encouragement Archives - Page 3 of 13

Stick Your Neck Out

September 22, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

It’s risky to stick your neck out. Joining the crowd — looking and acting like everyone else — is safer and easier.

If you stick your neck out, you risk getting in trouble.

You attract attention. Even if other people agree with you, they fear joining you. They don’t want to face:

Danger
Criticism
Anger
Job loss
Rejection

This expression’s origin remains unknown.

Possibilities include:

Horse racing
Turtles sticking their heads out of their shells
Barnyard animals with their necks on a chopping block
People on a guillotine
Boxers protecting their necks and heads by holding them in

In all these examples, extending the neck makes it vulnerable.

You can stick your neck out personally or professionally.

You take chances when you:

Speak unpopular truths.
Report wrongdoing.
Rock the boat.

If you stick your neck out, don’t take unnecessary risks.

God commands people to stand tall and stand firm for what is right. Yet, boldness is not always wise or necessary.

Weigh the evidence.
Pray for guidance.
Choose carefully.

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11 NIV).

Thanks to Terri Wilson for the suggestion. Image by Danièle Konsbruck from Pixabay.

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Not for Love nor Money

September 15, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Many things in life we would never do – not for love nor money. Few of us would:

Walk a tightrope over Niagara Falls
Swim with sharks
Run with the bulls in Spain

Not for love nor money means never.

Under no circumstances
Regardless of what happens
Impossible

Similar expressions include:

Not for love or money
Not fer love ner money (country slang)

Sometimes we must do hard things even if we rather not.

They are so important, we take the risk. Forget hemming and hawing. No ifs, ands, or buts. We simply hunker down and do it.

Not-for-love-nor-money decisions may be outside our control.

Whether we want to do something or not, we may be unable to do it. However, nothing lies beyond the control of the one and only God who is:

All-powerful
All-knowing
Everywhere present

What we cannot do, God can.

“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Matthew 19:26 NIV).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion and to Piper Atwood for assistance with the photo.

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Eat the Frog First

September 8, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

Eat the frog first sounds disgusting. Although frog legs taste good, the image of a live frog gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Eat the frog first means to tackle our toughest job first.

That job is often:

Most important
Easiest to put off
Most satisfying when finished

Eat the frog first tells us not to procrastinate.

Get the worst work done. Then relax and move on to:

Other tasks
A well-deserved break

When we finish a job, we no longer dread it.

Mark Twain frequently receives credit for this expression’s origin.

Several sources quote him with, “Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

However, according to Quote Investigator, the expression probably began much earlier.

The full article lists those possibilities.

Whatever the origin, eat the frog first makes good sense.

However, it still sounds gross! I cannot imagine the plague of frogs mentioned in the Bible.

“The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs” (Exodus 8:3 NIV).

Thanks to Tillie Cowherd for the suggestion. Image by Couleur from Pixabay.

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The More the Merrier

August 18, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

With flowers and butterflies, the more the merrier. They brighten our world and our attitudes. When I was a little girl, our house and yard overflowed with my grandmother’s:

Potted plants
Flower beds
Shrubs and trees

All those blooms resulted in:

Butterflies
Bees
An abundance of beauty

People came from here to yonder to admire and receive plant starts.

The more the merrier usually refers to people.

Often, the more people at a place or event, the more fun everyone has.

During my childhood summers, our house overflowed with relatives as well as flowers. They came from everywhere. Many stayed two weeks or longer. People ate and slept wherever they found a bare spot. We had a whale of a time.

The more the merrier describes a variety of situations.

Family get-togethers
Class reunions
Gatherings of friends and former co-workers

Not everyone agrees that the more the merrier.

Fewer people may be preferred by:

Overworked teachers
Tired cooks
Exhausted parents

We all need time alone and time together.

The Bible tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed” (Luke 5:16 NIV). However, the Bible also reminds us that we need to gather and support one another.

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together … but encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV).

Thanks to Tracy Crump for the idea and to Debbie Tapscott for the photo.

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Down Pat

August 11, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Do you know people who appear to have life down pat? Everything they do, they do well.

They excel at athletics.
Music flows from them.
Academic awards cover their walls.
They smile through every hardship.

Down pat means you have learned something well.

The Free Dictionary defines it as “Learned, mastered, or understood perfectly, to the point of requiring little or no focus to do, recall, or accomplish.” You hit the bull’s eye.

To get anything down pat usually requires extra effort.

Before you make it look easy, you must:

Work hard
Study
Practice
Memorize

You need to develop your natural abilities.

Talent alone rarely gets you where you want to go. Experts were once students. When you study hard, your skills grow.

God gives the talent. People add the elbow grease.

“I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw” (Proverbs 24:32).

Thanks to Katherine Pasour for the suggestion.

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Close-knit

August 4, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

Do you have a close-knit family or group of friends? Few things in life replace those special relationships. Your roots may have run deep for a long time. Or you may have known one another only briefly. Either way, you can depend on one another.

Close-knit means a close relationship.

Your ties to one another may result from shared:

Family
Friends
Culture
Interests

Whatever holds you together stays strong.

Time or distance don’t reduce your close-knit commitment.

You remain ready to move heaven and earth for one another at a moment’s notice. Just call, and help is on the way.

That’s the kind of relationship everyone needs.

You never have to wonder. You never have to worry. If you need them, they will be there.

God offers a never-failing close-knit relationship to everyone.

People have limits. God has none. If you want the best of the best, turn to God. God will never leave you alone.

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18 NIV).

Thanks to Beckham Wilson for the suggestion.

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Off the Top of My Head

July 28, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

Have you ever felt swamped with work, and someone asked you a question? Perhaps you began your response with, “Off the top of my head …”

Off the top of my head means you reply with little thought.

Your answer requires minimal brain power. However, if you fail to check your memory, your guess might not be right.

Off the top of my head works best if you know your subject well.

The most reliable information comes from experts in the field.

Plumbers know how to fix leaky faucets.
Doctors understand health issues.
Chefs prepare tasty food.

Experts often consult with one another since two heads are better than one.

Verifying usually works best.

Therefore:

Reliable plumbers check leaks.
Trustworthy doctors perform tests.
Top chefs try recipes before they share them.

They investigate before they act—a valuable lesson for everyone.

“Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. (Ecclesiastes 5:2 NIV).

Thanks to Melissa Bright for the suggestion. Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.

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On the Tip of Your Tongue

July 21, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Have you ever had someone’s name on the tip of your tongue? You know the person well, but the name simply will not come to mind.

On the tip of your tongue means something you can almost remember.

The thought is nearly there but not quite. When you start to say it, it disappears. You could kick yourself, but that would do no good.

On the tip of your tongue refers to more than names.

People often forget:

Answers to questions
Thoughts
Quotes
Words

The inability to recall information affects everyone.

However, certain conditions make the situation worse.

Age
Stress
Multi-tasking
Distractions
Illness

Those and other circumstances often make the brain work at a snail’s pace.

Humor helps when anything remains on the tip of your tongue.

Like water off a duck’s back, let it go. Learn to laugh at yourself. You are not alone.

Aren’t you glad God never forgets?

Never has. Never will.

“Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely” (Psalm 139:4 NIV).

Thanks to Lindy Pierce for the suggestion and to Chelsey Stone for the photo.

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Mayday

July 14, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Old movies often show someone in trouble who calls, “Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!”

Mayday is an internationally recognized radiotelephone signal for help.

The person, usually on a ship or in an airplane, is in crisis. Problems may include:

A fire
Engine trouble
A collision

If the person in the thick of it survives, it may be on a wing and a prayer.

According to The Free Dictionary, mayday originated with the French phrase, m’aider.

M’aider means “Help me.” Danger threatens.

Mayday now includes other difficulties or dangers.

Most of us have experienced the stress of major and minor disasters.

Storms destroy property.
Appliances stop working.
Cars break down.
Electronics die.

Mayday should not be confused with May Day, the May 1 springtime celebration.

May 1 is also Labor Day in some countries.

When emergencies arise, God directs us to help one another.

God comforts us. Yet, God also guides us to help the hurting. Shared love and support encourage us to get a grip and keep on keeping on.

“The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him” (Nahum 1:7 NIV).

Thanks to Mike Bertoglio for the suggestion.

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In a Pickle

July 7, 2025 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

A friend recently said, “I don’t like to put you in a pickle.” She did not want her plans to cause me trouble.

In a pickle means in a difficult situation.

Similar expressions include in a jam or in hot water.

We often end up in a pickle or in a jam through no fault of our own.

Circumstances work against us.
People’s actions hurt us.
Weather destroys our property.
Sickness strikes our family.

We have no control over those situations.

Occasionally we get ourselves in a pickle or in hot water.

Our actions work against us when we:

Mistreat others
Break laws or rules
Refuse to work

Sometimes we add words to this expression.

Examples include:

In a pretty pickle.
In a right pickle.
In a real pickle.

However we say it, we get in a mess.

Simple steps may help us out of our messes.

Request help from friends, family, or coworkers.
Apologize for mistakes.
Pray for God’s guidance.

“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 Rita Smalley for the suggestion and to Gail Gosser for the photo.

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