Beech Tree News Network

This summer, Garey and I have been teaching Sabria how to do practical things.  When Garey and I married—nearly 50 years ago—I didn’t have a lot of practical knowledge.  I was raised on a farm, so I knew how to carry water from the creek to water the hogs.  I could hang clothes on a clothesline, take them down and fold them, but I didn’t know very much about how a washing machine worked.  I knew how to wash dishes but not how to cook, because my stepmom didn’t want us around when she was in the kitchen.  Garey and his mom, Aggie, taught me how to cook, and I will be forever grateful to them

“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...” (Psalm 27:4). David wanted one thing, to live in the presence of God. That kind of singular focus is an abiding spiritual principle that shows up in the New Testament as well.

On the eve of the millennium, as some partied like it’s 1999, others believed the end of the ‘90’s marked a countdown to the end of the world.  Y2K was a computer anomaly that experts said could bring global Armageddon.  I have good news to report: that did not happen.  Oddly enough, computer engineer Peter De Jager warned about Y2K in 1979!

I love the month of June. I think my fondness began when I was a young teacher and my children were small. I enjoyed the long days with my kiddos, knowing we had a few weeks to relax. In more recent years, I have enjoyed my grandchildren having a day – or more – to spend with Granny.

My stepmom has Dementia.  She is 92 years old and doesn’t know who she is—she calls my stepsister, Lorrie, by her own name, Roberta—and she thinks I’m her granddaughter.  She lives with Lorrie and her husband, in a mother-in-law apartment, which adjoins their house.  My other siblings and I believe she would be better off in an assisted living facility.  My stepmom has enough money for that, but Lorrie doesn’t agree.  Instead, my stepmom has 24-7 live-in caregivers in her apartment.  I feel bad for my stepmom, because she is confined to 4 rooms with no windows to look out of.  The door has

In the ‘90’s, black comedy on television is enjoying a moment.  Shows such as Martin (one of my favorites),

I’ve always been a big fan of organization—don’t look at my bedroom, though.  (I tripped over something in there last night, and I have a big bruise on my knee, and a small knot on the back of my head.)  I like things boxed up or stored in plastic bins, and I’m always repositioning things for maximum use and aesthetics, so it would stand to reason that I would admire the inventors of cardboard and plastic.  

Why doesn’t God do something? That is essentially the question Habakkuk asked. That is like the questions we sometimes look around and ask. “If God is all powerful, then why does he allow evil and suffering?” “Does he notice all the troubles that take place in the world?”  The prophet was really asking “Does God care?” 

Memorial Day, observed on the last Monday of May, is a solemn day of remembrance for the men and women who have died in military

At the start of the ‘90’s, tv news goes tabloid.  Sex scandals, gruesome murders, reporters going rogue was all the rage.  The public sees a chance to cash in.  For decades, the nightly news in America was a serious affair.  In the ‘90’s, not so much.