America is turning 250, and I want to say something directly from my heart:

Be encouraged. Not a little encouraged. Deeply encouraged.

I say this because I’ve had many people in my circle tell me they are worried, upset, and concerned about the news they are hearing. And here’s what I have to say about that: turn off the news — also known these days as “the propaganda.”

As President Trump has said from the very beginning, “It’s fake news.” He’s been saying it since the day he came down the escalator, and we have all found out — he was right.

So instead of being glum, look around this country.

Look past the noise, the anger, the corruption, the fear, the headlines, and the people who seem determined to make Americans feel ashamed of the greatest nation God ever allowed man to build.

America is still standing.

For nearly 250 years, we have endured wars, depressions, bad economies, stolen freedoms, government overreach, attacks on our faith, attacks on our families, attacks on our children, and attacks on the very liberties our founders pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to secure.

We endured the dark days of COVID, when Americans were told to close their churches, shut down their businesses, stay away from their families, cover their faces, and surrender their freedoms in the name of government control.

And yet, here we are.

You may not love President Trump. You may not like his style. You may not agree with every word he says. But you would have to be willfully blind not to see that something has shifted in America again.

There is a cleaning up taking place. There is a renewal of strength. There is beauty being restored to the White House, order being restored to the streets of Washington, D.C., and patriotism being awakened in the hearts of Americans who were told for too long to sit down, be quiet, and apologize for loving their country.

Well, no more.

The flag is flying again.
The songs are being sung again.
The people are standing again.
And faith is rising again.

After years of watching Democrats and their freedom-stealing policies tear at the fabric of this nation — mocking faith, weakening families, crushing small businesses, weaponizing government, and acting as if America herself was the problem — I am encouraged.

I am encouraged because the American spirit is hard to kill.

I am encouraged because the same Lord who guided our founders through impossible odds has not abandoned this nation.

John Adams once wrote that America’s independence should be celebrated “with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”

In today’s words: go celebrate this Republic.

Have the picnic. Watch the fireworks. Wave the flag. Sing the songs. Thank the veterans. Pray over your children. Bless your family. Thank God for the freedoms we still have — and ask Him for the courage to protect them.

America has been bruised, betrayed, tested, stretched, and shaken.

But she has not been defeated.

This nation was built by ordinary people with extraordinary courage — people who believed liberty came from God, not government. And there are still millions of us who believe the same thing today.

We have the DNA of our founding fathers in us — and we should never, ever forget that.

So on America’s 250th birthday, do not give in to despair. Do not let the angry fake crowd steal your joy. Do not let the enemies of freedom convince you this country is finished.

They are wrong.

And they are on the wrong side of history.

Be encouraged, America.

God is not finished with us yet. Thank Him for that — and ask Him to keep us in check as a nation that loves Him.

That, my friend, is the answer to continuing the greatest country on Earth.

Happy Fourth of July, and God bless America on her 250th birthday!