casual Archives - Diana Derringer

Potluck

February 27, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Do you enjoy potluck meals? If you grew up in a large extended family like I did, you understand potluck. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from everywhere bring food. Lots of food. Stick to your ribs food.

Attend church potlucks, and you get a little taste of heaven on earth. Dishes that weigh down tables, plus fellowship with other believers, fill both body and soul.

Friends, co-workers, and neighbors also create great potlucks. Food and fun abound.

Potlucks may be inside, outside, or on a hillside. We once invited neighbors to a potluck picnic on top of the hill behind our house. A farm wagon served as our table. Everyone enjoyed the scenery as well as multiple plates of country cooking.

Potluck refers to a shared meal with dishes brought by those who attend.

You bring whatever dish you desire. Although unplanned, the meal usually includes plenty of everything. No one stresses, because the meal is casual and everyone helps.

Potluck (sometimes written as pot luck) means to take a chance on an uncertain outcome.

Of course, if you attend a potluck meal, you take your chances on what you get to eat. However, this also refers to other unknowns, including:

Shopping
Travel
Work
Any situation with little information but high hopes

You have one certain outcome available to you.

If you trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, you never have to guess. You never have to face unknowns alone. Plus, God has planned a banquet for you and other believers in heaven.

“Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 14:15 NIV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pexels.

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This Here

May 16, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

This here frog stared at me from outside our kitchen window. I stared back in amazement. He was so tiny, and he stayed in that same spot for hours. He appeared out of the blue around the same time and place the year before.

I don’t know where he stays between his yearly visits. He does not know I used to be terrified of frogs. They gave me the heebie-jeebies. Yet, his visits brighten my days.

“This here” points out someone or something.

It is an informal way to say “this” and refers to a specific person or object.

Other examples of its use include:

We are going fishing on this here boat.
I want to buy this here phone.
My family loves this here farm.

I usually hear this expression spoken in casual country conversations.

However, I have not heard it for a long time.

Whether I say “this” or “this here” matters less than the rest of my words.

Are they true and kind? Do they honor God? Like my frog friend, do they brighten someone’s day.

“The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked, but gracious words are pure in his sight” (Proverbs 15:26 NIV).

Thanks to Catherine Nicholson for the suggestion.

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Shoot the Breeze

November 15, 2021 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Our family loves to sit on the porch or under a tree and shoot the breeze. Like Mom and Aunt Ersie always did, we enjoy time together. We talk almost constantly. However, our conversations usually focus on fun.

We get serious when we must, but we rather not.

To shoot the breeze refers to casual conversation.

Talk stays:

Friendly
Informal
Light-hearted

We chase rabbits rather than discuss world news. With no plan, we talk about whatever comes to mind and seldom lock horns in debate.

When conversations slow, we relax in one another’s company.

Occasionally, we must rest our vocal cords. If that happens, we find pleasure in the wind’s breeze. Quiet time prepares us for another round of conversation.

Or we eat. Of course, we usually talk while we eat. After all, food is one of our favorite topics.

We cannot shoot the breeze forever.

Although we love fun times, we must still tackle life’s hard issues. A few moments to rest and shoot the breeze help prepare us to deal with life’s problems and sorrows.

“There is a time for everything, a time to weep and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak 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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