{"id":822,"date":"2016-05-27T14:27:41","date_gmt":"2016-05-27T14:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/?p=822"},"modified":"2016-05-27T14:27:41","modified_gmt":"2016-05-27T14:27:41","slug":"memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2016\/05\/memories.html","title":{"rendered":"Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The is Memorial Day weekend&#8230;we&#8217;ll fire up the grill, drink our beer, mow the lawn, have some friends over and enjoy our family.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s all good. But while you are doing that don&#8217;t forget what this day is all about &#8211; remembering. Remembering those that have served our country so selflessly, some giving their lives to protect our freedoms. There are empty places at picnic tables all over this country &#8211; hearts aching to see their loved one &#8220;jut once more&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, let&#8217;s remember and not take for granted all that we enjoy because someone sacrificed their all for us.<\/p>\n<p>Thank a veteran this weekend. And thank the Lord that we have a free country and patriots who love this land and what she stands for. We don&#8217;t have to apologize \u00a0&#8211; without an America where would the world be? Yes, it is in vogue to list our many failings &#8211; and there are &#8211; but no other nation can begin to match what America has done for the world. Maybe saying this is not politically correct&#8230;I could care less about PC. It has gone beyond the ridiculous.<\/p>\n<p>I am a woman. I am white. I am getting older. I tear up when I sing or hear the nation anthem. I go to the ladies&#8217; washroom and I do not want to find a man in there. I want my grandchildren to learn the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord&#8217;s Prayer. I think it is important to post the 10 Commandments on the courthouse wall. I don&#8217;t want people rioting the street or attacking the police. I want young men to stand and offer me their seat on a bus or hold the door for me. I like to hear &#8220;please&#8221; and &#8220;thank you&#8221;. And I really like it when you add a &#8220;ma&#8217;m&#8221; in there with it.<\/p>\n<p>No I am not PC. But I am sick and tired of the lazy, entitled attitude of many today. I will give respect and ask for it in return. But just because you want soothing and won&#8217;t be bothered to earn it does \u00a0not give you the right impinge on my freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>And why are Americans tolerating the dismantlement \u00a0of our country. Why is my Tide detergent bottle also in Spanish. And why do I have to push any button to hear English? This is America. We used to be a melting pot.<\/p>\n<p>What happened? We began to capitulate and compromise and become afraid. I&#8217;m tired of it&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>This weekend, I celebrate American heroes. I celebrate the American dream and way of life. I celebrate her great people.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s celebrate before we no longer have our freedoms.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The is Memorial Day weekend&#8230;we&#8217;ll fire up the grill, drink our beer, mow the lawn, have some friends over and enjoy our family. That&#8217;s all good. But while you are doing that don&#8217;t forget what this day is all about &#8211; remembering. Remembering those that have served our country so selflessly, some giving their lives&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,20,40,8,74,16,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-current-issues-in-the-news","category-gratitude","category-holidays","category-memorial-day","category-personal-thoughts","category-remember"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Memories - Safe Place with Ruth Graham<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2016\/05\/memories.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Memories - Safe Place with Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The is Memorial Day weekend&#8230;we&#8217;ll fire up the grill, drink our beer, mow the lawn, have some friends over and enjoy our family. 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Remembering those that have served our country so selflessly, some giving their lives&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2016\/05\/memories.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Safe Place with Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-05-27T14:27:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ruth Graham\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Memories - Safe Place with Ruth Graham","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/safeplacewithruthgraham\/2016\/05\/memories.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Memories - Safe Place with Ruth Graham","og_description":"The is Memorial Day weekend&#8230;we&#8217;ll fire up the grill, drink our beer, mow the lawn, have some friends over and enjoy our family. 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No stranger to heartache, she seeks to provide a Biblical perspective to her journey of faith. She is warm and talks openly about her own need for a safe place as she journeyed through her husband\u2019s infidelities, her subsequent depression, her divorces, her teenage daughter\u2019s two unplanned pregnancies, another daughter\u2019s bulimia, her son\u2019s battle with drugs, grandson's special needs and returning to school at age 40. Although born into the \"famous\" Graham family Ruth did not feel she had a safe place to unburden the secrets of her life. She felt she had to project and image and wear a mask that she \"had it all together\". She had to meet others' expectations of her. It was not until a mid-life crisis did that she fully discover the unconditional love and grace of God. Her life's passion is to connect people to that same grace and love she found, no matter who they are or what sin. Ruth is an experienced conference speaker and Bible teacher. She has appeared on a variety of radio and television shows including: Good Morning, America, The Hour of Power, Focus on the Family, Moody Broadcasting, Fox &amp; Friends, CBN, Life Today and CNN. She has worked in publishing for over 14 years and is the founder of the Ruth Graham &amp; Friends Ministry. Ruth has three grown children and nine grandchildren. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 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