don't give up Archives - Diana Derringer

Get Back on the Horse

August 14, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 12 comments

Get back on the horse. That’s what we often hear if we fall. The horse may have bucked us, or we may have fallen for other reasons. Whatever the cause, we receive encouragement to try again.

My sister disagrees. As a teenager, she did not like to ride horses. A cousin convinced her to ride behind him. She did. On a trip through our orchard, he lowered his head to miss a tree branch. He forgot to tell her. That was her last horse ride.

Get back on the horse means to try again.

We don’t give up. Instead, we get up. We go another time. One failure does not mean we will always fail.

Life gets difficult for everyone. We all fall. People or circumstances hurt us. Nevertheless, we keep going.

We learn from our mistakes.

Rather than kick ourselves, we try to correct what went wrong. We don’t want to live in fear—with cold feet—all our lives.

Get back on the horse applies to every area of life.

We may:

Lose a job
Fail a test
Suffer from illness
Grieve lost friendships
Endure persecution

In every circumstance, we decide whether to shake it off or tie ourselves in knots with worry. If we don’t know how to get back on the horse, we can always rely on God for direction.

“Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV).

Thanks to Joe and Ann Klotz for the suggestion.

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Herding Cats

January 16, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Juggling 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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Hands Are Tied

December 6, 2021 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Most of us experience times we want to do something but can’t. Our hands are tied. Reasons include:

We are too busy.
Our boss does not allow it.
We lack necessary resources.
The law or other rules prevent it.

If our hands are tied, we are not free to act.

Like a prisoner, circumstances limit us. Although we want to make a change or help someone, we can’t.

Occasionally we say our hands are tied as an excuse.

We don’t want to do something. Yet, we say, “I can’t” rather than “I don’t want to.” Most people recognize such dishonesty immediately, or they learn about it later. Better to stay as good as our word and speak only the truth.

Many times, we give up too soon.

We try on our own and fall flat. If we pray, God may open new possibilities. The impossible becomes possible with God.

Make a difference when we can. Seek help when we can’t.

Everyone can make a positive difference. Rarely are our hands tied.

With God’s help and the help of other people, we can make our world a better place.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” Hebrews 4:16 NIV).

Thanks to Patty Cooper Emerson 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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In Over My Head

September 11, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

In Over My Head--Acadia National Park Coastline I love to travel the coastline of Acadia National Park. However, if I enter the water, I get in over my head.

Sometimes I feel like I am in over my head with life.

I have more on my to-do list than I have time to do. I drown in work.

Also, when I try new tasks, I feel in over my head because I:

Don’t understand how to do them.
Have to spend hours or days to learn them.
Think I will never learn.

I feel like I am spinning my wheels. I want to give up.

When in over my head, I often tell myself:

I can’t do this.
I don’t know what I am doing.

When that happens, I need to get away from it all.

I need a break. My thinking must change to:

I can’t do everything, but I can do some things.
I can’t learn everything, but I can learn more than I know now.

When I focus on my problems, I feel in over my head. When I let go and let God take control, I find peace.

“God, save me! I’m in over my head” (Psalm 69:1 MSG).

How about you? What do you do when you feel you are in over your head? Please comment below.

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Spin Our Wheels

August 7, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

If we spin our wheels, we move but get nowhere.

We may travel a muddy road and get stuck. We spin our wheels. The wheels go around, but the car stays stuck.

We walk on a treadmill. Although good for our health, all that walking takes us nowhere.

We try to work but have no success.

Ideas refuse to come.
What we try fails.
We spend time on useless work.
Someone or something destroys all we have done.
We do a bad job.

When we spin our wheels, we waste time.

Although active,

We do not go forward.
We do not go back.

Instead, we stay stuck where we are. We feel like we can’t win for losing.

How do we stop our wheels from spinning?

We can:

Move on to something else.
Work harder.
Find a new way to get the job done.
Slow down. Remember haste makes waste.

Don’t give up.

We all spin our wheels sometimes. Keep moving forward.

“Our only power and success comes from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5 TLB).

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

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Egg on My Face

February 20, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Egg on My Face--child eating, messy face Brenna often had egg (and other food) on her face when she was smaller. Children get messy while they learn to eat.

Although no longer a child, I still get egg on my face. I did so at least three times recently.

Once I ate an egg too fast.
Twice I made silly mistakes.

When I get egg on my face, I embarrass myself.

I fail to do something right. Sometimes I make simple mistakes. They cause no big problems. Other times, my mistakes are more serious. I fall flat.

What should I do when I get egg on my face?

Laugh at the silly little things. Everyone makes mistakes.
Wipe the egg off and keep going. Don’t give up.
Pay more attention. Be careful so I don’t make more mistakes.
See it as an opportunity. Go back to the drawing board and learn to do better.

“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB).

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

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Thanks to Darrin Jenkins for the photo.