Beech Tree News Network

The podcast has its origins in 1980.  It was first known as audio-blogging.  With the advent of broadband broadband internet and portable digital audio playback devices such as the iPod, it began to really catch fire late in 2004.  Combining the words iPod and Broadcasting, everybody and their brother seems to have a podcast.  Sportscasters, personalities and players have podcasts.  A lot of wrestling personalities these days have podcasts.

Recently, my mom told me a story about her grandmother – one I had not heard before. During a flu epidemic, my great-grandmother helped people in her community who were sick and helped to “lay out” those who died as a result of the flu. Although in close contact with the flu, she didn’t get sick.

Even though she graduated high school over forty years ago, my sister-in-law, Charlotte, will never let my mother-in-law, Aggie, forget that she made her young daughter wear socks to school her senior year, instead of buying nylon hose for her like all the other girls were wearing at the time. 
    “I wore socks my senior year,” Charlotte says, in her best Aggie impression, “If they were good enough for me, they’re good enough for you.”  Charlotte makes a point to remind Aggie of all the things that were good enough for her own mom, but weren’t imposed on the young Agnes. 

Abraham Lincoln once said, “No man has a good enough memory to make a successful liar.” George Washington was quoted as saying, “I hope I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” In a time in which lying to one another (and to ourselves) seems to be in epidemic proportions, let us look to the Bible and see what God says about lying.
 

My second Snapple column has arrived.  Why a column about Snapple, you ask? No, it’s a Snapple cap column.  Here are a few more interesting tidbits that you probably wouldn’t ordinarily realize.  I know I wouldn’t.

For many years, my late husband read The Old Farmer’s Almanac (with a yellow cover). I haven’t seen the 2015 issue of that publication. But, while shopping last month, I picked up the Harris’ Farmer’s Almanac 2015. Although Harris’s book contained calendar information, it was also packed with other information.

Yesterday, I spent the better part of an hour trying to make a cut-out snowflake the way my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Anderson, taught me.  My granddaughter wanted one, and after several failed attempts, I went online and found a tutorial on YouTube that jogged my memory enough that I was able to pull one off.  The project reminded me just how many pieces of information I possess that I can credit to a teacher.

 It is not uncommon for men to marvel at things. However, the Son of God marveling at something merits our attention. In two places in the New Testament, it says Jesus marveled. One time, Jesus marveled at men’s faith. In Matthew 8:5-10, we read, “And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

Happy New Year! In my first column of 2015(we’ll see if I remember to write -15 on my checks), I will talk about an article I read on the internet yesterday.  A friend on Facebook shared WFIE 14 Evansville’s story about an Oklahoma City Senator who wants to make it illegal for residents to wear clothing that covers their face, including hooded sweatshirts.

Winter has arrived. New Year’s resolutions have – or haven’t – been made, and most people are back on their regular work or school schedules. Since many of us dipped into our savings for Christmas, it seems like a good time to cut back on spending.