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Posted in Family, food, friends, gratitude, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

Beautiful

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy.” Psalm 96:11-12

I was surrounded by beauty.  As I write this I am in the holy land—no, not the one where Jesus lived—the one where people eat grits regularly and without sugar.  My wife Judy and I are in Carrolton, Georgia visiting with my sister Agnes and JW. Even though we have been in the Midwest for 43 years, in Southern (and I do mean Southern) Illinois for 37 years and in Southeastern Illinois for 23 years, we still deeply enjoy returning to the land of our roots.  You can take the boy and his girl out of the South but you can’t take the South out of them.

During our time here so far, we have seen several things that are beautiful.  During my time at my sister’s home, I would walk in the mornings.  They live in a delightful neighborhood with many beautiful homes.  As I walked the quiet streets, I can honestly say I appreciated the beauty of the neighborhood.  But remember, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

One day, a great couple, good friends of Agnes and JW, treated them and us to a day on a beautiful and large lake in Northern Alabama.  Now it truly must have been Northern because neither of our two new friends ate grits but they sure were nice people. We boated around this huge lake for several hours admiring the magnificent homes. It was a beautiful site to behold. But remember, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Well, Agnes and JW own a small home on a small lake in the country and we were also able to spend a few days there.  Because of the design of home, which is a simple studio style one bedroom and bath, they call their place, “The Gazebo at Lake Tisinger.” Their place sits right on the lake…again not a large lake but one that is strictly private because there is no public access. There were no speed boats, no crowds, nothing except the beauty of nature.  Most of the shore line was filled with old growth trees.

So this morning I woke up, got my coffee, and walked outside and was just overwhelmed with the beautiful scene before me.  There, mirrored on the calm waters, was the reflection of the trees and the freshly minted blue sky of another of God’s days.  It was magnificent and I realized that as much as I enjoyed my sister’s beautiful neighborhood, and as much as I enjoyed seeing the magnificent homes on that much larger lake…it paled to the beauty of God’s handiwork. Beauty is in the eyes on the beholder and from where I sat, I knew I was seeing and enjoying one of God’s best works.

God never makes a mistake and He always gets it right but sometimes it just seems He goes over the top.  I think this time He did exactly that. Of course, I guess He does it a lot doesn’t He? Whether it is a cradle in a stable or a well used Roman cross on hilltop or an empty tomb—He does all things well.  Our challenge is to be sure and take the time to see, enjoy, and admire all that He does.  Does that really matter?  Yes, it really does.  When we learn to see and admire His handiwork, it reminds us to believe, understand, and know that no matter what, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in food, Integrity, life, patience, Scripture, spiritual battles

Bread, Potatoes and Pecan Pie

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4b

It was several years ago and it came in the mail.  It was an advertisement, an offer really, to join a program that would not only help me control my diabetes but to reverse it.  If everything went according to plan, I could come off both of my diabetic meds and lose the “I’m diabetic” label.  There were two more things.  First, thanks to my insurance program, it would be provided to me at absolutely no cost to me.  I’m sure it is costing my insurance plenty, but the price for me was paid in full…hmmm, can someone else besides me see a parallel there.  Can someone say, grace, mercy, and Jesus?

The second thing was that the program would provide several things they called sensors…I call them gadgets.  First, there was one of those totally cool glucose monitors that you wear and through your smartphone it tells you on the fly what your sugar level is.  Second, was a Garmin activity tracker that tells you all kind of stuff…more on that in a later story.  Third, was a scale that not only tells you your weight but also how much body fat you have.  This one, for obvious reasons, was not one of my favorites. Number four on the list was a meter that tells me if I have too many ketones.  I’m not sure what they do or what they are but I know you don’t want too many of them.  Finally, there was a blood pressure “taker thinger” and it does just what it says.  What also made the cool list is the fact that all of these things talk to an application on my phone and all that information is compiled and it tells me, and them, if I am failing or succeeding.

So, there you go.  No diabetes, no cost, lots of gadgets and only one problem.  When I talked to the nice lady on the phone, she told me there wouldn’t be a lot of weird food like tofu or jellyfish eggs.  What she didn’t tell me was that there wouldn’t be any really good food on the program either.  Well, to be fair, that is not totally true.  In fact, there are a lot of foods that I can eat and some a southern boy like me even like but there was no bread, no potatoes, no anything that had carbohydrates in them—and that is about every good thing besides meat and eggs.  Hmmm…we have a problem.

Now all this was made worse by the fact that I had my sugar 100% under control.  I turned the sweets thing almost totally off and cut way back on the starchy stuff and my sugar quickly plummeted.  Thank you, sir…mission accomplished…but not quite.  You see, if you remember my new friends want me to get off medicine. However to get off the medicine, I have to give up a whole category of stuff that I love and have loved all my life.  The problem is I am quite content to take a couple of pills if they will allow me to eat some of my favorites.  I am quite willing to let the two, my self-control and my medicine, work together.  Honestly, it would probably be better for me to ditch the medicines but no bread, no potatoes, and worst of all, no, none, never pecan pie.  What?

I think this is just a human nature thing and as you know our human nature can get us in trouble.  Another name for our human nature is our sinful nature and our sinful nature wants us to sin—maybe not a whole lot but at least some of our favorites.  We usually think the price is worth it.  So, we control this and control that but often refuse to take the giant leap into total surrender.  I know there is a difference between indulging in bread and lust or potatoes and anger but the principle is the same.  We want what we want—even if the price is high and it is.

Well, the bottom line is the program did work…even with my compromising attitude. I know that wasn’t the best solution but regardless that was where I landed.  But hear me clearly—that does not work with sin.  With sin the best thing you can do is run fast and hard in the opposite direction.  Remember this…sin will always win, and it will take you further and cost you more than you think.  That is why our Father sent His Son, that is why the Son died and resurrected and that is why we need Him to rescue and save us.

Listen, all the cool sin gadgets in the world aren’t worth what they cost in the end.  It will cost you a whole lot more than a pile of mashed potatoes.  Just remember, what you can’t do on your own, you can do with Him. 1 John 4:4b says, “The One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”  In other words, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in food, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture, Southern born

Old Dogs…New Tricks

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?” Isaiah 43:19

Who said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? Jeremy is my good, good friend. Since he made his journey back to church and Jesus twelve years ago, we have walked a lot of miles together. Early on, we started having breakfast together once a week. It is one of my favorite things we do. We may not hit every week but we do most. He always buys too. I think it is a way for him to say, “Brother, I love you.” I know it sure means a lot to me. And that leads us into today’s Grits.

Over the years, we have had a lot of discussion about grits–not the story but the food. You see being a Southern boy, I love grits, the right way–salt, pepper, and butter. Jeremy on the other hand, being a Southern Illinois boy, likes his with butter and sugar. Sweet grits–unthinkable. We have bantered back and forth about this–sugar or no sugar. We would often drag our servers into the discussion. Then something happened.

We were at the Barrel, we ordered our food and before long it came. That day I had ordered two sides–grits (of course) and fried apples. Without much forethought, I told Jeremy that to honor him that day, I was going to mix my fried apples with my grits. What? Can you believe it? Well, me neither–but I did it. The grits were in a bowl and in went the apples. To top it all off, I added two packets of sweetener. I stirred it all together and bravely shoveled in a spoonful. You are not going to believe what happened.

I looked at Jeremy and said, sincerely, “Jeremy, this is delicious.” And do you know what? It was. I can’t explain it but something about the grits, the apples, and the butter just came together and tickled my taste buds. I even said to him, “This is the best thing on my plate.” You know, I never dreamed I would like sweet grits and I certainly didn’t wake up planning to try them that day…but I did.

So, there you go. Grits, apples, salt, butter and a little sweetener all came together to teach this old dog a new trick. Sweet grits. Who would have thought it? Now if that can happen with me and grits I am certain that it can happen with me and God–in fact, you and God. You see, God is just full of new things, new ideas and the best part is that every one of them is–good. You never have to doubt God and His plans–they are all perfect.

So, let me encourage you to always be open to new things–especially things from our Dearest Daddy. And just like I was surprised, we shouldn’t be surprised when He surprises us. Just like sweet grits–His plans for us our sweeter than we could ever imagine. So get out your spoon and dig in because, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, life, love, prayer, Scripture

Unwanted Legacy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

It was an unwanted legacy.  My wife Judy and I have three adult daughters. It is a standing joke in our house that anything that is bad or negative (weight, cholesterol, heart issues, blood pressure, etc) always come from me…the Dad.  The good stuff invariably is attributed to the mom.  Now there can be no doubt that our daughters get their good looks from her, but I think there might be a little prejudice about this other stuff.  I am sure it all can’t possibly come from me.  Or can it?  You see, sometimes I think that I might, accidentally, unintentionally pass on an unwanted legacy.  Let me give you an example.

So one August I went dancing with my worse girlfriend, Corena.  In case you don’t know that was my nickname for the COVID virus.  Yes, I had been vaccinated but regardless she asked if I wanted to dance and apparently, I said yes.  It wasn’t fun.  As COVID cases go, mine wasn’t too bad but it was enough to make me glad when the dance was over. Fortunately, as far as I know, no one, including my wife, came down with it.  After a week or so, it was all over and in the rearview mirror.  No harm, no foul just a bump in the road of life.

Well, later that same fall I started feeling crummy again.  I checked in with my doctor and friend and he quickly diagnosed me with the flu—let’s nickname that “Flo”.  Now this wasn’t the stomach flu…this was the real deal.  I’m not sure if it was Type A or Type B but I do know it was the kind that made you want to die. It, like Corena, lasted long enough for me not to want to have it again and I was glad when she waltzed out of the room. 

Well, it all started on a Friday evening. I developed a cough and just started crashing.  Unfortunately, three of my grandsons were spending the night and not knowing what the deal was…they just cuddled up with “Papa.” As the night went on it was apparent that I had something, but we just didn’t know what.  The next day they all loaded up and went home and I went to bed. At the time I didn’t know what I had but I hated that I might have infected them. My diagnosis didn’t come until Sunday and the bad news came on Monday.

Yup…my daughter called and two of the three had an unexpected, unwanted legacy.  It wasn’t high blood pressure, or cholesterol, or hair loss…it was the flu.  Fortunately, there weren’t any complications, but they sure felt lousy for several days.  I can remember Judy talking on to our daughter on the speaker phone and I could hear one of them coughing and it just broke my heart.  Unexpected, unintentional, or not…I had infected, impacted them.  It was an unexpected, unwanted legacy.

Well, all that thankfully is in the rearview mirror but the whole deal left me with an important lesson.  Whether it is a health deal or some other sort of deal, we need to understand and realize that we are all impacting those around us.  And, often, it is the ones closest to us…the ones we love the most.  Of course, there are plenty of good legacies and for those we can and should be grateful and proud.  But there are others…actions and words that scar or habits that hurt…that we need to arrest so we can avoid passing them down and around.  Perhaps it would be a good idea to take our “legacy temperature” frequently. Perhaps we should ask and honestly answer the question, “Is there something that might be a story, a memory, a habit that might be an unwanted legacy?” If there is, we should take action to stop it or change it.  The good news is rarely is it too late to stop it before there is an unwanted impact or infection.

It’s probably not the best verse for this story but it sure rings true.  Paul, the one who wrote a bunch of the New Testament Bible said, “Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” Usually, bad company is intentional, and unexpected and unwanted legacies are not…but the outcome can be same.  So, starting today, ask the hard questions and make sure what you are leaving behind is not only worth sharing but a story that would make others smile.  Need a little help?  I know just the one…my Dearest Daddy. He is always there, always willing to help.  He’s got that too. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, life, loving others, school days, Scripture

Poached Eggs? Really?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” Matthew 5:16

Poached eggs.  For some reason they have never made it on my list of favorite things. It could be the name.  When something is poached it usually means it was taken in some illegal means.  Well, now that I think of it…maybe the name does fit. To me, unless it was Easter or Momma was making egg salad sandwiches, eggs were cooked in grease not water. I can vaguely remember something about my Momma cracking an egg and dropping it into some water…no wait, maybe that was teabags.  At any rate, the thought of eating an egg that had just been floating around in some water like a jelly fish never, ever, crossed my mind. Grease and eggs…eggs and grease…a match made in heaven.

However, interestingly enough not everyone is like me.  One of my best buds actually likes poached eggs. Of course, you must take in consideration that he also likes sugar on his grits.  But anyway, you read it right–he really likes them.  So, we were having this discussion about how to cook eggs (don’t all guys have those discussions?) and his passion for poached eggs boiled to the top–no pun intended.  So how did he become such a fan of poached eggs?  Well, here’s the deal.

It turns out that his grandmother was a really big fan of poached eggs.  Anytime he (or another family member) went to her house, it was time for poached eggs.  Over and over again, “Hey, you want me to cook you a poached egg?” That standard answer was, “No Grandma, that’s ok.”  Apparently, she was insistent because her standard answer was, “Sure you do, let me whip one up for you.” And, before long, a nice, wiggly kinda cooked egg was sitting before him.  Well, before long he was sorta, kinda brain washed and before long he was hooked.  Now that I think about it, I wonder if he had an aunt that liked sugar on her grits too?  Hmmm.

So, the long and short of it is, all these years later–he still likes poached eggs.  Truth is, if it wasn’t for Grandma’s passion, he wouldn’t be such a fan–but her passion became one of his. That really says a lot about influence and legacy. You see, we are all influencers…whether it is food, habits, or speech.  I know Judy and I don’t press buttons…we mash them.  Wonder where that came from?  We don’t give people a ride to the store, we “carry” them. Oh, and no I don’t eat sugar on my grits…and apparently neither did my relatives.

You know, that passion thing is true about eggs but it is also true about God.  It seems that things that we are passionate about are the things that end up in the lives of those around us…especially those closest to us. The bottom line is what we are passionate about is contagious. The more passionate we are about God the more likely it will be caught by someone else.  It might be our kids, grandkids, or the guy next door but our faith should be highly contagious. Someone once said, “our faith is more easily caught than taught.” There is so much truth in that.

The truth is, I don’t know how you like your eggs–but it just might be similar to the way your momma or daddy liked them.  Let’s be so passionate about God and our faith that someone can’t be around us without being infected–uh, make that affected! Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount, “In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.” In other words, make sure that what we do and how we do it, reflects favorably on you…but most importantly, on God. I’m sure God is not a fan of poached eggs, but I do know He is a fan of yours.  Don’t worry, He’s got this…poached or not. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Scripture, Grace, life, thankful, priorities

Brown Ain’t So Bad

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” John11:25

I like brown…after all. All my life (I think) blue has been my favorite color. I’m glad when God created the sky He made sure it was blue and when He created us (at least the us who are not color blind) we can see and love that blue sky. And then the beautiful blue waters of the Caribbean Sea are somewhere beyond amazing. Yup…I like blue. But wait–right after blue comes green. Think for a moment and remember last Spring everything sprung from the ground in a million different shades of green. Think about the pictures of Ireland and their beautiful emerald green hills. Hurry, someone grab some bag pipes and let’s find a four leaf clover. Blue and green…love them both.

And then there is…wait for it…brown. You see normally brown just doesn’t make the list of my favorite colors. If fall was just brown leaves think how boring it would be. Nope…no brown for me…except for today. I just might have to declare a moratorium on brown today. When today? Well, today most of the snow has melted and has uncovered that glorious brown grass.  They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I think the same might be true of brown. After ten days or so of snow cover that brown grass looks pretty good. How about that?

And remember this…brown is the promise that Spring will someday come. Just like the white of snow makes us more fond of brown, brown magnifies our love of green.  Just think, one day, and not to far off, that brown grass that seems to signify death will give way to new life. And remember this too…that brown grass isn’t really dead…it is just napping. New life is coming. That is true for grass, it is true for trees and it is definitely true for every Jesus follower. A funeral for a believer isn’t about an end…it is about a beginning. God will one day turn the gravity of the grave into a celebration of life. Just ask Jesus.  Just ask Lazarus.

So, while spring is a bit away, when you look out today and bemoan the brownness of the landscape just remember that Spring is in fact coming…new life is coming. Our brown world is just temporary…soon and very soon it will explode into a beautiful masterpiece of color. We know because He made it that way. And when our time of brownness comes, those with spirit eyes won’t see brown but rather the technicolor of eternity. Just wait and see. He’s got this! Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, fear, forgiveness, Grace, Integrity, life, school days, Scripture

Confession

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

It was the summer of my rebellion.  I know, some people are born compliant, and some are born a little on the rebellious side.  I was born compliant.  I have always been a rule keeper—well, at least most of the time.  I suppose that is why I took to religion so well.  You see religion is all about keeping the rules.  The idea is if you keep enough of the rules then people will like you and most importantly, God will like you.  And sure enough, it worked—well, at least part one worked.  In my younger years, most of the adults thought I was a good boy.  Church? Got it.  Drinking? Not a drop.  Drugs?  Nope. I can hear them saying it now, “That Dewayne is such a nice boy.”  And, I suppose outwardly I looked pretty good, but pretty good won’t get you to heaven.

You see the second part of the religion mantra is that you can make God happy by performing—by keeping the rules.  That one is 100% false.  There is no one, except Jesus, that was good enough to go to heaven.  Yet it seems so many church people say they believe that rules won’t get you to heaven but act as if they will. They carefully do this and that and boy, if you happened to be one of the ones who didn’t keep the rules, you were tried, convicted, and sentenced.  That’s why I had to keep my cussing summer quiet.

I think maybe all the rule keeping must have finally got to me.  The bottom line is during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school—I started cussing.  I had a job at an apartment complex down the road from our house and I worked with the son of the head maintenance man.  He was not a Jesus person, and he did like to cuss.  So, one day, I just started cussing too.  I had heard enough cuss words at school to know most of them, so I didn’t have to have any lessons…though I did have to work on my voice inflections.

It was a very tricky time in my life because I had to turn the cussing on at 8:00 am and I had to be sure and turn it off at 5:00pm.  That’s what you have to do when you are living a double life.  Under no circumstances did I want to spoil my good boy image at church or with my Momma and Daddy. I do remember one time I let a small one slip and Momma looked at me with eyes that said, “Where did that come from?” Of course, I didn’t, I couldn’t let her know that her baby son was a cusser.

And, as quickly as it came, it passed.  At the end of the summer, I had to go back to school and therefore had to quit my job.  All I know is that the cussing stopped and my rule keeping world got a little easier.  I managed to please a lot of people, but I knew I was far from pleasing God.  It would be several more years before I finally figured out that rule keeping didn’t work and religion didn’t either.  When I was 21, I finally found grace and boy was that a game changer.  Honestly, it is taking me a long time to shake the deep roots of rule keeping and religion.  I’m still working on it.

You might ask, “How do you know if you are under the influence of religion and rule keeping?”  Well, its two main indicators are self-condemnation and a tendency to judge others.  Rule keepers are acutely aware when they or others around them break a rule.  Rule keepers (and religious people) like to point out other people’s sins and faults because it makes them feel better about themselves.  If they can make you feel bad, then it makes them feel better.  It’s a twisted world.

God’s way is so much better than religion and rules.  Did you know His Book, the Bible, actually says that when someone believes in Jesus and becomes one of His followers that there is no condemnation—none—nada?  I mean when the prosecuting attorney and the judge both acquit you—the trial is over.  I’m slowly learning just how valuable that is.  There is an audience of One that Jesus followers must live for and that is God…their Heavenly Father…their Abba Father…their Dearest Daddy.  I love what Toby Mac (a contemporary Christian singer) said, “I gave God a million reasons not to love me.  Not one of them changed His mind.”  I like that!

Well, I’m glad my cussing summer is ancient history.  I still look back at those two or three months and wonder what in the world was I was thinking?  The truth is…I probably wasn’t.  But now, by grace, that, and all my other failures, warts and sins are forgiven…all because of Jesus.  I’m so grateful for that. If you have never discovered grace and forgiveness, especially God’s kind, I hope you will check it out.  Don’t get confused with religion and rule keeping like I did.  God’s got something far, far, better than that.  Think you’ve messed up too much to be forgiven?  Nope…don’t give it a second thought.  Trust me…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Grace, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, spring, Uncategorized

Good Morning!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  Psalm 118:24 

Good morning, Sunshine! Ok…that might be an overstatement…especially as I get a little older.  But, regardless, I love mornings…especially the early mornings. All my adult life I have been an early riser—like 4:30 or 5:00 am early. With few exceptions, I don’t use an alarm clock and after a wake-up ritual, I am ready to go. 

As you probably know older people tend to lean toward two extremes. One group is sleeping in—they revert back to their teen times. The other group wakes up before the crack of dawn—they revert back to when they were babies. That is me. I normally wake up when the first number is a four or five. I say good morning to the bathroom and head to my favorite room in the house—my man-cave or home office. I usually spend an hour or so with the door closed—it is my domain. You might wonder, “what do you do in there?”

Well, here is a look into the inner sanctum. First, I turn on the lights—all of them.  I found out a long time ago the best way to jumpstart your brain is to flood the room with light.  So, I do. Then, I make a cup of coffee with my Keurig. We are very close friends.  It took me a while to become friends because he had expensive tastes.  But when Sam’s started offering cheaper coffee—we buddied up. Next, I also turn on the electric fireplace, regardless of the season, light a candle and sit back for a few minutes of news and weather.

After those preliminaries, I pull out my iPad and open YouVersion and read several devotionals.  If you are a Jesus follower or a Jesus searcher, you really need to go to your app store and download YouVersion—it for free.  Whether you are growing in Him or searching for Him…it is a go to place. After YouVersion, I read several email devotionals to get some more insight for the day. I also read some scripture—either for study purposes or just to read. Then, either at my desk or back in my chair I usually pray thanking God and asking Him to watch over the one’s I love and the upcoming day. So, there you go.  This best part of waking up is a little coffee and a little more of God.

Mornings are my most productive time. Almost all of these stories are written early in the morning. My most productive study time is early in the morning. Most of my sermons were born then. If exercise is going to happen—it has to happen in the morning. Truth be known, half of my day happens in the first three or four hours of the new day. I often find what didn’t make sense at 4:00 pm makes plenty of sense at 5:30 am. What’s seemed overwhelming at 7:00 pm is no problem at 6:00 am. 

Another of my favorite morning things, if the season is right, is to go out and sit on the patio and watch the sun rise—for the dawn to break and for the day to begin. I have never ceased to be amazed at creation—the birth of another day. As darkness gives way to dawn, as night slips away to day, it is a visual promise from my Dearest Daddy that He is not done yet.  Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” His job is to make them, and our job is to enjoy them.  Even the more difficult days have lessons to learn…He’s not a waster…He is a provider.

Well, out on the patio I finish my last cup of coffee and sit back and take it all in.  A new day, a fresh promise, another opportunity to enjoy my Dearest Father.  So, what is your fresh start like?  It really doesn’t matter if it starts with a four or a nine.  It doesn’t matter if it is coffee or tea (but I can’t imagine that). It doesn’t matter if it is rain or sunshine…just make sure you know and remember that as you stroll with Him today…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, food, friends, gratitude, life, patience, Scripture, Valentine's Day

Patience 101 – Repeating the Class

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” Ecclesiastes 7:8

And I thought I was just going out to eat! A couple of years ago, a couple of good friends invited my wife Judy and I to go out and eat.  It sounded like a special gig.  A restaurant located in a small town, oh, about 15 miles from our small town, had invited a renowned chef to come in and cook that evening.  My friend had received an invitation right from the owner’s lips to come and experience it and he invited us.  Now I am not much of a gourmet nor is gourmet food my deal.  To ring my bell, all you need to do is serve up some meat and mashed potatoes and another starch or two and I’m in.  Even so, it was chance to spend some time with these good friends…so we made a date.

They said they would make some reservations which for Southern Illinois (SI) is kinda unusual.  All we SI people do is show up and eat.  But I can be partial to reservations…especially if it keeps me from waiting.  So, with the idea this was a special thing for a small group of special people and with the safeguard of reservations, I was looking forward to our Friday night gig.  Oh, and a bonus was the fact this was Friday night of Valentine’s weekend and Judy said this could count as “date night.”  Sweet.  Can’t fail. In the bag. And then…the school bell rang.

As we drove from our small town to the other small town, the car was filled with chatty talk. Nice and easy…just the way I like it.  As we approached the restaurant, I noticed there were quite a few cars but that wasn’t totally unusual.  It was when we got to the door that usual went out the window. The small foyer, the area around the check-in stand and the restaurant was packed to the gills.  At that brief moment, my countenance may have sagged just a little. But since we had reservations…it was no deal.  And then the school bell rang.

One of my friends checked us in and came back with the news—forty-five minutes to an hour.  Wait. “What?”  I said, “But don’t we have reservations?”  Well, no.  It turns out only parties of eight can get those cherished promises of a quicker sit-down.  So, that is how God enrolled me, once again, into the school of patience.  So, there I sat in the small foyer with what seemed like a thousand other people. Some were there to enjoy the gourmet chef, and some were there for a fish dinner.  It didn’t matter. I was in the school of patience. My Dearest Daddy knew I had some learning to do in the patience department and He had enrolled me.

Well, our time in class turned into about two and half hours and when we finally ate almost all of the gourmet food was gone and I had a hamburger…which by the way was just fine with me. At the end of the evening, an unseen hand handed me my test.  There at the top of the page was a well-earned, unqualified, no doubt about it—F.  Yup I had failed again.  And the bad news is, this is required curriculum…which meant there would be other classes…other opportunities…for me to learn and get tested.  Rats.  I should have studied more.  I should have prepared more. I should have done something or anything, but I didn’t. Class dismissed.  See you next time, pal.

Now with all that said, it was a good evening.  I still got to be with my wife and friends.  I did occasionally smile and engage in conversation.  Oh, and the burger was really pretty good and, wait for it, my friend paid the tab.  I think he did it out of sympathy and compassion.  Regardless, it was kind. So, when we got home, I sat down and relaxed, confessed my failing grade to my Father and vowed to do better.  We will see.  We will see.  This is one area that this Jesus journeyman is a little slow to learn and God ain’t gonna let it go. Solomon, one of the smart guys from the Old Testament Bible said, “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” Boy, he hit that one on the head.  Looking back, I should have remembered, I should have believed that thing that I write every time I write, “He’s got this,” because…He does. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, life, priorities, Scripture

Shiny Keys

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21a

When I entered the room, I saw them for the first time. It’s funny how there are some things right in front of your eyes and you never, ever see them.  That happened a while back.  I was up early, and it was Thursday.  Thursday is my self-imposed deadline to make sure I am well on my way to have the next week’s Grits well underway.  I have learned that it is better to get a head start on Grits and before that can happen, I must write them.  So, Thursday morning, found me at the computer and mashing keys.  And then it happened.

I needed to leave my home office for a minute and when I came back into the office, I noticed something.  Let me set up the scene.  In one corner of my desk, I have a desk lamp.  In the middle of the desk, I have my iMac.  The keyboard and trackpad sit right in front of it. So, as I came back into the office, the light was reflecting onto my keyboard and that’s when I saw it.  I noticed that several, more than a few actually, keys were shiny, and others were dull with their factory matte finish.  I backed up a step or two and replayed the scene.  Sure enough, some were shiny, and some were flat. How interesting.

Well, a closer look, a closer investigation, revealed what I thought would be the case.  The shiny keys were those that I used the most. You know, the letters that you would find over and over again in any writing.  Some other keys were somewhere in the middle. While the matte finish wasn’t worn totally off, they weren’t members of the shiny club either.  And finally, other keys, like the “x” and “z,” keys looked practically brand new…because they were. And that made me think.

What if we could magically transform ourselves to the keys on the keyboard? I know, I know about now you’re wondering what I had to drink this morning! Sure it was coffee? Well, it was.  But if we could, would we be one of the well-worn keys that made a bigger impact in the story.  Would our lives impact the world around us in a positive and productive way? Whether it is the smaller circle of our families or the bigger circle of our community, would our impact be missed if we weren’t there?  My wife plays the piano and one day she was playing at our senior adult center.  One black key, a D#, was totally gone and she was saying how difficult it was to play without it.  Is that our impact?

I am sure of one thing.  When my Dearest Daddy finally decides it is time to disconnect my keyboard, I want to know that I have made a difference.  I want to finish like a shiny key—one that is worn smooth with life.  I don’t want to go out barely used and barely missed.  How about you?  Of course, that comes with a risk.  The keys are shiny because my fingers bang on them all the time.  And if the keys of your life’s keyboard are going to be shiny, it can only come with a lot of banging around.  But trust me…it is worth it.

The best keys, the shiniest keys, belong to those who have learned the grandest purpose in life…love God and love people.  If you get that one right, well, trust me you will have an impactful life.  And it goes further.  When we choose to love God like He says, we will have an impactful eternity.  I’m one of those folks that believes the end here is just a beginning there.  I believe there is more…a lot more…after the last heartbeat. And as a Jesus guy, I want to be sure that He is pleased with my keys. In a story Jesus told in the New Testament part of the Bible, the master of a servant was full of praise and says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” In other words, “Good job.”

I want to make it to heaven with a life of shiny keys…well worn, well used for others and Him. Does that sound noble? Well, I don’t know about that.  I think rather that is the least we can do for a Heavenly Father that loves us so much and is always there for us.  To be a shiny key, we need a lot of help and I know, and you know…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Integrity, life, school days, Scripture, wisdom

The Honest Truth

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Jesus told him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6

It was a long time ago–but truth was still truth! When I was a whole lot younger, there was only black and white television and a couple or three channels. The truth was (no pun intended) we weren’t too addicted to television because there just wasn’t a lot to watch. This is back in the days when public television was one of the channels and unlike today–it was boring–way boring. I can remember two of the shows that were quite poplar, especially with the adults. They were “To Tell the Truth” and “Truth or Consequences.”

While I can’t remember too much about “Truth or Consequences,” I do remember the jest of “To Tell the Truth.” It would have several guests and a panel would ask questions about their occupation. All would pretend to hold the job but only one really did. So two of the three or three of the four would lie for twenty minutes while the one told the truth. The panel had to determine who the liars were and who was telling the truth tell.

One thing I remember is that my Momma and Daddy believed that telling the truth was always important. Telling a lie just wasn’t acceptable. I also remember that when I went to Sunday School, I learned that God was really big on telling the truth. It was so important that He made it one of His top ten–The Ten Commandments. I think it was so important because His enemy the devil was such a big liar. Jesus said that the devil is a liar and in fact the father of them. He went on to say that he could only lie because there was no truth in him.

One of the things that I love about the Bible is that in the whole world, this one Book, The Bible, God’s Word is the one source of truth.  Every word, every sentence is true. It is not a mixture of truth and error, nope, it is true as someone said, “from flaps to maps.” So in this world where too many people believe that truth is what you make it, it is good to know that there is someone and something that we can believe–God and His Book. So if you are looking for truth, there is only one source–the Bible. Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” He went on and added that if you want to come to God–well, He is the only way. Trust me, you can believe and know that no matter what, “He’s got this.” And that’s the truth! Bro. Dewayne