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Tag: Diana Derringer

I Swan

I Swan

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I Swan--Uncle Lowell and three dogs

My Uncle Lowell, like many in our family, loved to use idioms and slang. He often expressed surprise with, “I swan.” He occasionally changed that to:

  • “I’ll swan.”
  • “I swanny.”
  • “Well, I swan.”
  • “I declare.”

All meant the same.

Uncle Lowell’s “I swan” meant something happened he did not expect.

He may or may not have known it also meant the same as “I swear.”

Like most of us, Uncle Lowell preferred pleasant surprises:

  • News of a new grandchild
  • Gifts out of the blue
  • Contact from an old friend

Unfortunately, he also received unpleasant surprises:

  • Deaths of friends or family members
  • Bad accidents
  • Weather related crop losses

However, Uncle Lowell was a tough cookie.

He often laughed through his troubles by:

  • Telling tall tales
  • Playing jokes on anyone around him
  • Giving children funny nicknames

Singing also helped him through hard times. I can still hear his deep bass remind us to have a little talk with Jesus.

If Uncle Lowell knew about this post, I have a feeling he would respond, “Well, I swan. Who ever heard of such a thing?”

“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come” (Psalm 71:18 NIV).

Did you have family members like my Uncle Lowell? Please comment below.

Thanks to Stacey Marcum and Gail Gosser for the suggestion. Special thanks to Stacey for the photo.

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The Proof Is in the Pudding

The Proof Is in the Pudding

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The proof is in the pudding--bowl of vanilla pudding with raspberriesPudding, or any other food, may look good. It may smell good. Other people may say it tastes good. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The proof is in the pudding comes from the above longer and older expression, according to The Phrase Finder.

We know anything is good when it works as it should.

Does it fulfill its purpose? To find out, we:

  • Taste food
  • Turn on a computer
  • Drive a car

We test it. If it works, we use it. If it does not work, we get something else.

The proof is in the pudding applies to our work as well.

We don’t know if we have succeeded until we check the final results. Then we know if what we did worked as it should.

We may think we have failed when time will show we succeeded.

  • Our pudding may not be beautiful, but it tastes great.
  • We may think children never listen until they thank us years later.
  • What seemed a failure may lead to a better plan.

We will never know the final results of all our efforts in this life.

Therefore, we should never give up.

When we get discouraged, we:

  • Keep working.
  • Do what God called us to do.
  • Let our light shine.
  • Leave the results in God’s hands.
  • Pray that our work will make a difference long after we are gone.

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21 NIV).

Thanks to Allen T. Booth, Jr. for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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A Lick and a Promise

A Lick and a Promise

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A Lick and a Promise--dog licking boy's faceLike Kaleb’s puppy, too many times, I have cleaned with a lick and a promise. What about you?

When we give something a lick and a promise, we do our work quickly and poorly.

We don’t take the time to do it right. This can apply to:

  • House work
  • Personal cleaning (Children often prefer a lick and a promise rather than a full bath.)
  • Jobs
  • School work

The lick is the fast work. The promise is to do better later.

A Lick and a Promise--two dogsSometimes we have to give a lick and a promise.

We have no choice. That can happen when we:

  • Don’t have time to do a job well
  • Get swamped with more work than one person can do
  • Become ill and need to rest

We can’t control everything. That’s life.

We may also choose to meet more important needs.

A lick and a promise then becomes the better plan. We focus on:

  • Children who hurt rather than housework
  • Friends in need rather than lawn care
  • A neighbor in the hospital rather than a perfect meal

When possible, we want to be Johnny on the spot and do our work well. However, when greater needs arise, we choose to tackle what matters most.

“We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 1:3 NIV).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion and to Trevor Gosser with Gosser Farms for the photos.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Just Stepped Out of a Band Box

Just Stepped Out of a Band Box

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Just Stepped Out of a Band Box - Harriet Michael headshotPlease welcome my friend Harriet Michael as today’s guest writer. Harriet and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. She is a multi-published author and freelance writer. Harriet currently has five books out with two more coming out this year and three more under contract for release over the next two years. She also has hundreds of articles, devotions, and stories published in numerous magazines and books. Follow her on her blog or on her Amazon author page.

Looking Good!

Matching dresses made by Harriet’s mom

When I was a child, I often heard my mother say, “You look like you just stepped out of a band box!” She would say this to me when I was dressed up for church or some other nice occasion. I came to understand from the way she used this expression that she meant I looked nice:

  • Clean
  • Hair brushed
  • Clothes washed and pressed
  • Shoes shined

Where did the expression come from?

I actually did not know the answer to this question until I looked it up for this post. Here is what I found:

The bands in this expression are clerical bands—the white linen bands often worn around ministers’ necks. The bandbox then is the box that holds the ministers’ clothing which is always spotless and neatly pressed. So, if people look like they just stepped out of a bandbox, they look:

  • Neat
  • Clean
  • Spotless
  • In order

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17 NIV).

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Can of Worms

Can of Worms

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Can of Worms--a box of baitWhen we open a can of worms, we find a tangled mess.

Worms wrap around one another. They look and feel gross.

Many in my family enjoy fishing. They use worms as their bait. However, before they can fish, they must untangle the worms.

A can of worms means a problem.

We begin a difficult process. Often complicated, it may cause:

  • Hard times for the people involved
  • Unexpected or bad results
  • Trouble we cannot correct

It can become a real mess.

Often, we prefer to ignore the situation than to deal with it. We want to turn a blind eye.

Some situations are better left alone.

To talk about them or act on them may:

  • Hurt people for no good reason
  • Cause worse problems than before

Other situations need to be solved.

We want to nip them in the bud. However, making a wrong situation right is often hard. We may:

  • Feel uncomfortable with a new way of life
  • Lose power we enjoy
  • Have to change hurtful or abusive behavior
  • Deal with other related problems

At times, we may feel in over our heads. Yet, the sooner we tackle a problem, the sooner we solve it.

Will we do what needs to be done, even if it makes life hard?

“I cling to your commands and follow them as closely as I can. Lord, don’t let me make a mess of things” (Psalm 119: 31 TLB).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Cut the Mustard

Cut the Mustard

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Cut the Mustard-mustard flowerYears ago, Ernest Tubb and Red Foley sang “Too Old to Cut the Mustard.” They gave people a good laugh about aging. You can read the song lyrics here.

Young people often think senior adults are as old as the hills or over the hill. However, many older people still cut the mustard. Many young people cannot. Age does not always make a difference.

Cut the mustard means to work well.    

 People do what needs to be done. They do what is:

  • Expected
  • Required

They:

  • Work with energy and enthusiasm
  • Successfully accomplish their task

Cut the mustard applies to things as well as people.

People want what they use to:

  • Work well
  • Keep working

However, like people, things do not always work as they should.

  • Computers crash.
  • Cars run out of gas.
  • Stoves fail to cook.

Several guesses about how this expression began include the:

  • Hard work required to cut mustard plants
  • Difficulty in cutting tiny mustard seeds
  • Need to cut (dilute) mustard with vinegar to create a good taste

Others ideas have nothing to do with mustard.

However the expression began, it reminds everyone to do their best. Each day offers the opportunity to:

“[The righteous] will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green” (Psalm 92:14 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin 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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Over the Top

Over the Top

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Over the Top--winding stairway at Biltmore EstatesTo get to the top floor of a house, we usually climb stairs. To go over the top of the house requires more work – extreme efforts. Most of us would be foolish to try.

Over the top often means to go beyond acceptable behavior.

 We describe such actions as:

  • Extreme
  • Reckless
  • Strange
  • Shameful
  • Foolish

Over the top occasionally means brave behavior.

Some soldiers in battle go over the top of their trenches. They leave safety to attack their enemy. That action puts them at greater risk for losing their lives.

Yet, those soldiers:

  • Value the battle’s purpose more than personal safety
  • Go beyond the call of duty
  • Take the risk for a greater cause

They are willing to die for what they believe. Because of such bravery, we celebrate our country’s independence on the Fourth of July.

Let’s choose our behavior carefully.

When we need to be careful, stay wise as an owl. However, when we need to be brave, go over the top.

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him” (Psalm 37:23 NIV).

Thanks to Karen Atwood 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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Use Your Head for More Than a Hat Rack

Use Your Head for More Than a Hat Rack

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Use Your Head for More Than a Hat Rack--a hat rack with two hatsDr. Seuss wrote, “With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.”

Similar to Dr. Seuss’s words, we may say “Use your head for more than a hat rack.

Use your head for more than a hat rack tells us to think.

Similar expressions include:

  • Use your head for something besides a hat rack.
  • Use your head for more than something to keep your ears apart.

People might say this to us if we:

  • Start to make a foolish choice
  • Fail to see a clear answer to a problem
  • Need to think harder
  • Have our head in the clouds

One of my high school teachers often said, “Think, just think!” I was thinking — maybe not hard enough.

When we use our head for more than a hat rack, we make better choices.

Letting others decide for us looks easy. However, their choices may lead us the wrong direction. We want to make the right choices – to mind our Ps and Qs.

People who love us and want the best for us encourage us to think.

They refuse to let us waste our God-given abilities. To keep us on the straight and narrow, they expect us to learn from:

  • Spoken words
  • Written words
  • Good examples
  • Every experience

Learn well in order to live well.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (James 1:5 NIV).

Thanks to Mina Raulston for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Your Guess Is as Good as Mine

Your Guess Is as Good as Mine

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Your Guess Is as Good as Mine-two small girls shrugging with hands upSomeone asks a question. We don’t know the answer. What do we do? We may say, “You’re guess is as good as mine.”

 Your guess is as good as mine means we have no idea.

We don’t know any more than the person who asked the question. Neither of us can figure out what to do.

When we don’t know answers, we find someone who does.

We look for people wise as an owl. They may not know everything, but they know more than we do. Such wisdom often comes from older people, but not always. Occasionally it comes out of the mouths of babes.

No one but God knows all things.

We cannot possibly learn everything in our short lives. We do the best we can. However, we still make guesses in many situations.

God never guesses. God knows.

The one and only Creator of all things is:

  • All powerful
  • Always present
  • All knowing

Trust God for answers that never fail.

“The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25 NIV).

Thanks to Laurel Blevins for the suggestion and to Rita Smalley for the photo.

Do you have an expression you want explained? If so, please comment below.

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Food for Thought

Food for Thought

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Food for Though-fruit trayFood for thought means something to consider.

What we consider may come from:

  • Our own minds
  • Something we see or read
  • An event
  • Another person (They offer information, or we pick their brain.)

All make us think about an idea.

Much like we digest food in our stomachs, we digest food for thought in our minds.

The digestion process may be easy or hard. We enjoy easy thoughts. However, we probably gain more from the hard ones.

Food we eat may give us food for thought.

Most of us enjoy food. It fills our stomachs and takes away our hunger. In addition, food offers:

  • Fellowship
  • Comfort
  • Fun
  • Learning opportunities

Some people have slim pickings in food. Others of us enjoy more food than we need. Rather than keeping it all for ourselves, perhaps we should consider giving more away. What better way to show an attitude of gratitude?

By sharing with others, our thoughts become action.

Please comment below with your ideas for putting thoughts into actions.

“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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