Cannot attack / chop trees for wood

Good afternoon/evening Team Mojang;

Just purchased first realm and created world. After logging into world I was able to explore and collect items such as flowers, seeds & sugarcane just like regular play in single player mode. I even punched a zombie to death! After switching to peaceful mode, I went to start harvesting some lumber. Attacking the tree proved futile, well into to 30 second mark. After swapping back and forth, trying creative mode, completely logging out & restarting minecraft. Same issue remained. Use give command for diamond tools. Still trees will not chop to wood. Attempted to dig & mine stone. Some dirt blocks where cleared in 1-3 clicks, others (standing right next to or underneath seemed invulnerable. Stone...of any type I tried also did not break. I even tried standing both right next to the type of flock, as well as various lengths away. Still no good for harvesting wood or stone.