Beech Tree News Network

I love this season.  Even when my funds are low, and I am scrambling to come up with gift ideas to fit my budget, I still love this season.  I like to give gifts, I like having a license to eat candy and pie, and I like shopping at the mall with all the other shoppers who are just as crazy as I am.  The experience offers a camaraderie you can’t find at any other time of the year.

Thanksgiving is always a special holiday for many of us, because it gives us a chance to gather with family and friends to reflect on the great blessings that we enjoy in our country.

I am sure that our readers have heard people say words to the effect, “If you are not a Christian, all you need to do is call upon the name of the Lord, and you can be saved.” Some will teach that in order to be saved, you must say, “Lord, be merciful to me a sinner,” or similar things. Such teaching is a misapplication of what is said in Romans 10:13. There, the apostle Paul wrote, “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? Let us read the context of Romans 10 and find out.

I never tried my hand at poetry much. But Mrs. Kitchens out at Leetown once had a rooster named D-Gall. We liked Mrs. Kitchens a lot. When Bett and I would visit her, she’d always entertain us with the exploits of D-Gall (de gaulle). She gave him that name, “Because he was so proud and dignified.”When I got first wife Bett a big rooster for her birthday, she promptly named him D-Gall. He stands in the middle of our kitchen table. He has good manners. I wrote a poem about him- absent his good manners:
Growing up we had a rooster named D-Gall

In the Presidential Proclamation for American Education Week, 2012, the President of the United States said: “All children deserve access to a world-class education and the chance to pursue their dreams. Our schools are a gateway to those opportunities and the key to our Nation's economic prosperity and civic life.

I can’t sleep.  I’ve been like this for quite a long stretch.  I’ve tried all of my friends’ recommendations, except for warm milk, the thought of which is enough to keep me awake.  I have a room-darkening shade, and I get more than average physical activity.  I’ve tried every over-the-counter sleep aid on the market, and some home-made ones that would never get past the FDA.  I’ve read the phone book, listened to AM talk radio, and watched a marathon of Christmas romance movies on the Lifetime Movie Chanel (all in one sitting), any one of which should have pushed me right into a coma.

On Sunday, November 11th many of us will celebrate Veterans Day.  Not only do we pay tribute to the soldiers who are fighting to protect our nation, but we also pause in reverence to their valiant service. 

The 46th annual CMA Awards were held Thursday November 1st.  Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church kicked off the show performing “The Only Way I Know” from Aldean’s Night Train album.  After a funny skit by hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, they introduced Tim McGraw to sing his new single “One Of These Nights”. 

Not too unusual for one guy to show up with a sack-full of French harps, and not be able to play any of them a lick. But what is unusual is for two different guys at two different places, at two different times, show up with a sack-full of French harps and neither of them not be able to play a lick.

One year ago, I began following my physician’s advice to increase my activity and to choose healthier foods. My fight against obesity is not a new fight: I’ve been fighting weight gain for two decades. And, it is a battle.