LAKE OCONEE —
French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after visiting America in 1831, said, “I sought for the greatness of the United States in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless forests — and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher learning — and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution — and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great!”
Don’t forget that.
This Sunday morning, July 4th, we are having the second annual “Celebration of Freedom” at the Reynolds Plantation Pointe Pavilion at 9:30 a.m. Musicians from around the Lake Oconee area will be sharing in this one-hour concert. I hope you can join us for this new Lake Oconee tradition. Come and celebrate America’s greatness. Wishing you much love and much light.
—The Rev. David W. Key, director of the Baptist Studies Program, is involved in recruitment, admissions, student life, counseling, placement, and development functions for Emory University’s Candler School of Theology. He teaches in the Contextual Education program. He is the founding pastor of the Lake Oconee Community Church at Reynolds Plantation. Contact him at (404) 727-6350 or dkey@emory.edu. His
column appears weekly in this space.
Life Lessons
Join us as we celebrate America’s greatness
- Life Lessons
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We shape our lives in the choices we make
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words.
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God desires for you to use good judgment
Larry Burkett (on his radio program) spoke of a young couple who wanted to buy a home, but felt it to be too expensive for them.
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What’s your decision-making process?
A husband and wife, prior to marriage, decided that he’d make all the major decisions and she the minor ones.
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The folly of human nature
Jerry Lambert tells us the story about a school teacher lost her life savings in a business scheme that had been elaborately explained by a swindler.
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Happy New Year and prosperity in 2012
Frances Havergal wrote this wonderful poem about the New Year.
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A Christmas poem to reflect upon the season
G. K. Chesterton wrote the following poem about Christmas:
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Hoping that you sing with angels at Christmas
Martin Luther, the great Reformer, wrote the following poem about Christmas:
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Make sure to know or find your purpose in life
Social critic Russell Kirk has defined decadence as the loss of an aim or object in life.
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Learn to appreciate people, no matter their status
A man was once boasting to an acquaintance, “We have a whole room full of furniture from France that goes back to Louis the 14th.”
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Mistakes happen so don’t lose sleep over them
A young business owner was opening a new branch office, and a friend decided to send a floral arrangement for the grand opening.
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We shape our lives in the choices we make






