Beech Tree News Network

The hustle and bustle of the winter holidays is well underway and the cool crispness of the autumn air is turning towards winter frost. Even as the weather changes and the holiday season comes upon us, we are still busy in Frankfort with interim joint committee meetings as well as planning for the 2017 Session of the General Assembly.

My granddaughter loves the whole dream catcher concept, and she insisted we have one for our bedpost in order to catch the bad dreams when she stays the night at our house.  She also wanted a big one to hang over her own bed at her house, so I contacted my friend, Kathy Dockery, who lived out west for a time where she learned the finer points of dream catchers, and asked her to make a pink one for Sabria. Kathy showed up at our shop with a beautiful dream catcher and a small beaded ring that Sabria loves. (Kathy makes all sorts of eye-catching jewelry from the small beads.)

    The subject of gluttony is misunderstood by many. Sometimes, after some big meal, someone will jokingly say, “I hope the preacher doesn’t preach on gluttony on Sunday.” When I have preached against such sins as smoking, drinking alcohol, and other things, some will try to justify their sins by asking, “People today are guilty of eating too much. Isn’t gluttony a sin, too?” Friends, gluttony is a sin. What we fail to recognize is that the sin of gluttony encompasses more than merely eating too much.

Well, I do believe the colors of fall have left. It was a very short “color” season this year and I hate that because the colors are what makes fall so beautiful. But, photos like this are always good to look back on. I captured this early on a fall morning at Shanty Hollow. The colors were so awesome against the fog.

It doesn’t take much at all to make me happy, this picture is proof. There is so much beauty surrounding us every day. Never let it just pass you by.

GATHERING TOGETHER

On January 3, 1829, Kentucky governor Thomas Metcalfe signed into law a statute forming Hancock County from parts of Breckinridge, Daviess and Ohio counties to become Kentucky’s 85th county.  The county was named in honor of Boston patriot John Hancock, who headed the Continental Congress and became the most notable signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Last week, I spent a couple of hours reading MSN and following links. I found several topics that interested me. A few of those are summarized below. If you want more information about a topic, please go to the website listed.
 

    Wonderings and wanderings: I think sometimes I ought to change the name of my column to just that: Wonderings and Wanderings-short verses of script. Maybe it's because frequently I can't seem to keep a senisble thought in my head for very long. Or maybe I have too many thoughts at keep them properly seperated and cataloged.

When my youngest daughter, Nikki, was about ten or twelve, she and I and some of her friends were watching the movie, “The War,” together.  The movie is about a Viet Nam veteran trying to adapt to civilian life and struggling to make a living for his family in a rural community, where jobs are few and far between.  He and his kids are picked on by a family of bullies next door.  One night at the local carnival, the dad leaves his son by the car as he goes back to get cotton candy to take home to his wife and daughter.  While he is gone, the bullies show up and pounce on the young boy.  The