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Kick the Bucket

Kick the Bucket

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"Wild Bill" Hickok, Mt. Moriah Cemetery "Boot Hill"
“Wild Bill” Hickok, Mt. Moriah Cemetery “Boot Hill”

The literal meaning of kick the bucket sounds harmless. However, the idiom fills many people with fear.

When we kick the bucket, we die.

Kick the bucket may have started when hanging was a common method of execution. Sometimes criminals stood on a bucket while the rope went around their necks. Another person then kicked the bucket out from under their feet.

Many people rather not talk about death.

Perhaps that’s why we use so many idioms instead:

  • Push up daisies
  • Bite the dust
  • Croak
  • Pass away
  • Depart this life
  • Meet our Maker
  • Go to our reward
  • Fade away
  • Breathe our last
  • Laid to rest

We have many more, but you get the idea.

We avoid a hard truth by the words we choose.

Notice how western movies describe death. Like “Wild Bill” Hickok, cowboys are laid to rest with their boots on and their heads pointed west. Whatever the words, they remain graveyard dead.

Death is a natural part of life.

As Dr. L. Nelson Bell said “Only those who are prepared to die are really prepared to live.”

If we prepare to meet our Maker, we need not fear.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain” (1 Corinthians 15:55 and Philippians 1:21 NET).

Next week we will look at the related but more popular expression, bucket list.

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

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Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

Chief Cook and Bottle Washer

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Chief Cook and Bottle WasherAre you a chief cook and bottle washer?

  • In your home?
  • At work?
  • In your club?
  • In other organizations?

If you answer yes to the following questions, you qualify.

  • Are you in charge of almost everything?
  • Do you complete most of the work yourself?
  • Are your tasks important but routine?
  • Do you often wish for more help?

We can easily complain if we have the role of chief cook and bottle washer. Perhaps, however, we need to look at our responsibilities a different way.

  • Think about people whose health will not allow them to work.
  • Express gratitude for our abilities.
  • Thank those whose help we receive.
  • Train others to perform similar tasks.
  • Request help when we need it. People are willing to help more often than we realize.

For all those chief cook and bottle washers out there, thank you. For everyone else, lend those special people a helping hand.

“Blessings on you if I return and find you faithfully doing your work” (Matthew 24:46 TLB).

Thank you to Brad Montgomery for the photo of sweet Savannah, a chief cook and bottle washer in training. Thank you to Rebecca Stafford, a longtime chief cook and bottle washer, for suggesting this expression.

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

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Don’t Put the Cart before the Horse

Don’t Put the Cart before the Horse

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Please welcome my friend Emily Akin as today’s guest writer. Emily and I met at Kentucky Christian Writers Conference. Emily lives in northwest Tennessee with her husband of 45 years and their Jack Russell terrier, Jeb.

“I always have prayer before I go into the courtroom,” said the judge I was interviewing. “One day, I didn’t get a chance to pray before going in. Everything seemed to go wrong.”

Later, he returned to his office. While there, he realized he had forgotten to pray.

“I prayed, and I went back into the courtroom. Everything fell into place,” he said.

The judge had “put the cart before the horse.” We say that when a person makes a task more difficult by doing things in the wrong order. The cart is made for the horse to pull rather than push.

  • Put the horse in front of the cart. The horse pulls the cart.
  • Put the horse behind the cart. The horse does not know what to do.

We put the cart before the horse by:

  • Starting on a trip without knowing what route we’ll take.
  • Buying clothes for an event before we’ve been invited.
  • Asking God to bless our efforts after we’ve made our own plan.

Our plans work out better if we consult God first. Perhaps what we’ve planned is not what God wants for us. It could be that we have the right idea, but we are going about it the wrong way. Let’s be sure our plans follow God’s purpose. Put the horse before the cart in everything we do.

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Proverbs 19:21, NIV).

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

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Photo courtesy of Morguefile.

Don’t Rock the Boat

Don’t Rock the Boat

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Don't Rock the Boat“Don’t rock the boat.” “Leave everything as it is.” “Maintain the status quo.”

We have many ways to tell one another not to change anything.

Change is hard, yet:

  • To make wrongs right requires change.
  • Progress requires change.
  • Learning requires change.

If we rock the boat when fishing:

  • We may fall out.
  • The boat may turn over.
  • We may scare away the fish.

If we rock the boat in life:

  • We may become uncomfortable.
  • Other people may become uncomfortable or angry.
  • We may make mistakes.

Yet, nothing ventured, nothing gained. We can’t move forward without change.

Don’t rock the boat just to cause trouble. Do rock the boat when the boat needs rocked.

“Make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5).

Thanks to Debbie Tapscott for suggesting this expression.

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

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Fit as a Fiddle

Fit as a Fiddle

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Fit as a FiddleIf your doctor declares you fit as a fiddle, that’s good. You’re healthy.

If anyone says he’s fit as a fiddle, he means:

  • I’m great.
  • I couldn’t be better.
  • I’m quite well, thank you.

My father taught himself to play a fiddle when I was a small child. People with a non-bluegrass music background may not know that fiddle is another name for violin. The music style makes it different.

Bluegrass music has an Irish, Scottish, and English background. This traditional music style grew in the Appalachian region of the United States. It remains popular among many people today.

In the attached video, ten-year old Carson Peters tells Ricky Skaggs the difference in a violin and fiddle. He also plays and sings a bluegrass music favorite, “Blue Moon of Kentucky.”

In addition to playing a fiddle, my father loved to play with words. He had several expressions similar to fit as a fiddle.  My favorite: If I were any better, there would have to be two of me.

Whether we play a fiddle or not, why not seek a lifestyle that makes us fit as a fiddle?

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

How do you tell people you’re fit as a fiddle?

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You’re Pulling My Leg

You’re Pulling My Leg

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You're Pulling My LegIf you’re pulling my leg, you’re telling me an untrue story as a joke.

Many people recognize such a story as unbelievable. Not me! I swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

Almost anyone can pull my leg. Tell me the wildest tale, and I believe it. My picture should be included in the dictionary under the word gullible.

That’s okay. Everyone enjoys a little innocent fun. We laugh at how easily people fool me. Maybe someday I will learn.

How I wish all life could be as innocent. How I wish all untruths were jokes.

We live with the reality that we often hurt one another with our words.

  • We tell lies.
  • We say one thing but mean another.
  • We keep our mouths shut when we need to speak the truth.

Every day we choose our words. Will what we say help others or hurt them?

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, LORD, my rock and my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14 HCSB).

Special thanks to Xuesong Li and Yaming Zhu for demonstrating the literal meaning of this expression.

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

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As Old as the Hills

As Old as the Hills

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As Old as the Hills 1Do you ever feel as old as the hills? It is possible whether we are 18 or 80.

The hills of Kentucky have existed longer than any of us have lived. So have most hills and mountains. That does not stop us from saying people or possessions are as old as the hills.

• Those of us who hate to shop wear clothes as old as the hills.
• When tired, we feel as old as the hills.
• We describe well-worn furniture as old as the hills.

Our society values youth. Many people think older adults are over the hill.

They don’t understand the benefits that come with age.

• Years of experience
• Wisdom from life lessons
• Appreciation for how fast time passes

Regardless of how old we are or how old we feel, let’s give thanks for:

• Every age
• The beauty of the hills around us
• The one who created all

“Were you born before the hills were made?” (Job 15:7 NIV).

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

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Your Goose is Cooked

Your Goose is Cooked

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Your Goose is CookedIf you travel the Enchanted Highway in western North Dakota, you discover “Geese in Flight.” This largest scrap metal sculpture in the world stands in the middle of nothing but fields.

If your goose is cooked, you stand in the middle of nothing but trouble. You have behaved badly, and you have been discovered. Like this sculpture on a hill, you cannot hide.

Geese can be mean.

  • Some make more noise than dogs.
  • Some attack people and animals.
  • When they bite, it hurts. (Trust me. I know.)

Geese can also be helpful.

  • They produce eggs.
  • They supply down (small soft feathers) for pillows and other bedding.
  • They provide meat.
  • Because they are loud, they make good guards.
  • Some make great pets.

When a goose gets mean, it may become its owner’s next meal.

When your goose is cooked, you don’t become a meal. You do suffer the consequences of your bad behavior.

However, that suffering often serves a good purpose. It causes you to straighten up and fly right.

“They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, and suffered because of their sins” (Psalm 107:17 NET).

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

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As Friendly as a Puppy

As Friendly as a Puppy

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As Friendly as a Puppy 1If you own a puppy, you know the joy of complete acceptance. That puppy loves you. He doesn’t care about your status:

  • Who you are
  • What you have done
  • How you look
  • What you say

He wants to be with you. He remains your friend through thick and thin.

A puppy knows how to have fun. He finds pleasure in the little things.

  • Chewing on a bone
  • Chasing a ball
  • Running and jumping

If you let him, he will share his joy with you:

  • Snuggling close to you
  • Barking for attention
  • Letting you scratch his ears or rub his tummy

A puppy can turn frowns into smiles simply by being a puppy.

His behavior may change when you hurt:

  • Sitting still beside you
  • Listening as you talk or cry
  • Whimpering to share your grief
  • Offering an occasional lick of love

A puppy gives his friendship without criticism or judgment.

When he thinks you’re in danger, his behavior changes again:

  • Barking to warn you
  • Trying to pull you to safety
  • Not quitting until you move

Why can’t we all be as friendly as a puppy?

“There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24 NIV).

Special thanks to the Bloyd family. Their photo of pure puppy joy reminds us that puppies are also good medicine.

Do you have a favorite puppy tale? If so, please comment.

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When It Rains, It Pours

When It Rains, It Pours

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When It Rains, It Pours 1Have you ever had one of those days … or weeks … or years when nothing goes right? Anything that can go wrong does go wrong. When it rains, its pours.

You suffer:

  • Illness
  • Family problems
  • Financial difficulties
  • Work stresses or loss of work
  • Friends who let you down
  • Other troubles, too numerous to mention

As a result, you:

  • Tire of the struggle
  • Feel like a failure
  • Have hit rock bottom
  • Want to give up

If your life were rain, those days would be thunderstorms, monsoons, hurricanes, and typhoons all rolled into one. On those days you feel like you will drown in your difficulties.

I wish I could offer a simple solution to get rid of those days. I can’t. If you live long enough, you will experience them.

However, I know one who offers peace during life’s storms. With Jesus in your life, the storms may not immediately go away, but you:

  • No longer drown in them.
  • No longer fight them alone.
  • Know they will be over one day.

In addition, you may someday discover that all that trouble was a blessing in disguise.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39 NIV).

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

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