Hello, God. It's me, Mara.

You know, Lord, sometimes words and sayings are downright fascinating. One wonders how some such phrases came about. Listening to conversations at a loving family reunion, a long while ago, these sayings were overheard:

Uncle Charlie: “I can not abide newspaper pies,” he said. His mother, on the other hand, thought that pies were not even fit for humans; “They are much too sweet!” she proclaimed. So, when it was absolutely necessary to MAKE pies, she made them as thin as possible. She actually had a pie tin — which is still in their family — that is the shallowest pie tin one can imagine; so shallow one wonders how “pie” could even be baked in it!

Buddy, a visiting fellow caught napping explained himself: “I was just checking the inside of my eye lids.” One usually is accused of “sawing logs” when napping. Having heard one family member indulge in a nap, we can understand how that particular saying began.

We were invited for an evening meal following an anniversary celebration. The hostess remarked that she was going to fix up some “Bubble and Squeak.”  After a few questions, she whispered, “Ssh — that’s leftovers …”

Now who could possibly want to eat, being “full as a tick!” but “in two shakes of a lamb’s tail” “the whole kit and caboodle” of us gathered around the supper table for a special caring/sharing time. After all, who was going to “look a gift horse in the mouth?” We all had as much “fun as a barrel of monkeys!” “No wet blankets” in this group, and we all had a merry time “until the cows came home.”

Thank You, Lord, for fun times with family and friends.  As we enjoyed that time together, Ephesians 5:2 stood out that day: “Be full of love for others, following the example of Christ.” 

Love, Mara.