It’s soon time to celebrate another birthday.  Happy 246th Birthday, America!  If you’ve listened to the news during the last few years, you may think we don’t have much to celebrate.  This July 4th, if you’re a little down, pick up some good reads on the good old U.S.A. to elevate your enthusiasm level.       

Founding Fathers:  Uncommon Heroes, by Steven W. Allen, will give you a fresh look at 6 founding fathers through little-known anecdotes and stories.  You will learn about men who “at great personal sacrifice…established a government that would lead their fledgling nation to become the greatest in the history of mankind.”  The government they established has allowed people to live in freedom and prosperity longer than any other nation in the world.  What a gift they gave us!       

So what made this country different?  Find the answer in For You They Signed, by Marilyn Boyer.  She explores our spiritual heritage.  Her research of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence showed her that it was not about “taxation without representation”.  Boyer shows that these men were mostly Christians who found guidance from their Savior.  The author particularly notes how the churches influenced the shaping of America.  Preachers spoke on current events and even non-believers respected godly principles.  Boyer hopes the reader realizes that God still wants American Christians “to effect permanent change in our society, a turning back to the godly principles upon which our country was founded.”  Many think Christians ought to stay out of government and focus only on the Gospel.  But our nation actually rose out of the church and should still be steered by Christian principles.        

Homeschooling was big during the Revolution, with the Bible being the common text.  Check out David Barton’s Education and the Founding Fathers to find out what they thought about education.  You’ll find that education was for all students to “be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well the main end of his life” and “to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”  With that bedrock, many people of that era were extremely well-educated and prepared to undertake building a new country.         

Of course, The Family Vision has biographies on Americans of the founding era and books on the Revolution.  Kids may enjoy The 4th of July Story or If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution.       

Check out our consignment store, too, for some America-themed books.  Learn about all things American with encyclopedias, history texts, biographies, and government and war.  We have books on various states and coloring books.  You can even cook your way through the states.        

Celebrate America because we truly do have a great country.  Remember that it came at a great price.  Many died, were wounded, suffered hunger and cold, and lost most or all of their possessions.  All this while living without the modern conveniences we enjoy.  Grab a great book on our country.  You just might find yourself wiping away a few tears during that fireworks display.     

Reading is Rewarding!

Katie

Request the following titles from the Family Vision Library here:

Founding Fathers:  Uncommon Heroes, by Steven W. Allen

For You They Signed, by Marilyn Boyer

Education and the Founding Fathers, by David Barton

The 4th of July Story, by Alice Dalgliesh

If You Lived at the Time of the American Revolution, by Kay Moore

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