Browsed by
Category: Self-Improvement

March to a Different Drummer

March to a Different Drummer

Comments 2 comments
March to a Different Drummer CU Tiger Drumline 2
Campbellsville University Photo

We all know them. Perhaps we are one of them: people who march to a different drummer. (We may also say they march to the beat of a different drummer.)

However we say it, such people are different from what society calls normal. We may see those differences in behavior, beliefs, or both. Unusual habits can appear in almost all areas, including:

  • Clothing
  • Hobbies
  • Food
  • Routines
  • Homes

Henry David Thoreau said, “If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.”

For some reason, most of us think we have to be the same as everyone else. That often causes no problem. Yet, on matters of importance, we must stand firm. We must risk being different. We must march to a different drummer.

Let’s be certain we choose our drummer carefully.

“I know the greatness of the Lord—that he is greater far than any other god. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it” (Psalm 135:5; 139:14 TLB).

Special thanks to Shirley Cheatham for the suggestion and to Campbellsville University for the Tiger Drumline 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.

Fresh Start

Fresh Start

Comments 16 comments

Fresh StartWe all need a fresh start occasionally.

  • We lose a job and need a new one.
  • We hurt someone and need forgiveness.
  • We make bad choices and need another chance.

A fresh start means a new beginning. We start over.

A fresh start gives hope. We look for better days ahead, much like:

  • Springtime arrives after a long hard winter.
  • We build a new fence after the old one falls apart.
  • New flowers bloom through dead grass and leaves.

The message of Easter offers the greatest fresh start of all. Jesus died on a cross on Friday, but he rose from the grave on Sunday. He defeated death and sin.

When we choose to follow Jesus, we receive new life. We gain God’s love, peace, hope, and joy. We still have problems, but the problems will not defeat us. In addition, we have the promise of an eternal home in heaven.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV).

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.

High on the Hog

High on the Hog

Comments 7 comments

High on the HogSome people live and eat high on the hog. They enjoy the good life. They surround themselves with luxury.

Farmers who raise hogs (pigs) understand the expression. So do butchers who cut the meat. The best cuts of pork come from the back and upper parts of a pig’s leg. Therefore, we find the most expensive cuts high on the hog.

Wealthy people can afford to live high on the hog. Of course, the expression refers to more than their food. It includes a rich lifestyle:

  • Fancy homes and cars
  • Frequent world travel
  • Designer clothing
  • Expensive jewelry
  • The best of everything

Some wealthy people choose to live a simple lifestyle. They either save their money or share it. Others live high on the hog but also help those less fortunate.

Many people who can’t afford it try to live high on the hog. They buy on credit but can’t pay their bills. They get too big for their britches. They fail to consider the final cost – the bottom line.

Whether we live high on the hog or live off life’s scraps, we decide how we will use what we possess.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15 NIV)

Thanks to Lori Carmicle for the photo and Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion.

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.

What Goes Around Comes Around

What Goes Around Comes Around

Comments 3 comments

What Goes Around Comes AroundWisconsin’s House on the Rock owns the largest indoor carousel in the world. That merry-go-round is huge!

  • 269 carousel animals
  • More than 20,000 lights
  • 182 chandeliers

A carousel always returns to its starting point. So does anything that moves in circles. All demonstrate what goes around comes around.

We often see what goes around comes around in daily life as well.

  • If we hurt others, we can expect hurt.
  • If we help others, we can expect help.
  • If we ignore others, we can expect to be ignored.

We believe people should get what they deserve. We think rewards and punishment should be based on behavior. But life is not always fair. What goes around comes around is not always true.

  • We don’t always reap what we sow.
  • Sometimes people hurt us when we don’t deserve hurt.
  • Other times people help us when we don’t deserve help.

Therefore, we must decide:

  • Will we love people, regardless of how they treat us?
  • Or will we give them control by acting like them?

Let’s start more circles of kindness and forgiveness. What do you think?

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32 NIV).

Please comment below on ways you have seen people show kindness in recent days.

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.

Stubborn as a Mule

Stubborn as a Mule

Comments 2 comments

Stubborn as a MuleI can be stubborn as a mule. Just ask anyone who knows me well. I hate to admit it, but it’s true.

  • I know what I want.
  • I know what I believe.
  • I don’t like change.
  • I’m not impossible, but I am stubborn.

A mule is born from a female horse and a male donkey. They have several advantages over horses:

  • Mules are sure-footed — less likely to slide or stumble.
  • They carry heavy weight better.
  • They endure heat well.
  • They are tough and strong.

Mules are smart. They take care of themselves. If they think something is dangerous, they won’t do it. They trust themselves more than others.

Try to force a mule to do something, and you will probably lose. That’s why we call them stubborn. Help the mule see the advantage of what you want, and you win.

The more I think about it, being stubborn as a mule may not be that bad. I wonder, is that because of my research, or is it because I want it to be so? Hmmm …

“My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled” (Psalm 17:5 NIV).

Thanks to the late Jack Bruns, another self-proclaimed stubborn-as-a-mule person, for the suggestion. Thanks to Debbie Tapscott, 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.

On a Wing and a Prayer

On a Wing and a Prayer

Comments 1 comment

On a Wing and a Prayer 1Have you ever made it home on a wing and a prayer?

  • Your airplane starts shaking.
  • You see smoke from one wing.
  • The fasten seatbelt light comes on.
  • The captain says he will have to make an emergency landing.
  • You begin to pray.

On a wing and a prayer applies to more than airplanes.

However, it first described damaged planes. According to The Phrase Finder, the expression began during World War II. It means “in poor condition but just managing to get the job done.”

The song “On a Wing and a Prayer,”  written in 1943, described a damaged warplane barely able to return to base. The movie Wing and a Prayer followed in 1944.

On a wing and a prayer offers hope.

Whatever becomes damaged in our lives can still be used. Like the World War II pilots:

  • We use the resources we have.
  • We pray for God’s direction in how to use them.
  • We finish our task.

We all face difficulties. We all have scars, whether seen or unseen. Those scars remind us we can heal and grow stronger from our experiences.

“Have mercy on me, O God! Have mercy on me! For in you I have taken shelter. In the shadow of your wings I take shelter until trouble passes” (Psalm 57:1 NET).

Thank you to Debbie Tapscott for both the suggested expression and 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.

Haste Makes Waste

Haste Makes Waste

Comments 5 comments

Haste Makes Waste 6Speed works well on a race track but can cause problems other places. My parents and grandparents often said haste makes waste.

A few people can complete tasks quickly and well. Most of us need to take our time. A slow but steady pace usually means a safer and better outcome.

When we rush, we waste time and effort.

We may have to repeat our task, because we did not do it right the first time.

Think about the potential problems.

  • Lives injured or lost when we drive too fast
  • Tests failed when we rush our answers
  • Money wasted when we invest in get-rich-quick schemes

Who wants:

  • A doctor who won’t take time to answer questions?
  • An attorney who skips reading the evidence for a trial?
  • A cook who serves food before it’s done?

As John Wooden said, “If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?”

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 NIV).

Special thanks to Lisa Despain 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.

Watch Your Back

Watch Your Back

Comments 0 Comment

Watch Your BackTeachers in self-defense classes tell us “Watch your back.”

We don’t have eyes in the back of our heads, so how do we do that? We watch our backs by:

  • Avoiding danger
  • Verifying information
  • Preparing for problems

With electronics, we watch our backs by backing up our information.

If you want to keep it, back it up. Computers, smart phones, tablets, and other devices fail for several reasons.

  • Age
  • Malware
  • Theft
  • Accidents

Without backup, I would have recently lost all my documents and photos. Trust me; that’s one of a writer’s worst nightmares. I was thankful I had backed up my information more than one way. Pay attention to the warning, better safe than sorry.

Caring adults watch the backs of children.

Randi and Callie enjoy playing at the beach. So do their parents. Yet, Mom and Dad constantly watch the girls’ backs.

  • They protect them.
  • They guide them.
  • They set the right example – the footprints – for the girls to follow.

Watch your back. Watch the backs of others.

Follow the right footprints.

“Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you’” (Matthew 24:4 NIV).

Thanks to Shannan Posey for the photo and Laurel Blevins for the suggestion.

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.

Puppy Love

Puppy Love

Comments 4 comments

Puppy Love 1Puppies are cute, sweet, and make us smile. The same is true for puppy love — children or young people falling in love. We smile at puppy love, but we know it seldom lasts.

The problem: Puppy love depends on emotions alone — how do I feel?

  • If you make me feel good, I love you.
  • If you make me feel bad, I don’t love you.
  • If we have fun, I love you.
  • If we don’t have fun, I don’t love you.

As a result, young people may fall in and out of love several times.

Sadly many adults define love the same way.

The trouble with that thinking:

  • Good feelings come and go.
  • Life is not always fun.

True love – lasting love – means much more.

  •  I choose to love you.
  • I commit my life to you.
  • I will do what is best for you.

That does not mean love is blind. It does mean:

  • I accept that no one is perfect.
  • I will work with you on our disagreements.
  • I love you, even when I don’t like you or your actions.

In any relationship we sometimes feel on top of the world. Other times we feel like we are in a valley. True love says, “I will walk with you wherever the journey takes us.”

Love is a choice. Love is a verb.

Note:  If abuse occurs in a relationship, seek help and protection immediately.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).

What do you think true love means? 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.

Bucket List

Bucket List

Comments 4 comments

Bucket List 2Do you have a bucket list — a list of things you want to do before you die?

I checked riding in a hot air balloon off my list over a year ago.

People have talked about bucket lists for years. However, the expression became more popular after 2007’s The Bucket List movie starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

The two men in the movie met when they became hospital roommates. Doctors told both they were dying. They had very different backgrounds and personalities. Yet, they began a worldwide adventure together. As they completed each activity on their bucket list, they marked it off.

In one of my favorite scenes from that movie, Morgan Freeman urges Jack Nicholson to find his joy.

Have you found your joy?

Do you know what gives your life purpose?

Our bucket lists may differ. Our circumstances may change. Our need for joy remains the same.

Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 TLB).

What’s on your bucket list?

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.