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Category: Self-Improvement

Buck Up

Buck Up

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Buck Up--sun shining above dark cloudsCheer up! Perk up! Get over it! Life is not that bad. All these mean the same thing: buck up.

Life is not usually as bad as we think.

Everything looks dark down in the dumps. We see no way out. That often results when we look the wrong way.

  • When we walk down a cave’s dark path, we see no escape.
  • When we move toward the entrance, we see the light.

We must choose to move.

The light remains there for us. We decide which way to go.

We do the same in daily life. Will we remain down in the dumps or focus on the light at the end of the tunnel?

Our circumstances may remain the same. We all go through hard times. However, we choose our mood.

  • What we tell ourselves changes our mood.
  • Our mood changes our actions.

For physical depression, we may need medical help. For a bad attitude, we need to buck up.

Remember: Every cloud has a silver lining.

“My God turns my darkness into light” (Psalm 18:28 NIV).

Thanks to Joy Taylor for the suggestion.

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Down in the Dumps

Down in the Dumps

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Down in the Dumps--looking up through dark rocks No one enjoys being down in the dumps.

We don’t like to feel depressed or unhappy. Yet, we all get down in the dumps sometimes.

Darkness covers us, much like entering a cave with no lights. We wonder if life will ever get better.

A few people suffer depression because of a physical problem. Most of us simply have days we don’t enjoy as much as others.

  • Our car won’t start.
  • We argue with someone we love.
  • We have to work long hours.

Problems keep growing, and so does our bad mood.

Like an old dog, we growl at others.

  • We frown.
  • We fuss.
  • Nothing pleases us.

Because we feel down in the dumps, we often make others feel bad too.

We want them to share our misery. Yet, most of us have a choice.

Will we focus on our bad moments?

Or will we be thankful for all the good we still enjoy? We’ll talk more about that choice next week.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5 NIV).

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Get Our Feet Wet

Get Our Feet Wet

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Get Our Feet Wet: ocean washing against a beachIf we want to learn to swim, we have to get our feet wet.

A friend’s grandmother taught her to fear water. Therefore, my friend never learned to swim.

My parents had me playing in water when I was a baby. I never feared water, but I did obey safety rules.

My sister, brother, and I enjoyed water games for hours. We:

  • Stood on our hands
  • Floated on our backs
  • Jumped and splashed
  • Looked for fish

I wanted my friend to know the freedom of such a day. First, she had to get her feet wet.

When we try anything new, we must get our feet wet.

We have to take those first steps. Once we get our feet wet, we can move on to deeper water. We can add new skills.

Yet, fear often keeps us from trying.

  • What if I fail?
  • Will I look silly?
  • What will people think?

The truth is:

  • We all fail sometimes.
  • We all look silly sometimes.
  • People don’t notice us as much as we think they do.
  • If we make mistakes, we can always go back to the drawing board.

As an old song says, step into the water.

Get your feet wet. Then, one step at a time, experience the fun of learning something new.

“‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said” (Matthew 14:28-29 NIV).

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Green Thumb

Green Thumb

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Green thumb-flower garden with American flagMy friend Carolyn’s husband has a green thumb.

Tim grows beautiful flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants. His flower garden amazes me. In the middle of his garden stands an American flag. The flag serves as a symbol of the freedom we celebrate each July 4.

My thumb is definitely not green.

Most of my plants get sick and die. Therefore, I grow flowers that require little or no care.

In spite of my lack of talent, I admire the beauty of other people’s plants.

  • I may not know the plants’ names.
  • I may not be able to grow them.
  • However, I can enjoy them.

I am thankful for people with a green thumb. I am also thankful I don’t need a green thumb to be used in other ways.

God gives each of us our own special talents.

Like Tim’s flowers, we are all different. Yet, we can all be beautiful in our own way.

  • Some people work well with numbers.
  • Others work well with people.
  • Some are great planners.

Whatever our talents, green thumb or not, let’s bloom where we are planted.

“Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:11 NIV).

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Off Base

Off Base

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Off Base, little boy T-ball player with one foot on a baseRyder knows not to move his foot off base. If he does, a baseball player on the other team can tag him out.

In baseball, we never want to get off base.

We also:

  • Need to run fast from one base to the next.
  • Must touch all the bases to score a run.
  • Fail to score a run if we get tagged by the baseball between bases.

In life, we don’t want to get caught off base either.

If we are off base, we are wrong. If someone says we are way off base, they mean we are really wrong. We have made a big mistake.

For example, I am off base if I:

  • Believe I will never suffer when I make bad choices
  • Want good pay for poor work
  • Expect people to like me when I treat them badly

The bad news:

We all get off base from time to time.

The good news:

We can get back in the game and try again.

How do we get back on base?

I have been off base playing ball. I have been off base in life. I have learned hard but good lessons from both.

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19 NIV).

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Thanks to Karen Atwood for the photo.

The Other Side of the Coin

The Other Side of the Coin

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The Other Side of the CoinI’m not always right.

I wish I were, but I’m not. Therefore, I need to look at life from other points of view. I need to consider ideas other than my own — the other side of the coin.

By looking at the other side of the coin, I give myself the opportunity to grow. I may learn I was wrong. If not, I strengthen my original belief. I gain from either of those possibilities.

We don’t have to agree with others to remain friends.

Rather, we learn to disagree agreeably. My husband and I share many of the same values and beliefs. We also disagree on several issues. We have learned to accept that reality. Occasionally we begin a sentence with, “I know you’re going to disagree with this, but …”

I wonder:

  • How many wars could have been prevented by looking at the other side’s opinions?
  • How many couples could have avoided divorce by focusing on one another’s feelings?
  • How many friendships could have been preserved by listening more than talking?

Not everything in life revolves around us and our outlook.

Let’s not be hardheaded. Rather, let’s check out the other side of the coin. In the process we:

  • Stretch our minds.
  • Enrich our resources,
  • Share one another’s burdens and joys, whether we agree or not.

When we look at the other side of the coin, we gain another viewpoint. We choose whether to accept or reject that viewpoint. Let’s use wisdom as we choose.

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5 NIV).

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As Good as Their Word

As Good as Their Word

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As Good as Their WordYears ago, people made many business deals with a handshake.

They were as good as their word. Their word — what they said — required no paperwork. They signed no contract. They hired no lawyer.

Everyone knew who was as good as their word. One of the greatest compliments was to be called an honest person.

Our world today has grown complicated.

Almost everyone uses contracts. Courts stay busy because people break contracts. Many people look for legal ways to avoid their responsibilities. Sometimes they get caught red-handed

Let’s win trust back.

  • Instead of avoiding the truth, let’s honor our word.
  • Instead of making excuses for our actions, let’s apologize when wrong.
  • Instead of helping only ourselves, let’s help one another.

We still have people as good as their word. Let’s join them.

Together we can:

  • Rebuild trust in one another.
  • Earn honest reputations.
  • Serve as positive examples for children and youth.

“Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment” (Proverbs 12:19).

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Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth

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Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth, horses in a fieldThe right response for any gift is Thank you.

We never want to act ungrateful. So, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Some people can tell a horse’s age by looking in its mouth. Checking a gift horse’s age is rude. So is inspecting any gift for problems. We might do that later when the gift giver is not with us. But don’t do it in the giver’s presence.

Remember a gift is a gift.

We don’t earn it. Therefore,

  • Be thankful for any gift.
  • Don’t compare it to other people’s gifts.
  • Don’t act like you wish for more.
  • Don’t worry about what it costs.
  • Keep an attitude of gratitude.

A gift’s price matters less than our love and concern for one another.

  • Give freely.
  • Express thanks often.
  • Focus on feelings, not finances.

“Always be thankful” (Colossians 3:15 NIV).

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

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Throw in the Towel

Throw in the Towel

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Throw in the Towel--two women at a Relay for Life eventThese cancer survivor friends refuse to throw in the towel. Life knocked them down, but they got up again. They did not quit.

Throw in the towel comes from boxing. I don’t like boxing. Yet, many expressions we use come from that sport.

When someone throws a towel into the boxing ring, that team admits defeat. To avoid further pain, they give up. They don’t want the boxer hurt any more. Because the boxer is caught between a rock and a hard place, hard choices must be made.

We may decide to throw in the towel when we:

  • Can go no further
  • Have no hope
  • Need to focus on something else

However, sometimes we throw in the towel too soon. We:

  • Give up before we try everything
  • Rely on our own strength rather than God’s
  • Need to take a break and then try again.

If we do our best, we should feel no shame when we must throw in the towel. We just don’t want to throw it in too soon.

“Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded” (2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV).

Thanks to Debbie and Karen for the photo and life example. Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion.

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Handwriting on the Wall

Handwriting on the Wall

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Handwriting on the Wall - Emily AkinPlease welcome my friend Emily Akin as today’s guest writer. Emily and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. She continues to be one of my greatest sources for writing information. Emily lives in northwest Tennessee with her husband of 47 years and their Jack Russell terrier, Jeb.

Handwriting-on-the-Wall“I should have seen the handwriting on the wall,” she said. “Company profits were down. I saw my friends being laid off month after month. I knew my turn was coming.”

What does it mean — seeing the handwriting on the wall?

The expression comes from the Bible story of Belshazzar’s Feast in the book of Daniel. Many Jewish people were in exile in Babylon during Belshazzar’s reign. At a court feast, Belshazzar served wine in gold and silver goblets. He had taken the goblets from the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Later, a hand with no body appeared. It wrote terrifying words on the wall. Daniel, a Jewish exile who had become a court advisor, was called. He interpreted the writing.

This is what was written: mene, mene, tekel, parsin. “Here is what these words mean: Mene: God has numbered the days of your reign and brought it to an end. Tekel: You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Parsin: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” That very night Belshazzar, king of the Babylonians, was slain, and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two. (Daniel 5:25-28, 30-31, NIV).

Someone who has seen the handwriting on the wall may have

  • Had warning that disaster was coming.
  • Been doing something that he/she knew was wrong.
  • Realized a certain situation would not end well.

We sometimes continue in denial even when we have seen warning signs of

  • Job loss (company had been cutting employees for months).
  • Health problems (hereditary or lifestyle choices).
  • Personal problems (relationship with God or other people).

When we follow God’s rules for living and seek His guidance, we can learn to interpret the handwriting on the wall for ourselves.

“Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.” (Psalm 119:66, NIV).

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

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