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Elephant in the Room    

Elephant in the Room    

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Elephant in the Room--three small ceramic or jade elephantsFew of us desire an elephant in the room. Not the kind on four legs and not unpleasant subjects.

An elephant in the room means a problem no one discusses.

The situation is:

  • Serious
  • Important
  • Obvious

We need to address the topic.

Everyone knows about it. However, no one wants to discuss it because it makes us feel:

  • Uncomfortable
  • Embarrassed
  • Awkward

As a result, we ignore the issue rather than rock the boat.

  • Families don’t mention strained relationships.
  • Workers overlook wasteful systems.
  • Friends choose peace over responsibility.

Excuses for ignoring difficult situations include:

  • “It’s none of my business.”
  • “No one gets hurt.”
  • “I don’t have time to get involved.”

We want to remain on the right track. At times, that means we avoid unnecessary problems. Other times, it means we stand firm for truth and examine the elephant

An elephant in the room’s origin is unknown.

According to The Phrase Finder, it probably began in the United States.

 “It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret” (Ephesians 5:12 NIV).

Thanks to Ann Klotz and Darrin Jenkins for the suggestion.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm Matin Wiles book
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Milktoast

Milktoast

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Milktoast--milktoast on a plate on a table with flowers in the middleI don’t want milktoast for breakfast or any other meal. Although I like milk and toast, I prefer them separate. I also want more flavor. Even with sugar, cinnamon, or other spices added, it remains a bland dish. Give me eggs or cereal with fruit and nuts.

Neither do I want to be a milktoast person or give milktoast responses. However, I have been guilty of both.

Milktoast means weak or ineffective.

It can be a noun or an adjective. The person or response is:

Milquetoast mean the same.

According to The Free Dictionary, the character description refers to H. T. Webster’s comic strip character, Caspar Milquetoast. Like edible milktoast (or milk toast), Caspar had a bland personality.

Milktoast is easy to digest.

With so little flavor, it does not upset the body’s system. Neither do weak people upset their social systems of:

  • Business
  • Government
  • Religion
  • Families

They value the status quo above truth or progress.

God seeks boldness in service.

Certainly, quietness and meekness are often appropriate. Yet, God expects and provides courage when the time comes to speak up and stand tall.

“Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29 NIV).

Thanks to Gail Johnson for the suggestion and to Jeri Gumm Stone for the photo.

The Early Bird Gets the Worm Matin Wiles book
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Do you have an expression you want explained or thoughts about this one? If so, please comment below.

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So Tight They Squeak When They Walk

So Tight They Squeak When They Walk

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So Tight They Squeak When They Walk--Man's feet walking down stepsOne of my high school teachers could never sneak up on our class. We could hear his squeaky shoes from the far end of the hall. He was not like some people who are so tight they squeak when they walk. He simply had squeaky shoes.

So tight they squeak when they walk means extremely stingy.

Similar expressions include:

Turning loose of money or possessions hurts such people worse than a toothache. They refuse to give to others. Often, they fail to buy what they need themselves. They suffer rather than let go of what they own.

People so tight they squeak when they walk go far beyond thrifty.

Thrifty people save for a rainy day. They remain ready for emergencies. However, they also spend as needed now. Those so tight they squeak when they walk don’t want to spend even when emergencies arise.

They can’t take it with them, so why hang on so tightly now?

How sad to never experience the joy of sharing. Both they and a world of others lose when they ignore opportunities for good.

The owner becomes the owned.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17 NIV).

Thanks to J.D. Wininger for the suggestion and to Laura Mitchell Wilds and Billy Joe Douglas with Mitchell’s for the photo.

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

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Hop, Skip, and a Jump

Hop, Skip, and a Jump

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Hop, Skip, and a Jump--two tall rock formations close togetherOnly a hop, skip, and a jump separate these two rock formations. However, I don’t want to try that jump, do you?

A hop, skip, and a jump means a short distance.

To get from one place to another takes little time. As a child, I lived close to my Uncle Lowell. Perhaps, like me, you have often walked to nearby favorite places.

A hop, skip, and a jump also means similar.

This includes closely related:

  • Ideas
  • Work
  • Activities
  • Words
  • Interests

According to The Free Dictionary, this idiom dates to the early 1700s.

It “originally referred to an exercise or game involving these movements.” However, it was used figuratively by the mid-1800s.

Similar expressions rearrange or eliminate part of the words.

Compared to eternity, this life is only a hop, skip, and a jump from start to finish.

Let’s use our time wisely until we reach the end of the road.

“My only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24 NIV).

Thanks to Kristy Robinson Horine for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained or thoughts on this one? If so, please comment below.

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Keep Your Head

Keep Your Head

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Keep Your Head--Hope and Despair arrow signs pointing opposite directionsWhen life goes out of control, it’s hard to keep your head. Uncertainty leads to panic rather than patience.

Keep your head means to remain calm.

Although everything around you falls apart at the seams, you don’t. Instead, you find calm in the middle of the storms.

Keep your head does not mean you never feel stressed.

With so much turmoil in the world today, stress affects everyone. Daily news bombards us with updates on:

  • Wars
  • Price increases
  • Abuse
  • Disasters
  • Crime

Everything goes haywire. Yet you find personal control in the worst of it.

Rather than give in to problems, get a grip on solutions.

As a former teacher often said, “Think. Just think.” Apply the good sense God gave you.

Choose:

  • Faith over fear
  • Hope over despair
  • Peace over pressure
  • Calm in chaos

“But you, keep your head in all situations” (2 Timothy 4:5 NIV).

Thanks to Joanne Viola for the suggestion. Image by Gerd Altmann 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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Stinking Thinking

Stinking Thinking

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Stinking Thinking-skunk behind a logJust as we avoid a skunk’s stinking spray, we want to avoid stinking thinking. We accomplish nothing when we focus on messages like:

  • Woe is me.
  • I’m awful.
  • You’re awful.
  • The whole world is awful.
  • Life is awful.
  • Nothing will ever get better.

Do you see a pattern here?

Stinking thinking means negative thinking.

We see only the wrong, never the right. Everything and everyone ruffle our feathers.

Rather than happy-go-lucky we remain:

Focused on problems, our outlook grows progressively worse.

*Stinking thinking can lead to emotional problems.

After long stretches of negative self-talk, we have a tough time changing. Our thinking, feelings, and actions grow worse. As our stress level increases, tolerance decreases.

God offers a better life.

The one and only God who created the world created us. God also:

  • Loves us
  • Has a special plan for us
  • Forgives us when we repent of our wrongs
  • Gives eternal life and a home in heaven to all who follow Jesus

That should give us a positive outlook on life. Don’t you agree?

“Their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21 NIV).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion. Photo by Jack Bulmer on Pexels.

Do you have other examples of stinking thinking or an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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*Seek professional help if needed to overcome extreme negative thought patterns.

Feet of Clay

Feet of Clay

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Feet of Clay--two clay feetHow often do we admire people and think they can do no wrong? Yet, we eventually learn they have feet of clay.

Feet of clay means a failure or weakness.

We have faults. Our heroes have faults. No matter how hard we try to be perfect, everyone falls short of perfection.

This idiom originated in the Bible.

Daniel 2 tells the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and a dream he could not understand. God revealed the dream and its meaning to Daniel, one of the king’s captives. In the dream, a statue had:

  • A head of gold
  • A body of silver, bronze, and iron
  • Feet of iron and clay

A large rock hit the feet, and the statue crumbled.

Daniel told the king his dream meant the Babylonian kingdom would fall. However, God’s kingdom would last forever.

Because we have feet of clay, we find hope only in our Creator.

If we rely on ourselves, we fall flat. However, God’s strength and guidance enable us to stand firm. Like Daniel, may we faithfully follow the one and only true God.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his” (Daniel 2:20 NIV).

Thanks to Meghan Bowker, editor of Missions Mosaic magazine, for the idea. Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash.

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Talk the Bark Off a Tree

Talk the Bark Off a Tree

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Talk the Bark Off a Tree--Large tree surrounded by smaller trees and plantsI have friends who can talk the bark off a tree. They know how to discuss anything with anyone. A former co-worker could also recall details I never noticed. She made a great storyteller in both fact and fiction.

To talk the bark off a tree means to talk constantly.

I occasionally check to see how long before my friends take a break. They do allow time to:

  • Breathe
  • Eat
  • Swallow

Most enjoy laughter as much as words.

To talk the bark off a tree requires energy.

I tried stripping bark from a tree a few times. Not an easy task! Therefore, I decided to let someone else do it.

Likewise, I would be totally tuckered out if I had to talk nonstop.

My verbal friends are not as tight as bark on a tree with conversation.

They offer their words freely, particularly if they want to:

  • Share exciting news.
  • Recall an enjoyable experience.
  • Encourage others.

I give thanks for all my friends, wordy and quiet. Both make life more interesting and the world a better place.

May all I say and avoid saying honor God and uplift the people around me.

May the same be true for all I write and avoid writing.

Will you join me in that prayer?

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29 NIV).

Thanks to Carol Edwards 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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Wild Goose Chase

Wild Goose Chase

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Wild Goose Chase--geese in flight formationI have gone on a few wild goose chases. How about you?

A wild goose chase means a pursuit certain to fail.

We waste our time when we chase the impossible. Although a hopeless effort, we try anyway.

The earliest meaning of wild goose chase differs from today’s.

According to The Free Dictionary, “This idiom originally referred to a form of 16th-century horseracing.” It required riders “to follow a leader in a particular formation.” The horses mimicked a flock of geese in flight.

 We love to watch wild geese in flight.

However, we will probably never be able to catch them.

Likewise, we love to dream big dreams.

Seemingly impossible dreams may be possible. More often, we must accept our limits. If we ignore reality, our goose is cooked.

A wild goose chase differs from a God-sized dream.

Both challenge us.

  • A wild goose chase takes us nowhere.
  • A God-sized dream leads us beyond our wildest imagination.

May God, who created the birds of the air, guide us in the dreams we chase.

“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense” (Proverbs 12:11 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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

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