Greetings from The Front Porch!
Happy almost Fourth of July! We are just days away from our annual Front Porch Fireworks display, brought to you by the community of Antelope and those who love to linger on The Front Porch.
This year we decided to pool our money together to buy the mother box of all boxes, the box is filled with every legal firework conceivable. The kids are going crazy with anticipation as goal of the pool grows.
This year we allowed our teens to do the planning, what better way to teach them about building community then by letting them jump in and create the day. Of course, I have helped facilitate some calls and preparation but through it all, they have done most of the work.
This is what freedom looks like for me. As a recovering control freak, I enter into this holiday with an attitude of gratitude taking my freedom seriously. Thanking God for those who fought so hard and who continue to fight hard so that we can live in a country where I get to exercise the greatest freedom of all, my free will.
As I let go of my teens and allow them to experience the beautiful connections that happen in community when we are intentional in our freedom, I am taken back to a time just short of a decade ago. A time when I was bound by fear and anxiety and when the invisible chains of my past kept me from truly embracing the very moments that had been gifted to me. The thought of enfolding into my community would not have even been options back in the day.
Today as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our nation, I will also choose to celebrate the fact that I use to be but now I am not. The chains are gone, I've been set free, my God my Savior has ransomed me!
I would love to hear how you celebrate this coming holiday, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Cris
