Every time I notice a ding, scratch or dent on my car,
I am grateful...that I don't have a new car :0) A practical optimist sees the positive side of life.
Example: Bratty children increase my contentment – because I don’t have to take them home with me. Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Me. – Jesus
So much is there – but the fact is we were invited to be with Jesus. God in the flesh wants you and me to follow and reflect Him! Do not be deceived, God is not mocked whatever a man sows that he will also reap.
The warning is clear: Don’t play games with God. But the promise there and it is two-fold. First, those who are trying to game the system will lose, because God is not mocked. Second, if we sow good things, we will reap good thing A biblical optimist sees the positive side of verses.
Warnings are also promises. Instructions are strategies for success. And commands are opportunities to please God. Narrow is the way that leads to life and few there be that find it . . .But some do find it. Of course, the easiest answer if someone complains to you about the lack of diversity in the English language is to hand them a dictionary. But then you pass up your chance to show them your excellent grasp on American euphemisms, colloquialisms, and other practical ways around our limited vocabulary.
So you decide... Maybe it would be better to put in your two cents, lend a hand, and lead a horse to water, realizing, of course you can't make him drink especially if he's a horse of a different color. And once in a while, our obscure proverbs obscure exactly what we are saying -- which may be helpful in case they take it just a tad too personally, because we won't be around when they figure it out at 2 AM.
Example: Your poor husband really bought the farm going to bat for that political football. Well, the cat's out of the bag now. Everyone knows that's like trying to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Always suspected, he had a few extra bats in the belfry -- bless his heart. Occasionally idioms can even allow us to incite the emotions we are feeling in someone else.
Observe: Matt: Hey Jim. Are the fish biting today? Jim: Does a duck bark? Now Matt is as confused and frustrated as Jim at his lack of fishing success. Sometimes our idioms allow us to avoid directly answering a question or we respond in a way so clever everyone will invariably nod and agree.
Amy: Hi Beth, how are you doing? Beth: As good as a pig in slop. (Or if you want to truly throw a wrench in the situation: As slow as a snail on salt.))) Amy: So, you're ready for the test on Friday? Beth: As long as the sun keeps shining and the creek don't rise. Um, okay. But questions: 1. What if the pig is OCD? Is slop still a good thing? (And snails are always slow, but isn't salt fatal?) 2. Does the sun have to shine 24/7 or just for a few minutes? And do you have to see it...or is knowledge of it enough? 3. What if the creek just barely touches the bridge? And which creek are we talking about again? Because creeks in the desert only rise during monsoon season. |
AuthorSame author with some fun, quirky thoughts to make you smile! Archives
May 2023
Categories |