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Short Leash

Short Leash

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Short leash--Dog on short leash across a fence from a horseA friend recently said, “when we are dog-tired, we can be on that short leash of frustration and bark at others too easily.” How true. Fatigue often leads to frustration and harsh answers.

A short leash means strong control by someone or something.

When dog owners want more control over their dogs, they keep the leash short and the dogs close.

People on short emotional leashes know the feeling well. They enjoy little freedom.

We suffer if we allow emotions to keep us on a short leash.

God gave us emotions, but God also gave us minds. We never want our emotions to cloud good judgement.

Let’s choose a better way.

Rather than bark or yell at someone when upset, why not take time to calm down? We don’t want to say anything we regret. If we give it a rest long enough to get a grip, we don’t have to worry about going haywire.

“Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction” (Proverbs 29:18 NIV).

Thanks to Martha J. Orlando for the suggestion and to Chelsey Stone for the photo.

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Hit the Roof

Hit the Roof

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Hit the Roof: Fist up through shattered glassPeople rarely hit the roof physically. However, they frequently hit the roof emotionally.

To hit the roof means to become extremely angry or upset.

According to The Idioms, the expression refers to “being so enraged that you could actually bang your head on the roof (or ceiling) … because you feel like exploding.” Similar expressions include:

People lose their temper.

Reasons people hit the roof vary.

For example, they get angry when they:

  • Fail to get their way
  • See rules broken
  • Experience loss or injury
  • Discover betrayal

Hit the roof also refers to sharp price increases.

  • Goods and services grow more expensive.
  • Stocks rise.

If people invest money, they enjoy those increases. If they make purchases, they want the costs to remain low.

It pays to invest emotions and finances wisely.

Maintain control and do what’s right. Spend time and money productively.

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31 NIV).

Thanks to Lindy Pierce for the suggestion. Image by wendy CORNIQUET from Pixabay.

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Go Off the Deep End

Go Off the Deep End

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Go Off the Deep End--Cumberland FallsAs children, my sister, brother, and I loved to go off the deep end of a swimming pool. We wanted to see what was under the water. Usually, we found nothing but the bottom of the pool.

In contrast, a dive into the depths of rivers or oceans reveals a new world. We find ourselves surrounded by:

  • Fish
  • Rocks
  • Plants
  • Other natural wonders

However, a word to the wise: Learn to swim before jumping into deep water.

To go off the deep end means to act crazy.

What we do makes no sense. Our behavior may result from feeling:

  • Upset
  • Angry
  • Excited
  • Grieved
  • Lovesick

We go overboard.

When we go off the deep end, we let our emotions take control.

Like a person who can’t swim but jumps into deep water, we fail to use reason. We overreact. We:

  • Speak before we think
  • Hurt others or ourselves
  • Act before we get the facts
  • Withdraw from sources of help
  • Move too fast in a relationship

God gave us emotions, but God also gave us brains. Let’s use our heads for more than hat racks.

“Leave behind your foolishness and begin to live; learn how to be wise” (Proverbs 9:6 TLB).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

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Blow Your Top

Blow Your Top

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Blow Your Top--an erupting volcano 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:

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.

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What Will Be Will Be

What Will Be Will Be

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What Will Be Will Be--double rainbows over fields and white fencesWhen I was a little girl, one of my favorite songs was Doris Day’s “Que Sera, Sera” (Whatever Will Be Will Be). She sounded so happy. The music’s rhythm made me skip and swirl as I sang along.

Only later did I pay attention to the song’s meaning.

The words were not as optimistic as I originally thought.

In some ways, what will be will be sounds hopeless.

In a nutshell, it seems we have no control. We cannot change the future.

If we have no control, why do anything at all?

Yet, we do have some control.

We cannot change everything, but we can change some things.

What will be will be tells us not to worry about what we cannot control.

  • Natural disasters
  • Disease
  • Other people’s actions
  • Death

Will worry stop any of those from happening? No. If they do not happen, did worry prevent them? No.

As my friend Marian Woosley often said, Why worry when we can pray?

Control what we can. Let the rest go.

Rather than wring our hands about the future, let go and let God lead us today.

  • Prepare as much as possible for natural disasters.
  • Practice good health habits
  • Treat other people well.
  • Be ready for death, whenever it comes.

When we do what we can under God’s leadership, life may still be hard. Yet, God gives us peace and joy.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18 NIV).

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion and to Mary Lou Rafferty for the photo..

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Butterflies in My Stomach

Butterflies in My Stomach

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Butterflies in My Stomach--butterfly on flowerI love butterflies, don’t you? I watch for them in gardens, yards, and on walks. Their colors and the way they flutter through the air thrill me. A butterfly makes any day better. However, I don’t love butterflies in my stomach.

Butterflies in my stomach mean I feel nervous.

Finding butterflies brings joy. Feeling them in my stomach … not so much.

Common causes for butterflies in my stomach include:

  • Public speaking
  • Job interviews
  • Singing or acting in public
  • Tests

Feeling a little nervous can be a good thing.

It makes me:

  • Prepare better
  • Try harder
  • Do my best

Feeling too nervous hurts my health.

It causes me to tie myself in knots, I suffer physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When butterflies flutter too long or hard, I remind myself not to sweat it. If I shake off the stress and give God control, God leads me through every challenge.

Thanks to Darrin Jenkins for the suggestion and the picture.

What causes butterflies in your stomach? Please comment .

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Easy Does It

Easy Does It

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Easy Does It--gentle streamEasy does it tells us to move slowly and carefully.

 Like gently flowing water, we:

  • Take our time
  • Work around hard spots
  • Go with the flow

If we move too fast, we quickly learn that haste makes waste.

Sometimes easy does it relates to work.

We remain careful when we:

  • Move a heavy piece of furniture
  • Carry a special painting or piece of pottery

We don’t want to drop or break any of those.

Other times easy does it relates to our emotions.

When we feel out of control, rather than blow off steam, we:

  • Calm down
  • Relax
  • Control our temper
  • Treat everyone as we want to be treated

Ways to stay in control include:

  • Taking deep breaths
  • Lowering our shoulders, so our muscles relax
  • Closing our eyes and thinking of a favorite place
  • Praying
  • Asking if what upsets us will matter in ten years

Easy does it works well for everything and everybody.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

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That’s Life

That’s Life

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That's Life-tree with hard lifeWe can’t control everything in our lives.

  • Both good and bad happen.
  • We celebrate, and we mourn.
  • Everything can change in an instant.

That’s life.

This tree reminds me of life. All wrapped together, we see:

  • Healthy limbs
  • Dead limbs
  • Missing limbs
  • Injured limbs
  • Other plants pulling life from it

The poor tree, a victim of many storms, looks terrible. Yet, it stands. It:

  • Continues to grow
  • Refuses to fall
  • Still offers shade to everything and everyone under it

We can control parts of our lives.

Like this lovely old tree, we may have suffered much.

  • We probably caused part of our pain.
  • Others may have hurt us.
  • Life storms often leave us scarred.
  • We feel in over our heads.

That’s life.

In spite of our suffering, will we choose to stand? Will we:

  • Stand tall
  • Continue to grow
  • Refuse to fall
  • Still offer help to those around us

Will we pick up the pieces of our lives, give them to God, and keep going?

Life and death
Struggles and scars
Beauty and ugliness
All wrapped together
That’s life.

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV).

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Fit to be Tied

Fit to be Tied

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Fit to be tied-rope tied into a heart shapeMost of us have occasional fit-to-be-tied moments. We become:

  • Angry
  • Upset
  • Excited

We fly off the handle.

When fit to be tied, we get out of control.

Our emotions grow so great, we need someone to calm us down. No one actually ties us. However, they do try to:

  • Prevent anything we will regret
  • Keep us from hurting ourselves or someone else

We may grow fit to be tied for selfish reasons. 

  • When we don’t get our way
  • If our plans don’t work

We may also grow fit to be tied for unselfish reasons.

  • When someone abuses a child or older adult
  • If someone lies, steals, or hurts people in any other way

Little things often make us fit to be tied.

Some of us deal well with life’s big problems. Yet, we blow off steam when faced with small ones such as:

  • Slow traffic
  • Food spills on a clean floor
  • Noisy neighbors

God gave us emotions.

However, we want to use those emotions for good, not harm. How do we do that?

  • Recognize what upsets us.
  • Remember we can’t control everything.
  • Change what we can.
  • Ask for help when we need it.
  • Focus on what matters most.
  • Ask God to guide us and work through us.
  • Choose to love everyone, including those who make us fit to be tied.

“Don’t let your spirit rush to be angry, for anger abides in the heart of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 HCSB).

Thanks to Pat Stapp for the suggestion.

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A Right Smart

A Right Smart

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A Right Smart--Niagara FallsA right smart of water flows over Niagara Falls. On this rainy, windy day, the amount of water seemed far more than usual.

Many people have never heard this expression. It has nothing to do with how smart we are. Rather, it means a large amount.

If I own a right smart of something, I own a lot.

For example, I have a lot of:

  • Cousins (I love all of you.)
  • International friends (I love you too.)
  • Allergies (I don’t love you. Please go away.)

If I give a right smart, I give a lot, such as:

  • Food to people who visit our home
  • Children’s books to new parents
  • Gifts to organizations that help people in need

I have no control over a right smart that happens to me:

  • Trouble
  • Illness
  • Duties

I do have control over my:

  • Patience
  • Kindness
  • Love

To let go and let God have control is a right smart better than any decision I can make.

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!” (Ephesians 3:20-21 MSG).

Thanks to Laura Claycomb for the suggestion.

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