Animals/Nature Archives - Page 20 of 21

Head in the Clouds

January 21, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

We like the thought that every cloud has a silver lining. We don’t enjoy people saying we have our head in the clouds.

I should know.

I have my head in the clouds quite often.

While thinking about one thing, I totally forget what I was doing before. I don’t pay attention, and I suffer as a result.

Dinner burns while I read a book. (That’s why I love stove timers.)
Clothes wrinkle in the dryer while I write. (I also love dryer buzzers.)
I stumble over a step while gazing at the clouds. (I haven’t found a signal for that yet.)

You get the picture?

I grow absent-minded when doing something I enjoy.

I forget my present reality. Like clouds, my mind floats away.

An occasional head in the clouds moment may be okay.

We need to dream. We need to escape and refresh our minds. A break from routine is good for the soul. We just need to be sure nothing and no one suffers because of it.

“Watch your step. Stick to the path and be safe” (Proverbs 4:26 TLB).

How about you? What’s your worst head in the clouds experience? Please comment below.

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Swallow Hook, Line, and Sinker

January 14, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Do you enjoy fishing? Most of my family can spend hours in the hot sun waiting for a fish to bite. Whether they catch anything or not, they have a good time. If they land enough for dinner, that’s wonderful. They clean and freeze any extra for another day.

I enjoy cooking and eating fish. I don’t usually like to fish. I hate to touch worms or fish. Plus, I identify with the pain of the worms or fish when they’re on a hook.

I also identify with fish another way. Like fish lured to a hook, I’m one of the most gullible people I know. Think about a fish’s actions:

It foolishly tries to eat a worm or other bait on a hook.
When it takes the bait, it swallows the hook, pulls on the line, and makes the sinker go under the water.
Those actions signal the fisherman that he just caught a fish.
As a result, rather than eating dinner, the fish becomes someone’s dinner.

I also take the bait easily. In fact, I don’t just swallow the hook. I swallow hook, line, and sinker!

Tell me an unbelievable story; I usually believe it.
Try to avoid work by claiming illness or sadness; I sympathize.
Relate something foolish; I try to find the logic in it.

In most instances, swallowing (believing) such tales gives everyone a good laugh and no one suffers.

In important matters, I need to practice caution. So do we all.

“Keep falsehood and lies far from me” (Proverbs 30:8 NIV).

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

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Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining

January 7, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

As children, my sister and I would lie flat on our backs to look at the clouds. We saw elephants, dogs, trains, candy canes … You name it, we saw it, if we looked long enough.

When the clouds brought rain showers, we danced in circles with our heads back and our mouths open. We soaked up the fun, getting soaked in the process.

But when dark clouds brought lightning and thunder, we dashed inside for safety.

Eventually the sun popped out again, and the clouds’ edges glowed! We learned early in life to look for those silver linings.

We experienced few tragedies as children. We knew when any threat did appear, we had someone to brave it with us. The belief that every cloud has a silver lining taught us to look for the good in every hardship. We learned to hope for better days ahead, each with its own special beauty.

As adults, our difficulties increased. Nevertheless, the promise of someone with us never changed.

We still have one another.
We have other family members and friends.
We have church family.
Above all, we have our loving God who promises never to leave us.

We continue to believe every cloud has a silver lining. We hold to the hope that:

Life’s difficulties make us stronger.
We can support people with similar hardships.
God gives strength needed for every day.
This life’s troubles will not last.
We have a home in heaven, if we trust Jesus.

“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5, NLT).

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment.

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Busy as a Bee

October 29, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

We do well when we learn to be busy as a bee.

For a free lesson in useful activity, watch honeybees. They don’t just buzz around. They find food and water for themselves and their hives (bee community). They also help us.

You heard me right. We need bees. Don’t kill them.

We use their honey, honeycomb, and beeswax for food, makeup, and more.

Farmers need bees to pollinate their crops. Without bees, we would not have as much food or as many food choices.

Can you imagine life without flowers and their wonderful smell?

In addition, honeybees communicate by the way they fly. Their flight patterns give directions and other important information to the rest of their hive.

Honeybees complete the tasks they were created to do.

In the process, they help others, near and far.

If only humans did so well. Are you busy as a bee?

“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (Ephesians 4:1 NIV).

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Up a Creek without a Paddle

October 15, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

During my childhood, our family loved to fish and swim. We lived near a creek that was ice cold on the hottest summer day. After hours of working outside, nothing felt better than jumping into that freezing water.

It took our breath.
We shivered from the shock.
Yet, what a wonderful, refreshing way to cool down.

We did most of our fishing from the banks (sides) of the creek. A few friends preferred fishing from boats. Most used motorboats, but some rowed with oars (paddles).

Circumstances sometimes left those boaters up a creek without a paddle.

The creek was narrow in most places. Therefore, they could usually reach the banks, if they dropped a paddle.

However, problems did occur:

Wide places left them far from the banks.
High water after a hard rain added to their danger.
Not all those boaters could swim.
Hardly anyone owned a life jacket.

Losing a paddle under those circumstances left boaters in trouble. They were up a creek without a paddle.

Life’s like that.

On most occasions we find solutions to our problems, but not always.

Difficult circumstances arise that we can’t fix on our own.
We see no way out.

We’re up a creek without a paddle.

How easily we forget that the One with the answers to all life’s hardships remains just a prayer away.

“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment.

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Pretty Is as Pretty Does

October 8, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

“Isn’t she the prettiest thing you ever saw?” We say that about babies, toddlers, teens, and adults. We use the same words for puppies, kittens, and a host of other pets. Yet, that description can quickly change, if the person or pet’s behavior turns ugly.

We appreciate physical beauty. However, the most important beauty can’t be seen with our eyes. It comes from within. A strong moral character gives one a glow unlike any physical characteristic.

Some of the most beautiful people I know would never win a beauty contest.

Likewise, not everyone who could win a beauty contest lives a beautiful life. Both teach us that pretty is as pretty does.

Most of us want to look as good as possible. So, let’s stay clean, eat right, and exercise regularly. If beauty products help, why not use them? However, let’s not focus totally on what others see or what the mirror reflects. Let’s never forget the source of true beauty.

God made every person uniquely lovely.

Even so, that loveliness quickly fades with rude or hateful actions. In contrast, we enhance our loveliness with kind and helpful deeds.

The cute kitten above took part in a youth Sunday school class project. With permission, seventh and eighth grade girls took puppies and kittens from the local animal shelter to visit nursing home residents. Everyone enjoyed a fun-filled day. Those girls and their borrowed pets showed me once again that pretty is as pretty does.

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight” (1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV).

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I’m All Ears

October 1, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

This little rabbit nibbled grass near our back door. He lifted those ears as soon as he heard us behind him. His body went down, but his ears went up! “I’m all ears” he seemed to say. “I hear your every move and sound.”

He stopped:

Eating
Twitching his nose
Hopping
Looking around.

We had his full attention.

We can learn a lot from that kind of focus. Don’t you wish people would listen to one another so well? How often do we try to talk to someone, but we don’t give or receive full attention? While one person talks, the other person’s attention strays to:

The television
A cell phone
A computer screen
Another person
A book
Work
Anywhere but on the person talking

What does that say to the person trying to be heard?

I’m too busy.
You’re not important.
Leave me alone.
Someone or something else matters more than you.
I don’t care what you have to say.

Let’s listen to one another—really listen, with our ears, with our eyes, and with our body language. Like our rabbit friend, let’s send the message, “I’m all ears. I want to hear what you have to say.”

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19 NIV).

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Blowing Off Steam

September 24, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 9 comments

Old Faithful, the best known geyser in Yellowstone Park, blows off steam on a regular basis.

Park employees keep her schedule posted, so visitors know when to gather around her.

The “oohs” and “aahs” begin when that built-up thermal pressure blows. The height of her eruptions varies from 100-180 feet. You can watch Old Faithful blowing off steam by webcam at Old Faithful Live.

Some people blow off steam on a regular basis.

Anger wells up within them until they can hold it no longer. Then they explode.

We love to see Old Faithful blowing off steam, but not people.

Anger, an emotion we all share, is not necessarily a bad thing.

Jesus, who lived a perfect life, vented his anger when appropriate.However, we can carry anger to an extreme.

We need to control our anger rather than allowing it to control us.

Confront anger rather than letting it build.
Express anger in helpful rather than harmful ways.
Once we resolve the situation causing our anger, let the anger go.

“’In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26 NIV).

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment.

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On Top of the World

September 17, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

We love to be on top of the world.

Yet, we don’t have to climb a mountain or fly a plane to get there. Think about:

Wedding vows
The birth of a child or grandchild
The first day of a long-awaited job

All these and more can make us feel on top of the world.

What if we could experience those emotions forever?

We would be exhausted – no good to ourselves or anyone else. We love grand moments. However, we cannot maintain that level of excitement forever.

Real living includes level ground.

Washing dishes
Changing diapers
Difficult days at work

Level ground keeps our families and our world functioning as they should.

Real living also includes valleys.

Relationship difficulties
Death
Financial crises

Valleys may not be fun. Yet, through them we grow stronger.

From the valleys, we look up.

For many, that is where we find our strength. Through the power of God’s love, we can stay on top of the world, regardless of our circumstances.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Psalm 46:1-3 NIV).

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment.

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Get to the Bottom of It

September 10, 2013 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

To get to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, we must travel by foot, mule, or raft. Be prepared! Hikers should carry plenty of water and food. We also need lots of sunscreen and appropriate shoes and clothing. To see firsthand what’s down there requires an investment of time, money, and effort.

To get to the bottom of anything, we’re seeking an answer or solving a problem.

We want the truth—to know exactly what’s going on. That takes work, regardless of the task. Some people declare they will get to the bottom of a situation “if it’s the last thing I ever do!”

Examples of those who get to the bottom of problems on a regular basis include:

Police investigating a crime
Parents questioning disobedient children
Counselors exploring individual or family difficulties
Executives seeking answers for business losses

Each of us needs to get to the bottom of our purpose in life.

We have only a few short years. Will we use them well? Will we continue to explore until we discover life’s greater meaning?

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for suggesting this expression.

Do you have a favorite expression or one you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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