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Category: Problems

A Dime a Dozen

A Dime a Dozen

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A Dime a DozenWhen we want to describe something common or easy to find, a dime a dozen says it well.

A dime a dozen often implies a lack of worth.

A dime won’t buy much. Occasionally we buy cheap toys we know will break easily. Yet we think, If they break, we can just throw them away.

How often do we treat people as worthless?

  • How do we view those with little money?
  • When someone makes a mistake, do we help them or give up on them?
  • How do we act around those different from us?
  • Do we look down on those who fail to meet our standards?
  • How many have we labeled hopeless and undeserving of our time and effort?

Sadly, many people accept this judgment.

After years of mistreatment, they give up. They stop seeking a better life. They believe they deserve the way we treat them.

How dare we do that to another human being!

A broken toy can be thrown away. A broken person needs our love and concern.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:3 NIV).

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Over the Hill

Over the Hill

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Over the Hill“You’re not over the hill yet, but my mom just went over the hill.” Those words came from an elementary-age girl whose mother had just celebrated her 35th birthday. The mother laughed. She remembered thinking the same thing about her mother at that age.

Young people often believe middle-age and older adults are over the hill.

They think they have reached their peak in life. In their opinion, anyone 35 or older:

  • Is out of touch with the latest fads, language, and styles
  • Stops having fun
  • Sets no more worthwhile goals
  • Loses their spirit of adventure

Wrong! The fun just begins, if we relax and enjoy the journey.

  • The need to impress, to fit in with the cool crowd, and to prove ourselves diminishes.
  • We learn to enjoy the moment for what it is, not what we wish.
  • That freedom exhilarates, and the future looks promising.

As Robert Browning said:

Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life, for which the first was made:
Our times are in His hand
Who saith ‘A whole I planned,
Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid!’”

“I will sing to the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (Psalm 104:33 NIV).

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Raining Cats and Dogs

Raining Cats and Dogs

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Raining Cats and Dogs“It’s raining cats and dogs” has been heard a lot recently. Because of rain:

  • Streets, roads, and parks closed.
  • Parts of roads and bridges washed away.
  • Basements flooded.
  • Fields turned into ponds.
  • People joked about the Bible’s story of Noah and their need to build an ark.

We have had rain and plenty of it!

People who enjoy the sound of rain when they sleep probably couldn’t keep their eyes open … unless thunder and lightning kept them awake.

Of course, grass, trees, and flowers look wonderful once the sun finally shines through those clouds. We also gaze in awe at a rainbow’s beauty.

Rain showers and rainbows remind us of God’s blessings.

God waits to shower us with joy, peace, hope, love, and more, if we turn to Him. Those showers continue, regardless of the weather outside.

“I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing” (Ezekiel 34:26, NIV)

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

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Bloom Where You’re Planted

Bloom Where You’re Planted

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Bloom Where You're PlantedThis picture, taken in a geyser basin of Yellowstone National Park, demonstrates bloom where you’re planted perfectly. Surrounded by geysers and hot springs, these flowers thrive. I’m certain a plant scientist could explain that. However, to an untrained eye, it looks impossible. In the midst of boiling water, thick steam, and crusty ground, flowers grow and bloom.

These flowers remind us to bloom where we’re planted.

Our life circumstances (where we’re planted) may be good or bad. Yet we can grow and spread cheer (bloom) regardless of our circumstances. Certainly, that’s easier when life goes well. At the same time, some of the most cheerful people have experienced the hardest lives.

  • A poor man with a sick wife gives snacks to children at his church every week.
  • A dying wife encourages her husband and children to live well after her death.
  • A hungry woman gives the last of her food to neighbors.

Will we bloom where we’re planted and spread joy?

Or will we wilt and spread gloom? Each of us must choose.

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon” (Psalm 92:12 NIV).

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

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Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

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Fear often keeps us from trying anything new. We think, “If I don’t try, I won’t fail.” By not trying, however, we miss some of the best that life has to offer. If we haven’t ventured into the unknown, we stay safe but stagnant.

Consider the child rejected by his parents. As an adult, he must choose if he will trust people. If he trusts, he could be rejected again … or he might enjoy close relationships. If he never trusts, he will never know true love.

Most of us fear public speaking. We may have great voices and brilliant ideas. But they do no good if we never share them. If we make a mistake, that’s okay. Everyone else makes them too.

A woman’s grandmother told her, “You can’t go near water until you learn how to swim.” As a result, she couldn’t swim and panicked when near deep water. Only when she faced her fears could she swim. She began by standing in a small amount of water. One small step at a time, she ventured farther. As a middle-aged woman, she finally learned the fun of playing in a pool.

What do you fear? Is the harm real or only in your mind?

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV).

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Let Bygones Be Bygones

Let Bygones Be Bygones

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Let Bygones Be Bygones 3The past controls too many people.

They will not let bygones be bygones. Instead of letting the past be past, they spend all their time remembering.

  • Some remember great things they did but can no longer do.
  • Others wish for the simpler, easier life when they were younger.

Far too many think about all the wrongs done to them.

  • Their family or friends hurt them.
  • Their boss treated them unfairly.
  • They lost money.
  • They never had a chance to improve their lives.

Everything that happens affects us.

Many people do suffer unfairly. Others live with painful memories. Some allow anger to control their lives. They hurt others because they feel hurt.

Life’s not always fair. We must decide how to live with that fact.

Will we learn from the past but live in the present? Only then can we look forward to the future.

Let’s not allow the past to control us.

Let bygones be bygones.

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past” (Isaiah 43:18 NIV).

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Something’s Fishy

Something’s Fishy

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Something's Fishy--fishNo one likes to smell fish left in a hot car, on the beach, or in a trash can. They stink! Only people who cannot smell escape the fishy aroma.

Getting rid of that odor is almost impossible. We rub. We spray. We open doors and windows. We do everything we know to do, but the smell remains.

In much the same way, we sometimes face situations that don’t seem right. We may not know why, but the negative feeling won’t go away.

  • A friend asks us to join an activity that makes us feel uneasy.
  • Someone offers an opportunity that sounds too good to be true.
  • We sense danger but can’t see why.

Those fishy situations disturb us for a reason. By trusting our instincts, we may avoid many future problems.

Flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness (1 Timothy 6:11 NIV).