Problems Archives - Page 11 of 35

Needle in a Haystack

December 14, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Have you tried to find a needle in a haystack? Believe me, it is not easy. I have never looked for a real needle in a stack of hay. However, I have hunted for several hard-to-locate items.

I have searched high and low and looked up one side and down the other for:

A black button in a pile of black clothing
A needle in a box of pins
A four-leaf clover in a three-leaf clover field

A needle in a haystack means anything hard to find.

A few items are almost impossible to locate. When mixed with other things that look about the same, I can spend hours hunting. Sometimes I succeed. Other times I fail.

Some needles are worth the effort. Others are not.

When I need a black button, I keep looking for it.
If I have to sew that button on a shirt, I keep looking for the needle.
Only when I have free time do I look for four-leaf clovers.

Opportunities to help others require little searching.

Needs exist everywhere.

News reports tell of recent events.
Churches use volunteers and offerings for local and world-wide ministry.
Crisis relief centers meet daily emergencies.

Search for and help with God’s work wherever you find it.

[There is] “a time to search and a time to give up.” (Ecclesiastes 3:6 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion. Image by Bronisław Dróżka from Pixabay.

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Please welcome one of my favorite authors, Ann H. Gabhart, as today’s guest writer. Ann has been called a storyteller. She’s lived up to the title with thirty-five books published and more stories on the way. Ann keeps her keyboard warm out on her farm where she likes walking with her dogs or discovering the wonders of nature with her nine grandchildren. To find out more about Ann and her books, go to www.annhgabhart.com.

Have you ever heard the expression “throw a monkey wrench into it?” That means to sabotage or frustrate a project or plan. The saying came from early 1900s industrial sabotage–that is, throwing a tool inside machinery–to make the machine break or stop working.

Throw a Monkey Wrench into It--two monkey wrenches Where various products were once made one at a time by craftsmen, the industrial revolution factories had machines to mass produce items. Companies started competing for customers. Some knocked out competition by sneaking in to throw an actual wrench into the workings of the competitor’s industrial machines. With the machine broken, production came to a halt.

Now throwing a wrench into something can apply to any kind of ruined plans or projects. The current pandemic has thrown a wrench into a lot of our plans. Sometimes we can do nothing to fix things. We simply have to move on, plan something new or adjust to whatever has happened.

One thing for sure, the Lord will never throw a monkey wrench into your plans unless He has a better plan in mind for you.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash.

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Ups and Downs

November 30, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

We all have our ups and downs.

Good and bad times
Positive and negative relationships
Happy and sad days
Successes and failures

That’s life.

Like a hike up a mountain, our journey through life often feels like an uphill battle. However, once we reach the top, the view takes our breath away.

When we look down, we see how far we have come. A look around reveals the possibilities on every side of us. If we look up, we realize we have hope for future mountains.

We choose whether to focus on the good or the bad.

The choices we make determine how we feel.

When hard times hit, we can dwell on the negatives. Or, on the other side of the coin, we can focus on the positives and hope for the future.

Ups and downs occur in every area of life, including:

Marriage
Work
School
Parenting
Social activities
Health

All our experiences offer opportunities to grow.

Through each one, let’s keep on keeping on. Remember, like a mountain climb, our hardest times often teach the greatest lessons.

“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights” (2 Samuel 22:34 NIV).

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion.

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Cold Turkey

November 23, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Cold Turkey--two turkeys in the snow I love to eat cold turkey. However, I hate to quit a habit cold turkey.

To stop a habit immediately and completely usually hurts.

Cold turkey means no slow withdrawal. Instead, we tackle the problem all at once.

Few of us enjoy giving up anything that has been part of our lives a long time. Although it may be bad for us, we have a hard time letting go.

Addictions are especially hard to quit cold turkey.

For that reason, support groups exist for addictions to:

Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
Eating
Plus, a long list of other behaviors

Support group members talk turkey. Speaking plain hard facts encourages hard, but needed, actions.

Support groups remind us to help one another in all of life.

We may not suffer addiction. Yet, we all need encouragement to make good choices. We also need guidance back to the straight and narrow when we choose poorly.

While we enjoy our post-Thanksgiving cold turkey sandwiches, think:

Why wait until the new year to begin better habits?
Perhaps now is our best time to quit bad habits once for all.

“Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall” (Ezekiel 18:30 NIV).

Thanks to Tim Lewis for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Robert Jones on Pixabay.

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Bite the Dust

November 9, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Bite the Dust-oak tree I watched an old friend bite the dust last week. He had greeted me faithfully every day for years. Standing stately and tall, the mighty oak inspired me to do the same.

I knew my friend was dying.

He was many times older than me. With each new season, he grew weaker and suffered more losses. Yet, my heart hurt when he finally fell.

Oh, the stories he could have told, if only he could have talked.

Birds born in his branches
Children who played in his shade
Young love ignited with spring’s new growth
Seniors who smiled at memories shared
Death of people, plants, and pets

Like the circles inside his trunk, so goes life.

Birth
Childhood
Adolescence
Adulthood
Death – the end of the road

We all die. Eventually we bite the dust.

However, death does not have to be the end.

When Jesus rose from His tomb on the third day, He defeated sin and death.

If we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, we receive His victory over sin and death.

He promises an eternal home in heaven when we leave this world.

Thank you for the reminder, dear friend. I will miss you.

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 NIV).

Thanks to Jeri Stone for the photo of my friend before he bit the dust.

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More than One Way to Skin a Cat

October 12, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

More than one way to skin a cat sounds cruel. We don’t want our cute, fur-covered pets to suffer.

However, many of us grew up climbing trees or playing on swing sets or horizontal bars. We learned to skin cats without a single pet around. We hung by our hands and lifted our feet and legs between our arms. Then we reversed that position.

More than one way to skin a cat means more than one way to reach a goal.

Simple examples include different ways to:

Bake a cake
Grow a garden
Study for a test

We learn and work based on our personal skills and interests.

I learn and work better with words.
My husband prefers math.

We figure out how to do our best work. Sometimes we do well and hit the bull’s eye. Other times our efforts fall short of what we hope.

Whatever our skills or our results, let’s aim for the best way to do whatever we do.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Colossians 1:9 NIV).

Thanks to Tillie Cowherd for the suggestion and to Karen Atwood for the photo.

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Hang Out to Dry

October 5, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Hang Out to Dry--clothes on a clothesline outside a window After Mom washed our clothes and put them through the wringer, she took them to the clothesline to hang out to dry. Most days the clothes dried in sunshine and gentle breezes. However, they occasionally received the worst of weather:

Storms
Freezing rain
Winds so strong clothes blew off the line

Whether good or bad weather, those clothes had no control over the winds that blew.

When we hang others out to dry, we desert them to face danger alone.

Like clothes in the wind, they have:

No control over the situation.
Little or no support

At times, we want to hurt or punish them. Other times, we simply want to avoid our own trouble.

I don’t know anyone who wants to hang out to dry.

Life is hard enough without others leaving us alone in a bad situation.

Neither should we hang anyone else out to dry.

When anyone deserts us or we desert someone else, remember the situation will eventually come out in the wash.

The Golden Rule tells us, “In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12 NIV).

Thanks to Karen Hart for the suggestion. Image by Philipp Ruch from Pixabay.

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Beat around the Bush

September 28, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Beat around the Bush--a bush behind bare tree limbs A preschool relative visited our family years ago. She used my mother’s perfume without permission. When Mom asked what she had done, Kim beat around the bush. Over and over she responded, “I’m just tired.”

When we don’t want to say something, we may beat around the bush.

Ways we do that include:

Avoid a discussion or a question, as Kim did
Waste time talking about something else
Delay the discussion or our response
Answer cautiously, giving little information
Offer misleading information

To beat around the bush referred originally to bird hunts.

The Phrase Finder explains, “In bird hunts some of the participants roused the birds by beating the bushes.” Therefore, beating around or “‘beating about the bush’ was the preamble to the main event, which was the capturing of the birds.” According to The Free Dictionary, “Not to go directly to such foliage but to work around it instead gave the impression of wasting time or not trying very hard to raise the birds.”

Beating around the bush may cause a tangled web of trouble.

If we fail to speak honestly and clearly, we risk harming ourselves or others. Minor issues may not matter. However, important issues demand our best response.

May our words, as well as our actions, always follow the straight and narrow.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone (Colossians 4:6 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion.

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In One Ear and Out the Other

September 21, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

In One Ear and Out the Other--three horses, only one looking and listening Many people wonder if anyone hears what they say. Their words seem to go in one ear and out the other.

Children ignore or forget what parents say.
Students fail to remember or do what teachers say.
Husbands or wives declare they did not hear their spouse’s words.
Pets pay no attention.

Those to whom they speak:

Hear noise
May hear words
Fail to hear the message

In one ear and out the other means people do not hear or quickly forget what another person says.

It often implies they do not listen or pay attention.

Occasionally it refers to selective hearing — hearing what they want to hear and ignoring the rest. Other times, people pay no attention to anyone whose beliefs differ from theirs.

Too many distractions cause many messages to go in one ear and out the other.

Distractions result from:

Multi-tasking — trying to do too much at the same time
Focusing on phones, television, books, or other interests rather than the person talking

People usually hear and remember if they stay all ears.

They focus totally on the person talking. They listen with their eyes as well as their ears. That kind of attention shows respect for the speaker and the speaker’s message — a good plan for anyone.

“Ears that hear and eyes that see—the Lord has made them both” (Proverbs 20:12 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Mary Lou Rafferty for the photo.

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If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It

September 14, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It-old house and overgrown rail fence Have you noticed how often we change our lives? We try to improve ourselves, other people, or our possessions. A desire to improve can be a wonderful idea. However, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. (I apologize for the poor grammar, but that is the way we say it.)

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it tells us to leave things alone if they work well.

A word to the wise: Why cause problems if we have no need to change?

Small children who take things apart often fail to put them back together. The same happens with adults. (Ask me about my one and only effort at plumbing.) When we try to fix something not broken, we may never get it to work again.

We often try to fix our lives with the newest, best, and most expensive of everything.

Cellphones
Laptops
Televisions
Cars
Houses
Clothes
Shoes
Appliances

And the list keeps growing.

We give away, sell, or throw away perfectly good items to buy similar items to take their place.

As a result:

We stay in debt.
Landfills grow larger with all our trash.
We never find satisfaction with who we are or what we have.

Fix what needs to be fixed, but don’t try to correct a problem that does not exist.

We do well when we learn to live well whatever our circumstances. Certainly, we want to:

Take care of our health
Improve our lives and the lives of others
Make our world safer
Stand firm for what is right

Yet, we don’t want to:

Tear down progress already made
Hurt others
Destroy our world
Compromise what is morally right

When we try to fix what ain’t broken, we get everything out of whack. Instead let’s live in such a way that we and those around us have reason to burst for joy.

“Correct and rebuke your people when they need it, encourage them to do right, and all the time be feeding them patiently with God’s Word” (2 Timothy 4:2 TLB).

Thanks to Charles Smithers for the suggestion.

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