Pastor Mike Nodland of the Christian Fellowship Church in Vining, IA.

My wife wore a cute multicolored shirt with Tweetie Bird, a small, innocent and sweet canary printed on it. It came from the cartoon featuring Sylvester the cat, who used to chase Tweety Bird. It began with Tweetie Bird’s catchy expression, “I tawt I taw a puddy tat!” followed by Sylvester’s frustrating quip, “sufferin’ succotash” over his failures to outwit the bird when he accidentally swallowed dynamite or suffered Granny’s scoldings and broom swattings.

Gone is the expression, “Nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs!” or “Heavens to Murgatroyd,” made famous by the cartoon character Snagglepuss, the pink lion. Maybe you remember the expression, “Colder than a well-digger’s backside!” But rarer are the expressions “Every tub must stand on its own,” “Scarce as hen’s teeth,” “If wishes were horses, beggars would ride,” “Too much month at the end of money,” and “He’s all hat and no cattle!” Think about that one for a moment. We know lots of them on the East coast…they talk big, but don’t deliver!

My favorite is “Hogwash!” My wife figured out this one loooong ago: “A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach!” And there’s the classic expression “The road to hell is paved with good intentions!” Equally true, the road to heaven is only through Jesus! Trust Him today!