Carolyn Tomlin
AAA reports a record of over 72.2 million Americans will travel domestically during the Fourth of July holiday, an increase of 2.4% over last year. The average trip will be 50 miles from home.
As July 4 falls on a Friday, people will have a long weekend. Airline flights are setting new records.
Whether your family plans to journey to other areas or plans a stay-at-home Tennessee holiday, these educational, fun, and creative activities will make this a time to remember.
Celebrate family, faith, and patriotic community events this Independence Day.
Worship Together
Plan to attend church as a family. Pack a pew with your clan. Join in singing patriotic music and worship together. Consider returning to the church of your childhood, where your ancestors worshiped. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Honor the Christian and American Flags
Salute the Christian flag as well as the American flag. Check with your pastor in advance for this part of the service. Teach children the words to the Christian flag pledge. If a Christian flag is not available, ask if your family can donate one for the church, perhaps in memory or honor of a beloved relative.
Teach that as Christians, we pledge our allegiance first to God, then to our country. Both pledges can be found at a reputable online source.
Plan a Fourth of July Parade
Do you live near a nursing home or assisted living facility? If so, ask parents in your church or neighborhood to bring their children with tricycles, bicycles, or strollers to the church parking lot or a nearby paved, safe area. Decorate the vehicles in patriotic colors with crêpe paper streamers. Dress children in traditional red, white, and blue. Give out small American flags for children to wave. Dogs included — on a leash.
Attend a Patriotic Music Event
Many small towns sponsor community choirs that perform patriotic music on Independence Day. These events provide interaction with your community and fellowship with other Christians.
Enjoy great hymns that encourage love of God and country.
Hopefully, the march music of John Philip Sousa will be part of the program. Dress your family in patriotic colors of red, white, and blue. If the program is outside, bring a picnic basket and lawn chairs or a blanket for seating on the ground. Events are usually free. Psalm 98:1 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”
Host an Old-Fashioned Family Picnic
Ask an older family member how they observed the Fourth of July. Chances are they included family and church picnics. Food likely consisted of hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, slices of cold watermelon, hand-squeezed lemonade in gallon containers with hand-chipped ice, and homemade ice cream made in a hand-cranked freezer.
Play Traditional Games
Put away modern technology and interact with your family in games of yesteryear. Pitch horseshoes, throw washers (available at a building supply store), set up a badminton court, play tug-of-war, or try “I Spy.”
If no one remembers the rules, search online for them, as a concession to using technology for the day. B&R — Tomlin, of Jackson, writes for the Christian market. She is a member of Woodland Baptist Church, Brownsville, and teaches the Jackson Christian Writers Fellowship
