Beech Tree News Network

Last January, I bought myself a new dining room table and chairs.  I bought only six chairs at the time, because they were a bit pricey.  This past September, I decided to go ahead and purchase two more chairs in order to complete the set.

     INAPPROPRIATE- There is a phrase that I am getting just a little bit weary of hearing. I just sort of ignored it the first few times I heard it, then it only mildly irritated me, as it seemed to persist and invade common usage but now, I have heard it enough that it is beginning to really tick me off. That phrase is “ I am getting really tired of all this political correctness!” That's right, you read that correctly, I did not say I am getting tired of political correctness, I said I am getting tired of hearing people complain about it and I will explain exactly why.
    

The season of frigid nights, warm gatherings, and good cheer is upon us as we prepare for 2018. This year was a whirlwind in the General Assembly as we passed historic legislation in the 2017 Session, held insightful policy discussions across the Commonwealth during the Interim, and analyzed proposed pension reform.

Another year has now come and gone, and as mayor, I have said before that it is very important to be entirely transparent, and to keep the citizens of Morgantown informed about all that has happened over the past year. 

Ever think about how the things we look at and watch AFFECT us?  I’m speaking mainly of programs on TV;  about TV movies too. 

I recall when my daddy and mother got their first TV.  Right soon after daddy got hooked on professional wrestling.  Cause it was and is as real as , “I’ll pay you Saturday” - turns out they didn’t say WHICH Saturday. 

Although daddy was an extremely sensible man, he would take anybody to task who said TV wrestling wasn’t on the up-and-up:

A couple of weeks ago, my granddaughter, Sabria, got her large candy cane out of Christmas storage.  Her friend Jazz was there, and Sabria wanted to show it off.  She has had the cane since she was four years old.  It is made of very hard plastic and is the size of an actual cane, so she uses it as a walking stick during the holiday season.
    I was in the kitchen, when the girls brought the cane to me, Sabria in tears.  It was in three pieces.  “Can you fix it, Gee?” she asked.
    “I’m not sure,” I said, “I’ll do my best.”

Many years ago, Mr. Thomas Hall (1610-1665) said, “We must not so much as taste of the devil’s broth, lest at last he brings us to eat of his beef.” This statement sounds funny at first, but Mr. Hall understood something that few people today seem to understand. That is, that sin is a progressive thing. Therefore, to play around with sin will bring sure and certain destruction.

SEASON OF HOPE - In a column written not too long ago, I mentioned that as part of an exercise in examining our faith at the place my family worships at, we all were invited to write our own personal psalm. We had learned that many of the psalms had been written as really a crying out to God sort of asking why things are the way they are. I said I might reprint here sometime and I think this is the right time. It basically wonders if God is really capable of understanding what we humans go through when hope is running low.