Samuel F. Smith wrote a song I love to sing. Perhaps you could sing it with me right now: “My country ‘tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Of thee I sing: Land where my fathers died, Land of the pilgrim’s pride, From ev’ry mountain side Let freedom ring! My native country, thee, Land of the noble free, Thy name I love: I love thy rocks and rills (a little brook),  Thy woods and templed hills; My heart with rapture thrills Like that above. Let music swell the breeze, And ring from all the trees Sweet freedom’s song: Let mortal tongues awake, Let all that breathe partake; Let rocks their silence break, The sound prolong. Our fathers’ God, to Thee, Author of liberty, To Thee we sing: Long may our land be bright With freedom’s holy light; Protect us by thy might, Great God our King!” It’s recorded that the author wrote this song while a student at Andover Theological Seminary. He was asked to translate some German lyrics out of a songbook and ran across a tune he liked, ironically a German patriotic song to the tune used for “God Save the Queen.” To that tune he wrote the lyrics for “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” in just 30 minutes. There are many in America who are sensing a great loss of freedom with more and more government intrusion. Would you join millions of others who are praying for the preservation of our freedoms and leaders who will promote and work towards their preservation? With love, John Thoughts on New Hope