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Get Back on the Horse

Get Back on the Horse

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Get Back on the Horse--horses in field behind flowering shrubsGet back on the horse. That’s what we often hear if we fall. The horse may have bucked us, or we may have fallen for other reasons. Whatever the cause, we receive encouragement to try again.

My sister disagrees. As a teenager, she did not like to ride horses. A cousin convinced her to ride behind him. She did. On a trip through our orchard, he lowered his head to miss a tree branch. He forgot to tell her. That was her last horse ride.

Get back on the horse means to try again.

We don’t give up. Instead, we get up. We go another time. One failure does not mean we will always fail.

Life gets difficult for everyone. We all fall. People or circumstances hurt us. Nevertheless, we keep going.

We learn from our mistakes.

Rather than kick ourselves, we try to correct what went wrong. We don’t want to live in fear—with cold feet—all our lives.

Get back on the horse applies to every area of life.

We may:

  • Lose a job
  • Fail a test
  • Suffer from illness
  • Grieve lost friendships
  • Endure persecution

In every circumstance, we decide whether to shake it off  or tie ourselves in knots with worry. If we don’t know how to get back on the horse, we can always rely on God for direction.

 “Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1 NIV).

Thanks to Joe and Ann Klotz for the suggestion.

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Jump the Gun

Jump the Gun

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Jump the Gun--runners at a starting line

In the past, a gun fired as a signal to start many sports contests. Runners occasionally became so excited, they would jump the gun. They started running before their races began.

To jump the gun means to begin before the right time.

Like athletes, we occasionally jump the gun in life. We act too quickly.

Rather than wait until everything is ready, we start too soon. Our actions are not:

  • Appropriate
  • Wise
  • Approved

Patience is hard to practice.

 Yet, we need it. Instead of getting in too big a hurry, we want to toe the mark. Better to follow the guidelines than ruin our chances of getting where we want to go.

When tempted to bypass the rules, let’s hold our horses.

Plan to go when it’s time to go but wait when it’s time to wait.

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 NIV).

Thanks to Melissa Bright for the suggestion. Image by Vlad Vasnetsov from Pixabay.

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If You Lie Down with Dogs, You Will Get Up with Fleas

If You Lie Down with Dogs, You Will Get Up with Fleas

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If You Lie Down with Dogs, You Will Get Fleas--two dogs on a bedIf you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas was a greater certainty before flea collars and other medications for dogs became common.

However, dogs still get fleas. When dogs get them, people who come in contact with the dogs also get fleas. Not a pleasant thought but a realistic one.

If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas applies to more than dogs and fleas.

This proverb means you tend to become like the people around you.

  • Choose dishonest friends, and threaten your honesty.
  • Hang out with criminals, and chance arrest for crimes.
  • Spend time with drug users, and risk drug use yourself.
  • If you play with fire you get burned.

Like disease, behavior can be contagious.

Therefore, you do well to choose friends wisely, those who are on the up and up. Definitely treat everyone well. Show respect to all, regardless of their background. At the same time, choose close friends who will influence you for good, not evil.

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion and to Tammy Cheatham Page for the photo.

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Go Overboard

Go Overboard

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Go Overboard--boat below Niagara Falls“Mama, get the hammer. There’s a fly on Grandpa’s head.” When I read that quote, shared by Tillie Cowherd, I laughed out loud. How perfectly it describes when we go overboard.

We may not realize how easily we go overboard until:

  • We pay special attention to our actions
  • Another person mentions our behavior to us

To go overboard on a boat or ship means to jump or fall into the water.

That may be okay if we:

  • Can swim
  • Land in safe water.

However, we risk our lives if we:

  • Cannot swim
  • Enter dangerous water

 Figuratively, to go overboard means to go to extremes.

We fail to think before we act. Our enthusiasm exceeds our good sense. Therefore, we:

  • Act highfalutin
  • Spend more money than we can repay
  • Tackle more responsibilities than we can complete

We go too far, and we usually suffer.

Enthusiasm can be good.

It helps us:

However, we don’t want to get in over our heads.

Better to use wisdom than to suffer from extreme behavior.

Don’t kill a fly with a hammer … especially if the fly lands on grandpa’s head.

“Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes” (Ecclesiastes 7:18 NIV).

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Confession Is Good for the Soul

Confession Is Good for the Soul

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Confession Is Good for the Soul- mother kneels to comfort a crying child“Tell me the truth. You will feel better if you do. Confession is good for the soul.”

How many times have children heard those or similar words? They do something wrong and get caught red-handed. The more they try to hide their wrong, the worse they feel. If they don’t tell the truth, they get in more trouble.

Of course, the same relates to adults. Trying to hide our mistakes or deliberate evil only makes a bad situation worse. We feel guilty. Our guilt makes us sick, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Confession is good for the soul declares great truth.

When we confess, we free ourselves from:

  • Guilt
  • Shame
  • Stress

We come clean. This applies whether we commit small or large misdeeds.

Confession is good for the soul pertains to all our relationships.

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Enemies
  • Strangers

The other person may or may not forgive us. We are not responsible for their reaction. However, we are responsible for our own.

We find this truth in the Bible.

The words vary, but the truth remains the same. Its greatest application is in our relationship with God.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 NIV).

Thanks to Phyllis Patton for the suggestion and the photo.

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Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face

Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face

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Cut Off Your Nose to Spite Your Face--closeup of a white dog's noseWhen you try to harm others, you often end up harming yourself more. You cut off your nose to spite your face. This happens at any age.

  • Children run away from good homes because they don’t like the rules.
  • Athletes play less than their best when they get mad at their coaches.
  • Bosses fire their best workers because they are jealous of the workers’ skills.

To cut off your nose to spite your face means to hurt yourself when you try to hurt others.

Anger rather than wisdom rules your actions. You often bite the hand that feeds you.

Never let self-defeating behavior rule.

It may destroy others but will eventually destroy you. Nip it in the bud. If you get angry and must blow off steam, do it in a safe way where no one gets hurt.

“There is a time when a man lords it over others to his own hurt” (Ecclesiastes 8:9 NIV).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion. Image by Foto-Rabe from Pixabay.

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You Made Your Bed, You Must Lie in It

You Made Your Bed, You Must Lie in It

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You Made Your Bed--bed in The Elms (R. I.)You made your bed, you must lie in it has nothing to do with making a bed. The expression focuses on behavior.

You have to live with the results of what you do.

  • Good choices bring good results.
  • Bad choices bring bad results.

If you cause problems, expect problems in your life. If you share joy, expect joy in return.

 Of course, exceptions to the rule occur. However, you usually experience the natural or logical effects of your actions. You did it, so you must live with it.

Several expressions have the same meaning.

Whether you talk about beds, gardens, music, or chickens, the message remains the same. For the best life, make the best choices.

“When you see trouble coming, don’t be stupid and walk right into it— be smart and hide” (Proverbs 22:3 CEV).

Thanks to Bonnie Alley for the suggestion.

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Senior Moment

Senior Moment

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Senior Moment--child tying string around an adult's fingerReady to sing, I stood before the crowd in my aunt’s church. However, the first words out of my mouth were, “I forgot.” At three-years-old, I had a senior moment.

Actually, I had a bad case of stage fright. That fear made me pull my skirt to my mouth and forget the words of my song.

A senior moment means we forget something or make a silly mistake.

As senior (older) adults entering our golden years, we may:

  • Forget where we put our glasses and then find them on top of our head
  • File something in a safe place and forget where that safe place is
  • Fail to remember a good friend’s name
  • Tie a string around our finger to help us remember but forget why we tied the string

 As we age, we forget more often.

We can get upset about those egg-on-our-face moments, or we can laugh.

Like the people at my aunt’s church, most of us laugh. However, we want to laugh with, not at, one another. Never make fun of someone with memory problems.

Any of us can have a senior moment.

In addition to age, we forget because of:

  • Fear
  • Too much on our minds
  • Excitement
  • Illness or medication
  • Accidents

From seniors in high school to senior adults, we forget. Why not accept that fact and enjoy every moment?

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion and to Karen Atwood for the photo.

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In Hot Water

In Hot Water

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In Hot Water--Yellowstone geyser basinIf I take a wrong step in Yellowstone National Park’s geyser basins, I end up in hot water. Other people have done that and did not live to talk about it.

I have been in hot water a few times in my life. I did not like it and don’t want to do it again.

If I am in hot water, I am in trouble.

I have done something wrong. My actions:

  • Make someone angry
  • Result in my punishment
  • Cause shame for me or those close to me
  • Put me in the doghouse

I would like to say I have never been in hot water.  

However, I can’t.

  • Sometimes, I make mistakes I don’t mean to make.
  • Other times I make mistakes because I want my way instead of the right way.

I may end up in hot water if the rules are wrong.

If someone in authority says to do something morally wrong, I must choose.

  • Will I do what the person in authority says?
  • Or will I make the right choice and end up in hot water?

I hope I always make the right choice and follow the straight and narrow.

In every situation, I live with the results of the choice I make. I reap what I sow.

“The Lord shows his faithful followers the way they should live” (Psalm 25:12 NET).

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Get Off on the Wrong Foot

Get Off on the Wrong Foot

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Get Off on the Wrong Foot, military paradeLike people in a military parade, we do not want to get off on the wrong foot. We want to start right.

If we get off on the wrong foot, we do not start well.

Something goes wrong from the beginning. Bad starts happen in:

  • Work
  • Play
  • Relationships

Correcting a bad start can be difficult.

We must work hard to make it right. As John Wooden said, “If you do not have the time to do it right, when will you find the time to do it over?” Giving our best from the beginning makes life easier for everyone.

Correcting a bad start is possible.

Often we get off on the wrong foot by mistake. We did not mean to do it. We must work harder to correct our mistake. Yet, we can do it.

If we never made mistakes, we would not need:

  • Erasers
  • Delete buttons
  • The words I’m sorry

We all get off on the wrong foot sometimes.

When that happens, we want to

  • Come clean. Admit what we did wrong.
  • Face the music. Do what we must to correct the mistake.
  • Make a fresh start. Start over.
  • Forgive others when they get off on the wrong foot.

“When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me” (Psalm 94:18 NIV).

Thanks to Pat Stapp for the suggestion.

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