Beech Tree News Network

God has always required obedience from His people if they wished to be blessed. To show that this true, please read Exodus 39:32, Numbers 1:54, and 2:34. In these passages, we read that the children of Israel “did according to all the Lord commanded Moses ….” These three passages set the tone for our study. It is important that we read these passages and understand the degree of obedience the Israelites showed, because God demands no less of us today (Heb. 5:9; Rev. 22:14).

NOWHERE TO GO-THE other day my son came home after a brief outing with his mother, Pokemon hunting or something, I don't really remember but as he passed the room I was in, he shot me a look which I know, from several years of experience, meant he was deeply disappointed in me. I immediately tried to find out what was going on but he just said “I don't want to talk about it.” I was a little worried that his mother had painted an unfavorable image of me by revealing something I did in the past but it turned out she had only told him the story about the time I almost won the lottery.

Yonderin’ again-see-voo-play. Colloquialisms and malapropisms make for interesting thought.  ‘Not exactly the same; they are more like first cousins. Growing up, I used to hear coal miners talk about, “Over again the rib,” and the “li-way”; over against the rib referred to the wall of the mine-the rib. “Li-way” (Lie away): Where the mine coal was parked-both empties and loaded cars. Inside and outside the mine.

This week, I take a detour from my county series to talk about something that I have grown to greatly enjoy: attending St. Louis Cardinals baseball games.  Much like a kid’s trip to get an ice cream, going to a game is, for me, a special treat.  As I write this, I’m watching Bowling Green East All-Stars in LLWS and Carson Myers hit a 3-run homer.  I cracked “The St. Louis Cardinals could’ve used you last night, boy”.

Women’s Equality Day is August 26. This year is the 96th anniversary of American women winning the right to vote. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution declared that women, like men, deserved all the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. As a woman, I am thankful for that right.

FALSE START:  Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little to my name to call my own, besides youth and vigor and the ill-conceived wisdom of knowing all there is to know, which almost invariably accompanies youth; I set out on a journey.

Now that our granddaughter, Sabria, and her mom have moved out of our house, it’s a real treat when she comes to visit.  Garey and I have learned that it’s no use planning anything, because she is going to latch on to some idea that comes to her mind, and we will all be going along for the ride.

In the continued discussions about alcohol and what the Bible allows, it is good for us to walk through the New Testament and see what God said about this subject. The apostle Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament, condemned the use of alcohol in his writings. For example, the New Testament says drunkenness will lead us to Hell. This is not my opinion. Rather, these are the words of the inspired apostle Paul (I Cor. 14:37). Read Galatians 5:19-21 as well as I Corinthians 6:9-11.

I may be the only one in our region who didn’t know this: National Senior Citizens Day is August 21. It’s an observance, not a holiday. In 1988, former President Ronald Reagan declared August 21 to be National Senior Citizens Day. He wanted to honor senior citizens who had made contributions in their communities and to increase awareness of social, health, and economic issues affecting them (http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/senior-citizens-day). What a nice idea.

One time first wife Bett and I were at a funeral.  This old guy behind us kept talking out loud.  When Bett and I got home I said to her, “I’m going to get you a low-caliber pistol, and if I ever talk out loud at a funeral, I want you to sting me in the foot with it.”