opportunities Archives - Diana Derringer

Play by Ear

October 16, 2023 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

My sister received most of our family’s piano ability. She plays by reading music, plus she can play by ear. If she hears a song, she eventually figures out how to play it.

To play music by ear means to play without looking at printed music.

I have a hard time playing with or without the written score.

Play by ear also means to act without specific plans or rules.

We decide what to do as we go. Rather than worry about details, we

Remain flexible.
Adapt to the circumstances.
Take one step at a time.
Deal with events as they arise.

We fly by the seat of our pants.

Some of us do well playing by ear. Others desire more organization.

We want to know:

What are we to do?
When are we to do it?
How do we do it?
Who will help us?
What happens every step of the way?

Whether we prefer to plan or not, we can make beautiful music with our lives.

Every day offers opportunities to:

Do our best.
Encourage one another.
Worship God.

“I will sing and make music to the Lord” (Psalm 27:6 NIV).

Thanks to Cindy Shoemaker for the suggestion and to Gail Gosser for the photo.

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Start from Scratch

December 26, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

My mother and grandmothers made the best homemade biscuits. Instead of store bought, they would always start from scratch.

To start from scratch means to start from nothing.

Begin at the beginning.
Take no shortcuts.

From-scratch cooks would never bake:

Biscuits from a box
Cake from a mix
Meat from a can

Instead, they began with basic ingredients like flour, sugar, and shortening. Made-from-scratch food makes a mouth-watering difference. It tastes so much better.

However, my mom did use mixes part-time as she grew older.

Start from scratch began as a sports phrase.

Someone would scratch a starting line on the ground for a race to begin. A runner would toe the mark in order to begin at the beginning. According to The Phrase Finder, people have used this expression since the 18^th century.

Start from scratch now relates to most activities. For example, in the business world, it refers to a person who begins a new project.

As the New Year approaches, look for new opportunities.

Whether you continue with the old or start with new, I pray all your plans go well. I also hope you enjoy a few made-from-scratch biscuits.

Happy New Year!

“May [the Lord] give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed” (Psalm 20:4 NIV).

Thanks to Beckham Wilson for the suggestion and to Jeri Stone for the photos.

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Happy as a Lark

June 20, 2022 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Nothing compares to the sound of birds singing. Hearing their music makes many of us happy as a lark.

Listen to the songs of a western meadowlark here. For six-year-old William Zhang’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Song of the Lark, Op. 39 No. 22, listen here.

Happy as a lark means very happy.

Little things often give us joy.

A child with a toy
Time with family and friends
A walk in the park

We increase our happiness when we make others happy.

Causing them to smile makes us smile too.

Look for opportunities to make others happy as a lark.

We get so busy we often fail to notice needs around us. Instead, we can:

Babysit for a tired mom, swamped with responsibility.
Run errands for a sick neighbor.
Take children to sing for a senior citizens group
Cheer up someone down in the dumps.

Enjoy the songs of birds. Share your songs of joy with a hurting world.

“The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches” (Psalm 104:12 NIV).

Thanks to Bill Ellis, whose May 2022 Kentucky Monthly article, “Though I’ve Never Played a Violin, I’m Fit as a Fiddle,” led to this post. Image by Johnnys_pic from Pixabay.

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Ups and Downs

November 30, 2020 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

We all have our ups and downs.

Good and bad times
Positive and negative relationships
Happy and sad days
Successes and failures

That’s life.

Like a hike up a mountain, our journey through life often feels like an uphill battle. However, once we reach the top, the view takes our breath away.

When we look down, we see how far we have come. A look around reveals the possibilities on every side of us. If we look up, we realize we have hope for future mountains.

We choose whether to focus on the good or the bad.

The choices we make determine how we feel.

When hard times hit, we can dwell on the negatives. Or, on the other side of the coin, we can focus on the positives and hope for the future.

Ups and downs occur in every area of life, including:

Marriage
Work
School
Parenting
Social activities
Health

All our experiences offer opportunities to grow.

Through each one, let’s keep on keeping on. Remember, like a mountain climb, our hardest times often teach the greatest lessons.

“He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights” (2 Samuel 22:34 NIV).

Thanks to Laura Lee Leathers for the suggestion.

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Fall Flat

January 2, 2017 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Fall Flat--Yellowstone waterfall Waterfalls in Yellowstone National Park may fall on flat land. Yet, they never fall flat. They never fail to amaze us.

When we fall flat, we fail.

We fail in a big way. Often, we say we fall flat on our face.

We all fail.

We may wish for a failure-free life, but that will never happen. Sometimes our failures are small. Other times we fail in a big way – we fall flat. We feel like we can’t win for losing.

Since we all fail, what will we do with those failures?

Will we stop trying?
Will we blame others?
Or will we learn from our mistakes?

Why not turn failures into opportunities?

Failures teach us what does not work. Each failure moves us one step closer to success. We may find that success when we:

Make small changes to what we did before
Take a short break to rest our brains and bodies
Ask other people to help us
Spend our time on something different

If we learn, we have not failed.

Therefore, when we fall flat, let’s get up and try again.

“You could fall flat on your face as easily as anyone else. Forget about self-confidence; it’s useless. Cultivate God-confidence” (1 Corinthians 10:12 MSG).

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