behavior Archives - Page 7 of 9

In Hot Water

April 2, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

In Hot Water--Yellowstone geyser basin If I take a wrong step in Yellowstone National Park’s geyser basins, I end up in hot water. Other people have done that and did not live to talk about it.

I have been in hot water a few times in my life. I did not like it and don’t want to do it again.

If I am in hot water, I am in trouble.

I have done something wrong. My actions:

Make someone angry
Result in my punishment
Cause shame for me or those close to me
Put me in the doghouse

I would like to say I have never been in hot water.

However, I can’t.

Sometimes, I make mistakes I don’t mean to make.
Other times I make mistakes because I want my way instead of the right way.

I may end up in hot water if the rules are wrong.

If someone in authority says to do something morally wrong, I must choose.

Will I do what the person in authority says?
Or will I make the right choice and end up in hot water?

I hope I always make the right choice and follow the straight and narrow.

In every situation, I live with the results of the choice I make. I reap what I sow.

“The Lord shows his faithful followers the way they should live” (Psalm 25:12 NET).

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From the Heart

February 12, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

From the Heart-quilt on a rocker Today’s post comes from the heart. I share it with:

Deep feelings
Sincere emotions
Love for the families I mention

Foster parents share their homes and their hearts.

They care for children who need a temporary home. They help children and families pick up the pieces of their lives.

Foster parents serve from the heart.

They love their children during good times and bad. They celebrate when children do well. They choose to love when children:

Reject their love
Damage their home
Break their hearts with bad choices

Foster parents receive few rewards.

News reports usually tell only bad foster parent stories. They rarely mention the families who give good care. Yet, foster parents continue their labor of love anyway.

My parents provided foster care several years. I worked with foster families almost 30 years. I saw their love and shared their hurt.

When I retired, foster parents gave me this quilt from their hearts. I recently wrote about it for Kentucky Living magazine.

When you see foster parents, thank them from your heart for:

Caring
Sharing
Giving
Healing

Happy Valentine’s Day to families who make our world a better place.

“Love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22 NIV).

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Tall Tale

December 11, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

A tall tale is a whale of a tale.

It is a big tale — a big story — much bigger than what really happened.

Because a tall tale is so big, it captures our attention. Most people don’t believe it but listen to it anyway. A few of us swallow a tall tale hook, line, and sinker. We believe the storyteller until people start laughing. Then we become part of the joke.

Comedians often tell tall tales. They base many of their stories on truth but add to them. They make their stories:

Bigger
Funnier
Crazier

We also share tall tales with relatives and friends. Some of us hold contests to see who can tell the tallest tale. We often tell such stories around campfires.

Tall tales grow bigger the more often we tell them.

I could tell you just the facts about a recent whale watching trip.

We saw between 10 and 20 whales.
The whales swam close to the boat.
Their tails and fins came out of the water as they dived to find food.

In a tall tale about those whales, I might tell you:

We saw at least 100 whales.
They swam so close to the boat we could rub their backs.
Those whales gave us high fives with their tails and fins.

Most tall tales offer a few moments of fun.

They become lies when told to hurt or deceive. Often when we lie, people know something’s fishy, and we end up in the doghouse.

Avoid tall tales that deceive. Enjoy tall tales told for fun.

^“A good man is known by his truthfulness; a false man by deceit and lies” (Proverbs 12:17 TLB).

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Make a Mountain Out of a Molehill

October 23, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

We often let the smallest problem bother us most.

We make a mountain out of a molehill. We make:

Something easy seem hard
A small problem seem big
Something unimportant seem important

Moles are small animals. So are the hills they make. Yet, we don’t like them.

They make a mess in yards and fields.
We may fall if we step on them.

However, if we watch our step, we can walk around or over molehills. We must climb for days to the top of some mountains.

Molehills destroy a yard’s beauty. A mountain’s volcano can destroy everything for miles.

We often forget how small our problems are.

Think about:

Colds compared to cancer
Flat tires compared to car wrecks
A bad meal compared to no food
A rained-out ballgame compared to an island destroyed by a storm

We may not feel on top of the world all the time. However, most days can be hunky dory.

Let’s not allow small problems to ruin our lives.

Rather than make a mountain out of a molehill, remember what matters most. Also remember, whether our problems are big or small, we never have to walk alone.

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to be patient” (Romans 5:3 TLB).

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A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

October 9, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

A rolling stone gathers no moss is more than a proverb. It is a fact. Moss grows slowly, and it does not grow well if moved. No moss grows on a rolling stone.

This proverb has a long history and two possible meanings.

The most common meaning: A person who does not stay in one place (a rolling stone) has little success. He never grows (gathers moss) anywhere. The person:

Keeps changing jobs or where he lives
Owns little or nothing
Does not like responsibility

Therefore, we cannot depend on that person, because he:

May be gone when we need him
Gets nothing done

Another possible meaning for a rolling stone gathers no moss: The ideas of a person who moves around (a rolling stone) do not grow old (gather moss). That person:

Finds new ideas
Becomes more creative

For him, gathering moss is like spinning his wheels. He does something but feels like he gets nowhere. Therefore, movement keeps him fresh.

Perhaps we can find truth in both meanings.

We need to:

Accept responsibility
Stay useful

At the same time, we want to:

Explore new ideas
Find better ways to do what needs to be done

Some of us find success in the same place doing the same thing – gathering moss. Others of us do better as a rolling stone – exploring different places and activities.

“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth” (Proverbs 10:4 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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Burn Our Bridges Behind Us

August 28, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

We can’t go back when we burn our bridges behind us.

An army occasionally burns bridges when it does not want its enemy to follow. However, that also means the army can’t return across those bridges.

Likewise, we burn our bridges behind us when we make decisions we can’t change.

We can’t undo them, just as we can’t unscramble eggs. For example, we might:

Get a tattoo
Quit school

Our behavior can also burn our bridges behind us.

Some actions make people want us to stay away. This often happens if we:

Yell at our boss and quit our job
Get a divorce

Rather than build bridges, we destroy them.

Sometimes we can repair burned bridges or build new ones.

Yet, the situation will never be the same. We try to make it as good as possible. Much like we mend fences, we rebuild our bridges.

That may mean we:

Walk through water until we build a new bridge
Cover our tattoo or have surgery to remove it
Return to school as an older student
Apologize to our boss or spouse

Water under the bridge means the past can’t be changed. What happened in the past may or may not have been our choice. However, when we burn our bridges behind us, we make the choice. Let’s be sure we want to live with the choices we make.

“If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me” (Jeremiah 15:19 NIV).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Come Clean

July 31, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 7 comments

Come Clean--muddy river Come clean is the opposite of sweep under the rug.

When we come clean, we admit we did wrong.

We choose to:

Stop hiding our mistakes
Confess
Tell the truth

To come clean is not always fun.

We often act like children who hate to take a bath. Rather than do what we know we should do, we:

Deny we are dirty
Delay coming clean as long as we can

Yet, when we come clean, we look and feel better.

The dirt is gone.
The smell is gone.
Our health improves.

In many ways, our lives are like a river.

When dirt fills the river, the water gets muddy. It can be used for little.

However, once the dirt washes away, the river becomes useful again.

When God washes the dirt from our lives, we become clean and useful.

Today seems the perfect day for that fresh start. What do you think?

“Wash away my wrongdoing! Cleanse me of my sin!” (Psalm 51:2 NET)

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Sweep under the Rug

July 24, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

No one sees dirt we sweep under the rug. Yet, the floor remains dirty.

We sweep dirt under the rug to hide it.

However, if we don’t get rid of the dirt, it damages both the floor and the rug.

We get rid of dirt now, or we deal with problems later.

News reports show that truth every day. People try to hide what they say or do. What they hide may be:

Embarrassing
Unpleasant
Shameful

They hope no one learns about what they sweep under the rug. Yet, they often get caught red handed.

Why not avoid the dirt?

If we don’t want people to learn what we do, don’t do it.

When we get dirty, admit it.

We avoid big problems later if we tackle small problems as soon as they happen.

Let’s get rid of the dirt. Everyone suffers less when we do.

“Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, ‘Who sees us? Who will know?’” (Isaiah 29:15 NIV).

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A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

July 17, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing--sheep on a mountain We read about a wolf in sheep’s clothing in Aesop’s Fables and the Bible. Both show the danger of an enemy who looks like a friend.

A wolf in sheep’s clothing looks harmless.

The sheep skin disguises the wolf. However, looks can deceive.

The wolf is not a sheep.
The wolf is still a wolf.

People with evil plans can look or sound harmless.

They hide their true colors and pretend to be friends. They:

Dress well
Speak with kindness
Act helpful

Yet, they are dangerous. They still have evil plans.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing can be found almost everywhere:

Work
Church
Families
Politics
Sports
School

Scams occur every day. They come to us through:

Telephone
Mail
Visits
Internet

As a result, we must be careful.

We want to love and be kind to everyone. We want to trust people. At the same time, we must not accept what we know is false.

Be prepared. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Learn right from wrong.
If something does not sound right, check it out.

God gave us brains. We need to use them.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves” (Matthew 7:15 NIV).

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Photos courtesy of Pixabay.

You Can’t Unscramble Eggs

July 10, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 1 comment

Please welcome my friend Sue Davis Potts as today’s guest writer. Sue and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. She has been writing as long as she can remember. In addition to her two books, Sue writes for several magazines and anthologies. Check out her website and blog, Potts Pages, for more details.

Sometimes we wish we could undo what we have done. However, not everything can be undone. Scrambled eggs are one of those things. No matter how much we want to, we can’t unscramble eggs.

Some things can’t be undone.

Broken egg shells can’t be put back together.
Mixed egg yolk and white can’t be unmixed.
Cooked eggs can’t be uncooked.

In cooking, scramble means mixed together. It also means to hurry. It doesn’t take long to scramble eggs that can’t be unscrambled.

When we hurry, sometimes we do things that can’t be undone.

Say angry words
Hurt feelings
Break trust

Our words can hurt people’s feelings. They may forgive us. Yet, they may feel sad or bad about themselves when they remember our words.

If we always hurry, we may not have time to keep our promises. This will make it hard for others to trust us.

God doesn’t want our lives to get so scrambled (in a hurry), that we hurt others.

He wants us to:

Take time to love others
Encourage others with our words

Then we won’t wish we could undo what we’ve done.

“Careless words stab like a sword, but wise words bring healing” (Proverbs 12:18 NCV).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.