Beech Tree News Network

Unfortunately poor sportsmanship and even physical altercations are becoming more common across the sports world and that includes high school sports in Kentucky.  Just this past week an incident took place at a boys' basketball game between Butler County and Ohio County.  Two players were ejected after a melee at half-court.  Both players are looking at two-game suspensions, which doesn't appear to be quite fair based on the video we watched.  From our perspective, the Ohio County player seemed to be the one who initiated the altercation.

When we consider God’s authority, many will pay lip-service to it, but few seem to realize just how far God’s authority extends. We live in a time when men wish to have some authority “for themselves.” They want to be able to “call the shots” and run their own lives. This is just not possible. The sooner we recognize the extent of God’s authority over us, the better off we will be. What is the extent of God’s authority over man?
 

"All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” and “All I Want for Christmas Is You’ led me to wonder how people would actually complete that sentence. So, I asked friends and family. Their responses are listed below:

Southspeak: What true Southerners say and don’t say…and do.
-You don’t “make” breakfast; you FIX breakfast. By the same token, you don’t “make” chicken. The rooster and hen do that. By the way the CHICKEN came first: Genesis, Chapter 1 – “God created every winged bird according to its kind.” The egg is never mentioned in the creation – fact is “eggs and/or eggs”, are only mentioned seven times in the Bible, but not in the context of creation.

When my daughter, Nikki, went from our cell phone plan to her own, she had to sign an AT&T form called, “Transfer of Responsibility.”  Nikki and I laughed over the form’s title, and I told her she was really going to have to be responsible now that it was in writing—they probably even filed it with her high school permanent record.  I thought about the term, “transfer of responsibility,” many times after coming across it, and I realized it had become a theme in my own life. 

Since the days when settlers began moving west from Virginia, tobacco has played an intricate role in the economy of Kentucky by providing jobs and income to our farmers, and a boost to supporting state and local government.

One thing that is lacking in this world is the wisdom of God. What can one study, or read to obtain God’s wisdom? Please read the verses listed below carefully and be ready to make some applications.

•    “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

•    “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word” (Psalm 119:16).

•    “Give me understanding, that I may keep your law and observe it with my whole heart” (Psalm 119:34).

The recent death of Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), a South African leader recognized numerous times for his activism, caused many to pause and consider his life. He was a hero and greatly admired for his achievements. His death prompted me to consider the people I admire, and I realized there are many.

“Iss” and “AT”
--How good is GPS?
    Fellow came to my house; “Are you Fuzz Goodwin,” he asked. “No,” I said. “Well my GPS says this is Fuzz’s house” he argued.
    “Well,” I said, “You’d better do whatever it is you do to make that thing stop lying to you; Fuzz lives about a mile over yonder – way.” I pointed. Some satellite is off-course maybe?

Sometimes, when the life has been knocked out of me, and I’m all out of mustard seeds, I depend on other people’s faith; not as a substitute for unbelief, but as a bolster against exhaustion, sorrow or fear.  These people are there for me when I can’t be there for myself.