Wisdom Archives - Page 7 of 49

Can’t Beat It with a Stick

October 24, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Our family loves Yellowstone National Park. For a travel destination, we can’t beat it with a stick.

Consider all it offers:

A crystal-clear lake
Majestic mountains
Thundering waterfalls

Plus, wildlife:

Bison
Elk
Deer
Bears
Wolves

However, its thermal features are our favorites:

Mud pots
Geysers
Steam vents
Hot springs

That explosive power just under the earth’s surface amazes us.

Can’t beat it with a stick means nothing is better.

We can’t improve it. Definitely not fair to middling, no greater deal exists.

Sometimes, we simply say we can’t beat it. It’s excellent, as we find in:

The beauty and wonder of Yellowstone
A dependable car or truck
The best meal of our lives
A bargain at the store

More impressive than any of this is its Creator.

We stand in wonder of the beauty and bounty of our earth. Yet, imagine the One who created it.

Imagine eternity with the Creator of everything.

God promises an eternal home in heaven to everyone who follows Jesus. The apostle John describes his vision of heaven in the Bible’s book of Revelation. However, heaven’s glory remains beyond anything we can imagine.

“’What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived’—the things God has prepared for those who love him—” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV).

Thanks to Joe and Ann Klotz for the suggestion. Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? If so, please comment below.

Congratulations to Frank Cheatham, whose name was randomly selected from my mailing list to receive a free copy of Shirley Crowder and Harriet Michael’s devotional book, Glimpses of the Savior: 50 Meditations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year.

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It Is What It Is

October 17, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 11 comments

It is what it is. That reality applies to all of life. Much we can change, but not everything.

It is what it is refers to a situation we can’t change.

We don’t like it, but we can’t undo what has been done, so we:

Accept it
Do the best we can
Move on with our lives

We must deal with life as it comes.

When we can’t change it, we make the most of it. Yes, it is frustrating. Yes, it is hard. That’s life. We deal with it as it is.

A simple example: What do we do with a stump? The tree is gone. Do we:

Do nothing and leave the stump where it is?
Dig it up and fill the hole with dirt?
Try to make it beautiful?

Tree carvers turn stumps into works of art. Most of us don’t have that skill. My family’s solution: We let honeysuckle cover the stump. Honeysuckle is a weed, but we love its blooms.

Our stump is still a stump, but we chose to make the best of a bad situation.

Before I took the honeysuckle picture, a deer ate most of its blooms. I was disappointed, but it is what it is. I took the picture anyway.

Occasionally, it is what it is becomes an excuse to do nothing.

Although hard, most difficulties are not impossible. We simply don’t want to deal with them.

Let’s use this expression to motivate, not to excuse.

Make the most of life as it is.

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV).

Thanks to Karen Atwood for the suggestion. First image by Kai from Pixabay.

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

On Saturday, October 22, I will randomly select the name of one person on my mailing list to receive a free copy of Shirley Crowder and Harriet Michaels’s devotional book, Glimpses of the Savior: 50 Meditations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. If you are not already on my mailing list, you can sign up here.

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How the Sausage Is Made

October 10, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Please welcome my friend Harriet Michael as today’s guest writer. Harriet and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. She is an award-winning author and freelance writer. Harriet currently has ten books on Amazon with another coming out next year. She also has hundreds of articles, devotions, and stories published in numerous magazines and books. Follow her on her website, blog, or Amazon author page.

How the sausage is made refers to the way something is created behind the scenes.

The process contains components a person might consider unpleasant. Usually the end product is pleasant, but the process involved in making it may have unpleasant steps.

How the Sausage Is Made

When delicious sausage is made, the process includes

Cutting up animal meats
Grinding them
Adding spices

Cutting up and grinding animal meats may be unpleasant even to those who love sausage

The Expression’s Use

I recently used this expression when I shared how an article goes from an idea in my head to being in print. The finished product — the article beautifully laid out and printed in a magazine — is pleasant. However, the work can be unpleasant:

Writing
Rewriting
Submitting to magazines
The possibility of rejections before finding a magazine that accepts it

Letting people peer into that process is like letting them see how sausage is made.

In our lives we sometimes go through unpleasant experiences.

Like the process in making sausage, though unpleasant at times, those experiences end in something good. All who follow Jesus have a promise that the challenges we go through will ultimately end in good. Romans 8:28 (KJV) tells us, “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Image by ivabalk from Pixabay.

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

On Saturday, October 22, I will randomly select the name of one person on my mailing list to receive a free copy of Harriet and Shirley Crowder’s devotional book, Glimpses of the Savior: 50 Meditations for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year. If you are not already on my mailing list, you can sign up here.

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Play Possum

October 3, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Many of us tried to play possum when we were children. We wanted to stay in bed when our parents said to get up. We kept our eyes closed and remained as still as possible.

We often display similar behaviors as adults. Some days we simply don’t want to rise and shine.

When opossums (or possums) feel threatened, they pretend to be dead.

They try to avoid attack by lying still. Their goal is for the other animals to leave them alone. Apparently, that defense works well.

When faced with danger:

They don’t fight.
They don’t run.
They play dead.

To play possum means to pretend to be dead or asleep.

It may also mean to pretend not to know. We want to avoid a person or situation. We don’t want to:

Wake up
Get up
Work
Accept responsibility

Like the possum, we hope the threat to our rest loses interest and goes away.

The time comes to stop playing possum and get to work.

We need and enjoy rest and play. Yet, for the best life, we also put our hand to the plow and meet our responsibilities.

“How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” (Proverbs 6:9 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

Image by daynaw3990 from Pixabay

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

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Carbon Copy

September 26, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Young people probably have no experience making a carbon copy. During typewriter days, we placed carbon paper between two blank sheets of paper. We then rolled all three into the typewriter. What we typed on the top sheet copied to the bottom.

Carbon paper made great copies. However, it could also make great messes. If we were not careful, we would:

Get ink on us and anything else it touched
Smear our copies, which made them hard to read

A carbon copy is an exact duplicate.

Its details are precise. It:

Looks the same
Matches perfectly
Reflects every feature

Like the bridge behind the tangled trees above, it is a spitting image. It remains faithful to the original in every way. If we see the copy, we understand the original.

We decide what we reflect.

Who or what influences us? Who or what do we influence? As with most of life, we choose. We then face the music – we live with the consequences of our choices.

We don’t always reflect perfectly.

Carbon paper smears. Water moves. When that happens, reflections wave. Images change.

Life gets messy. Like tangled trees, things get in our way. Yet, we keep trying. We keep working to reflect the best. In so doing, we improve.

“We can be mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 TLB).

Thanks to Laurel Blevins and Karen Hart for the suggestion.

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

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Set Your Face Like Flint

September 19, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Do you occasionally face tasks that seem impossible? Yet, you refuse to quit? Instead, you set your face like flint and finish the job before you?

Flint is a hard, dark rock.

It was often used in earlier times to make tools and start fires. Flint also makes strong stone walls.

To set your face like flint means to be determined.

When you face difficulties, you refuse to give up. Instead, you:

Focus on the task before you.
Dedicate yourself to its completion.

The prophet Isaiah described the Messiah, Jesus, as having “set my face like flint.”

Isaiah tells of Jesus’ determination to complete the role of a suffering servant. Jesus sacrificed His life on a cross to make eternal life possible for all who accept His gift.

You can follow Jesus’ example.

Life gets hard. Many tasks are tough. However, with God’s help, you can endure. You can keep on keeping on. You can also make a positive difference in an often negative world.

“Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame” (Isaiah 50:7 NIV).

Thanks to Linda Russell for the suggestion. Image by Wesley Rocha from Pixabay

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

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High Horse

September 12, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

None of us has any reason to get on a high horse. However, when life goes well, we face the temptation to act high and mighty.

To get on a high horse means to act superior.

Years ago, people of high rank rode tall horses. That custom became a symbol of superiority.

If we are on a high horse, we believe or act like we are better than others. That may mean higher:

Morals
Power
Finances
Position

However, the higher the horse, the farther the fall.

When we look down on other people, we lower ourselves. Our highfalutin ways end up hurting rather than helping. They also make other people respect us less, not more.

If we fail or fall from a high rank, the loss hurts worse.

We want confidence but not arrogance.

To be more effective, we need to get off our high horse and work with one another.

As we learn and grow together, we become better people. Rather than look down on others, we want to lift them up.

We travel this journey of life together. Why not unite and achieve more?

That makes good horse sense. Don’t you agree?

“Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor” (Proverbs 29:23 NIV).

Thanks to Pat Childress Conner Stapp for the suggestion and to Chelsey Stone for the photo.

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

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Blow Your Top

September 5, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Recently, I told a relative about a fake friend request. She hates for people to misuse her pictures and information. As a result, she suggested a post on blow your top.

To blow your top means to become very angry.

Similar expressions include:

Blow your stack
Blow off steam
Blow your lid

All mean you lose your temper.

When you blow your top, you lose control.

Your emotions erupt like an active volcano. During that explosion, anyone nearby risks danger. This often happens quickly and without warning.

Possible behavior includes:

Shouting
Destroying property
Hurting other people
Hurting yourself

Such behavior can become a way of life.

You have to be careful not to cut off your nose to spite your face. If anger takes control, everyone loses, including you.

When appropriate, anger can help right a wrong.

You want to manage anger wisely. Use it for good when necessary. If it becomes harmful, nip it in the bud before it gets out of control.

“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32 NIV).

Thanks to Rebecca Stafford for the suggestion. Image by Enrique from Pixabay.

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

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Bought the Farm

August 29, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

The Nature Conservancy bought the farm that belonged to the Hall family in South Central Kentucky. That purchase marked the end of family traditions but the beginning of public traditions.

The Homeplace on Green River has become an outdoor classroom. It hosts events throughout the year. According to its website, it offers:

Immersive educational programs
Community festivals
Event rentals
Hiking trails
Crop land leasing
Lab and conservation programs
And more

If we have bought the farm, we have died.

Family members and friends grieve the loss of life and past family traditions. Yet, life goes on, and new traditions begin.

We find possible origins for this expression at The Phrase Finder.

Numerous expressions describe death.

Bite the dust
No longer with us
End of the road
Pass away
Breathe your last
Pass on

We find other expressions for death at Kick the Bucket.

When we have bought the farm, our life on earth ends.

However, our eternal home begins. If we accept Jesus as personal Savior and Lord, we have the promise of a home in heaven with Him.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV).

Thanks to Diana Flegal for the suggestion

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

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High Cotton

August 22, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Whether we know it or not, we probably wish we were in high cotton.

During the height of cotton’s growing season, fluffy fields of white appear throughout the southern United States. Growers hope for a successful crop.

When we achieve success, we are in high cotton.

Businesses earn a high profit.
Students make good grades.
Families enjoy the perfect home.
Children receive their favorite toys.

High cotton does not give us the right to act high and mighty.

Success does not make us any better or worse than anyone else. With an attitude of gratitude, we use our success to help other people succeed. Rather than a big head, we develop a big heart.

We want to bear fruit that makes a lasting impact.

We have only a few years on this earth. What we do with them makes an eternal difference.

Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:12 NIV).

Thanks to James E. Hodges for the suggestion. Image by Clayton Decker from Pixabay.

Do you have an expression you want explained or a thought about this one? 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.”

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