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Tag: Diana Derringer

Win by a Nose

Win by a Nose

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Win by a Nose-a horse raceTo win by a nose means we barely win.

There is little difference between the winner and loser.

In horse racing, a horse often wins by a nose. Whether the first horse wins by a nose or a great distance, its owner gets the prize. The losers may win another day.

We may or may not run a physical race. Yet, we all compete for prizes:

  • Jobs
  • Grades
  • Gifts
  • Awards

Sometimes we win by a lot. Occasionally we win by a nose, barely getting the prize. Other times we lose.

We all like to win.

Yet, losing can teach us important lessons too:

  • Stay humble
  • Try harder next time
  • Share the joy of other people

Remember: The greatest prize in life is the gift of Jesus’ love, free to all.

“I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us” (Philippians 3:14 TLB).

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Get the Ball Rolling

Get the Ball Rolling

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Get the Ball Rolling-child kicking soccer ballGriffin likes to get the ball rolling. He is always ready for a game to begin. Many of us are a little slower getting started

Sometimes we fail to get the ball rolling.

That is true in soccer and true in life. We know we should begin. Yet, we keep putting off what we need or want to do.

We may not get the ball rolling for several reasons:

  • The job looks too hard.
  • We fear we might fail.
  • We get lazy.

Too often, we throw in the towel before we begin.

Someone had to get the ball rolling for:

  • Electricity
  • Internet service
  • Automobiles
  • Modern medicine

Now we cannot imagine life without those services. Yet, someone had to take the first step for us to enjoy them.

What if the next great invention is waiting for us to get the ball rolling?

  • What work do we need to start?
  • Who do we need to encourage?

Who knows what the future holds? Let’s do our best to make it better because of our actions today.

“Now begin the work, and the Lord be with you” (1 Chronicles 22:16 NIV).

Thanks to Lindsey Howard for the photo.

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That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles

That’s the Way the Cookie Crumbles

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Eventually we all suffer hard times.

That's the Way the Cookie Crumbles-plate of cookiesWhen that happens, we may say to one another, “That’s the way the cookie crumbles.” We mean:

  • That’s too bad.
  • Those things happen.
  • You could not have prevented your problems.
  • You cannot change your problems.
  • I’m sorry about your problems.

 We don’t like it. We may want to scream, “Life’s not fair.” Well … it isn’t. So we deal with that fact. Saying “That’s the way the cookie crumbles” encourages us not to get upset.

No one is problem free. In fact, some of the kindest, wisest people I know seem to have one problem after another. They get few breaks.

Yet, many of them ignore their troubles. Instead, they reach out to help others. They do whatever it takes to make other people’s lives easier. They find joy in the middle of all they face.

Will we find joy in spite of our problems?

When life falls apart, will we fall apart as well? Or will we ask God to guide us? Will we help other people deal with their troubles? Will we make the best of a bad situation?

“You have patiently suffered for me without quitting” (Revelation 2:3 TLB).

Thanks to Carol Sullivan and Sweet Hospitality for the yummy looking cookie photo.

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Face the Music

Face the Music

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Face the MusicI love to listen to music.

Music makes me laugh, cry, dance, worship, and more. Few things in life offer as much pleasure.

I still remember the first time I saw the opening scene of The Sound of Music. I wanted to run up that mountain with Julie Andrews and sing just like her. I could probably run up the mountain. I will never sing like that.

I don’t like to face the music.

I don’t want to accept the results of my actions when I have done wrong. When other people do wrong, I usually think they should face the music. They should pay for their mistakes. Yet, I don’t want the same for myself.

However, I live with the consequences of the choices I make.

Most of the time, good choices result in a good life. Bad choices usually result in a bad life. That is not always true, but it is most of the time.

The choices I make also affect other people. I want to help them make good choices and avoid bad ones.

Likewise, I want to choose carefully the people who guide me. Although I see many examples, I choose the ones I follow.

  • Whether I have good or bad teachers, I choose my actions.
  • Whether I have good or bad friends, I choose my actions.
  • Whether I have a good or bad family, I choose my actions.

Making right choices is not always easy. When I fail, I ask God for forgiveness and thank God for a fresh start. God offers that same forgiveness and fresh start to everyone.

I pray you always enjoy beautiful music. I also pray you make good choices so you don’t have to face the music.

“Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19 NIV).

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Buck Up

Buck Up

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Buck Up--sun shining above dark cloudsCheer up! Perk up! Get over it! Life is not that bad. All these mean the same thing: buck up.

Life is not usually as bad as we think.

Everything looks dark down in the dumps. We see no way out. That often results when we look the wrong way.

  • When we walk down a cave’s dark path, we see no escape.
  • When we move toward the entrance, we see the light.

We must choose to move.

The light remains there for us. We decide which way to go.

We do the same in daily life. Will we remain down in the dumps or focus on the light at the end of the tunnel?

Our circumstances may remain the same. We all go through hard times. However, we choose our mood.

  • What we tell ourselves changes our mood.
  • Our mood changes our actions.

For physical depression, we may need medical help. For a bad attitude, we need to buck up.

Remember: Every cloud has a silver lining.

“My God turns my darkness into light” (Psalm 18:28 NIV).

Thanks to Joy Taylor for the suggestion.

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Down in the Dumps

Down in the Dumps

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Down in the Dumps--looking up through dark rocks No one enjoys being down in the dumps.

We don’t like to feel depressed or unhappy. Yet, we all get down in the dumps sometimes.

Darkness covers us, much like entering a cave with no lights. We wonder if life will ever get better.

A few people suffer depression because of a physical problem. Most of us simply have days we don’t enjoy as much as others.

  • Our car won’t start.
  • We argue with someone we love.
  • We have to work long hours.

Problems keep growing, and so does our bad mood.

Like an old dog, we growl at others.

  • We frown.
  • We fuss.
  • Nothing pleases us.

Because we feel down in the dumps, we often make others feel bad too.

We want them to share our misery. Yet, most of us have a choice.

Will we focus on our bad moments?

Or will we be thankful for all the good we still enjoy? We’ll talk more about that choice next week.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5 NIV).

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Get Our Feet Wet

Get Our Feet Wet

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Get Our Feet Wet: ocean washing against a beachIf we want to learn to swim, we have to get our feet wet.

A friend’s grandmother taught her to fear water. Therefore, my friend never learned to swim.

My parents had me playing in water when I was a baby. I never feared water, but I did obey safety rules.

My sister, brother, and I enjoyed water games for hours. We:

  • Stood on our hands
  • Floated on our backs
  • Jumped and splashed
  • Looked for fish

I wanted my friend to know the freedom of such a day. First, she had to get her feet wet.

When we try anything new, we must get our feet wet.

We have to take those first steps. Once we get our feet wet, we can move on to deeper water. We can add new skills.

Yet, fear often keeps us from trying.

  • What if I fail?
  • Will I look silly?
  • What will people think?

The truth is:

  • We all fail sometimes.
  • We all look silly sometimes.
  • People don’t notice us as much as we think they do.
  • If we make mistakes, we can always go back to the drawing board.

As an old song says, step into the water.

Get your feet wet. Then, one step at a time, experience the fun of learning something new.

“‘Lord, if it’s you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said” (Matthew 14:28-29 NIV).

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Green Thumb

Green Thumb

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Green thumb-flower garden with American flagMy friend Carolyn’s husband has a green thumb.

Tim grows beautiful flowers, shrubs, trees, and other plants. His flower garden amazes me. In the middle of his garden stands an American flag. The flag serves as a symbol of the freedom we celebrate each July 4.

My thumb is definitely not green.

Most of my plants get sick and die. Therefore, I grow flowers that require little or no care.

In spite of my lack of talent, I admire the beauty of other people’s plants.

  • I may not know the plants’ names.
  • I may not be able to grow them.
  • However, I can enjoy them.

I am thankful for people with a green thumb. I am also thankful I don’t need a green thumb to be used in other ways.

God gives each of us our own special talents.

Like Tim’s flowers, we are all different. Yet, we can all be beautiful in our own way.

  • Some people work well with numbers.
  • Others work well with people.
  • Some are great planners.

Whatever our talents, green thumb or not, let’s bloom where we are planted.

“Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:11 NIV).

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Off Base

Off Base

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Off Base, little boy T-ball player with one foot on a baseRyder knows not to move his foot off base. If he does, a baseball player on the other team can tag him out.

In baseball, we never want to get off base.

We also:

  • Need to run fast from one base to the next.
  • Must touch all the bases to score a run.
  • Fail to score a run if we get tagged by the baseball between bases.

In life, we don’t want to get caught off base either.

If we are off base, we are wrong. If someone says we are way off base, they mean we are really wrong. We have made a big mistake.

For example, I am off base if I:

  • Believe I will never suffer when I make bad choices
  • Want good pay for poor work
  • Expect people to like me when I treat them badly

The bad news:

We all get off base from time to time.

The good news:

We can get back in the game and try again.

How do we get back on base?

I have been off base playing ball. I have been off base in life. I have learned hard but good lessons from both.

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19 NIV).

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Thanks to Karen Atwood for the photo.

The Other Side of the Coin

The Other Side of the Coin

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The Other Side of the CoinI’m not always right.

I wish I were, but I’m not. Therefore, I need to look at life from other points of view. I need to consider ideas other than my own — the other side of the coin.

By looking at the other side of the coin, I give myself the opportunity to grow. I may learn I was wrong. If not, I strengthen my original belief. I gain from either of those possibilities.

We don’t have to agree with others to remain friends.

Rather, we learn to disagree agreeably. My husband and I share many of the same values and beliefs. We also disagree on several issues. We have learned to accept that reality. Occasionally we begin a sentence with, “I know you’re going to disagree with this, but …”

I wonder:

  • How many wars could have been prevented by looking at the other side’s opinions?
  • How many couples could have avoided divorce by focusing on one another’s feelings?
  • How many friendships could have been preserved by listening more than talking?

Not everything in life revolves around us and our outlook.

Let’s not be hardheaded. Rather, let’s check out the other side of the coin. In the process we:

  • Stretch our minds.
  • Enrich our resources,
  • Share one another’s burdens and joys, whether we agree or not.

When we look at the other side of the coin, we gain another viewpoint. We choose whether to accept or reject that viewpoint. Let’s use wisdom as we choose.

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance” (Proverbs 1:5 NIV).

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