While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night

I love this song because of the reality of the night of the Savior's birth. Nobody was waiting around with bated breath for the momentous occasion. Nobody even knew what was happening! There wasn't some big announcement of impending birth like I am assuming there will be when Prince William and Princess Kate have their first child. In fact, nobody cared or wondered or knew the impact of a newborns presence on the world.

I like to imagine the Shepherds all drowsy, smelly, and dirty hanging out and being blasted alert by a bright light (maybe), a loud voice (most likely), and an announcement that their lives were literally just changed forever with the birth of a baby.

God most often shows up and speaks to us when we are about the business that he has set before us to do. The Shepherds were watching their flocks, going back a little further - Rebecca was watering her camels and out of that she gained a husband. Go figure. When we are being diligent to do what is set before us to do, when we do it with a heart of gratitude for the provision, when we do it because we are being responsible is when I see God show up and speak. There is an honor for those who don't grandstand, hog the spotlight, seek out attention, or try to be at the head of the crowd.

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (Libera Boys Choir)
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (4 man group with a ASL interpreter)
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (Kids and you have GOT to listen to this one!!)
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night (Connie Smith)

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.

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