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Nothing to Write Home About

Nothing to Write Home About

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Nothing to write home about-Grand Canyon photoJoseph C. Ives explored the Grand Canyon and Colorado River region in 1857 and 1858. He thought it was nothing to write home about. Although he admired the scenery, he described it as “altogether valueless.” He could not imagine anyone wanting to visit there.

I wonder what he would think if he could see the Grand Canyon’s millions of visitors today.

Nothing to write home about means something is nothing special.

It is:

  • Boring
  • Not very good
  • Unimportant

The expression can describe almost anything, including:

  • Food
  • Income
  • Places
  • Activities
  • Books
  • Movies

We don’t always agree on what is nothing to write home about.

 For example, do you enjoy:

  • Seafood?
  • A job with regular hours?
  • The Grand Canyon?
  • Tennis?
  • John Grisham books?
  • Hallmark Christmas movies?

Some of us like these. Others of us think they are for the birds.

Caring for one another is always something to write home about.

Jesus set the example of love in action. We do well to follow, through thick and thin.

“Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other” (1 Thessalonians 4:9 NIV).

Thanks to Jim Graybeal for the suggestion.

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Burst with Joy

Burst with Joy

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Burst with Joy--old silo with smiling faceI remember the first time I saw this silo. It looked like it would burst with joy. A freshly painted smiling face greeted every passing traveler.

To burst with joy means we are so full of joy we can hardly hold it.

Our cup runs over with happiness.

The years have been hard on my silo friend.

  • Its paint has faded. Yet, its smile remains.
  • Rain, wind, and storms have given it a hard time. Yet, it still stands.
  • Time will continue to take its toll. Yet, each change reveals the silo’s inner strength.

It still looks like it could burst with joy.

I love the lessons this old silo teaches.

  • Age changes our appearance. Yet, it does not have to take our smile.
  • Life’s storms beat against us. Yet, they don’t have to defeat us.
  • Time will take its toll on our lives. Yet, we can make the best of each life stage.

We can’t always choose our life circumstances. Yet, we can choose our attitude.

Thanksgiving reminds us to count our blessings.

  • If we have faith, family, and friends, we have more wealth than many in our world.
  • Food to eat, a home, and basic needs also make us richer than most.

When we share with others, our blessings grow.

May we never forget to thank God and the people who add joy to our lives.

Let’s also never forget to bless others.

Keep smiling. Let your life burst with joy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music” (Psalm 98:4 NIV).

What makes you burst with joy? Please comment below.

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Lipstick on a Pig

Lipstick on a Pig

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Lipstick on a Pig--baby pigWe can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.

Lipstick on a pig means we try to make something look better than it is.

  • A pretty plate does not make bad food taste good.
  • Fresh paint on a falling-down house does not make it safe.
  • A new building does not make a failing business succeed.

Change must occur inside as well as outside.

  • Cook better food to go on that pretty plate.
  • Repair the house and then paint it.
  • Change how the business in that new building operates.

Lipstick on a pig fools few people.

Often it fools no one.

Only true change makes a difference.

An improved appearance may make us feel better for a while. However, we must tackle the real problems for lasting change.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how his ways will really satisfy you” (Romans 12:2 TLB).

Thanks to Frank Cheatham for the suggestion.

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Run Deep

Run Deep

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Run Deep--tree roots on the groundRecently a cousin wrote, “Our roots run deep and are closely intertwined.” She meant our family has a long and strong history of close relationships. We may not see one another often, but our ties remain. We can depend on mutual love and support.

Anything that runs deep (or goes deep) stays strong.

 Family or friends give and receive:

  • Loyalty
  • Joy in good times
  • Sympathy and support in bad times
  • Commitment

We take our relationships seriously. We provide what others need when they need it.

If roots don’t run deep, we often fail when troubles come.

Like trees with surface roots, problems destroy our:

  • Relationships
  • Emotions
  • Sense of responsibility

When we root ourselves in the eternal, we survive the temporary.

By focusing on what matters most, we:

Therefore, let’s root ourselves in the never-failing promises of God. Then we can stand tall and stand firm through the hardest times.

“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).

Thanks to Rhonda Wade Royster for the suggestion.

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Wring Our Hands

Wring Our Hands

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Wring Our Hands -- woman wringing handsWe cannot sleep. We cannot eat, or we eat too much. We wring our hands until the skin almost comes off.

Does that sound familiar?

To wring our hands is one sign of worry.

We twist our hands and rub them together over and over again. However, we often do nothing about what worries us. Rather than try to fix the problem, we spend all our time as a worry wart.

We:

  • Worry about our bills but fail to follow a budget
  • Complain about young people but don’t show them a better way
  • Cry over hungry children but never help feed them
  • Complain about the government but refuse to vote

Wringing our hands will not make a difference.

Rather than waste time worrying, why not lift our hands in prayer. But let’s not stop there. Why not also put feet to our prayers?

Seek God’s guidance. Then do something to improve the situation.

We cannot change all the world’s problems. We can change a few.

Will we dare to make a difference?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life” (Matthew 6:25 NIV).

Thanks to Tillie Cowherd for the suggestion.

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

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A Little Better than Plumb

A Little Better than Plumb

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A Little Better than Plumb--Henry and Janice Holt Giles cabinIf anything is plumb, it is perfectly straight.

It is exact. Therefore, a little better than plumb is not really better. Instead it is:

  • Off plumb
  • Out of plumb
  • Not straight

Kentucky authors Henry and Janice Holt Giles wrote about building their cabin in the book A Little Better than Plumb: The Biography of a House.

One worker asked another if what they just nailed was plumb. The reply: “Sure was. Fact is … hit was jist a little bit better’n plumb ….” The Giles’ discovered that several parts of their cabin were a little better than plumb.

Read more about the Giles family and their cabin in the September Kentucky Monthly magazine.

A Little Better than Plumb -- plumb lineA plumb line helps measure whether anything is straight or plumb.

A metal weight (plumb bob) at the end of a line holds the line straight. It may be low tech, but it works.

Our lives often get off plumb or out of plumb.

We leave the straight and narrow and end up in hot water. Yet, God offers us a fresh start.

If we accept that fresh start, God expects us, like plumb lines, to show others the perfect way.

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28:17 NIV).

Thanks to Jeri Stone for the suggestion and to Iva and Jewel Wade for the plumb line photo.

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

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What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket

What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket

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What Goes Down in the Well Comes Up in the Bucket --well with bucketAs a little girl, I loved to visit relatives who had a well with a bucket. The bucket was tied to the end of a rope. To get water, we had to:

  • Lower the bucket into the well
  • Listen for the bucket to go under the water
  • Turn the crank on the side of the well to bring up the bucket of water

I learned what goes down in the well comes up in the bucket.

  • Throw toys in the well; toys come up.
  • Dump garbage in the well; garbage comes up.
  • Spill food in the well; food comes up.

The same holds true for our lives.

What we pour into our lives comes out in how we live.

  • Feed our minds and hearts good thoughts; good behavior follows.
  • Dump trash into our brains; we treat ourselves and others like trash.
  • Fill our lives with truth; we live that truth.

Our actions show what we believe.

  • If we believe in respect, we show respect.
  • When we love others, we show love.
  • If we have faith in God, we demonstrate that faith.

Let’s get our lives right before we kick the bucket. Let’s make our good deeds more than a drop in the bucket.

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life’” (John 4:13-14 NIV).

Have you used a well with a bucket? If so, please share your experience below.

Thanks to Dr. Dwayne Norman, pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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Slow as Molasses

Slow as Molasses

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Slow as Molasses--Greg Lawhorn making molassesI have been told I am as slow as molasses. I have also been told I go too fast. I suppose my speed depends on what I do.

When anyone or anything is slow as molasses, it is really slow.

A few exceptionally slow items include:

  • Dial up internet service
  • Turtles
  • Many children (and teachers) on the first day of school

Making molasses is a slow process.

My friend Greg Lawhorn makes molasses every September. It takes all day, but the finished product makes it well worth the time. Read about Greg’s Molasses Day in the September Kentucky Monthly magazine.

Slow as Molasses--molasses on a biscuitPouring molasses is also a slow process.

Thick sticky molasses takes its time getting from the jar onto a waiting hot biscuit. However, once again, the taste makes it well worth the time. Molasses covered biscuits stick to the ribs.

Occasionally people talk about something or someone as slow as molasses in January. Cold temperatures make molasses pour slower than usual. Although I may be slow, I hope no one thinks I am that slow.

Better to go slowly and work well rather than fast and work poorly.

As the story, The Tortoise and the Hare, teaches, “Slow and steady wins the race.” Watch a cute children’s song based on that story here.

“The Lord is gracious and compassionate,  slow to anger and rich in love “ (Psalm 145:8 NIV).

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

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Jumping-off Place

Jumping-off Place

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Jumping-off Place --Royal Gorge BridgeOn my first trip to Cañon City, Colorado, my husband and I walked across the nearby Royal Gorge Bridge. Several people use that bridge as a jumping-off place. They bungee jump from the highest bridge in the United States.

I like adventure, but that looks crazy. I have no desire to bounce like a rubber ball between The Royal Gorge Bridge and the Arkansas River 955 feet below.

Jumping-off place (or jumping-off point) has two meanings.

  1. The beginning point
  2. A very remote place

We will explore the first meaning, the beginning point.

A jumping-off place may be the beginning of:

  • Adventure, like those crazy bungee jumpers
  • Journeys, like our trip to Colorado
  • Business plans, like starting a new company
  • Discussions, like the beginning of peace talks
  • Investigations, like exploring space

A jumping-off place is often scary.

Anything new involves risk. Therefore, we decide whether the beginning is worth the risk. I took the risk of a hot air balloon ride, an adventure on my bucket list. I have no plans to risk a bungee jump. That cord could break, and I would end up graveyard dead.

When we jump into something wrong, we usually try to change directions.

We want to correct our mistake. However, we don’t want to make a bad situation worse. That would be like jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Instead we make a wiser choice.

God put a head on our shoulders. Let’s use it for something more than a hat rack.

“Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus” (Mark 10:50 NIV).

Thanks to Brenda Mullins for the suggestion.

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

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In the Short Rows

In the Short Rows

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In the Short Rows--person tilling a gardenAfter a long hard day, most of us look forward to work in the short rows.

In the short rows means we are almost finished.

We have a certain amount of work to do, and the end is in sight.

How well I remember hoeing weeds out of our garden as a child. We had long hard rows to hoe – much work to complete. A few rows on the edge of the garden were shorter than most. Those were our favorites.

We usually look forward to reaching the short rows.

For many people Thursday and Friday are in the short rows of their work week. They look forward to those last two days before the weekend.

Other short rows include:

  • Authors writing the last pages of a book
  • Long distance drivers nearing the end of their journey
  • Children waiting for the last days of school

If we love what we do, we also enjoy our long rows.

Rest helps when we tire. Yet, every day becomes an adventure. We don’t believe the grass is greener on the other side. We find joy in our own garden spot of the world.

My cousin Iva loves to garden. Family and friends love when he shares his garden goodies. He sets a good example in both his work and his generosity.

Look for joy in every moment, whether in long or short rows.

“Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty” (Proverbs 28:19 ESV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Jewell Withers Wade for the photo.

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

The Extraordinary Presence of God book coverSubscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.” On September 21, 2019, I will randomly select the name of one person on my mailing list to also receive a free copy of The Extraordinary Presence of God: True Stories of Faith and Courage in Ordinary Lives.

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