Animals/Nature Archives - Page 17 of 21

Out of the Blue

May 5, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

A friend recently sent me a gift out of the blue. I was not expecting it. I did nothing to deserve it.

Like lightning striking unexpectedly in a clear blue sky, events sometimes happen out of the blue.

They occur suddenly.
We receive no notice.
They may be good or bad.

Occasionally we understand why events occur out of the blue.

Scientists can usually explain sudden weather changes.
My friend knew of my interest in her gift.

However, other events remain a mystery.

We may not always understand events in our lives. We can make a positive difference.

Try secretly performing an act of kindness. You may plan it or do it out of the blue. For the other person, it will definitely appear out of the blue. What a great way to start any day!

“You will not be afraid of sudden disaster, or when destruction overtakes the wicked; for the LORD will be the source of your confidence” (Proverbs 3:25-26 NET).

What are your favorite acts of kindness? Please comment below

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Hang On for Dear Life

April 28, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

An older cousin taught me to swim here. Her first lesson: how to kick.

She told me to find holes in the rocks to get a grip. I then raised my legs and kicked. If I let go, I went under the water. After falling and choking a few times, I learned to hold tightly – to hang on for dear life.

Occasionally my sister or another cousin yelled “snake.” Of course, I screamed and would hang on tighter then.

Eventually I finished my lessons. I still love to swim.

Sometimes our lives seem to fall apart at the seams. When that happens, we hang on for dear life to what matters most. Those hard times can teach us the most valuable lessons.

I now hang on to:

Family
Friends
Faith

I know if I lose the first two, I can survive with the third. The best part of placing my faith in Jesus: I don’t have to hang on for dear life. Jesus holds on to me and will never let go.

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” John 10:28 NIV).

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Until the Cows Come Home

April 21, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

We wait until the cows come home for a new job.

We wait until the cows come home for the love of our life to call.

We wait until the cows come home for a vacation.

Waiting is hard. Waiting a long time is very hard. Waiting until the cows come home … seems to take forever. What we wait for may happen, but who knows when?

If you watch cows move from one place to another, they usually take a long time.

They don’t rush.
They move their ears and tails to brush away flies.
They chew.
They often walk together in a single file down a well-worn path.

If you want to see slow, watch cows.

Some farmers move cows from one pasture to another so they have enough grass to eat. They often move the cows in early spring or summer. They return the cows in late autumn. That’s a long time until the cows come home.

Farmers who milk cows usually milk them early morning and late afternoon. That’s a long day in the field until the cows return to the barn at night.

Perhaps we need a little of a cow’s patience. When we tire of waiting, remember:

Don’t rush.
Get rid of unnecessary distractions.
Be satisfied with basic needs.
Follow the right path.

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains” (James 5:7 NIV).

Special thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and link to this and other cattle based idioms.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Fresh Start

March 31, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 14 comments

We all need a fresh start occasionally.

We lose a job and need a new one.
We hurt someone and need forgiveness.
We make bad choices and need another chance.

A fresh start means a new beginning. We start over.

A fresh start gives hope. We look for better days ahead, much like:

Springtime arrives after a long hard winter.
We build a new fence after the old one falls apart.
New flowers bloom through dead grass and leaves.

The message of Easter offers the greatest fresh start of all. Jesus died on a cross on Friday, but he rose from the grave on Sunday. He defeated death and sin.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we receive new life. We gain God’s love, peace, hope, and joy. We still have problems, but the problems will not defeat us. In addition, we have the promise of an eternal home in heaven.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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High on the Hog

March 24, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

Some people live and eat high on the hog. They enjoy the good life. They surround themselves with luxury.

Farmers who raise hogs (pigs) understand the expression. So do butchers who cut the meat. The best cuts of pork come from the back and upper parts of a pig’s leg. Therefore, we find the most expensive cuts high on the hog.

Wealthy people can afford to live high on the hog. Of course, the expression refers to more than their food. It includes a rich lifestyle:

Fancy homes and cars
Frequent world travel
Designer clothing
Expensive jewelry
The best of everything

Some wealthy people choose to live a simple lifestyle. They either save their money or share it. Others live high on the hog but also help those less fortunate.

Many people who can’t afford it try to live high on the hog. They buy on credit but can’t pay their bills. They get too big for their britches. They fail to consider the final cost – the bottom line.

Whether we live high on the hog or live off life’s scraps, we decide how we will use what we possess.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15 NIV)

Thanks to Lori Carmicle for the photo and Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion.

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Stubborn as a Mule

March 10, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

I can be stubborn as a mule. Just ask anyone who knows me well. I hate to admit it, but it’s true.

I know what I want.
I know what I believe.
I don’t like change.
I’m not impossible, but I am stubborn.

A mule is born from a female horse and a male donkey. They have several advantages over horses:

Mules are sure-footed — less likely to slide or stumble.
They carry heavy weight better.
They endure heat well.
They are tough and strong.

Mules are smart. They take care of themselves. If they think something is dangerous, they won’t do it. They trust themselves more than others.

Try to force a mule to do something, and you will probably lose. That’s why we call them stubborn. Help the mule see the advantage of what you want, and you win.

The more I think about it, being stubborn as a mule may not be that bad. I wonder, is that because of my research, or is it because I want it to be so? Hmmm …

“My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled” (Psalm 17:5 NIV).

Thanks to the late Jack Bruns, another self-proclaimed stubborn-as-a-mule person, for the suggestion. Thanks to Debbie Tapscott, for the photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Puppy Love

February 10, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Puppy Love 1 Puppies are cute, sweet, and make us smile. The same is true for puppy love — children or young people falling in love. We smile at puppy love, but we know it seldom lasts.

The problem: Puppy love depends on emotions alone — how do I feel?

If you make me feel good, I love you.
If you make me feel bad, I don’t love you.
If we have fun, I love you.
If we don’t have fun, I don’t love you.

As a result, young people may fall in and out of love several times.

Sadly many adults define love the same way.

The trouble with that thinking:

Good feelings come and go.
Life is not always fun.

True love – lasting love – means much more.

I choose to love you.
I commit my life to you.
I will do what is best for you.

That does not mean love is blind. It does mean:

I accept that no one is perfect.
I will work with you on our disagreements.
I love you, even when I don’t like you or your actions.

In any relationship we sometimes feel on top of the world. Other times we feel like we are in a valley. True love says, “I will walk with you wherever the journey takes us.”

Love is a choice. Love is a verb.

Note: If abuse occurs in a relationship, seek help and protection immediately.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

What do you think true love means? Please comment.

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Fair to Middling

January 6, 2015 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

I love Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. Like the name suggests, it sits in the middle of the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins. However, it definitely is not fair to middling. It:

Steams, spews, and stinks
Changes constantly
Never disappoints its visitors.

Unlike Midway Geyser Basin, when we say we are fair to middling, we mean:

I’m not wonderful.
I’m not bad.
I’m in the middle of those two feelings.

Nothing horrible happens. Nothing great happens. We live, but little more.

Who wants to live like that?

Of course, we all have those days, but we hope they don’t last long.

We want to feel well. We want to wake each day ready to jump out of bed and go.

Often we get this fair to middling feeling because we fail to give life our all. We hold back because we fear failure. Yet, we all fail.

The greatest baseball players have more strikes than homeruns.
The greatest actors frequently forget their lines.
The greatest teachers occasionally have to say, “I don’t know.”

Let’s give life our best. Let’s not rob ourselves of opportunities and adventure. Living every day for all it is worth does not mean constant activity. It does mean squeezing every possible benefit from that day. That may mean staying busy as a bee. It may also mean taking a nice long rest.

Regardless of our circumstances, let’s move beyond fair to middling. Let’s choose to live a full life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).

Special thanks to Judith Coopy for suggesting this expression.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Empty Nest

December 30, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

This empty nest was once a happy home for a mama bird and her babies. They lived in the gutter on one corner of our front porch.

We first saw the nest after the mama bird had laid her eggs. We left the nest until the eggs hatched and the baby birds flew away. Mama bird also left once her nest was empty.

That’s the way nature works. Before birth and soon after, children need extra care. As they grow stronger, they do more on our own. They learn how to survive without their parents.

How to work
How to get along with others
How to take care of their daily needs
How to have fun

Eventually most children fly away – they leave home to begin a new life.

When children leave home, parents have an empty nest. They must also begin a new stage in life. While everyone may enjoy visits, they know life moves forward. To be most effective, parents must move forward too.

Each life stage is different. Each life stage is good.

“Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest, where she can protect her young near your altars, O LORD who rules over all, my king and my God” (Psalm 84:3 NET).

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Don’t Put the Cart before the Horse

December 16, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Please welcome my friend Emily Akin as today’s guest writer. Emily and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. Emily lives in northwest Tennessee with her husband of 45 years and their Jack Russell terrier, Jeb.

“I always have prayer before I go into the courtroom,” said the judge I was interviewing. “One day, I didn’t get a chance to pray before going in. Everything seemed to go wrong.”

Later, he returned to his office. While there, he realized he had forgotten to pray.

“I prayed, and I went back into the courtroom. Everything fell into place,” he said.

The judge had “put the cart before the horse.” We say that when a person makes a task more difficult by doing things in the wrong order. The cart is made for the horse to pull rather than push.

Put the horse in front of the cart. The horse pulls the cart.
Put the horse behind the cart. The horse does not know what to do.

We put the cart before the horse by:

Starting on a trip without knowing what route we’ll take.
Buying clothes for an event before we’ve been invited.
Asking God to bless our efforts after we’ve made our own plan.

Our plans work out better if we consult God first. Perhaps what we’ve planned is not what God wants for us. It could be that we have the right idea, but we are going about it the wrong way. Let’s be sure our plans follow God’s purpose. Put the horse before the cart in everything we do.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV).

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Photo courtesy of Morguefile.