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Category: Southern Expressions

Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

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Don't Count Your Chickens Before They HatchPeople who raise chickens understand exactly what this means. They know you don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

Too many disasters can occur to those fragile eggs.

  • Animals may eat them.
  • Children may use them to play ball.
  • Someone may accidentally sit or step on them.

Likewise, we have no guarantee our plans will work.

Not with:

  • Family
  • Work
  • Recreation
  • School
  • The next hour

We can:

  • Plan
  • Organize
  • Prepare for possible problems.

In spite of that, our plans may fail.

So, do we give up? Do we stop trying? Definitely not!

We continue to plan, organize, and prepare for problems. With hard work, our plans often succeed.

But we also remain flexible.

We face the fact that we can’t control everything. We remember that sometimes our best-laid plans fail.

Above all, we remember that when we can’t count on anyone or anything else, we can always count on God. God never fails.

“‘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).

Thanks to Emily Akin for suggesting this expression.

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A Chip Off the Old Block

A Chip Off the Old Block

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A Chip Off the Old Block 2The tiniest wood chip contains the same basic makeup as the original block, simply smaller. Often people refer to a child as a chip off the old block. No one questions the child’s heritage. Similarities to the parent may include the way they walk, talk, gesture, and behave. Personalities of the parent and child often match one another as well.

We have little control over our physical appearance. We can use makeup, eat and sleep well, and exercise. A few people receive costly cosmetic surgery. Yet, many of our physical features are beyond our control.

Although a person’s nature reflects genetics, we choose whether to control our behavior in most circumstances. We decide who we mirror in our actions and attitudes.

Choose wisely.

“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart” (Proverbs 27:19 NIV).