Tag Archives: sheath

Bible

Bible: (n) the Christian scriptures, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

Dictionary B

A friend of mine bought me a knife.

I found it unusual because it was in a sheath. I had never owned such a weapon.

I took it out of its case, and in doing so, removed it so quickly that I sliced my finger on the blade.

It hurt.

The knife was too sharp.

I stuck it back in its sheath, set it to the side, and didn’t think much more about it.

A few weeks later, my friend asked me how I liked my knife. I decided to be honest and tell him it was just too sharp for me to use–that I was afraid I would slice myself every time I handled it.

He explained that I needed to break it in–that the blade would become less dangerous as I put it to use and found practical ways to dull the blade, while making it more effective for common duties.

I decided to take his advice.

In no time at all, that knife, which had been too sharp to even remove from its protective casing, became very valuable. I used it for everything from slicing tomatoes to shaving twigs off a branch.

I liked my knife.

Even though it was too sharp at first, I gradually learned to use it in such a way that it lost some of its edginess and became more pliable.

And so it is with the Bible.

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Thank you for enjoying Words from Dic(tionary) —  J.R. Practix 

 

Affirmative

Words from Dic(tionary)

dictionary with letter AAffirmative: (adj) agreeing with a statement or to a request.

I used to have a friend who was retired from the Air Force who continued to use military lingo even though he was no longer in uniform or toting a rifle. So if you asked him a question, instead of saying “yes” he would reply, “Affirmative.”

The first couple of times it was kind of interesting. Then, like most things which are repeated for no reason whatsoever, it was downright annoying.

First of all, I don’t know if “yes” really IS affirmative. I have said yes to many things in my life because they were needed, and had NO sense of affirming them.

For instance, even though I am not a political animal, I have always referred to whoever has held the Presidency of the United States as “President” instead of just using the person’s last name or some slang or derogatory term. In that way I was able to affirm their position without ever saying yes to the politics.

I do believe there are things we need to affirm even though we don’t necessarily agree.

This is at the heart of every fight in our system today: you can’t grant liberty and justice for all and start redefining liberty, justice and all.

There are things I would never say yes to personally but as a good American I do affirm them, because they are good for our common cause.

So affirmative, sometimes, is admitting it is none of my business. I sheath my sword and stop slashing with my opinions.

I have turned “yes” is a holy word–it’s when I add my heart and soul to my affirmations and I am willing to see these dreams through to a conclusion.

So for my dear friend who was grounded from the Air Force through retirement, I must tell you that I do not think “affirmative” is the same as “yes.”

For I do affirm your right, as an American, to pursue your happiness, but it does not mean I agree with all your choices.