The Daily Stand: A Letter to America’s Families

My fellow patriots and people of faith,

I want to share something with you today, something America’s Founders understood in their bones, something written into the very fabric of our Declaration of Independence: that our rights come from God, not from government, not from man, but from our Creator.

When Thomas Jefferson penned those immortal words, “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” he wasn’t just crafting political theory. He was acknowledging a truth that makes us free: that we answer first to God, and that accountability shapes everything about how we live and lead.

I’ve been thinking about what it takes to lead a family in these times, to raise children who understand liberty, responsibility, and faith. The writer of the book of Hebrews gives us three disciplines that work not just for spiritual life, but for preserving the principles that made America exceptional:

1. Listen to God’s voice daily. Our Founders called this Divine Providence. They sought wisdom beyond themselves. In your home, this means starting each day by acknowledging that ultimate authority doesn’t rest with you, with schools, or with government. It rests with God. When we teach our children that rights come from the Creator, we’re teaching them something radical: that no earthly power can legitimately take those rights away.
2. Encourage one another. The Founders didn’t act alone. They encouraged one another, challenged each other, and held each other accountable. In your family, this means building each other up in truth and virtue. Not the hollow “self-esteem” of modern culture, but the genuine confidence that comes from doing what’s right and standing for what’s true. It means your dinner table becomes a place where faith, freedom, and responsibility are discussed openly.
3. Don’t harden your hearts. Here’s where the parallel becomes powerful. A hardened heart, in a person or a nation, stops listening, stops learning, stops caring about truth. The Founders feared this above almost everything else. They knew that when people became comfortable with tyranny, soft from ease, or indifferent to injustice, freedom would die. In your home, this means staying true to your convictions, being willing to admit when you’re wrong, and keeping your conscience sharp.

When you get what you wanted, are you better for it? Does it satisfy?

Think about that in terms of our nation. We’ve pursued comfort, entertainment, ease. We’ve traded eternal principles for temporary pleasures. We’ve let the government promise us security in exchange for liberty. And now we look around and ask: Are we better? Are we satisfied? Was the trade worth it?

The same question applies in our homes. What are we pursuing? What are we teaching our children to value? Are we raising them to chase whatever feels good, or to stand for what is good?

Leading your family to honor God and our founding principles isn’t complicated, but it is daily. It’s a choice you make each morning:

• Will you seek God’s wisdom first? (Not the world’s opinion, not social media, not even your own understanding.)
• Will you build up your household in truth? (Teaching them that freedom requires virtue, that rights come with responsibilities, that our Creator expects us to use our liberty for good.)
• Will you keep your heart soft to conviction? (Admitting when you’re wrong, correcting course, showing your children that integrity matters more than pride.)

These aren’t just spiritual disciplines. They’re the foundations of a free republic. John Adams, the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801, said it plainly: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.“

If we want to preserve the principles that made America a beacon of liberty, we must preserve them first in our homes. We must teach our children that rights come from God, which means we’re accountable to Him for how we use those rights.

Today, this very day that God has given you, you have the opportunity to lead your family well. To listen for His voice. To encourage your spouse, your children, and your community in righteousness and liberty. To keep your heart tender to truth.

This is how we preserve what the Founders gave us. Not primarily through politics or programs, but through faithful families who understand that freedom isn’t free, rights aren’t arbitrary, and God isn’t finished with America yet.

The question is: Will we be faithful today?

Stand firm,

A Fellow Traveler in Faith and Freedom

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“We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion… Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

– John Adams