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Herding Cats

Herding Cats

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Herding Cats--Five kittens on grassJuggling several responsibilities feels like herding cats. Difficult at its best, it becomes impossible at its worst. That truth holds, whether we:

  • Teach an unruly class
  • Work on multiple assignments

We find ourselves spread too thin.

Herding cats usually refers to an unmanageable group of people.  

Trying to organize them becomes a nightmare. Think about:

  • Planning a wedding with people from several states
  • Getting a perfect picture of all those people

A few years ago, a commercial based on this expression became wildly popular. It compared the ease of herding cattle to the difficulty of herding cats.

Caring for small children frequently feels like herding cats.

Ask day care workers or preschool teachers. They organize school plays or end-of-year programs. Yet, children have others interests and ignore most directions.

Our most difficult work often becomes our most rewarding.

We make a greater difference than we realize.

  • Seemingly minor moments leave lasting impressions.
  • People hear and recall when we wonder if anyone heard or learned anything.

Keep working. Keep changing lives. Keep herding those cats.

“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV).

Thanks to Darrin Jenkins for the suggestion. Image by Jan Mallander from Pixabay.

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High Cotton

High Cotton

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High Cotton-cotton plant beneath blue skyWhether 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.

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Apple of My Eye

Apple of My Eye

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Apple of My Eye--bowl of applesOver the years, several children and youth have become the apple of my eye. I love them a bushel and a peck and consider them my children. They have included:

The apple of my eye is someone or something special or cherished.

I favor them over others. Feelings run deep.

Often, as in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, this expression refers to a romantic relationship.

“Flower of this purple dye,
Hit with Cupid’s archery,
Sink in apple of his eye”

This expression appears several times in the Bible.

“In a desert land he [God] found him [Israel], in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him; he guarded him as the apple of his eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10 NIV).

“Keep my command and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye” (Proverbs 7:2 NIV).

“For this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘After the Glorious One has sent me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye—’” (Zechariah 2:8 NIV).

As seen in these verses and in the verse below, the expression refers to both human and non-human objects of affection.

God wants everyone as His children, the apple of His eye.

Accepting God’s gift makes all the difference for this life and the life to come.

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings” (Psalm 17:8 NIV).

Thanks to Beckham Wilson 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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Whippersnapper

Whippersnapper

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Whippersnapper--3 boys and a dogA whippersnapper usually means a young or small person.

Most often, older people use this phrase for children or youth.

My friend Pamela Noel’s father often said, “You little whippersnapper.” He called her this “if I was good or ugly.”

Many people view a whippersnapper as unimportant. The young person has:

  • More confidence than ability
  • More ambition than education

However, young people have to learn. They may only be knee high to a grasshopper. That does not make them unimportant.

A thesaurus lists several synonyms for whippersnapper.

They include:

  • Pip-squeak
  • Runt
  • Lightweight

Pamela’s father probably meant those when her behavior was good.

Other synonyms include:

  • Sneak
  • Troublemaker
  • Brat

Pamela’s father probably meant those when her behavior was “ugly” or bad.

Whether we are whippersnappers or over the hill, may we all follow good guidance.

How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. (Psalm 119:9 NIV).

Thanks to Pamela Noel for the suggestion and Gail Gosser for the photo of three of my favorite whippersnappers.

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From the Heart

From the Heart

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From the Heart-quilt on a rockerToday’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).

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

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Knee High to a Grasshopper

Knee High to a Grasshopper

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Knee High to a GrasshopperMany of us love spending time with children who are knee high to a grasshopper. They are:

  • Small
  • Short
  • Still growing
  • So cute

We enjoy children’s smallness. Yet, we don’t like to feel small.

Most of us have moments we feel knee high to a grasshopper.

Because grasshoppers are so small, they appear unimportant. People pay little attention to them. Sometimes we feel unimportant. We think no one pays attention to us either. Other people appear:

  • Smarter
  • Better looking
  • More talented

We feel like low man on the totem pole.

We also feel small compared to the size of our world. How tiny we look compared to:

  • Mountains
  • Oceans
  • The sky

In addition, we feel small when we have done something wrong. We think we are:

  • Guilty
  • Worthless
  • Hopeless

Although small, both children and grasshoppers make a big difference.

 Children teach us to:

  • Have fun
  • Love
  • Trust
  • Learn

Grasshoppers destroy much we need or enjoy:

  • Gardens
  • Fields
  • Flowers

Regardless of our size, we all make a difference.

Therefore, what kind of difference will we make? Will we spread joy like children? Or will we destroy what we touch like grasshoppers?

God created our world and everything in it. Compared to God’s greatness, we all appear knee high to a grasshopper. Yet, God desires a personal relationship with each of us. How great is that?

“When I look up at the heavens, which your fingers made, and see the moon and the stars, which you set in place, Of what importance is the human race, that you should notice them? Of what importance is mankind, that you should pay attention to them?” (Psalm 8:3-4 NET)

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Little Pitchers Have Big Ears

Little Pitchers Have Big Ears

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Little Pitchers Have Big Ears--a small pitcherThe curved handle on some pitchers looks like a person’s ear. When we say little pitchers have big ears, we warn adults to be careful what they say. Children don’t need to hear it.

We may also protect children by:

  • Spelling words we don’t want them to hear (This works until they can spell.)
  • Moving where they cannot hear us

Children like to listen to adults.

When adults speak, children often become all ears. Yet, they should not hear:

  • Information they are too young to understand
  • Talk that might upset or confuse them
  • Words no one should ever say
  • Gossip

Many times children repeat what they hear.

  • We always want to protect children.
  • We don’t always want them repeating what we say.

If we choose our words wisely, we don’t have to worry who hears them.

Helpful guidelines include:

  • Think before we speak.
  • Say nothing unkind or untrue.
  • Don’t say it if we don’t want it repeated.

As adults, we need to remember little pitchers have big ears. Like children, we also need to mind our Ps and Qs.

“Jesus called the crowd to him and said, ‘Listen and understand. What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them’” (Matthew 15:10-11 NIV).

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

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Out of the Mouth of Babes

Out of the Mouth of Babes

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Out of the Mouth of Babes--Tracy Crump headshot

Please welcome my friend Tracy Crump as today’s guest writer. Tracy and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference, where she frequently serves on staff. Tracy dispenses hope in her book, Health, Healing, and Wholeness: Devotions of Hope in the Midst of Illness. She has published 22 stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul books and includes tips on writing for the series in her free e-newsletter, The Write Life. I highly recommend both the newsletter and book.

Out of the Mouth of Babes--streams of heavenWe can find wisdom in surprising places.

Even young children may teach us things. They often:

  • See things we don’t.
  • Look at the world in a different way.
  • Are very honest (sometimes more than we would like!).

Children’s fresh ideas may be just what we need.

One evening, my son and five-year-old granddaughter, Nellie, walked out the door. They looked up and saw beautiful thin clouds, lit with pink and orange, sweeping across the sky.

“Those are the streams of heaven,” Nellie told her daddy.

She knew what we often forget, that we can see God’s presence in the simple things.

  • A sunset
  • The touch of a friend
  • A baby’s smile

We can learn something from everyone we meet.

Don’t forget to listen to the words out of the mouth of babes.

“And [they] said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise”?” (Matthew 21:16 NKJV)

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Eyes in the Back of Her Head

Eyes in the Back of Her Head

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Eyes in the Back of Her Head--adult femaleDoes your mom have eyes in the back of her head?

Many children think so. Of course, moms don’t have eyes in the back of their heads. Yet, they seem to know when their children have done wrong.

Children’s behaviors usually show they have disobeyed. They may:

  • Avoid their parents
  • Fail to look them in the eye
  • Say “I didn’t do it,” before parents ask if they did anything

As adults, we share some of those same behaviors.

We usually act guilty if we are guilty.

Some people hide guilt better than others. Yet, when we try to hide our guilt, we make a bad situation worse. We may:

  • Fear contact with the person we wronged
  • Change our behavior when around that person
  • Lie and lose that person’s trust

Why not choose a better way?

Then we won’t have to worry if Mom, or anyone else, has eyes in the back of her head.

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13 NIV).

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

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Empty Nest

Empty Nest

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Empty NestThis empty nest was once a happy home for a mama bird and her babies. They lived in the gutter on one corner of our front porch.

We first saw the nest after the mama bird had laid her eggs. We left the nest until the eggs hatched and the baby birds flew away. Mama bird also left once her nest was empty.

That’s the way nature works. Before birth and soon after, children need extra care. As they grow stronger, they do more on our own. They learn how to survive without their parents.

  • How to work
  • How to get along with others
  • How to take care of their daily needs
  • How to have fun

Eventually most children fly away – they leave home to begin a new life.

When children leave home, parents have an empty nest. They must also begin a new stage in life. While everyone may enjoy visits, they know life moves forward. To be most effective, parents must move forward too.

Each life stage is different. Each life stage is good.

“Even the birds find a home there, and the swallow builds a nest, where she can protect her young near your altars, O LORD who rules over all, my king and my God” (Psalm 84:3 NET).

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