Self-Improvement Archives - Page 33 of 48

Easy as Pie

October 31, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Easy as Pie--Pumpkins From October through December, gaining weight becomes as easy as pie (very easy). We no longer want small summer meals Instead, we desire comfort food … and plenty of it.

Farmers have picked the last of their fruit and vegetables. We find them for sale everywhere. Let the eating begin!

Making pie is not easy.

Of course, many cooks buy pie crusts already made. Some also buy pie mixes. Making those pies is easy. However, making a whole pie takes work … and plenty of it.

Eating pie is easy.

Pumpkin pie is a fall favorite, especially for Thanksgiving. I prefer chocolate, lemon, or pecan.

Easy as pie applies to more than pies.

Anything that requires little work is easy as pie.

However, something easy for you may be hard for me.

You may be a great painter. Not me.
You may understand physics. Not me.
You may be able to fly a plane. Not me.

If I study painting, physics, and flying planes, I will improve. They may never be as easy as pie, but, if I tackle them, they will get easier.

Perhaps this fall and winter we should try to gain more knowledge instead of weight. Physics or pie? Which sounds better to you?

“ Salvation that comes from trusting Christ—which is what we preach—is already within easy reach of each of us; in fact, it is as near as our own hearts and mouths” (Romans 10:8 TLB).

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Bark Up the Wrong Tree

October 17, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 1 comment

Bark Up the Wrong Tree--Dog standing among trees

Dogs love to chase other animals. Usually they can see or smell them, so they stay on the right path. When those animals run up a tree, dogs stand under the tree and bark.

Occasionally dogs bark up the wrong tree.

They lose sight or smell of the animal they chase. They may stand under a tree and bark as loudly as they can. Yet, all that barking does no good if they bark up the wrong tree.

We can also bark up the wrong tree.

That happens when we:

Make a wrong choice
Follow the wrong path
Listen to the wrong people

We may think we are going the right direction. Yet, we have strayed from our goal.

Sometimes we know we made the wrong decision. Yet, we keep going. We fail to admit our mistake and change. We get comfortable going the wrong way.

To find what we are looking for, we must follow the correct trail.

True for dogs
True for people

When we hit the trail, we want to be sure we are on the right one.

“Listen, my child, and be wise, and guide your heart on the right way” (Psalm 23:19 NET).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Batten Down the Hatches

October 10, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

Storms occur at sea and in our lives.

When we batten down the hatches, we prepare for those storms. We see trouble coming and hard times ahead, so we get ready.

A hatch or hatchway is an opening in a ship’s deck. The ship’s crew covers the hatch when they expect bad weather. Storms at sea can destroy ships and the people on them. Sealing the hatch provides extra protection.

When we expect life problems, we also want to do what we can to protect against them.

Some storms do little damage.

Families may say, “Batten down the hatches. Aunt Mina’s kids are coming.” (I don’t have an Aunt Mina.)
Businesses may say, “Batten down the hatches. We expect poor sales next month.”
Governments may say, “Batten down the hatches. This decision will make some people mad.”

Some storms destroy.

Families may say, “Batten down the hatches. Dad’s drinking and threatening Mom.” (My dad did not drink and never threatened my mom.)
Businesses may say, “Batten down the hatches. We may have to close if sales get any worse.”
Governments may say, “Batten down the hatches. This decision may lead to war.”

Some storms we can prevent. Some we cannot.

We don’t always know when storms are coming. Therefore, we need to stay prepared as much as we can all the time. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

If we cannot prevent storms, we try to survive them. We hang on for dear life to what matters most.

“I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm” (Psalm 55:8 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Mend Fences

October 3, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

I love fences.

I know some people say, “Don’t fence me in,” meaning they want their freedom. I like freedom too. Still, I enjoy the beauty of fences.

Fences give order.
They look neat.
Sometimes they provide safety.

However, we need to mend (repair) fences occasionally.

Fences break.
They need paint.
Animals damage them.
They start leaning the wrong way.
They get dirty.

If we don’t mend them, they won’t stay safe, neat, orderly, and beautiful.

Occasionally we need to mend fences in our relationships.

We disagree, argue, or fight.
We neglect one another.
Hard times hurt us.
We let others lead us the wrong way.
We betray one another.

We mend fences when we improve our relationships.

How do we do that? We learn to:

Disagree without arguing or fighting
Spend special time together
Refuse to follow bad examples
Support one another through hard times
Apologize when we do wrong

Of course, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If we take care of our relationships every day, we don’t have to spend so much time mending them. That seems a small price to pay for a safe, neat, orderly, beautiful relationship.

“Turn us back to You, O Lord, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21 NKJV).

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Tackle It

September 26, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 16 comments

Tackle it. Get started. Get the job done. Don’t wait.

When we tackle anything, we try to solve a problem or complete a job.

Sometimes we tackle problems with our brains.
Other jobs we tackle with physical work.
Perhaps hardest to tackle are relationships with other people.

In football, tackle is both a noun and a verb. Football tackles (players) tackle (stop) players on the other team. We will focus on the verb.

A tackle has two purposes:

To keep the other team from scoring
To help our team score

Some tackles are easy. Some are hard.

Coaches, cheerleaders, and fans cheer for their team during a game. Cheering encourages the team to play their best.

Like football, the jobs we tackle may be easy or hard.

Either way, why not cheer for one another? Why not encourage one another to do our best? Encouragement improves both our attitudes and actions.

We tackle life better with support.

Often when we tackle life’s problems alone, we get down in the dumps. A kind word or a smile may be all we need to get out of the dumps and ready to go again.

“Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV).

Thanks to Joy Taylor for the suggestion.

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Worry Wart

September 19, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 9 comments

Worry Wart-fallen tree covered in weeds I don’t want warts on my skin. Neither do I want to be a worry wart. Both can annoy us.

Worry warts worry all the time.

Sometimes they worry about what has happened or is happening. Often they borrow trouble – they worry about problems that could happen.

Their worries include:

Health
Personal relationships
The weather
Money
Death

Worry warts worry about everything.

We have trees behind our house.

I can enjoy their shade and beauty. Or I can worry that a tree may fall on my house.
I can enjoy the animals that live among those trees. Or I can worry that one will bite me or give me a disease.
I can enjoy the leaves as they change colors. Or I can worry about having to rake all those leaves when they fall.

The tree in this photo did fall. However, it was old and rotten inside. It was far from the house, so the fall was no problem. We cut our trees when we think they may cause problems. The other trees we choose to enjoy.

Why worry?

Marian Woosley lived and taught a good plan for life. One of her favorite expressions was, “Why worry when we can pray?” That’s a good question, don’t you think?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6 NIV).

Thanks to Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion.

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Reach for the Sky

September 5, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Reach for the sky--Devil's Tower with the sky above Reach for the sky has two meanings.

A robber tells people to hold their hands in the air by saying, “Reach for the sky.”
We tell people to set high goals by saying, “Reach for the sky.”

We will focus on the second meaning.

When we look at the sky, it seems so far away.

The clouds float high above us.
Birds fly into it.
Children pretend to touch it.
Yet, how can we reach it?

When we look at goals, they may also appear far away.

Some goals seem greater than our ability.
Other people succeed while we fail.
We sometimes do nothing more than dream of what we want to do.

Far away does not mean impossible.

In spite of challenges, we can reach the sky. In spite of challenges, we can reach our goals. Yet, how do we do that?

We reach goals, like most of life, one step at a time. We may never get as far as we hope. Yet, we will get closer than if we never tried. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If we try, we may surprise ourselves. In addition to reaching our goals, we could go far beyond them.

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5 NIV).

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Win by a Nose

August 29, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

To win by a nose means we barely win.

There is little difference between the winner and loser.

In horse racing, a horse often wins by a nose. Whether the first horse wins by a nose or a great distance, its owner gets the prize. The losers may win another day.

We may or may not run a physical race. Yet, we all compete for prizes:

Jobs
Grades
Gifts
Awards

Sometimes we win by a lot. Occasionally we win by a nose, barely getting the prize. Other times we lose.

We all like to win.

Yet, losing can teach us important lessons too:

Stay humble
Try harder next time
Share the joy of other people

Remember: The greatest prize in life is the gift of Jesus’ love, free to all.

“I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:14 TLB).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Get the Ball Rolling

August 22, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 5 comments

Get the Ball Rolling-child kicking soccer ball Griffin likes to get the ball rolling. He is always ready for a game to begin. Many of us are a little slower getting started

Sometimes we fail to get the ball rolling.

That is true in soccer and true in life. We know we should begin. Yet, we keep putting off what we need or want to do.

We may not get the ball rolling for several reasons:

The job looks too hard.
We fear we might fail.
We get lazy.

Too often, we throw in the towel before we begin.

Someone had to get the ball rolling for:

Electricity
Internet service
Automobiles
Modern medicine

Now we cannot imagine life without those services. Yet, someone had to take the first step for us to enjoy them.

What if the next great invention is waiting for us to get the ball rolling?

What work do we need to start?
Who do we need to encourage?

Who knows what the future holds? Let’s do our best to make it better because of our actions today.

“Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you” (1 Chronicles 22:16 NIV).

Thanks to Lindsey Howard for the photo.

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Face the Music

August 8, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

I love to listen to music.

Music makes me laugh, cry, dance, worship, and more. Few things in life offer as much pleasure.

I still remember the first time I saw the opening scene of The Sound of Music. I wanted to run up that mountain with Julie Andrews and sing just like her. I could probably run up the mountain. I will never sing like that.

I don’t like to face the music.

I don’t want to accept the results of my actions when I have done wrong. When other people do wrong, I usually think they should face the music. They should pay for their mistakes. Yet, I don’t want the same for myself.

However, I live with the consequences of the choices I make.

Most of the time, good choices result in a good life. Bad choices usually result in a bad life. That is not always true, but it is most of the time.

The choices I make also affect other people. I want to help them make good choices and avoid bad ones.

Likewise, I want to choose carefully the people who guide me. Although I see many examples, I choose the ones I follow.

Whether I have good or bad teachers, I choose my actions.
Whether I have good or bad friends, I choose my actions.
Whether I have a good or bad family, I choose my actions.

Making right choices is not always easy. When I fail, I ask God for forgiveness and thank God for a fresh start. God offers that same forgiveness and fresh start to everyone.

I pray you always enjoy beautiful music. I also pray you make good choices so you don’t have to face the music.

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19 NIV).

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