"You are entitled to be a Masterpiece, and a Work in Progress, simultaneously." ~ copied, unattributed

Example only. I don't know the date for this forecast map.

Good morning and welcome. It's Tuesday, January 21, 2020, and, I hope none of us are developing whiplash from the yo-yo impact of the warm weather, cold weather, warm again, cold again. We hit 80 last week and we were in the mid-30's yesterday. I know. It is better than shoveling 8 feet of snow.  Last week was a rather cloudy, gloomy week. I saw folks on Facebook lamenting the seemingly unending overcast plight we were dealing with. Some said they would do almost anything for some sunshine. I looked up the areas that have the most gloomy or overcast days per year and to set the record straight, we are not even close to being in the running. There are nine major cities that have 180 or more overcast days in a normal year. Last Sunday morning I was visiting with some of our fellow Church members who hail from upstate New York. They think folks around our part of the world have very little idea what it means to live for months in a deep freeze environment. They chuckle when they hear folks complain about the cool weather here. Their feeling is how our area is a tropical paradise compared to their many years of living surrounded by huge piles of snow and ice. But, no one said we didn't have the right to complain, and, as we all know, the weather is just about as good a candidate one can find, especially since we can't do one cotton-picking thing about it.

I'm not sure cotton-picking is a technically acceptable term, but, I heard it used in a whole lot of different applications growing up, therefore, I threw it in for good measure. Where would we be without our colorful Southern sayings, expressions, and colloquialisms? I didn't have to wonder what it was when someone used the saying, 'they pitched a hissy fit' because I was an eyewitness to many outbursts that qualified for that designation. My grandfather used to tell us when we were crying that we sounded worse than a dying calf in a hailstorm. We did have some folks in our little hamlet of a rural town that acted like they were better than everyone else. We had a response for them. They are so stuck up they would drown in a rain shower. Someone who was known to be really cheap was said to be so tight when they walked they squeaked. I did hear the one about folks being as poor as a Church mouse. I really never knew what it meant. Google to the rescue. Churches don't store food. A Church mouse has very little to find there. I can't remember what I thought it meant, but, I'm pretty sure that wasn't it. I also remember it being said about folks who stayed confused, how they were as lost as a goose. I didn't know much about geese so that one escaped me also. However, checking it out today I found the full saying should have been 'lost as a goose in a snowstorm'. I get it. White snow, white goose, storm, hard to see. No wonder I had trouble, they abbreviated them!

There were plenty I heard growing up that were rather explicit. I mentioned before there were some I heard I didn't have a clue what they meant. The person who said it didn't speak clearly. I didn't catch exactly what they said. I would lay in my bed at night trying to figure out what they were talking about. I had one that plagued me for years. The person who said it said over and over, but, I didn't understand. Maybe 25 years later I finally figured it out. I know. Some of you think that explains a lot about how I became who I am today. May I just say this about that. You don't know the half of it. I should know. Trust me on that one. My point is how these colorful expressions add to our communication and understanding. (That is, if you understand what is being said.) I've been privileged to work with people from all over the world. They typically were fascinated by my homespun sayings. They often wanted me to explain the meaning. They thought it was even funnier when they heard it explained. Sometimes they would share one from their culture that was different but with a similar application. Jesus used many figures of speech in speaking the truth in love to those hearing Him. The people got it when He told them to not be trying to get the tiny splinter out of their neighbor's eye while they had a huge log stuck in their own eye. Don't be judgmental. I think I got that one maybe even the first time. Maybe. Take care and may God bless each one. Amen. ....More later.