Star Spangled Banner

So today in church I decided to look up the Star Spangled Banner in the hymn book. I know everyone knows it since we all probably learned it in school and stuff, but there's more than 1 verse! My favorite verse is the 3rd. I think the 3rd verse describes what our nation is really about. Our national anthem is more than a song about a flag, it's a song about why our nation is worth defending. It's a song about recognizing that men and women alone don't make this country great, it's men and women working with God to defend the agency and freedom of all people. Here it is:

Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust!"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I love the image of free men and women standing and defending their homes and loved ones from war and violence. I picture Daniel standing in front of our home to fight off the bad guys. That image makes me feel safe and proud. My home is the home of a brave man! I like feeling like we live in a place and have freedoms worth defending. This is a great place to live and and I'm so excited that the 4th of July is coming up!