PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY

28 Principles of Freedom our Founding Fathers said must be understood and perpetuated by every person who desires peace, prosperity, and freedom. Adherence to these beliefs during the past 200 years has brought about more progress than was made in the previous 5,000 years. --National Center for Constitutional Studies (www.nccs.net)

1.   The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
2.   A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
3.   The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
4.   Without religion, the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
5.   All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
6.   All men are created equal.
7.   The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
8.   Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
9.   To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
12. The United States of America shall be a republic (a form of government in which a state is ruled by representatives of the citizen body).
13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
16. The government should be separated into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution (a set of basic laws or principles that describe the rights and duties in which citizens are to be governed).
19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government; all others being retained in the people.
20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
25. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations: entangling alliances with none."
26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.
27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

TUNA CASSEROLE

by Danna Shirley

           As the third and last daughter in my family, I was not the one relied upon for cooking our dinner. Mom started substitute teaching when I entered kindergarten. My oldest sister, Nan, was eleven at that time and so Mom taught her to get a few simple things prepared for dinner while she rested after a long day on her feet in front of twenty children.

            I was asked to make the salad or peel the potatoes or set the table but nothing as advanced as cooking. Of course, all three of us girls did the cleanup after dinner.

            When I moved into my first apartment, all I really knew how to cook was a tuna casserole. Just four ingredients. Cook the noodles, drain and add a can of tuna, add a can of mushroom soup, stir, sprinkle crumbled potato chips on top, and bake at 350º until golden brown. Easy peasy!

            My first roommate, Linda Autrey, a friend from school, liked to cook. My second roommate, Susan Wagner, a friend from work, liked to cook. I let them.

            When I married, however, I was called upon to cook every night. I made many tuna casseroles. Finally, my sweet husband, Ron, took over a lot of the cooking. As the oldest of four boys whose mother also worked full time, he was far more advanced in the kitchen than I. He did teach me a lot, though. Like how to fry crispy chicken; mine was always kind of soggy. He introduced me to shrimp and lobster, Yum, two dishes I never had growing up because my dad hated the smell of fish cooking.

            My own family made a habit of joking about poor Ron only getting tuna casseroles and therefore, had to take over the cooking at home. The real truth was that he liked to cook and I didn’t. He would pull all the spices out of the cabinet and bottles of dressings and marinades from the refrigerator and come up with the most flavorful meals.

            As a widow, now, I’m back to hating to cook, especially just for one. I do a lot of fast food and will sometimes even have a bowl of cereal or a bag of popcorn for dinner, much to the chagrin of my sisters. Nan still loves to cook and will even read recipe books for pleasure. Egad! I just don’t get it.

But, you know what? I think I’ll make a tuna casserole for dinner tonight. Oops, no can do! I’ll need to go grocery shopping first and I don’t like grocery shopping either. ☹ Maybe Red Lobster instead. 😊

WALTZING MATILDA

by Danna Shirley

Writing assignment: use these words in a story...

Message     Fake     Graze     Scoundrel     Authenticity

Waltz     Discombobulated     Pumpkin

The email message dinged at 2:00 a.m. As a government operative, I could not ignore anything coming in on my Top Secret computer. The email was from Agent James Polk of the FBI. I quickly scanned its contents and learned there was a breach in our system. Further search placed the origination in Brussels.

I returned to my room and showered, packed, and kissed my hubby goodbye. Agent Polk met me at the airport and we were on a plane to Belgium by daylight. The investigation revealed the location of the breach was in the Castle of Groot-Bijgaarden (Bi-jerden). An invitation was highjacked to attend a ball the next evening at the castle. James and I hustled to buy evening wear and then quickly brushed up on our dance moves. I wasn’t the greatest dancer in the world but I could fake it when necessary.

Entering the castle grounds was a vision to behold. The estate was elegantly authentic with ducks and geese padding around a pond while alpacas grazed on the lawn. It seemed all the elite of Brussels were in attendance this night.

James and I arrived and blended in naturally with the other guests. We took the usual champagne glasses and nibbled on some pumpkin pastries as we explored the ballroom. Our host, Isador Van Beveren, walked around conversing with his guests. He was a pompous playboy and a well-known scoundrel of the worst kind,

A waltz began to play and saved us from an awkward greeting and explanation of our presence. We danced our way to the opposite side of the room and exited through the tall doors leading to the garden. Our contact told us the computer room was on the third floor of the castle tower. I had put slacks on under my dress for easy movement.

James and I ascended the back staircase and were in the computer room within minutes. There was no guard on the door but a computer nerd sat at a desk with his back to us. A silent approach and a tap on his shoulder had him discombobulated as to what to do next. I made quick work of getting him bound and gagged while James sat down at the keyboard and did his magic. When all was said and done, no muss—no fuss, we descended the staircase and entered the ballroom without even breathing hard. James waltzed me across the room and out the front door to our limo. We made a great team.

I slipped in beside my hubby at 2:00 a.m. and soundly fell asleep. The alarm went off at six and I heard my Sweetheart in the bathroom showering. I put on my robe and slippers and went to wake the kids. My motherly routine of pancakes and sack lunches and car pooling began. I was no waltzing Matilda. Boy, it was good to be home!

THE GOOSE GIRL

by Danna Shirley
Writing assignment: take an obscure Grimm's Fairy Tale and write your own ending...

Princess Tricity was very lovely and had all the young lads in the kingdom, both peasant and royal, charmed by her beauty. She had now reached the age of marriage and her mother said it was time to take her place beside a prince in a neighboring kingdom.

Marriage was not for her for she still loved the frivolity of riding her gentle steed through the forest. She still loved wading in the pond along the edge of the garden and feeding her beloved geese as they drank water from her cupped hand. And she loved brushing her golden locks and braiding her hair in the cool of the evening.

Tricity was not ready for marriage and certainly not ready to serve beside a King, always wearing royal robes and sitting on a throne. No, her heart was as the goose girl by the pond with her feathery friends. Her life, as such, was happy and carefree.

Her mother was not to be deterred, however, for she invited three neighboring princes to a royal feast. One way or another Tricity would marry; either by her choice of husband or her mother’s,

Tricity rebelled but it did no good, for her mother sequestered her in her room to be watched by her servant, Bekka, and readied for the royal feast. Bekka thought it quite romantic for Tricity to have her choice of handsome men. She heated and poured the royal bath, pressed and hung her gown, and combed and braided Tricity’s hair with jewels and perfume.

She was a vision descending the staircase into the main hall but there was no joy in her countenance. She greeted each prince with a curtsy and an extended hand. Prince Cecil was much older than she, a bit flabby around the middle with a fuzzy beard. She could not fathom even kissing such a face. Prince Milton seemed her age but realizing they were both too young for such a marriage, knew he was being pushed, as she was, into something they would both regret. Prince Oliver seemed exactly right but he showed no enthusiasm for this situation either.

They all retired to the feast, each one conspicuously placed around Tricity while her mother chattered on and on about how honored they were to have such handsome and royal guests. The servants entered with platters and bowls of steaming hot food and the delicious smells permeated throughout the hall. Then the cover was lifted from the main dish and there sat a roasted goose.

Tricity shrieked and ran from the table shouting, "Mother, how could you be so cruel to serve one of my dear friends as food for consumption."

She escaped to her favorite place by the pond. Her little goose friends nuzzled against her hand begging to be petted as usual. Bekka soon arrived relaying that she should return to the castle.

Tricity was so forlorn to even enter the great hall until she noticed Prince Oliver waiting for her by the gazebo. She approached hesitantly not knowing his purpose. He reached out and held her closely, kissing her braided crown.

“My dear sweet Princess Tricity. If you choose to marry me, I promise to never serve goose at our table ever again.”

She lifted her gaze and smiled. As they had their first kiss for a lifetime, her little goose friends surrounded them honking their approval.

SIMPLE PLEASURES

unknown...
* Feeling the sun on the back of your neck
* Dawn
* The smell of bacon or coffee first thing in the morning
* Singing in church
* Hearing your cat purr
* Finding money in the couch
* Eating bread and tomatoes
* Knowing you did the right thing
* Making a new friend
* Getting into a fWhen he does the laundryreshly made bed
* Having all the ingredients on hand when you decide to cook something special
* Getting snapshots back from the processor
* Getting a tax refund
* A great haircut
* Moonlight on the ocean
* Massages, hugs, ladybugs, new shoes, naps, cashmere, making up after a fight
* Knowing you have a full tank of gas
* The smell of fresh-cut grass
* Going home after a bad day
* When the days start to be lighter longer
* Having exact change
* Two scoops
* Having the house all to yourself
* When he does the laundry, the dishes
* Pink slippers
* Shiny windows and mirrors
* Browsing in bookstores
* Fishing with your dad
* Making someone smile
* Coming home from a vacation
* Watching your kids when they're sleeping
* National public radio
* The sound of rain on the roof, especially when you're under the covers
* Walking on the beach in winter
* Licking the frosting bowl
* Wearing something new
* Being excited about tomorrow

SURPRISES by Kathy Scales

Patricia Kathleen Seale Scales is in my Creative Writing class and submitted this awesome writing on November 29, 2017. I share it with love...
Morning mist is kissed by the wild, rosy blush of the new dawn.
As the dew drops dry, the autumn foliage is rustled by a fawn.
Red-tailed hawks spread their wings to glide over a meadow green.
Appreciative joyfulness surges from the hearts and souls of those who have seen
The daily miracles that all the moments of every year magnificently bring.

Serenity is the gift of those who open their eyes and hearts to surprises.
Intensify the praises of my soul into a song that toward the heavens rises.
Guide me each day into a life of adoration and active thanksgiving
For all my blessings, from the small to the giant, that all moments bring.
At all times and in all places, may I, my heartfelt song of praises sing.

THE JIGSAW PUZZLE OF LIFE

by Danna Shirley

I asked my granddaughter recently if the house across the street from her school was for sale, would she want to live there? I thought the convenience would be a plus since her mom drives the roads daily with all their school schedules and extracurricular activities. She said, “No Way! I like my house.”

I pondered all the moves I’ve made as a Navy wife and how miserable I would have been if I didn’t accept each move as looking forward instead of holding back. I told her I’ve learned that wherever I am is home and that keeps me content all the time.

All the moves I’ve made…eight states (CA, AL, MS, FL, WA, NJ, MD, TN) and three countries (Bermuda, Philippines, Japan) since first marrying a sailor in 1968 has confirmed to me we are just pieces in a puzzle, each one fitting into our place to complete a perfect picture there and then we move on to our next destination.

Which brings me to my most recent move. For a few months before going to California I felt God was ruffling my feathers and blowing up my comfort zone. I prayed for a long time whether He wanted me to take my puzzle piece out of Bartlett First Assembly and fit it into a puzzle somewhere else. 

I spoke to my pastor through many tears.Our conversation went well and he agreed that I must follow God's leading. Some may believe leaving a church is because of some great transgression or conflict within the church or hierarchy. Not so! God has a plan and a purpose for each one of us and He places us into His picture puzzle as He wishes.

For me, only God knows the end from the beginning. I recognize this position all too well for He has moved me several times in my thirty-eight years with Him, and with each move, God has given me a new "family."

Last Sunday I visited a much larger church than I am used to but I felt at home right away. Although I usually sit in the back, this time I gravitated to a lone woman in a fifth-row seat and asked if I could join her. Clare navigated me through the weekly activities and where to get my visitor's gift bag.

She and I were able to get better acquainted in the lobby and I learned she is caregiver to her mother who has had dementia for the last eighteen years. I could immediately relate to her since my mother, too, has had dementia for several years. Maybe this move is for me to find Clare. I am excited to see where God will take me in this new family.