This week, I will be spending time at The Amanda Ranch in New Mexico to rest and write. This ministry has been an incredible blessing to many hurting families already, with more to be helped in the coming months. Pray that God continues to use The Amanda Ranch for those who need it most. Check out theamandaranch.com to learn more about this ministry.

Those who know me understand that I am an avid reader of American history. The First Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill George Washington by Brad Meltzer  and Josh Mensch explores a relatively unknown part of American history. Our Founding Fathers were extraordinary men who were willing to pay the ultimate price. There are many great quotes in this book, but the following by George Washington stood out as the most powerful to me. It is an excerpt from a letter he wrote to his troops after discovering the internal conspiracy to take his life.

“The time is now near at hand, which must probably determine whether Americans are to be…consigned to a state of wretchedness, from which no human efforts will probably deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us no choice, but a brave resistance or the most abject submission. This is all that we can expect. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.”

Every American has the responsibility to know our history, understand how it impacts our lives today, and pass on these lessons to the next generation.

May we never forget the selfless acts of great Americans, including their willingness to pay the ultimate price for the benefit of future generations. As Americans and Christians, may we not simply rest in the shadows of such greatness but be willing to make similar sacrifices for liberty, truth, and right. George Washington had no idea he would become the hero and icon of freedom that he is today. He believed in the cause of liberty and was willing to die for it.

May we be willing to take a stand, absent of fear and regardless of the consequences.