I'm an Aussie!!! Hooray

I do have some photo's of Sione becoming an Australian Citizen last night, but for now I want to tell you how I feel about it all..Sione was so proud to take on this privilege. And we were proud of him.
He was the loudest in the whole room when we got to sing Advance Australia Fair....and we sang along with him proudly.
He was told that in his declaration he could say ...well I'll write what they had to say.

From this time forward, under God,
I pledge my loyalty to Australia and it's people, whose democratic beliefs I share,
whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.

They were told that if they didn't want to, they didn't need to say UNDER GOD.
there were 32 who received the privilege of citizenship and only about 10% included under God in their declaration.....I can understand that some who have been brought up under different beliefs that this could be foreign to them but NOT nearly all of them..
It saddened me to see so many that declined to acknowledge Him.....We are so blessed to be living in this country and we surely Have God to thank for it......and I might add all those that fought for our freedom and lifestyle.
Personally I thought that there could have been more said about being an Australian and what that really means...rather the speech that was given was to much on bringing their cultures into this Country....for me I would rather have seen what Australia is all about and them becoming Australians. Of course you never forget the Country you were born in and of course there is loyalty that goes with that....but if you take on Citizenship...you are now an Aussie.....I am tolerant of other cultures, we have different Cultures in our own family.... but the Aussie Culture is being drowned, by us being too liberal....so now I will get of my soap box...but you can see I feel very strong about this.
So that is why the song.
Consider the Lilies...My very favourite Hymn of all time.... it's because I feel so blessed and so considered and ever grateful for the life I have and the country that I myself have become a Citizen of.