Wisdom Archives - Page 33 of 49

Fall Flat

January 2, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Fall Flat--Yellowstone waterfall Waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park may fall on flat land. Yet, they never fall flat. They never fail to amaze us.

When we fall flat, we fail.

We fail in a big way. Often, we say we fall flat on our face.

We all fail.

We may wish for a failure-free life, but that will never happen. Sometimes our failures are small. Other times we fail in a big way – we fall flat. We feel like we can’t win for losing.

Since we all fail, what will we do with those failures?

Will we stop trying?
Will we blame others?
Or will we learn from our mistakes?

Why not turn failures into opportunities?

Failures teach us what does not work. Each failure moves us one step closer to success. We may find that success when we:

Make small changes to what we did before
Take a short break to rest our brains and bodies
Ask other people to help us
Spend our time on something different

If we learn, we have not failed.

Therefore, when we fall flat, let’s get up and try again.

“You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (1 Corinthians 10:12 MSG).

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In the Dark

December 26, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

I love the beauty of a night sky. I enjoy standing in the dark watching changes in the moon and stars.

Someday I hope to see the Northern Lights. Pictures of them give me itchy feet. I want to hit the trail and watch those amazing lights shine.

Yet, a dark night with no light can be scary.

We often live in the dark.

When we do something in secret, we say we do it in the dark.
In the dark also means we do not have the information we need.

We will look at the second meaning.

Sometimes we choose to keep people in the dark.

We fail to give them information we know.
Or, they choose not to give us information they know.

When we are in the dark, we need light. We need information to make good decisions. Life can be scary without that information.

We can light the way for one another.

We do that by sharing:

Information
Guidance
Concern

The smallest light shines brightly in the dark.

One candle can brighten a room.
One star can brighten the sky.
One person can brighten the world.

During Christmas, we sing of Jesus bringing light into our dark world. Let’s remember to celebrate and share Jesus, the light of the world, all year long.

“No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light” (Luke 11:33 NIV).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Give of Ourselves

December 19, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

Often the greatest gift we can give is ourselves.

To give of ourselves, we:

Give time
Show concern
Help others

During Christmas, we wrap gifts with paper and bows.

We buy:

Toys and games
Clothing
Books
Gift cards
Tools
Jewelry
Household items

We think we must:

Bake and make crafts
Shop until we drop
Attend parties and special events.

Yet, too often, we forget what matters most.

We get so busy giving things, we forget to give of ourselves. We

Neglect family
Have no time for friends
Do less than our best at work

What happened?

Isn’t the gift of self what Christmas is all about?

Jesus came as a baby to give Himself to the world. He died on the cross for the sins of the world. He offers the gift of eternal life to everyone. However, each person must choose to accept this greatest gift.

“I pray that as you share your faith with others it will grip their lives too, as they see the wealth of good things in you that come from Christ Jesus” (Philemon 6 TLB).

What is the greatest gift you ever received? Please comment.

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Thanks to Ashley Claunch and Megan Wollmann for the photo.

In a Nutshell

December 5, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 1 comment

Not much fits in a nutshell.

Look at the size of pecans, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, or any other nut. Little fits in the shell other than a nut.

Few written words would fit in a nutshell. Therefore, when we ask for information in a nutshell, we want that information:

Short
Simple
Easy to understand

We find the most important part in a nutshell.

The shell is useful. Yet, most of us throw away an empty shell. We want the best – that little bit of nut inside.

The same is true for our words. Why use 50 words when we can say what matters most with five? We want the main point – the bottom line.

Too many words put us to sleep or make us tired. If we don’t need them, why use them?

Of course, we sometimes want more detail.

We read or talk for fun.
We need to learn all we can about a subject.
A small amount of information makes us desire more.

Jesus’ message to the world, in a nutshell, is:

Love God.
Love one another.

To learn more about that message, we read the Bible.

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Luke 10:27 NIV).

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Don’t Rain on My Parade

November 28, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Don't Rain on My Parade--small horse-drawn cart in parade People all over the world watch Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. Many communities plan smaller parades for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. Don’t rain on my parade is probably on most of their minds.

We celebrate Campbellsville’s favorite parade on July 4. No one wants rain that day either. If it does rain, we hope it rains before or after the parade.

When we rain on people’s parade, we:

Ruin their plans
Take away from their fun
Spoil their celebration

We see this when Barbra Streisand sings “Don’t Rain on My Parade” in the movie Funny Girl. She does not want anyone to discourage her plans.

Sometimes we need to rain on people’s parade.

We may not want to, but we must. If we know their plans will hurt them or others, we:

Tell them
Try to stop them

They may not like what we say. Yet, we warn them of the danger.

When possible, let’s celebrate plans together. When necessary, let’s rain on one another’s parade.

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15 NIV).

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Talk Turkey

November 21, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 1 comment

We talk turkey a lot during Thanksgiving.

We discuss:

Buying turkeys
Baking turkeys
Stuffing turkeys
Eating turkeys
What to do with leftover turkey

We talk turkey any time of year when we discuss a problem.

As we talk, we:

Get serious about the problem and try to solve it
Speak in clear language
Focus on what needs to be said

Many times we know something is wrong but do nothing about it. We ignore the problem and hope it goes away. Often it only gets worse the longer we wait. We become worry warts who get nothing done.

Talking turkey is not always easy.

Like a kitchen after a Thanksgiving meal, life gets messy. If we want to clean up our mess, we need to tackle it.

Talk about what is wrong.
Do what we can to make it right.

Talking turkey usually makes life better.

We don’t talk turkey to quarrel. We talk turkey to:

Solve our problems
Get business done
Get along better with one another.

“A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel” (Proverbs 15:18 NIV).

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Image courtesy of Pixabay.

Okey-dokey

November 14, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

okey-dokey--flowers We find okey-dokey spelled several ways.

Okie-dokie
Okay-doke
Okey-doke
Okee-dokee

However we spell it, the meaning remains the same.

Okey-dokey means okay.

It’s a fun way to agree to something or to say yes. (Will you open the door for me? Okey-dokey.)
It also means all is well. (How are you? Okey-dokey.) This meaning is similar to hunky-dory or fit as a fiddle.

Recently I asked a friend to do something for me. She said, “Okey-dokey,” so I knew she would do it.

I asked another friend how she was feeling. She replied, “Okey-dokey.” I knew she was not sick any longer.

Sometimes we need to say no instead of okey-dokey.

No can be a hard for some of us to say. Yet, if we fail to say no when we should, we may:

Agree to do something we don’t have time to do
Help with bad behavior
Do what the other people should do themselves

Sometimes we need help instead of saying we are okey-dokey.

We all feel bad occasionally. We get under the weather. Most of the time, we feel better quickly. However, we should ask for help when we need it.

What helps you feel okey-dokey?

Rainbows, waterfalls, and flowers work for me.

“If God says it’s okay, it’s okay” (Acts 10:15 MSG).

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Cost an Arm and a Leg

November 7, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Many things cost much more than we want to pay.

If we believe their price is too high, we say they cost an arm and a leg. Most of the time we mean they cost too much money:

Fancy cars
Big houses
The latest electronics
Long vacations

All these may be nice, but none are worth the loss of an arm or leg. In fact, I don’t know anyone who wants to give an arm and a leg for anything.

Sometimes we say, “I would give my right arm for” something we want. However, we don’t mean it. We simply wish we owned that item.

On Veterans Day, we honor those who pay a great price for our freedom.

Many give an arm and a leg or much more. Those who serve our country face danger most of us cannot imagine.

Veterans often suffer in ways we never see. We immediately notice missing arms and legs. However, losses we don’t see can cause as much pain or worse.

One good turn deserves another. Do something special for a veteran this week. We can never repay veterans for all they give. However, we can offer respect and an attitude of gratitude.

To those who faithfully serve or have served, thank you. We salute you, one and all.

“The ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough” (Psalm 49:8 NIV).

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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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Snake in the Grass

October 24, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

I don’t like to get too close to a snake in the grass.

I’m not afraid of most snakes. They help keep mice away. However, I don’t want snakes to hide in my yard.

A few snakes can kill with their bites. I am afraid of them.

I prefer not having a person who is a snake in the grass near me either.

A snake in the grass cannot be trusted. That person will:

Cheat
Lie
Steal
Hurt others to get what he or she wants

Like a dangerous snake (animal) hiding in the grass, a snake in the grass person tries to hide bad behavior. The person attacks or hurts others when they least expect it.

God offers a better way.

I pray that everyone who tries to trick and hurt others will choose God’s way. Just as God forgives me when I confess my wrongs, God will also forgive them. Sometimes we all need a fresh start.

“Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon” (Isaiah 55:7 NIV).

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.