peace Archives - Page 8 of 11

Deck the Halls

December 24, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

Deck the Halls is a traditional Christmas and New Year’s song.

As sung in this video, the original version was Deck the Hall (not Halls).

However we sing it, the message remains the same: Tis the season of joy. Therefore, we decorate with signs of the season. We also celebrate with:

Music
Gifts
Church services
Visits with family and friends
Parties
Food
Santa Claus
Elves and reindeer
Helping people in need

We deck the halls, but so much more.

Trees, lights, and other Christmas symbols decorate our:

Houses
Businesses
Parks
Churches
Bridges
Everywhere we look for weeks before and after Christmas

Why Bother?

What’s the big deal about Christmas anyway?

We get so busy decking halls, we sometimes forget the reason why. And it is a big deal.

Jesus came, God to earth, in the form of a baby.

Jesus came as our Savior, to die for our sins. His gift to all who accept Him: a personal relationship with God and a home in heaven.

We can deck the halls and more, if we wish. We can keep our decorations simple, if we wish. However we celebrate this special time of year, may we always remember why.

Merry Christmas!

“A child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”)” (Isaiah 7:14 TLB).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Immediately If Not Sooner, St. Lawrence River International Bridge Patience is not my greatest strength. Most of the time, I want everything done immediately, if not sooner. I want it done now, but I wish it were already done.

That seems true for many of us.

We want everything fast:

Food
Information
Service

We don’t like to wait.

A right smart of patience would do us all good. Instead, we tie ourselves in knots with worry. because we can’t get everything done as fast as we want.

We become content when we begin to enjoy each moment.

With an easy does it state of mind, we:

Learn from the past
Do what we can today.
Look forward to what the future holds.

Like crossing a bridge on a family vacation, we enjoy the ride.

Above all and at all times, pray for and follow God’s direction.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” Romans 12:12 NIV).

Thanks to Jan Abbott for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

His Name Is Mud

December 3, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

His Name Is Mud--runner in mud Many children love to play in mud. Some animals roll in mud. However, no one wants to hear his name is mud.

Anyone whose name is mud is in trouble.

The person’s bad situation makes him:

Unpopular
Dishonored
Have a bad reputation

Many believe his name is mud began with Dr. Samuel Mudd.

Dr. Mudd treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg after Booth killed President Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Mudd went to jail but was later pardoned. Many say he was innocent of any wrong. However, his reputation suffered.

His name is mud was a common expression before Dr. Mudd.

It often meant a person was a fool.

A person whose name is mud can come clean.

If guilty of bad behavior, he can:

Admit his mistakes
Ask forgiveness
Turn to God for guidance

If innocent of bad behavior, he can:

Live a life that shows his innocence
Explain what happened, if he thinks that will help
Show proof of his innocence
Watch his step to prevent future problems

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:2).

Thanks to Terry Brewer for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Easy Does It

October 29, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 4 comments

Easy does it tells us to move slowly and carefully.

Like gently flowing water, we:

Take our time
Work around hard spots
Go with the flow

If we move too fast, we quickly learn that haste makes waste.

Sometimes easy does it relates to work.

We remain careful when we:

Move a heavy piece of furniture
Carry a special painting or piece of pottery

We don’t want to drop or break any of those.

Other times easy does it relates to our emotions.

When we feel out of control, rather than blow off steam, we:

Calm down
Relax
Control our temper
Treat everyone as we want to be treated

Ways to stay in control include:

Taking deep breaths
Lowering our shoulders, so our muscles relax
Closing our eyes and thinking of a favorite place
Praying
Asking if what upsets us will matter in ten years

Easy does it works well for everything and everybody.

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV).

Thanks to Janna Babak for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Up a Stump

October 8, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 12 comments

Up a Stump--stump I always thought up a stump meant the same as stumped. My friend Patty Cooper Emerson explained a difference in the two.

Stumped means confused or puzzled.

We cut a few trees in our back year. I was stumped about what to do with the stumps. Should I:

Dig them up
Burn them
Leave them alone

With one stump, I let nature take control. Honeysuckle grew near it. I allowed the honeysuckle to keep growing. Now, it covers the stump and blooms all summer. Problem solved.

No longer stumped, I have a pretty stump.

Up a stump means a situation too big to manage.

I cannot solve the problem. I:

Have no choice
Must live with it

Patty gave the example of a young man who arrives 30 minutes late to work every day. If he is my sister’s son, I might feel up a stump – like I can do nothing.

What makes me feel up a stump may not make you feel that way.

You may be comfortable firing your sister’s son.
I may feel comfortable with a problem you cannot manage.

Nothing leaves God up a stump. Rather than tying myself in knots or becoming a worry wart, I can take all my problems to God. So can you.

“A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree” (Proverbs 11:28 MSG).

If you use up a stump and stumped, do you mean the same? Please comment below.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

You Can’t Squeeze Blood from a Turnip

October 1, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip means something is extremely hard to do.

You may also hear:

It is like getting blood from a turnip.
You can’t draw blood from a turnip.
It is like getting blood from a stone.

All usually deal with efforts to get money or information from someone.

The person:

Has what we need but will not share or help
Or has little or no money or information

Often a person has a bill but no way to pay it.

A few businesspeople understand. Others do not.

During my social work years, a doctor cared for a couple and their children. One day we discussed their many needs. The doctor said, “You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.” He knew the family was poor as a church mouse. They would probably never be able to pay his bill.

However, the doctor continued to treat the family. He also gave them the same respect he gave everyone else. The family paid him $1 every month. He admired their effort to pay what they could.

You can’t squeeze blood from a turnip. You can treat everyone with respect.

Count your blessings. Then share those blessings with others.

“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” (Proverbs 14:31 NIV).

Thanks to Rhonda Wade Royster for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Not My Cup of Tea

September 24, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 6 comments

Coffee is not my cup of tea. I don’t like it. Water, milk, and tea are. I enjoy all three.

Not my cup of tea refers to anything I don’t like.

I don’t want or enjoy:

Its taste
How it looks
Spending time with it

Other items on my dislike list include:

Lobster
Video games
Poison ivy

Something is my cup of tea if I like it.

Items on that list include:

Chocolate
Reading
Walking
Traveling off the beaten path
Writing

My likes may differ from yours.

That makes life more interesting. Don’t you agree?

Whatever is or is not your cup of tea, I pray your cup runs over with God’s blessings.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

That’s Life

September 17, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 10 comments

We can’t control everything in our lives.

Both good and bad happen.
We celebrate, and we mourn.
Everything can change in an instant.

That’s life.

This tree reminds me of life. All wrapped together, we see:

Healthy limbs
Dead limbs
Missing limbs
Injured limbs
Other plants pulling life from it

The poor tree, a victim of many storms, looks terrible. Yet, it stands. It:

Continues to grow
Refuses to fall
Still offers shade to everything and everyone under it

We can control parts of our lives.

Like this lovely old tree, we may have suffered much.

We probably caused part of our pain.
Others may have hurt us.
Life storms often leave us scarred.
We feel in over our heads.

That’s life.

In spite of our suffering, will we choose to stand? Will we:

Stand tall
Continue to grow
Refuse to fall
Still offer help to those around us

Will we pick up the pieces of our lives, give them to God, and keep going?

Life and death
Struggles and scars
Beauty and ugliness
All wrapped together
That’s life.

“[God] comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Corinthians 1:4 NIV).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

Lock Horns

September 10, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 3 comments

Lock Horns--Elk fighting If you have seen elk or other animals lock horns, you know exactly what this expression means. Two animals fight one another. The fight often results in locked horns (or antlers).

A fight usually begins when the animals:

Face one another
Dig their feet in the dirt
Run toward each other
Hit their heads together

Two males often fight over a female.

If we lock horns with one another, we have conflict.

Our conflict may be:

Physical fights
Verbal arguments

Locking horns may also affect us:

Mentally
Emotionally
Spiritually

Conflict may arise over:

Money
Jobs
Relationships (romance, family, friends)
Silly disagreements

Sometimes we must lock horns.

We see wrongs that need to be made right. Our efforts may not be easy. Yet, we must figure out how to make necessary changes happen.

Usually, we want to avoid locking horns.

Much that we fight over is not worth the fight. We end up hurting others and ourselves. We get off on the wrong foot. Then we have to mend fences.

We can disagree without locking horns. That sounds like the better plan.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18 NIV).

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.

If the Shoe Fits, Wear It

September 3, 2018 Diana Derringer Comments 2 comments

If the shoe fits, wear it sounds like a shoe ad. However, we usually mean something much different:

If people say anything bad, but true, about us, admit it.

We may not like to hear it. Yet, if we complain, someone may say, “If the shoe fits, wear it.” In other words, if it applies, accept it. Face the music.

If the shoe fits, wear it may follow:

“He called me lazy.”
“She said I can’t cook.”
“The doctor said I need to exercise more.”

Perhaps we need to change shoes.

Just because a shoe fits, we don’t have to keep wearing it. We can choose other shoes.

If we have a bad habit, we don’t have to keep doing it. We can come clean. We can choose a different way to live.

Work harder, if we don’t want to be called lazy.
Take cooking lessons, if our food tastes bad.
Exercise more to get a better doctor’s report.

We may have our work cut out for us, but we can do it.

Choose the best shoes for the best fit.

“Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God” (Ephesians 6:15 TLB).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion.

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

Subscribe to receive my weekly posts by email and receive a free copy of “Words of Hope for Days that Hurt.”

If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends.