Animals/Nature Archives - Page 4 of 21

Happy as a Lark

June 20, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Nothing compares to the sound of birds singing. Hearing their music makes many of us happy as a lark.

Listen to the songs of a western meadowlark here. For six-year-old William Zhang’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Song of the Lark, Op. 39 No. 22, listen here.

Happy as a lark means very happy.

Little things often give us joy.

A child with a toy
Time with family and friends
A walk in the park

We increase our happiness when we make others happy.

Causing them to smile makes us smile too.

Look for opportunities to make others happy as a lark.

We get so busy we often fail to notice needs around us. Instead, we can:

Babysit for a tired mom, swamped with responsibility.
Run errands for a sick neighbor.
Take children to sing for a senior citizens group
Cheer up someone down in the dumps.

Enjoy the songs of birds. Share your songs of joy with a hurting world.

“The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches” (Psalm 104:12 NIV).

Thanks to Bill Ellis, whose May 2022 Kentucky Monthly article, “Though I’ve Never Played a Violin, I’m Fit as a Fiddle,” led to this post. Image by Johnnys_pic from Pixabay.

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Fish or Cut Bait

June 6, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

I rarely fish. When I do, people with me probably wish I had stayed home.

They never say to fish or cut bait. I’m sure they think I should.

I hate to touch worms or fish. Therefore, someone else has to put on my worms and take off my fish.

However, I do have one tall tale about catching a huge catfish in my family’s pond.

Of course, I caught that whopper by accident.

Fish or cut bait means to get to work or get out of the way.

Do I plan to fish? If not, I need to move, so others can. If I choose not to fish, I can cut up their bait. Ick! I don’t want to do that either. I rather take pictures or go home.

Fish or cut bait applies to any type of work or activity.

When I fail to do my job, I waste my time and the time of others. Therefore, I need to:

Decide if I plan to work or watch
Proceed with my job or leave it
Use or stop wasting resources

Jesus calls believers to fish for people.

Fishing for people is not only a job for preachers and teachers. It is a call for all Jesus’ followers. No ifs, ands, or buts. Jesus calls us to fish. If we love God and love others, we will share that love.

“‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people’” Matthew 4:19 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Robbie Childress for the photo.

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This Here

May 16, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

This here frog stared at me from outside our kitchen window. I stared back in amazement. He was so tiny, and he stayed in that same spot for hours. He appeared out of the blue around the same time and place the year before.

I don’t know where he stays between his yearly visits. He does not know I used to be terrified of frogs. They gave me the heebie-jeebies. Yet, his visits brighten my days.

“This here” points out someone or something.

It is an informal way to say “this” and refers to a specific person or object.

Other examples of its use include:

We are going fishing on this here boat.
I want to buy this here phone.
My family loves this here farm.

I usually hear this expression spoken in casual country conversations.

However, I have not heard it for a long time.

Whether I say “this” or “this here” matters less than the rest of my words.

Are they true and kind? Do they honor God? Like my frog friend, do they brighten someone’s day.

“The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight” (Proverbs 15:26 NIV).

Thanks to Catherine Nicholson for the suggestion.

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Cut and Dried

May 2, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

I love to go outside to look at flowers. A stop to smell the roses refreshes my body and mind. I rarely cut them to bring inside. They wilt and die too quickly. However, I do decorate with cut and dried flowers.

Dried flowers remind me to find beauty following tough times. They also match my love for a vintage look. Most of all, I appreciate their lasting value. They bring smiles for years rather than days.

Cut and dried means unchanging.

Like cut and dried flowers, a situation remains the same over time. It is:

Decided
Settled
Clear
Definite

This description can refer to plans or solutions to problems.

Cut and dried can also mean dull or boring.

A situation is:

Uninteresting
Common
Routine

Writers and speakers never want to appear cut and dried.

Not everything cut and dried is dull or boring.

Many plans, solutions, and presentations never change. Yet they challenge and inspire. Like dried flowers, they endure.

For example, a man asked Jesus for the greatest commandment. Jesus said to love God and love others. His response, in a nutshell, was clear and unchanging. It was not boring then. It is not boring now.

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘…Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV).

Thanks to Joe Klotz for the suggestion. Image by Richgold from Pixabay.

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Forever and a Day

April 18, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Thousands of people hike the twenty-one-mile Rim to Rim Grand Canyon trail. They probably feel like it takes forever and a day during the heat of summer. The trail includes a one-mile hike down and another up. Most hikers require an overnight stay in the canyon. The park suggests most visitors not try that trail in the hottest weather. Temperatures reach over 100° F.

Forever and a day means a long time.

Forever is eternal or always. It will never end, so we cannot add time to it. Forever and a day simply adds emphasis. It exaggerates the idea.

We wish some experiences would end quickly.

They feel like they last forever.

Illness
Tests
Boring speeches
Workdays when we want to go home

We look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

We wish other experiences would last forever.

Favorite vacations
Love for family
Fun with friends

All who follow Jesus have an eternal home in heaven.

Time without end in perfect peace with God
No more sorrow or pain (or boring speeches)
Joy beyond anything we can imagine.

At the end of the road, we have no better way to spend forever and a day.

“After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

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If You Lie Down with Dogs, You Will Get Up with Fleas

April 4, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas was a greater certainty before flea collars and other medications for dogs became common.

However, dogs still get fleas. When dogs get them, people who come in contact with the dogs also get fleas. Not a pleasant thought but a realistic one.

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas applies to more than dogs and fleas.

This proverb means you tend to become like the people around you.

Choose dishonest friends, and threaten your honesty.
Hang out with criminals, and chance arrest for crimes.
Spend time with drug users, and risk drug use yourself.
If you play with fire you get burned.

Like disease, behavior can be contagious.

Therefore, you do well to choose friends wisely, those who are on the up and up. Definitely treat everyone well. Show respect to all, regardless of their background. At the same time, choose close friends who will influence you for good, not evil.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Tammy Cheatham Page for the photo.

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Stop and Smell the Roses

March 28, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

My husband and I love to travel. For years, we planned our own trips and did our own driving. We hit the trail as often as possible. I usually scheduled far more than we had time to do. However, we learned to stop and smell the roses along the way.

Our schedule was not as important as fun on the trip. We began according to plan but made changes along the way. We went off the beaten path almost every trip and are so glad we did.

To stop and smell the roses means to take time to enjoy life.

We slow down and relax. That means we:

Get away from our busy schedules
Recognize the importance of mini moments of joy.

Without breaks, stress builds.

No one can go forever. If we fail to get away, our:

Health suffers
Work becomes less productive
Relationships weaken

We must stop and smell the roses if we desire a good life.

Leisure time is a necessity, not a luxury. When God created the world, he set aside one day a week to rest and worship. The value of that plan remains as important now as then.

“Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime; it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms. He gives showers of rain to all people, and plants of the field to everyone” (Zechariah 10:1 NIV).

Thanks to Karen Hart for the suggestion.

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Bell the Cat

February 14, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

“Somebody ought to do something.” We often say that about a hard job nobody wants to do. No one wants to bell the cat.

To bell the cat means to perform a difficult task.

We take responsibility and do what needs to be done. It may be risky or dangerous. At times, the job may seem or be impossible.

This expression comes from a fable.

Mice were scared of a cat and did not know what to do. They met to discuss the situation, as portrayed in this cartoon. One mouse suggested putting a bell around the cat’s neck, so they could hear the cat coming. They would be saved by the bell. However, when asked who would bell the cat, no one wanted to tackle such a dangerous job.

The fable teaches that a plan serves no purpose if it is impossible or no one does it. Many tasks are easier said than done.

We give thanks for people who bell the cat.

They see the risks but do their jobs anyway.

Firefighters who enter burning buildings
Police officers who run toward, instead of away from, danger
Doctors, nurses, and other medical staff who risk illness to keep us healthy
Utility workers who do their jobs in the worst weather to provide electricity, phones, and other services

What about us? Are we ready to do what needs to be done, including jobs no one else wants to do?

God calls each of us. Sometimes our work is easy and sometimes hard. Whatever the task, how will we respond?

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8 NIV).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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Water Down

January 31, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 11 comments

Whatever lies below a waterfall gets watered down quickly. The water:

Covers it
Weakens it
Overwhelms it

If we hike to the bottom of the waterfall, its power grabs our attention. We rarely notice other sights and sounds.

To water down means to cover or weaken something.

Surfaces we may cover with water include:

Yards with new grass seed
Clothes ready to wash
Houses and buildings in danger from nearby fires

We add water to weaken or dilute:

Soups
Juices or other drinks
Sauces

We also water down or weaken:

Stock values
Agreements
Laws
Truth

All lose worth and become less effective when we omit important information.

If we water down the truth, everyone loses.

We may not want to share hard truth. However, we need to know reality, even if we don’t like it or it hurts. Plus, people no longer trust us if we tell less than the truth. Better to stay on the up and up.

If we have not told the truth, remember confession is good for the soul. It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf.

“An honest witness does not deceive, but a false witness pours out lies” Proverbs 14:5 NIV).

Thanks to Phyllis Patton for the suggestion.

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Right as Rain

January 10, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Like a gentle rain on a hot, dry day, some things feel right as rain. Plants need refreshment, and so do people. After a long, dry spell of trouble, we love calm showers of peace.

Right as rain often means life is all right.

We enjoy:

Good or improved health
Everything working as it should

We feel well. Problems are solved. Work is complete.

Right as rain also means something is correct.

We give the right answers on a test.
Our work meets or exceeds requirements.

At times, right as rain means dependable.

People are as good as their word. We can take what they say to the bank. Regardless of their circumstances, rain or shine, they do what is right.

God offers a good, correct, and dependable life.

That does not mean everything always goes as we hope. It does mean everything will eventually work out.

Sooner or later, people fail. God never has and never will. We can trust God with our lives and our futures.

“Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants” (Deuteronomy 32:2 NIV).

Thanks to Regina Graham for the suggestion.

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