Beech Tree News Network

Power
Harness that word and hold it in your heart a moment.
Can you feel a change?
Say it aloud.
POWER.
Such a strong word, robust, vital, awesome, yet encouraging.
Webster's dictionary defines power as the ability or capacity to act or perform effectively. A force exerted. A product derived from effort.
Power also means authority.
When I think of all the heroes in the Bible, they all had one thing in common. Power. Not of their own, for they were simple, ordinary people.
We are designed by God to function as free-willed agents. How we choose to implement our powers defines who we are.
I challenge you to practice that which God has instilled in each of us.
     Power to conquer the fears that immobilize the mind
     Power to conquer the worry that destroys the spirit
     Power to rise above mediocrity
     Power to be gentle where hardness abounds
     Power to replace wrong with right
     Power  the unlovable

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PICTURE, if you will,
     A group of people mingling, waiting,
     Their voices hushed in quiet expectation,
     Their eyes wide in hope and wonder.

Picture, if you will,
     One, still some distance away,
     Taking purposeful strides towards them.
     The face wears a tenderness,
     An aura of contentment.
     The smile is serene, uncomplicated.
     This face as known hardship and heartache.
     This face also knows love and harmony.

Picture, if you will,
     A mirror.

II Cor 3:18

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A TRIBUTE TO LANETTE

My sister turns 60 in a few days. She will tell you, "When I grow up, I . . . " but she never has a chance to finish.

"Grandma, Grandma," a little one comes running to her, "look what I found for you, or, look what I made for you." He scrambles into her lap while she pulls him close to herself. They snuggle and cuddle. They Oooh and Aaah. Then he's off, ready for his next adventure. She has done this with her own two children, but it was never often enough. All too soon her son and daughter had joined the grown-up world. They became harried parents themselves. My sister has been blessed with seven little treasures.

She understands what an important job she has nurturing these precious, young lives. She understands the value of a childhood and tries to see the world from their perspective. How like their parents, in their habits, their personalities, yet so completely unique. Give them roots and wings, she says. Their heritage has been established. Their future is full of promise.

Why would anyone want to grow up and leave that world that was fun and fascinating? Being a grown-up isn't all that fun; one must study hard and work hard. The grandkids bring you into their level. They see things in a way that you once did, with awe and enthusiasm, with spontaneity, completely absorbed. While we must consider this or that, make choices, watch the clock, they remind us to simply live in the moment. I'm here and this is now. Let's make the most of it.

With all my love. Juliene

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Works by Juliene Shockley