"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."

Thus begins one of the most well-known and loved treatises of the American Revolution. Written in 1776 after the great difficulties of the initial engagements with the enemy, General Washington thought so much of this first installment of what would become a book of 13 essays, that he had it read to the troops at Valley Forge. We present here the first essay only, but in its entirety. Enjoy!

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C S Lewis' SURPRISED BY JOY, Chapter 5, Part Two

Simple Gifts is the gift of time and freedom. It is the simple presentation of the written word spoken without commentary. Join us in ruminating on great stories, poems, history, philosophy, theology, art and science. Amidst chaos, find the “valley of love and delight,” a true simplicity, where “to bow and to bend we will not be ashamed,”  where we can ponder the greatest words ever written, turning them over and over, “till by turning, turning, we come round right.”