I don’t believe God tests our faith so much as I believe He places us in situations where we must rely on it.
~C.L. Harmon

It’s amazing that we remember with great clarity and fondness the moments in life which seemed so insignificant while they were happening. It’s as though nature is teaching that happiness is in the places we least expect to find it.

~C.L. Harmon

Freedom is a fragile thread that hangs in the balance every second we possess it. Politicians tug at it and extremist pull at it until it slowly frays and weakens. The thread of freedom must be left to sway in the direction of the people to whom it belongs and not held by those who wish to control the amount of freedoms we possess.
~C.L. Harmon

A man’s character is not known by the words he speaks publicly or the secrets he keeps in his heart, but by the ones he speaks everyday when he believes no one hears him.

~C.L. Harmon

C.L. Harmon
In my office is a painting of the Founding Fathers praying. It’s a poignant scene of men who seem to be at an impasse over reaching a point of collective consciousness. And though it is the praying which is the theme of the art, it’s what I don’t see which impacts me most. I don’t see men yelling and fighting and storming out in anger. I don’t see hatred and a willingness to ignore other’s ideas. I don’t see men eager to turn from God. What I do see is imperfect men who are willing to set aside what they want as individuals to create something larger than themselves, something that benefits those who could not be in that room and have a voice. I see men who turn to God in humility and hope. This was the first Congress of the United States. These were the men who were creating a nation and whose counsel did they seek in this endeavor? They chose God’s counsel, His wisdom, His guidance.
Every man in that room understood that they alone did not possess the enlightenment needed to build a nation. As such, they turned to the one who did. They believed that collectively and armed with their faith in God, they could forge a nation of God with God. But today the very same God whose counsel was sought all those years ago has been removed from the hearts and lips of many of those whose responsibility it is to continue building what the Founding Fathers prayed for during the birth of our nation. Prayer is and has always been the foundation for righteousness and lasting prosperity. It’s the reason people enjoy freedom and opportunity. Every nation, every civilization throughout history that has denied God has failed. God blesses those who acknowledge Him and listen when He speaks. Why then do we panic and live with fear when He tells to trust Him? Why do we listen and trust those who who do not seek His counsel? Why do we live in turmoil when His son showed us the way to peace? We do so simply because it easier to stand and listen to the rhetoric of others than it is kneel and listen to the Word of God.
Every single American regardless of political affiliation who enjoys all that this country offers, does so because the Founding Fathers chose to kneel. Let us never forget this.

C.L. Harmon

For many years the legendary journalist and news anchor Walter Cronkite closed his broadcasts with the phrase. “That’s the way it is”. And he was right, that’s the way it was…THEN…and it wasn’t bad. It was a time like no other in history. Back THEN news wasn’t bought and paid for by the wealthy, it was the truth for better or worse. Back THEN the government still understood that it is of the people and not master of them. It was a time when a person could let their kids ride in a truck bed, anyone could walk into a restaurant without a mask and adults could choose whether or not to wear a seatbelt without being viewed as boat rockers, Back THEN, people spoke to each other and not electronics which knew nor cared anything about them. It was a time when integrity was the mainstream social conscience, the measure of a person, and not a practice by those last in line to succeed.

THEN was a period where compromise was practiced because what should be was more important than “I need to be”. It was a time where the greater good was a moral conviction and not a conviction of convenience for what suited the wants of the few. Moments in time they were for a nation who accepted its misdeeds and righted its wrongs by ensuring policies to not repeat those errors. And in the same moments, people were forgiven by each other for accepting responsibility for those mistakes and all moved forward to build a different future. It was not a nation of people who hated one another, but one of people who hated an ideal that was not fair and just. Back THEN was a time when God was praised and feared because each generation taught of Him to the next. Every church, classroom, and dinner table was an opportunity to be thankful, to be corrected and to be witness to respect for God, country and the elderly by those who still understood its immense value.

See, THEN was a time when there was still a vision shared by what our Founding Fathers envisioned for a prosperous people. And for many years after, men and women carried on that spirit of those great men. They sacrificed for what was right because it was right. They led when they should and stepped aside when they shouldn’t. They taught when they could and learned when they couldn’t. They fought and died because principles were of more value than profit. Yes indeed THEN was a time of pride!

And if anyone should ever ask you if there was a time when the world they know today was any different. Tell them…tell them yes there was a time when we were the greatest nation the world had ever known, one feared and respected by every other. And the truth is, that’s the way it was…back THEN.

Of all the people I have known throughout my life, the greatest among them have served a loving and merciful God…regardless of what name they called him.
~C.L. Harmon