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Feeling Their Oats

Feeling Their Oats

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Feeling Their Oats--horse raised on back hooves in front of lake and a cloudy sunsetHave you watched children on school playgrounds? They are feeling their oats! Free from classrooms, they run, jump, and play. Excitement fills the air.

Feeling their oats means being active and full of energy.

This expression applies to more than children. Adults also want to move after long periods of inactivity.

Feeling their oats suggests the behavior of horses after they are fed.

Oats or other grains increase their energy and liveliness. According to The Free Dictionary, this early nineteenth century expression is American in origin.

Feeling their oats also refers to feelings of self-importance.

Those feelings show up when:

Full of energy works well. Full of self-importance does not.

Increase the first. Avoid the second.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 NIV).

Thanks to Judy Fagan for the suggestion. Image by Patou Ricard from Pixabay.

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

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Spread Too Thin

Spread Too Thin

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Spread Too Thin--small amount of peanut butter on a slice of breadDo you ever find yourself spread too thin? Like too little peanut butter on a piece of bread, you cannot cover all you need to do.

You have too many irons in the fire and meet yourself coming and going. Your to-do list keeps growing. If you finish one task, two more take its place.

Spread too thin means you have too much to do and too little time to do it.

You have so many activities, you cannot keep up. You run short on:

  • Time
  • Energy
  • Resources

You feel overwhelmed and can do none of your tasks well.

When spread too thin, allow others to help you.

Extra hands make the work go faster. They also encourage you to keep on keeping on.

 Take breaks.

That sounds crazy, but it helps. A few minutes, hours, or days to relax does wonders.

If your stress level soars, time away helps:

  • Emotionally – Life looks better and hope returns.
  • Physically – Energy levels increase.
  • Mentally – Your mind clears, and you think better.
  • Spiritually – Rest and prayer restores.

Do what you can. Get help. Take breaks.

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint” (Jeremiah 31:24 NIV).

Thanks to Ann Knowles 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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Alive and Kicking

Alive and Kicking

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Alive and Kicking--Girl kicking on a sunset beachFew of us can kick as high as Stella. Yet, we can move at our own pace. We are alive and kicking.

I recently talked with a friend I had not seen in several years. When I asked how she was, she said, “I’m still kicking.” Like most people, she had experienced ups and downs. Some days she kicks higher than others.

Alive and kicking means alive and well.

As my father loved to say, we are “full of vim, vigor, and vitality.” We have:

  • Energy
  • Enthusiasm
  • Health

We are:

  • Strong
  • Alert
  • Active

We still exist, so we still have purpose.

Alive and kicking does not mean a perfect life.

We all deal with less than perfect experiences. That’s life. We may suffer:

  • Health crises
  • Financial woes
  • Relationship problems
  • Daily challenges

Yet, we don’t give up. Rather, we rise and shine. We give thanks for each day and determine to make the most of the resources and abilities we possess.

We kick as high as we can.

“I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands” (Psalm 63:4 NIV).

Thanks to Virginia Harris Sturgeon for the suggestion and to Rhonda Wade Royster for the photo.

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

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Running on Fumes

Running on Fumes

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Running on Fumes-Andrea GiordanoPlease welcome my friend Andrea Giordano as today’s guest writer. I met Andrea when she was Executive Director of TESOL and ESL Programs at Campbellsville University. Andrea is the founder of StudyWithAndrea.com and has taught more than 1,000,000 students from 180 countries. She is a proven leader in online English teaching and is driven by her passion to help you speak English clearly. You can study with Andrea at the following places:
– English with Andrea podcast 
– The Study With Andrea YouTube channel 

I was driving a friend’s truck last summer when, all of a sudden, the gas light came on. I was miles from a gas station and didn’t know if I would make it to a gas station in time. For the next few miles, I was dangerously close to running out of gas. I was running on fumes.

Just like that truck, I’ve had times in my life when I was running on fumes. These were times I had given all my energy away. I found myself with little ability to handle life easily because of how tired I was.

Running on Fumes--race car with fumesRunning on fumes means you are tired or have little emotional energy. 

  • Tired
  • Emotionally tired
  • Exhausted

There are many situations where you can be running on fumes. You might be a student who stayed up all night finishing a research paper but still have to show up for an early morning class.

You might be a mom with a newborn baby where you never get more than three hours of sleep at a time.

You might be locked down to protect yourself from COVID-19. Even though you are safer at home, you feel lonely and overwhelmed by financial pressures and the constant bad news on TV.

In all of those scenarios, you would be running on fumes.

When I feel like I’m running on fumes, I do a few things to refuel:

  1. Get some time alone to pray about what is really exhausting me. A lot of times, just identifying an underlying stress or issue helps me feel like I can do something about it.
  2. I try to go to bed earlier and drink more water.
  3. I listen to worship music and remember that God is strong enough to help me through whatever I’m facing.
  4. I read Scripture, especially verses like Matthew 11:28 (NIV), “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened [running on fumes], and I will give you rest.”

What helps you when you are running on fumes? Please comment below.

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Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

Pick-Me-Up

Pick-Me-Up

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Pick-Me-Up, Flowers bloomingWe all need an occasional pick-me-up.

A bad mood or little energy leaves us down in the dumps. We feel too tired to move.

We need something to give us:

  • A better mood
  • Extra energy
  • A good rest

Flowers give some of us a pick-me-up. A field or garden full of flowers helps us remember the beauty of God’s creation.

A snack sometimes works. Although many of us like chocolate, the effect of food does not last long (except around the middle of our bodies).

A vacation helps. Yet, we may have to wait months for time off work.

Some of the greatest pick-me-ups require little work.

When we run out of steam, we can:

  • Take a few minutes to slow down. (Read a good book. Take a nap.)
  • Go for a short walk (or a longer one, if time allows).
  • Give or receive a few kind words. (If no one gives us kind words, we can still give ours.)

Pick-me-up moments matter.

They often turn bad days into good ones. They help us see light at the end of the tunnel. Go ahead. Make someone’s day!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had (Romans 15:5 NIV).

Thanks to J. T. Henderson for the suggestion.

What is your favorite pick-me-up? Please comment.

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My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went

My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went

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My Get Up and Go Has Got Up and Went-path through bambooSome days I feel like my get up and go has got up and went.

(I know, English teachers – another expression with poor grammar.) My family said, “My get up and go got up and went.” I have also heard, “My get up and go has got up and gone.”

However I say it, I mean I have:

  • No energy
  • Little strength
  • No desire to do anything

I don’t want to:

  • Work
  • Play
  • Talk
  • Move

I have run out of steam and feel as old as the hills.

My get up and go has got up and went often refers to problems of old age.

We hear that in Pete Seeger’s fun song. It mentions the need for:

  • Glasses
  • False teeth
  • Hearing aids

Why not laugh and enjoy each day and each life stage?

I’m thankful my energy doesn’t disappear too often. Yet, I can be thankful for those times. They remind me to:

  • Slow down.
  • Rest.
  • Enjoy the moment.
  • Count my blessings.
  • Remember good times.
  • Stay quiet and peaceful.
  • Prepare for the days ahead.

Childhood, teen, young adult, middle age, or golden years, why not enjoy them all?

“God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going” (2 Corinthians 4:9).

Thanks to Carole Fite 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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Burn the Candle at Both Ends

Burn the Candle at Both Ends

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We never want to burn the candle at both ends. Yet, sometimes we do.

Years ago, people needed candles for light. If they burned a candle at both ends, the candle could not stand. If they placed a candle flat to burn both ends:

  • The candle soon burned out.
  • People wasted much-needed light.

When we burn the candle at both ends, we get too busy. We work or play hard from early morning to late at night. We keep a full plate. We fail to get the rest and sleep we need.

Like candles burning at both ends, we wear out and waste our lives. We:

  • Lose energy.
  • Ruin our health.
  • Become unable to do what we want or need to do.

I admit I sometimes burn the candle at both ends. I have so much I want to do or believe I need to do. Yet, if I try to do too much, I can’t do anything well.

How about you? Are you tempted to burn the candle at both ends? If so, please comment how you handle it.

“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you” (3 John 2 NIV).

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Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion.

Photo courtesy of morgueFile.

Run Out of Steam

Run Out of Steam

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Run Out of SteamRun out of steam relates to old steam engines.

If engines don’t have enough steam, they slow or stop.

Although not many people rely on them today, a few steam engines still run. Colorado’s Durango-Silverton train remains a major tourist attraction. This man, waiting to board that train, relies on steam to get him where he wants to go.

Run out of gas means the same thing.

When a car or other vehicle runs out of gas, it stops. Without fuel, engines can’t keep going.

If people run out of steam, we also stop.

We lose all our energy (or interest). We can go no farther.

We run out of steam for a variety of reasons.

  • Trying to do too much
  • Not taking enough time
  • Health problems
  • Stress

Like old steam engines or modern cars, we must add fuel to keep ourselves going.

We must give our body, mind, and spirit what we need to function at our best.

Take care of yourself. You are the only you that you have.

“I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you” (3 John 1:2 NIV).

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

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