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Tag: opportunity

Slim Pickings

Slim Pickings

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Slim Pickings--empty store shelvesMany stores open early and close late on sale days. Early shoppers find several choices. Those who shop later in the day find slim pickings.

Slim pickings mean few choices.

Not much is left after others take what they want. This applies to more than shopping. We often find slim pickings:

  • At the end of a food line
  • Near the end of a gardening season

Slim pickings for one person look like treasures for others.

  • A small amount of food can save a starving person.
  • One coat warms a person in freezing weather.

What treasures can we offer others who survive on slim pickings?

Perhaps a good New Year’s resolution would be to share from our wealth.

  • Buy extra at the grocery to feed the hungry.
  • Give away some of our clothes and shoes.
  • Spend less on self and donate the money saved.

Why not make giving a lifestyle? We can’t take it with us when we die. Why not put it to good use while we live. Let’s give of our wealth. Let’s give of ourselves.

“The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor” (Proverbs 22:9 NIV).

Thanks to Ruby Colvin for the suggestion.

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Free as a Bird

Free as a Bird

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Free as a Bird--eagle flying in front of sunWhat fun to be free as a bird:

  • No worries
  • No problems
  • Totally free

We feel free as a bird if we are free from:

  • Work (Friday afternoon with the weekend ahead)
  • School (the beginning of summer vacation)
  • Marriage (if we prefer a single life)
  • Jail
  • Anything that keeps us from what we want to do

On July 4, Independence Day, the United States celebrates our country’s freedom.

The bald eagle symbolizes that freedom.

July 4 includes:

  • Parades
  • Fireworks
  • Cookouts
  • Music
  • Worship
  • And so much more

Although far from perfect, we enjoy freedoms many people have never known.

Yet, our freedom comes at great price for many.

Soldiers often go beyond the call of duty.

  • Many gave their lives.
  • Others live with physical, mental, and emotional scars from protecting the freedom we enjoy.

Beyond the Call of Duty--flag flyingIn honor of them, wave Old Glory high. Give thanks for the land of the free because of the brave.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV).

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Beat Your Head against a Wall

Beat Your Head against a Wall

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Beat Your Head against a Wall--stone wall with redbud trees in frontIf 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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Strike While the Iron Is Hot

Strike While the Iron Is Hot

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Strike While the Iron Is Hot-making a horseshoeA blacksmith must strike while the iron is hot. When fire makes iron soft, the blacksmith hits it with his hammer. Only then can he shape it.

If he waits too long, the iron cools. It becomes too hard to shape. He must act quickly – when the time is right.

We must also strike while the iron is hot.

Like farmers who make hay while the sun shines, we act while we have the opportunity. If we wait, we may be too late.

Some tasks wait with no problem (dusting furniture). Others demand immediate attention (hungry children).

Some opportunities come only once. For example, we see people in need we will never see again. With those, we must act quickly.

Relationships matter most.

We often delay caring for people, especially those closest to us.

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Neighbors

We think we have plenty of time. Therefore, we never take the time to keep those relationships strong. As a result, we may lose them.

Remember an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Better to build strong relationships now than have to mend fences later. Look for ways to:

  • Show love.
  • Help one another.
  • Spend time together.
  • Make good memories.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV).

Thanks to Shirley Redding Rice for the suggestion.

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Miss the Boat

Miss the Boat

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Miss the Boat--river boatDid you ever miss the boat? I did, in more ways than one.

Years ago, I went to Minneapolis for training. One day I planned a late afternoon boat cruise. Our last speaker was great. I decided to buy one of his books and have him sign it.

Several people left before he finished his talk. I thought, How rude.

After I bought my book, I looked at my watch. Oh, no! I missed the boat. I failed to stay on my toes about the time. Others left early so they would not miss the boat.

Rather than cry over spilled milk, a friend and I took a self-guided city tour.

To miss the boat can have several meanings:

  • Be too late (as I was on my trip)
  • Fail to understand something
  • Make a mistake
  • Miss an opportunity

If we miss one boat, we can usually take another one.

  • If too late for one event, schedule another.
  • Ask someone to explain what we don’t understand.
  • Learn from mistakes and try again.
  • Look for new opportunities.

However, another boat is not always possible.

  • We may not be able to reschedule what we miss. (I did not have time for another cruise in Minneapolis.)
  • No one can understand everything.
  • Some mistakes will always cause problems.
  • We may never have a similar opportunity.

Therefore, let’s pay attention, learn well, and try not to miss the boat.

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

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

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By the Book

By the Book

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By the Book--stack of instruction booksSome people go by the book. Others fly by the seat of their pants.

People who go by the book follow directions.

They want to do their work right the first time. They don’t want to have to do it again. Therefore, they follow the rules.

People who fly by the seat of their pants think If all else fails, follow the directions.

Going by the book makes life easier.

It helps with:

  • Learning to use new products
  • Building anything
  • Measuring amounts for cooking or other work
  • Practicing new skills

People make mistakes when they fail to go by the book.

Sometimes their mistakes cause no big problem. They can go back to the drawing board and start over.

Other times, mistakes mean the difference in life and death.

For the best life, go by the best book.

  • Read the Bible.
  • Follow its directions.
  • Share its truth with others.

“Consult God’s instruction” (Isaiah 8:20 NIV).

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Egg on My Face

Egg on My Face

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Egg on My Face--child eating, messy faceBrenna often had egg (and other food) on her face when she was smaller. Children get messy while they learn to eat.

Although no longer a child, I still get egg on my face. I did so at least three times recently.

  • Once I ate an egg too fast.
  • Twice I made silly mistakes.

When I get egg on my face, I embarrass myself.

I fail to do something right. Sometimes I make simple mistakes. They cause no big problems. Other times, my mistakes are more serious. I fall flat.

What should I do when I get egg on my face?

  • Laugh at the silly little things. Everyone makes mistakes.
  • Wipe the egg off and keep going. Don’t give up.
  • Pay more attention. Be careful so I don’t make more mistakes.
  • See it as an opportunity. Go back to the drawing board and learn to do better.

“A man who refuses to admit his mistakes can never be successful. But if he confesses and forsakes them, he gets another chance” (Proverbs 28:13 TLB).

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

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Thanks to Darrin Jenkins for the photo.

Fair to Middling

Fair to Middling

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Fair to MiddlingI love Midway Geyser Basin of Yellowstone National Park. Like the name suggests, it sits in the middle of the Upper and Lower Geyser Basins. However, it definitely is not fair to middling. It:

  • Steams, spews, and stinks
  • Changes constantly
  • Never disappoints its visitors.

Unlike Midway Geyser Basin, when we say we are fair to middling, we mean:

  • I’m not wonderful.
  • I’m not bad.
  • I’m in the middle of those two feelings.

Nothing horrible happens. Nothing great happens. We live, but little more.

Who wants to live like that?

Of course, we all have those days, but we hope they don’t last long.

We want to feel well. We want to wake each day ready to jump out of bed and go.

Often we get this fair to middling feeling because we fail to give life our all. We hold back because we fear failure. Yet, we all fail.

  • The greatest baseball players have more strikes than homeruns.
  • The greatest actors frequently forget their lines.
  • The greatest teachers occasionally have to say, “I don’t know.”

Let’s give life our best. Let’s not rob ourselves of opportunities and adventure. Living every day for all it is worth does not mean constant activity. It does mean squeezing every possible benefit from that day. That may mean staying busy as a bee. It may also mean taking a nice long rest.

Regardless of our circumstances, let’s move beyond fair to middling. Let’s choose to live a full life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).

Special thanks to Judith Coopy for suggesting this expression.

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Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

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Make Hay While the Sun Shines 1-tractor and hay cutter in fieldA farmer has to make hay while the sun shines.

His work depends on the weather.

  • If rain delays cutting the hay, it may be tough and have little food value.
  • Rainfall after hay is cut, but before it’s raked and baled, requires extra work to remove the moisture.
  • If the rain lasts too long, an entire crop could be lost.
  • Without hay for their livestock, farmers have to buy feed or sell their animals.

Make Hay While the Sun Shines-hay balesHow does make hay while the sun shines apply to non-farmers?

We can spend days or years planning what we want to do. However, we have only one certain way to achieve our goals: If the circumstances are right, act now.

Several clichés explain this particular farming expression:

  • Make the most of your opportunities.
  • We have no guarantee of tomorrow.
  • There’s no time like the present.

Let’s act while we have the opportunity.

Let’s make hay while the sun shines! If we wait, we may lose our chance forever.

As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work (John 9:4 NIV).

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