📝 🇺🇸 July 4th, 2026 — One Year Later

A Year Later… What I See Now

One year ago…

around this same day…

I wrote about what I was seeing.

In myself.
In the country.
In the world around me.

🇺🇸 A Country I Still Love

Let me start here.

I love this country.

I always have.

The freedom.
The opportunity.
The ability to live, speak, worship, and raise a family the way we choose.

That matters.

It still does.

🛤️ But Things Feel Different

At the same time…

it’s hard not to notice something.

Things feel different than they used to.

More divided.
More tense.
More people talking… and fewer really listening.

🔊 The Noise Has Grown

If anything, over the last year…

the noise has gotten louder.

More opinions.
More arguments.
More pressure to choose a side.

It feels like you’re supposed to react to everything.

All the time.

🧠 Where I Was a Year Ago

A year ago…

I was more caught up in that than I realized.

Trying to understand everything.
Trying to sort out what was right and wrong.
Trying to make sense of it all.

And honestly…

it was exhausting.

🔄 What Changed in Me

But something changed over this past year.

Not the world.

Me.

I didn’t figure everything out.

I didn’t land on perfect answers.

But I stepped back.

Got quieter.

🕊️ A Different Kind of Freedom

And here’s something I didn’t expect to learn:

There’s a freedom deeper than political freedom.

A freedom inside.

The kind that doesn’t rise and fall with headlines…

or elections…

or public opinion.

🌿 Not Disconnected — Just Grounded

I still care.

I still pay attention.

I still want good things for this country.

But I’m not pulled around by everything the way I used to be.

There’s something steadier now.

❤️ Seeing People Differently

I also see people differently.

Not as sides.

Not as labels.

Just people.

Trying to figure things out.

Just like I am.

🧭 What Feels True Now

After a year of watching everything unfold…

this is what feels clear to me:

This country matters.

But it’s not where my peace comes from.

👣 Where Peace Actually Lives

Peace doesn’t come from everything going right out there.

It comes from something happening in here.

From walking with Him.

From staying grounded no matter what’s going on around you.

🔄 What I’ve Let Go Of

I’ve let go of needing to:

Fix everything.
Figure everything out.
Win arguments.
Convince people.

That weight…

I don’t carry it anymore.

🇺🇸 Gratitude Without Illusion

This July 4th…

I feel grateful.

Grateful to live here.
Grateful for the freedoms we have.
Grateful for the people in this country—good people, trying their best.

But I also see things more clearly now.

Without needing to pretend everything is perfect.

🌅 A Year Later

If I had to sum up this past year…

it would be this:

The world got louder.

The country got more divided.

And I learned how to be quieter…

and more at peace inside.

🕊️ Final Thought

This country will keep changing.

The world will keep shifting.

Things may get better… or harder.

But one thing I’ve learned this past year is this:

Peace doesn’t come from the outside staying steady.

It comes from staying close to Him.

And for me…

that’s what I’m holding onto this July 4th.

🔗 SIMILAR POSTS TO READ NEXT:

The Crossroad — One Year Later — A personal look at where this journey has led.
Just Walk With Him — The simple truth everything came down to.
Prepare Without Fear — Living wisely without being driven by anxiety.
He Was Closer Than I Thought — Learning to recognize Him in quiet ways.

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Here is the old blog post one year ago today...

🇺🇸 My Country, ’Tis of Thee

249 Years of Freedom—and the Promise Still Holds

🎆 Happy Birthday, America! 🎆
Today we celebrate 249 years since the birth of a bold idea—
That all men are created equal,
that liberty is worth fighting for,
and that this land could be a light to the world.

We light fireworks.
We wave the flag.
We gather as families and remember—
what a miracle it is to live in this land.

This morning, my oldest son sent a message to our family that says it all:

“Amazing to think what our ancestors were a part of creating. Our family is a great American story full of pilgrims, revolutionaries, pioneers, hard workers. So proud of all of you and our country.”

He’s right.
We come from good stock.
Men and women who believed in God, in freedom, and in sacrifice.
And on this 4th of July—we honor them.
And we say with full hearts:
God bless America.

📜 The Covenant of This Land

But this land wasn’t just a political experiment.
It was a covenant land—set apart from the beginning.
A land with a purpose.
A land with conditions.

📖 “If it so be that they shall serve Him according to the commandments which He hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity…”
—2 Nephi 1:7

🗺️ In the Book of Ether, the Lord leads the Jaredites across the great deep to a promised land.
And what does He say?

“This is a land choice above all other lands… and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ…”
—Ether 2:10, 12

The message is clear:
🌟 Freedom is a gift from God—and it’s tied to righteousness.
When we remember Him, the land is blessed.
When we forget Him… the land suffers.

⚠️ A Warning Voice for Our Time

There’s so much good still in this country.
So many who serve, who give, who believe.
But we’d be blind not to see the signs:

🏛️ Secret combinations in high places
🚨 Violence in our cities
💰 Greed in our institutions
💔 Division among neighbors
⚖️ Laws that mock God’s commandments

📖 “And it came to pass that the people began to hide up their treasures… and to seek to get gain that they might be lifted up one above another…”
—Helaman 6:17

We’ve seen this pattern before.
It’s written all through the Book of Mormon.
When a people forget God, they fall.

But here’s the hope:
🌱 A remnant always remains.
Those who remember.
Those who return.
Those who walk in the doctrine of Christ.

“The remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles… as a lion among the beasts of the forest…”
—3 Nephi 21:12

🪶 The Voice of the Nemenhah

The Nemenhah Records bear the same witness:

“And behold, we did consecrate this land unto the Peacemaker, even Jesus Christ, that the people might dwell in peace if they remembered Him. But if they forgot Him, they would be swept from the face of the land…”
—Tsihohnayah Ahkehkthihm 13:4

They knew this was a sacred land.
They saw it fall into the hands of Gentiles who would forget the covenant.
But they also saw the rising up of a remnant,
who would build again the waste places and restore Zion.

✨ The Greatest Freedom of All

Today is a day for celebration.
🇺🇸 249 years of freedom.
🎆 Cookouts, parades, music, and joy.

But even more powerful
is the freedom that comes when we come unto Christ.

💧 When we take His name upon us,
when we are born again through His Spirit,
He becomes our spiritual Father.

“Come unto me and be baptized in My name… that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost… this is My doctrine.”
—3 Nephi 27:20

🎉 That is the greatest birthday of all—
The day we are reborn in Him.
And that freedom—no enemy can take.
No nation can give.
And no time can destroy.

🎇 Let Freedom Ring

So today, yes—let’s celebrate the land we love.
Let’s remember our ancestors with pride and gratitude.
Let’s raise the flag and thank God for this country.

But above all,
let’s remember who the true King is.

👑 Jesus Christ is the God of this land.
He is the giver of freedom.
He is the founder of Zion.
And He is the hope of every nation.

🕊️ Let freedom ring… from every heart that walks with the Savior.

📚 SCRIPTURE SOURCES

2 Nephi 1:7 – Promised land conditional upon righteousness
Ether 2:8–12 – Warnings and blessings of the land
3 Nephi 21:12–22 – The rise of the remnant
Helaman 6:17 – Gadianton secret combinations return
3 Nephi 27:20 – Doctrine of Christ is the way to sanctification
Tsihohnayah Ahkehkthihm 13–15 – Nemenhah prophecy on America, the remnant, and Zion
Lectures on Faith 6 – Sacrifice required to bring about Zion
Joseph Smith Papers (Letter to John Wentworth) – “The Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it was given by inspiration of God.”
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