The Ampersand, “&,” symbolizing and, serves to connect our thoughts, our communication, our language—and spills over as an integral part of our culture.

Metaphorically, all those ands add up. Take the “To Do” lists we make for ourselves. You know how long those lists can be! I number mine (you might do the same). Between each item is the connecting “and” between each. If long, the list can hardly seem doable.

My list is typically lengthy. It’s one thing to put down the necessary things; however, I often find myself adding on extra items due to my own insecurities or wants. It becomes a “Me List” instead of one that is Spiritually led.

Jesus probably had his own “To-Do” list, but I’m certain his actions were related to following the Will of His Father in Heaven—not due to his own wants or needs.  

I've decided that I'd like to pray each morning about the things I add to my list, so it will not be a “Me List,” but instead a “We List”—one that the Lord helps me with. Then, maybe those “and’s” will be the things that will be the most beneficial ones—and that will also serve others.  
 
My prayer is that you, too, may find your “To-Do” list to be a manageable one—with God’s help!
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If you look closely, there is one thing you'll see on the back of every U.S. dollar bill and every coin. And what could that be? The answer is: the motto of our country, “In God We Trust.”

The original motto, “E. Pluribus Unum,” Latin for “out of many, one,” was changed to “In God We Trust” and adopted as our official national motto by Congress in 1956.
  
We are a nation founded on trust in the Creator. The first line of the Declaration of Independence includes the phrase, “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” Other references: people “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…,” that they have “a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence,” and, “…we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

The Constitution does not refer to religion; however, it includes the words “the year of our Lord” in Article VII.

In 1954 Congress passed a law amending the Pledge of Allegiance, which now includes the words, “One Nation Under God.”

We are fortunate to be a free nation, and the inclusion of the First Amendment gives us the right to practice the religion of our choice—or not to practice.  
 
The choice is ours—to believe or not believe.

For believers, may we be reminded of “In God we Trust” each time we hold a dollar bill or coins in our hands.

As a nation, may we have the faith to do as our founding fathers did—to trust in God. 

Happy 4th of July!