Beech Tree News Network

      Two people fighting in the church and causing discord, disharmony, and distancing among themselves and others. What a shame and embarrassment to the Lord, the church, and the community!  Wake up brethren!  God is not pleased with this. In fact, In Philippians 4:2 we read, “I implore Euodia and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. “  Paul was begging, while he was in prison, two women who were more selfish than selfless. They were hurting the church. What a disgrace!

Theodore Seuss Geisel(March 2, 1904-September 24, 1991) was an American children’s author, poet, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator and filmmaker.  He is known for his work writing and illustrating more than 60 books under the pen name Dr. Seuss.  His work includes many of the most popular children’s books of all time, selling over 600 million copies and being translated into more than 20 languages by the time of his death.

A couple of days ago, I started singing that song, “Buckle-up for Safety,” from the 1964 National Safety Council ad campaign.  You remember the one.

               Buckle up for safety.  Buckle up.

               Buckle up for safety.  Always buckle up.

               Show the world you care, by the belt you wear.

Psalms are a special kind of work. There are several psalms grouped together at times for the sake of continuity and similarity in subject. Psalms 3-6 are such psalms. They are alternating “morning” and “evening” prayers in song. Psalms 3 and 5 are considered “morning” prayers/psalms to God, while Psalms 4 and 6 are considered “evening” prayers/psalms. He does not want to fall into the hands of men (II Sam. 24:14) but throws himself at the mercy of God (Ps. 6:1-2)!

Ever have days or times in your life where you feel like you are hanging on a tree limb, way up high, struggling to keep from falling and crashing to the hard ground below?  Sure you have. But the Christian knows God will ultimately keep you from total disaster. We may experience some difficult times, but we believe God will help us survive and go to Heaven.  That is trusting in God on that tree limb. 

Having just come off the Indy 500, I had the question I have every year around the event: why do the winners drink milk? Every sport has its quirky traditions.  Hockey players grow beards in the post-season, baseball players don’t talk about a picture when he’s throwing perfect games, and Indy 500 winners drink milk in the winner’s circle.  Like any great story, this has escalation.

Earlier in the spring – since neither of us had been, a friend and I traveled to Texas. Texas is well populated and has some of the largest cities in the nation. We spent our time in San Antonio and Waco. Our visits to the Alamo and the River Walk in San Antonio as well as to Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Silos in Waco were highlights of the trip.

Do you know how many dead sticks I’ve planted with no living trees to show for my effort?  Five, that’s how many.  Five!  It’s not my fault, really.  They kept sending them to me, so I kept planting them.  THEY are the people at those mail order nurseries.  The pictures show beautiful flowering trees, guaranteed to thrive under the right conditions.  They even send a planting guide with each purchase, which I confess I didn’t read with the first dead stick, but did read with every subsequent one.

I am amazed to see the lifestyle of those in the Middle East. Businesses, governments, and families are in a literal “war zone.” These folks have lived this way for centuries. David knew war (I Chron. 28:3), Abraham knew war (Gen. 14:14-17), Moses knew war (Ex. 17:8-16, etc.), as did many others.

Our nation pauses on Memorial Day to remember the more than 1.3 million Americans who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedom and preserve our liberties.

Since, like Ronald Reagan stated in his “A Time for Choosing” speech, “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction” and it doesn’t get passed on “to our children in the bloodstream,” it’s critical that we ensure liberty’s torch gets “handed on for them to do the same.”