Browsed by
Category: Peace

Fly off the Handle

Fly off the Handle

Comments 2 comments

Fly off the HandleDon’t fly off the handle — helpful advice for axes and for people.

An ax can do great good or great harm. Its heavy metal blade cuts through wood. That wood can provide heat, art, building supplies, and more

However, if the ax blade flies off the handle, look out. Anyone nearby is in danger of injury or death.

Likewise, anger can do great good or great harm. Controlled anger helps us:

  • Speak against evil.
  • Right a wrong.
  • Change ourselves.
  • Lead others to change.

However, we often let anger get out of control. Anger controls us rather than our controlling the anger. We fly off the handle (lose our temper). As a result, we suffer and cause others to suffer.

With an ax, we want to:

  • Keep it in good repair.
  • Hold the handle firmly.
  • Cut wood and never hurt people.

With anger we want to:

  • Understand its cause and purpose.
  • Keep it firmly controlled.
  • Use it for good, not harm.

Remember to treat anger like water off a duck’s back. Use it in a positive way, and gain tools for a better life.

An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins. (Proverbs 29:22)

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Hit the Nail on the Head

Hit the Nail on the Head

Comments 0 Comment

Hit the Nail on the Head-Charity PowellThese young people hit the nail on the head with their hammers. They also hit the nail on the head with their lives.

When we hammer nails, we try to hit the head (the top flat part). We want to hit it exactly right. We may suffer several ways if we miss.

  • The hammer hits a thumb or finger. Ouch!
  • The hammer bends the nail.
  • We damage what we are building or repairing.

However, if we hit the nail on the head, we achieve great results.

When we hit the nail on the head with our lives, we also achieve great results. We get it right.

  • We find the solution to a problem.
  • We give the correct answer.
  • We report a needed change.
  • We live a good life.

When we fail to live well, we suffer.

  • Focusing on ourselves, we miss the joy of service.
  • Ignoring laws and rules, we damage our reputation and influence.
  • Living right only part-time, people don’t trust us.

As this group with Kentucky Heartland Outreach learned, serving God and others is a great way to live. We can learn much from them.

It’s never too late to pick up life’s hammer and hit the nail on the head.

“‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’” (Jeremiah 23:29 NIV)

Thanks to Charity Powell for the photo.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

Mind Your Ps and Qs

Comments 3 comments

Mind Your Ps and QsSometimes parents or teachers tell children, “Mind your Ps and Qs.” Usually they mean to watch their speech or behavior. They want the children to act right – to mind their manners – to straighten up and fly right.

We need to hear that message too. How often do we:

  • Talk without thinking about the effect of our words?
  • Allow our emotions to control our behavior? We don’t feel well, so we don’t treat others well.
  • Embarrass ourselves by using bad manners?

One thoughtless word or deed can harm or destroy a relationship. Therefore, when we see Ps and Qs on children’s blocks, let’s remember to mind our Ps and Qs.

  • Think before speaking.
  • Think before acting.
  • Use proper manners.

People disagree on the origin of this phrase. It may have begun because the small (lower case) p and q look so much alike. They are the reverse (mirror image) of one another. Therefore, we must be careful when we write. We don’t want to confuse our lettters.

Likewise, we don’t want to confuse right and wrong. Whatever we do, let’s mind our Ps and Qs.

“He wanted them to be understanding, just, and fair in everything they did” (Proverbs 1:3 TLB).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Comments 1 comment

Between a Rock and a Hard PlaceI don’t climb mountains. However, I know mountain climbers often find themselves between a rock and a hard place. They climb in difficult areas. Often they have few good choices.

We may not climb physical mountains. Yet, most of us face mountains of difficulty sometime in our lives. We find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. We must make hard decisions with no easy choices. Any choice causes problems.

  • Do we quit our job or work in unfair circumstances?
  • Do we pay rent or buy food?
  • Do we continue painful medical care or stop treatments?

We must choose what we decide is the lesser of two evils.

Aron Ralston faced such a choice after a climbing accident in 2003. He was trapped more than five days. His choice: Do I die or cut off part of my right arm. He used a dull knife to free himself.

Our choices may not be that hard. However, some choices are worse.

I wish I had an easy answer for such situations, but I don’t. I find the following helpful:

1. List the pros and cons for each choice.
2. Discuss the options with a trusted friend or relative.
3. Pray for wisdom.
4. Accept help from others.
5. Get a grip on what matters most.

I pray you face few times between a rock and a hard place.

“You have let me sink down deep in desperate problems. But you will bring me back to life again, up from the depths of the earth” (Psalm 71:20 TLB).

Have you had a rock and hard place experience?  If so, please comment.

Subscribe now and receive my weekly posts by email. 

Make Waves

Make Waves

Comments 2 comments

Make WavesPeople sometimes warn us not to make waves. Other times, we realize we must. When we choose to make waves, we:

  • Rock the boat
  • Upset someone or something
  • Shock or disturb
  • Risk being called a trouble maker

Two truths about making waves help us decide what to do.

Waves can do great good, by:

  • Continuing earth’s natural flow
  • Calming us
  • Providing beauty and pleasure

Waves can also do much harm, by causing:

  • Ship wrecks
  • Drowning
  • Destruction of houses or communities.

Likewise, we can do great good or much harm by:

  • Improving or damaging our world
  • Correcting or increasing mistakes

Before we make waves, let’s be certain our actions make a positive difference.

“If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18 NIV).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Get Your Ducks in a Row

Comments 0 Comment

Get Your Ducks in a RowLife grows hectic if you don’t get your ducks in a row. Mine certainly does.

My desk starts to look like a mountain (or several mountains) of paper. My schedule becomes crazy. I don’t know what to do first. I need to organize – to get my ducks in a row.

Also, if you want only ducks, you need to focus on ducks. Get rid of the geese. Geese look a lot like ducks, as we see in this picture. However, geese are not ducks.

If you fail to organize, you may mistake unnecessary actions for necessary. Like geese, get rid of the unnecessary. Focus on the necessary – the ducks.

If your desk looks like mine, remove the papers you don’t need. If your schedule becomes crazy, plan only what you can do. If you don’t, you soon run out of steam.

Once you get your ducks in a row, you have everything in good order. You do what you need to do when you need to do it.

Some ducky ideas to help you organize:

  • Pack a day or two before trips.
  • Write and follow a financial budget.
  • Study a few days before taking a test.
  • Make a list of needed items before going to a store.

Then rest in the knowledge that you are starting to get your ducks in a row.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans” (Proverbs 16:3 NIV).

How do you get your ducks in a row? Please comment.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Sink or Swim

Sink or Swim

Comments 2 comments

Sink or Swim

Many of us have fallen into water while playing games. Others have had someone throw us into water. Either way, the question remains the same: Will we sink or swim?

Some of us learn to swim quickly from such an experience.

  • We have to work harder.
  • Our swimming may not look pretty.
  • Yet, we swim our way out of danger.

In rough water, the strongest swimmer struggles. A weak swimmer has a much harder time. When a strong swimmer helps a weak one, both grow stronger.

Life is like that. We meet challenges every day. Some we know how to solve with no problem. Others present difficulties we have never experienced.  Either way, we sink (fail) or swim (succeed).

A few challenges may be impossible to overcome. With most, we have a choice. Will we:

  • Give up or try harder?
  • Listen to negatives or positives?
  • Accept our limits or grow?
  • Ignore people weaker than us or help them grow?

“He replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’  Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm” (Matthew 8:26 NIV).

Have you had a sink or swim experience? If so, please comment.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Like Water off a Duck’s Back

Like Water off a Duck’s Back

Comments 2 comments

Like Water Off a Duck's BackDo you need a solution for anger or frustration? Watch ducks. That’s right; watch ducks.

Ducks often dive under water for food. When they come up, the water glides over their backs and returns to the pond or lake. Occasionally they shake their feathers to get rid of any extra water.

Ducks show no need to:

  • Watch the water.
  • Quack at the water.
  • Fight the water.

They’re too busy swimming and diving for something to eat.

When life upsets us, let the problem go. Treat it like water off a duck’s back. We don’t have to:

  • Focus on what upsets us.
  • Yell at what upsets us.
  • Fight what upsets us.

Getting upset tires us, so in a duck-like manner:

  • Ignore hateful comments.
  • Overlook insults.
  • When we must respond, do so clearly but kindly.
  • Then shake off any remaining negative feelings.

In the process, we gain freedom — freedom from the control of others and freedom to become our best selves.

We can also pray that those who upset us learn to act like ducks.

“A fool is quick-tempered; a wise man stays cool when insulted” (Proverbs 12:16 TLB).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Comments 6 comments

Light at the End of the Tunnel 2Tunnels may get us through mountains, but the journey can be dark and scary. If we focus on light at the end of the tunnel, we find hope. That light promises an end to our dark and scary time.

Some tunnels seem to go on forever. They amaze me. How can anyone dig a hole through the middle of a mountain without getting crushed?

Yet they can.

The engineer in charge designs a plan. That plan creates a tunnel that will protect both the construction workers and the travelers. However, the design works only if everyone carefully follows the plan.

Like a tunnel, life sometimes seems dark and scary. We feel like we’re digging through a mountain of difficulties. We wonder how we will make it through without getting crushed.

God, who created us, is:

  • Life’s engineer, who created a perfect plan
  • Our source of light, who promises an end to any dark and scary time
  • Our hope, peace, and guidance through every difficulty

The question for each of us: Will we follow?

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

In the Middle of Nowhere

In the Middle of Nowhere

Comments 7 comments

In the Middle of NowhereI grew up in the middle of nowhere. We lived far from stores, doctors, and other people. We drove 10 miles through hills to the nearest town. I rode a bus 17 miles to high school. Actually, I rode much farther than 17 miles. We had to travel several roads off the beaten path to pick up students. The drive took about an hour.

My sister, cousins, and I developed tough little feet when summer arrived. We preferred bare feet over shoes. The dirt and rocks on our remote country road did not slow us down.

  • We ran on rocks as easily as we can on today’s smooth pavement.
  • We picked blackberries that grew on the sides of the road.
  • We watched for snakes that sometimes crawled across the road.
  • We played games in the trees and fields around us.
  • We could make all the noise we wanted without disturbing the neighbors.

Yes, we lived in the middle of nowhere. Yet, it led wherever we wanted to go.

  • Imagination took us around the world.
  • Books fed us dreams for the future.
  • Family taught us to set high goals.

Today, many people pay huge prices to vacation in such isolated places. All I have to do is go home for a visit.

“Sing a new song to the Lord; sing his praises, all you who live in earth’s remotest corners!” (Isaiah 42:10 TLB).

Do you have a favorite place in the middle of nowhere? If so, please comment.

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.