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Tag: prevention

File 13

File 13

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File 13--trash can filled with envelopes and paperOur mail, whether in a physical box or an online inbox, usually includes junk. Because we don’t want junk, we get rid of it. It goes in file 13.

File 13 means the trash can or wastebasket.

Unwanted paper and other trash land there. We want it gone, so we throw it away. We wish we would never have to see physical trash or online junk or spam again.

File 13 content sometimes threatens us.

People or organizations send information for:

  • Financial scams
  • Identity theft
  • Revenge

Shredding all mail with identifying information adds extra protection.

Other times, File 13 content simply frustrates us.

Frequently unwanted material includes:

  • Political flyers
  • Advertisements
  • Requests for money

Let’s keep junk out of our minds as well as our mailboxes.

What goes down in the well comes up in the bucket. Likewise, what goes in our minds comes out in our actions. May we wisely filter all we receive, think, say, and do. As one friend says, let’s use our heads for more than a hat rack.

Get rid of the trash. Keep the treasures.

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away” (Ecclesiastes 3:1,6 NIV).

Thanks to Ann Klotz for the suggestion.

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Hang On to Your Hat

Hang On to Your Hat

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Hang On to Your Hat--woman holding hat on a windy day. Puppy in foreground.Recent storms brought windy weather. As a result, you needed to hang on to your hat. You also needed to hang on to everything else around you.

To hang on to your hat means to prepare yourself.

Something is about to happen, and you want to get ready. Often, the event is unexpected and shocking. It may affect:

  • Individuals
  • Small groups
  • Large numbers of people

A similar expression tells you to hold on to your hat.

Life is full of surprises.

It frequently throws you for a loop with both pleasant and unpleasant changes. Like roller coaster rides, its twists and turns can thrill or terrify. Changes occur in:

  • Relationships
  • Employment
  • Weather
  • Health
  • World events

When life storms or trials occur, you may find it hard to hang on to your faith. 

Change throws you off balance. You struggle to understand. Yet, God uses every experience, good and bad, expected and unexpected, to help you grow.

Hang on to your hat and see where God leads.

Through even the hardest times, you may be pleasantly surprised.

“‘Where is your faith’ he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, ‘Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him’” (Luke 8:25 NIV).

Thanks to Judy Corbin for the suggestion and to Karen Atwood for the photo.

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Brush Up

Brush Up

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Brush Up--cluttered deskI 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.

  1. To clean with a brush.

This might include:

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

  1. 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

  1. 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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Wishy-washy

Wishy-washy

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Wishy-washy--A thick pot of soupOn cold winter days, our family loves thick soups and chilis. They fill and warm our bodies and delight our taste buds. No wishy-washy soups for us.

Wishy-washy means lacking strength, flavor, or other positive qualities.

It applies to both food and people.

Wishy-washy food is thin, watery, and flavorless.

Such dishes are:

They need seasonings, meat, vegetables, or pasta to add flavor and nutrition.

Wishy-washy people are also weak.

They show little strength of character. Instead, they act:

  • Indecisive
  • Incompetent
  • Lacking in character
  • In need of courage
  • Unstable

Because of those weaknesses, they inspire little confidence and make poor leaders.

Overcome weakness with boldness.

  • Stand firm and strong.
  • Show strength of character
  • Make informed and effective decisions
  • Live with honor and integrity
  • Act with courage

“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you” (1 Chronicles 28:20 NIV).

Thanks to Debbie Tapscott for the suggestion. Image by wildhearts from Pixabay.

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

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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.

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

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A Day Late and a Dollar Short

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

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A Day Late and a Dollar Short--several dollar bills spread outAs a child, I often heard people say they were a day late and a dollar short. They usually meant they did not have enough money to buy something or pay a bill.

However, I learned the expression has a greater meaning.

A day late and a dollar short means to be unprepared and too late.

That can be money for purchases or bills, as I thought. It can also mean not enough effort in:

  • Relationships
  • Work
  • Personal goals

In each one, people fail to get the ball rolling. They dillydally when they need to get to work.

Lack of effort and failure to be on time benefit no one.

Everyone loses.

  • Family members who ignore one another threaten their relationships
  • Lazy workers hurt their employers and risk losing their jobs.
  • Anyone who invests little time or effort fails to achieve their best.

Prepare. Work well. Use time wisely.

A good plan for now and eternity, don’t you agree?

“Jesus replied, ‘My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, and go where you want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way’” (John 12:35 TLB).

Thanks to Emily Akin for the suggestion.

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

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Congratulations to Betty Johnson whose name was randomly drawn from my mailing list for a free copy of Tracy Crump’s book, Health, Healing, and Wholeness: Devotions of Hope in the Midst of Illness.

Katy Bar the Door

Katy Bar the Door

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Katy Bar the Door: old double doors with bar across themGet ready. Beware. Katy bar the door.

My dad often used this expression if he expected trouble, such as:

  • Bad weather
  • Economic problems
  • Political unrest
  • Broken relationships

Katy (or Katie) bar the door warns of danger ahead.

A common southern expression, it tells people to be careful. They need to watch their step and prepare for hard times ahead.

If people expect someone to try to break in their house, they lock (or bar) their door. They take necessary precautions.

The origin of Katy bar the door is uncertain.

 According to The Phrase Finder, possibilities include:

  • A Scottish folk song, “Get Up and Bar the Door”
  • The attempt of Catherine Douglas to save the Scottish King James I

Whatever the origin, use caution when facing danger. 

Better safe than sorry. Take the right steps to protect against possible threats.

“The clever see danger and hide; but the simple go on, and suffer for it” (Proverbs 27:12 NRSV).

Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion. Image by József Kincse from Pixabay.

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

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Consider the Source

Consider the Source

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Consider the Source--Bonneville Salt Flats
Bonneville Salt Flats

Before we trust anyone or anything, we consider the source.

 We do not want to:

  • Eat food from a garbage can
  • Buy a car from a junk store
  • Drink water from a lake filled with salt

We usually trust what was good, safe, and trustworthy in the past.

However, if anything has not been good, safe, or trustworthy, we do not trust them now.

The same applies to people.

Have they:

  • Made many mistakes? If so, we will not ask their help.
  • Proved themselves trustworthy? If so, we usually trust them.
  • Hurt others? If so, we fear they may hurt us.

Consider the source is often a warning.

It tells us to be careful.

If we want others to trust us, we must prove worthy of their trust.

We build a reputation by every:

  • Choice we make
  • Action we take
  • Word we say
  • Attitude we show

May others always know us as a source worthy of their trust – as good as our word.

“What a wonderful God we have—he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the source of every mercy, and the one who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us in our hardships and trials. And why does he do this? So that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement, we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 TLB).

Thanks to Becky Nash Rowe for the suggestion

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Chickens Come Home to Roost

Chickens Come Home to Roost

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Chickens Come Home to Roost--chickens on a fenceChickens come home to roost.

  • Birds usually return to their nests at night.
  • The results of our past actions return to us.

Bad behavior in the past may causes problems in the present or future.

We may get away with bad choices for a while. However, we often suffer for them later. We land in hot water. That is true for what we do and what we say.

We live with the consequences of the choices we make.

 Mistakes or wrong choices hurt us and others. We reap what we sow.

  • Fail to study: fail a test.
  • Hurt other people; expect to get hurt.
  • Ignore physical needs; suffer physical pains.

Therefore, we do well to always make right choices.

Be careful what we say and do. What goes around comes around. We don’t want our words and actions coming back to haunt us.

If we follow the straight and narrow, we have no need to worry.

“Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:14 NIV).

Thanks to Steve and LuAnne Russell for the suggestion. Photo courtesy of Pixabay.

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

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Teetotal

Teetotal

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Teetotal--full moonTeetotal means total or complete.

It refers most often to a person who never drinks alcohol. We call that person a teetotaler. Our family chose a teetotal life. Too many people we love have been ruined by alcohol.  We decided better safe than sorry.

We occasionally see teetotal written T Total. Either way we spell it, we stress total.

  • No question about it
  • No doubt at all
  • Absolutely

Teetotal also means certainty.

Someone may ask, “Are you sure?” or “Is that your final answer?” To stress our certainty, we answer, “Teetotally.” We are completely certain. We definitely gave our final answer.

Teetotal also means completely full.

  • A full moon lights up the night sky.
  • Our hearts fill with sorrow.
  • We eat all we can.
  • Joy makes our cup run over.

For the teetotally best life, we ask God to fill us with His love and power.

“You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence” (Acts 2:28 NIV).

Thanks to Betty Johnson for the suggestion.

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

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Easter Reflections play script, flower, and cross in backgroundCongratulations to Harriet Michael, whose name was randomly drawn from my blog subscribers for a free copy of “Easter Reflections.”  You can read a script preview or order the play from Christian Publishers.