goals Archives - Diana Derringer

More than One Way to Skin a Cat

October 12, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

More than one way to skin a cat sounds cruel. We don’t want our cute, fur-covered pets to suffer.

However, many of us grew up climbing trees or playing on swing sets or horizontal bars. We learned to skin cats without a single pet around. We hung by our hands and lifted our feet and legs between our arms. Then we reversed that position.

More than one way to skin a cat means more than one way to reach a goal.

Simple examples include different ways to:

Bake a cake
Grow a garden
Study for a test

We learn and work based on our personal skills and interests.

I learn and work better with words.
My husband prefers math.

We figure out how to do our best work. Sometimes we do well and hit the bull’s eye. Other times our efforts fall short of what we hope.

Whatever our skills or our results, let’s aim for the best way to do whatever we do.

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Colossians 1:9 NIV).

Thanks to Tillie Cowherd for the suggestion and to Karen Atwood for the photo.

Adventures in Fatherhood book cover Congratulations to Stephen Russell, whose name was drawn from my mailing list for a free copy of Adventures in Fatherhood by Carlton Hughes and Holland Webb.

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Beat Your Head against a Wall

May 28, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

If you beat your head against a wall, you try to do something that looks hopeless.

You may also say you:

Bang your head against a wall
Bang your head against a brick wall

However you say it, the expression means you waste your time.

You beat your head against a wall when you try again and again with no success.

Few people beat their head against a real wall. However, some do. Unless you want a terrible headache, don’t try it.

Beat your head against a wall means you feel frustrated.

You may want to:

Reach a goal that appears impossible
Help someone who refuses your help
Stop a bad habit you keep repeating

You cannot figure out what to do. As a result, you get down in the dumps.

Although frustrated, you don’t want to give up too soon.

You may reach your goal if you try one more time.
The person you want to help may succeed with one more chance.
You will never break that bad habit unless you keep trying.

With one more try, you may begin to see daylight.

Sometimes you turn your frustrations into beauty.

What can a farmer do with rocks in his field?

He can beat his head against a wall because of all the rocks.
Or he can build a fence that becomes a work of art.

Occasionally you do need to give up.

You decide to spend your time more wisely. Therefore, you:

Do what you can.
Accept what you cannot.
Make the best use of the time you have.

“Why bother even trying to do anything with you when you just keep to your bullheaded ways? You keep beating your heads against brick walls. (Isaiah 1:5 MSG).

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Figure Out

January 22, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 13 comments

Figure Out--flowers with butterfly Some things in life are hard to figure out.

How do flowers grow from buds?
What makes winter so cold and summer so hot?
How do butterflies grow from cocoons? (Can you find the butterfly in this picture?)

Some people say figure it out instead of figure out.

When we figure out anything, we solve a problem.

We:

Learn how to do something
Understand what we did not understand before
Find an explanation for something
Begin to see daylight

Sometimes we figure out things. Other times we figure out people.

Not all people think the same way we do.
Our actions differ.
We have different goals.

We need to figure out how to get along in spite of our differences.

We don’t have to agree to be agreeable.
We don’t have to act the same way to act with kindness.
We don’t have to share the same goals to support one another.

If we look at the other side of the coin, we may learn something.

I have a hard time figuring out math problems. I know all my questions drove my teachers crazy. One would say, “Think. Just think.” I was thinking. However, I could not think like he did. I was in over my head. I am thankful those teachers did not give up on me. Instead, they bent over backwards to help me.

Life is often hard. Why not help one another figure out the best way to live it?

“This is God’s Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God: ‘Call to me and I will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own’” (Jeremiah 33:2-3 MSG).

Thanks to Judy Clark for the suggestion.

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Hit the Bull’s-eye

March 27, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 1 comment

These young archers want to hit the bull’s-eye. They aim for the perfect center of their target.

We may not use a bow and arrow. However, most of us want to hit the bull’s-eye with our plans. We want to reach our goals perfectly.

When we hit the bull’s-eye, we hit our target.

We achieve what we want to do.

To hit the bull’s-eye usually requires practice and hard work.

The archer’s goal is the smallest circle in the center of the target. Hitting the larger circles is easier. That small dot in the center takes extra effort.

Reaching our goals also requires extra effort.

Getting a better job means harder work.
Winning first prize means extra practice.
Graduating means regular study.

We don’t hit the bull’s-eye every time.

Sometimes we hit the center of our target. Other times we hit the circles around the center. Occasionally we miss our target completely. After several failures, we may think we can’t win for losing.

Yet, when we miss the bull’s-eye, we still learn.

We may:

Realize we need to set different goals.
See the need for help from other people.
Understand we need to tackle our goal a different way.

Remember: We must make goals if we hope to achieve them.

“My question: What are God-worshipers like? Your answer: Arrows aimed at God’s bull’s-eye” (Psalm 25:12 MSG).

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Reach for the Sky

September 5, 2016 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Reach for the sky--Devil's Tower with the sky above Reach for the sky has two meanings.

A robber tells people to hold their hands in the air by saying, “Reach for the sky.”
We tell people to set high goals by saying, “Reach for the sky.”

We will focus on the second meaning.

When we look at the sky, it seems so far away.

The clouds float high above us.
Birds fly into it.
Children pretend to touch it.
Yet, how can we reach it?

When we look at goals, they may also appear far away.

Some goals seem greater than our ability.
Other people succeed while we fail.
We sometimes do nothing more than dream of what we want to do.

Far away does not mean impossible.

In spite of challenges, we can reach the sky. In spite of challenges, we can reach our goals. Yet, how do we do that?

We reach goals, like most of life, one step at a time. We may never get as far as we hope. Yet, we will get closer than if we never tried. Remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

If we try, we may surprise ourselves. In addition to reaching our goals, we could go far beyond them.

“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies” (Psalm 36:5 NIV).

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Don’t Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

April 15, 2014 Diana Derringer Comments 0 Comment

Although not found in the Bible, egg hunts have become a common Easter tradition. Close to Easter seems a good time to remember we don’t put all our eggs in one basket.

As children find Easter eggs, they usually place them in brightly-colored baskets. Too many eggs make a basket overflow. Extra weight from the eggs can make a fragile basket break.

Using more than one basket, if needed, reduces the risk of losing or breaking their eggs.

Neither should we put all our eggs in one basket.

We don’t want to limit our resources to one possibility.

For a greater chance of success, we must diversify.

Invest money in more than one company.
Study more than one subject.
Learn more than one skill.
Apply to more than one school.
Develop more than one hobby.
Plan more than one vacation route.

We want to keep our options open.

If one goal fails, we have an alternative.

If our dream becomes a nightmare, we can follow a different dream.

“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11 NIV).

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