With the 4th of July tomorrow, I’ve been thinking a lot about our country.
Watching the World Cup has made me see America through fresh eyes. There has been so much wonder, excitement, and love of country on display. Nations showing up with pride. Fans celebrating their flags, their songs, their food, their traditions, and their people. There is something beautiful about watching different countries come together, enjoy one another, and share pieces of who they are.
And honestly, it has also been fun watching people experience America.
Seeing visitors discover things we barely think twice about — barbecue, Buc-ee’s, Texas Roadhouse, endless baskets of fresh dinner rolls, big grocery stores, friendly strangers, wide open spaces, and the very American habit of inviting people in like they are already neighbors.
There have been stories of people from other countries expecting Americans to treat them one way, only to be completely surprised by the kindness, hospitality, and excitement they found here. Families welcomed onto ranches to experience horses, mudding, and a small taste of Texas life. Groups greeted by people on horseback. Strangers becoming hosts. Communities opening their doors.
Those little moments have reminded me how much wonder there still is in this country.
It is easy to take America for granted when it is the only home we have known. We forget that air conditioning on a hot summer day is a gift. We forget that grocery store aisles filled with choices are a gift. We forget that safe places to gather, worship, shop, work, build, cheer, serve, and dream are not small things.
We live in a nation of plenty, and plenty can sometimes make us forgetful.
But when you see our country through someone else’s eyes, you remember.
You remember that freedom is not just a word for speeches and fireworks. It shows up in everyday life. In the ability to choose where we live. How we worship. What we build. What we say. How we gather. How we welcome others. How we raise our families. How we serve our communities. How we make a life.
And maybe that is part of how this country has made it 250 years.
Generation after generation, Americans have kept moving forward. We have lived through growing pains, hard lessons, changing seasons, and moments that required courage. Each generation has had to learn from the past, carry what was good, repair what needed attention, and keep working toward the promise of freedom in real life — not just as an idea, but as something people can actually experience in their homes, churches, neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, and communities.
That is one of the beautiful things about America. We are a country still building, still learning, still reaching, still believing that freedom is worth protecting and worth passing on.
This 4th of July, I want to remember what makes the United States of America beautiful.
The kindness.
The generosity.
The wide open possibility.
The courage of those who came before us.
The simple blessings we sometimes overlook.
The freedom to live, worship, work, gather, build, welcome, and dream.
America is worth honoring. Not casually. Not once a year because the calendar says so. But with gratitude, with responsibility, and with a renewed awareness of how blessed we are to call this place home.
Watching the World Cup and seeing fans experience America has felt a little like welcoming distant cousins in for a sleepover — and watching it turn into a joyful night of fort building, dancing, laughing, celebrating, and remembering how beautiful it is when people feel at home here.
This 4th of July, Mending My Faith is grateful — for this country, for the people who make it beautiful, and for the love and support you’ve shown this small shop.
We are thankful for the freedoms we enjoy, thankful for the blessings we sometimes forget to notice, and hopeful that our country lives to see another 250 years with faith, courage, gratitude, and grace.
As we celebrate, we invite you to visit our Faith & Freedom Collection — created for those who are grateful for faith, family, freedom, and the everyday blessings that make this country feel like home.