks chapter is about lukewarm Christianity in all of it's various forms. Should be interesting and challenging discussion.

Anyway, Thank God for spring break, a great country, and presidents and authors who can challenge our thinking and assumptions we have about life.

God is good.