improve Archives - Diana Derringer

Brush Up

February 5, 2024 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

I frequently need to brush up my desk and my online skills. Both take time, but both are worth the effort. If I don’t clean my desk, the clutter becomes unmanageable. If I fail to refresh or improve my online skills, my writing suffers.

To brush up has at least three meanings.

To clean with a brush.

This might include:

Crumbs from a table
Dirt off the floor
Dust from a porch

To clean or improve something (with or without a brush).

In addition to my desk, I need to clean or update the rest of the house. I have no problem with getting the house clean as a whistle. However, I don’t like change, so I update only when necessary.

I also need to occasionally update my:

Medical information
Résumé
Contacts

To improve personal knowledge or abilities.

I learn new information or review what I already know. That refreshes my memory and improves my abilities as a:

Writer
Caregiver
Bible study leader for middle school girls
And other roles

What about you? Where do you have to brush up? Please comment.

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18 NIV).

Thanks to Melissa Bright for the suggestion.

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All Thumbs

September 4, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 8 comments

When we try to do detailed work, many of us become all thumbs. Although texting has made thumbs an important part of daily life, we still prefer not to be all thumbs.

All thumbs means clumsy, especially with our hands.

Like a person with two left feet, we have trouble with physical coordination. Awkward and unskilled, we can’t get everything to work together.

We might experience this out-of-whack feeling with:

Crocheting, knitting, or other needlework
Playing a musical instrument
Handwriting, especially calligraphy
Anything that requires fine motor skills

If all thumbs, we lack grace.

It’s hard to look dignified when we can’t manage our physical reactions. Often, the harder we try, the worse everything grows.

With work, we can usually improve.

That is why we take lessons. Practice may not make us perfect. It does usually make us better.

When we can’t improve, we look for other abilities.

God created each of us with unique skills. If we don’t have certain talents, we can enjoy the work of those who do. We can also grow in what we do best.

I doubt the woman described in Proverbs 31 could do everything. Nevertheless, she did her best at what she did in service to God, her family, and others.

“She is clothed with strength and dignity. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate” (Proverbs 31:25, 31 NIV).

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

Thanks to Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion.

Gild the Lily

July 6, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Gild the Lily--white lily bloom My friend Pam recently made chocolate chip pancakes. In addition to chocolate chips inside the pancakes, she sprinkled extra on top. Her husband asked why. Pam said, “I guess I’m just gilding the lily.” She was trying to make a good pancake better.

To gild the lily is to try to improve something that is already great.

A lily is a beautiful flower. It needs nothing more.

Likewise, much in life holds great beauty. Yet, people frequently gild the lily by:

Covering a beautiful face with too much makeup
Adding too much jewelry to a lovely outfit
Using fancy words when simple ones work well
Living high on the hog rather than down to earth

Too much of anything can make a good thing bad.

Many additions are unnecessary. Some cause damage.

A compliment sounds pleasing. Flattery does not.
Apologies and forgiveness restore a relationship. Unnecessary apologies may weaken it.

Improve what needs to be improved, but leave excellence alone.

“Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Luke 12:27 NIV).

Thanks to Pam Tennant and Kristy Robinson Horine for the suggestion.

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