Grits with Grace

Family, friends, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Have a Good Day

Posted on June 27, 2023June 26, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

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

“Sometimes you feel like a nut…sometimes you don’t.” You might remember that as the slogan for the Mounds candy company. One of their candy bars has almonds and one doesn’t. Frankly…I like them both. The slogan reminds me of the way days sometimes go. Sometimes they are smooth sailing and sometimes, well, they aren’t. There is an old saying that asks the question, “Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed today?” It usually means someone is a bit grumpy and often it is associated with the day they are having. It goes back in time when getting out of bed on the left side was akin to bad luck and a bad day.

One of my favorite kid’s books is titled, “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” It’s a humorous account of a little boy who has not a day, but seemingly a life, that constantly goes south. Ever wonder what a bad day might look like? Well, someone wrote a list of ten things that might be very good indicators of a very bad day. It goes like this.

Top Ten Indicators of a bad day!

1. You realize you just sprayed spot remover under your arms instead of deodorant.
2. Your doctor tells you that you are allergic to chocolate chip cookies.
3. The gypsy fortune teller offers to refund your money.
4. The worst player on the golf course wants to play you for money.
5. Everyone is laughing…but you.
6. You turn on the news and they are showing emergency routes out of your city.
7. You wake up to the soothing sound of running water…and remember you just purchased a waterbed.
8. Your horn sticks on the freeway–behind 32 guys riding motorcycles, wearing leathers, chains and very angry looks.
9. You call the crisis hotline and they put you on hold.
10. Your four-year-old tells you that it’s ALMOST impossible to flush a grapefruit down the toilet.

Well, I hope that made you smile. We all have stories of days when it seemed like Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) was our worst best friend and absolutely nothing goes right. It makes us want to go back to bed and try it all again. Well, something that just keeps rolling around in my head (and my heart) is this scripture that talks about the fact that God makes each day. It says, “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.” I’m glad it didn’t say be happy about it because that might really be hard. No, it says, “Rejoice” or be joyful. You see joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness depends on circumstances and joy depends on our trust in God—and those two things are far, far apart.

I must admit that I am not always the most optimistic person, though I do try to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. But I am learning that if I look around closely, I will see little love notes from my Dearest Daddy. Mostly they are small, little blessings that can go unnoticed. But if I slow down and look around, there they are. I think it is important to train our eyes, and minds, to look for the ways He works His God magic. So, why not decide that today, right now, you are going to journey today with an eye for Him. You might be surprised how differently your day goes. Oh, and if it really is a difficult day, if it really seems like Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, well, just remember that every day and any day, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, Grace, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful

Real Love, Real Blessed

Posted on June 26, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:10

It was hotter than a firecracker. Today, forty-seven years ago, I became the luckiest guy in the world. Oh, I know, Joe DiMaggio thought he was but that is because he didn’t marry Judy. You see, on June 26, 1976, this Florida cracker married one fine Georgia peach—Judy Dawn Allen thus ensuring my standing as the luckiest guy in the world. Looking back over the past four and a half decades, plus two years, I am amazed just how good God has been.

I met Judy at church one Wednesday night. I was stationed at the nearby Air Force base. She was only sixteen and I was twenty. It had to be a miracle that her parents even let me near her but then…I did meet her at church. Smile. I walked into church that Wednesday night, saw her standing in a group of about five or six young ladies, and well, that was that. I got her phone number from a friend who attended that same church, gave her a call, asked her out on a date and she said yes. That yes led to another yes on April 1, 1975, when she agreed to marry me and that yes led to an “I Do” on June 26, 1976. How about that?

Recently, someone at church wished me a happy anniversary and I told them the secret to being married for 47 years. All you have to do is marry someone like my wife Judy. She loves God and Jesus, loves her family, loves people but most of all—she loves me. I never could figure that part out. I am certain I am not worthy of her love but still she scoops it out in large quantities. She loves me when I get it right and when I don’t. She loves me when it is hard and loves me when it is easier. Amazing.

As amazing as all that is—the way God loves me is even bigger and better. He too lavishes His love out on me, and He too loves me regardless of my performance. On my best day, He loves me and on my worst day, He loves me still and a zillion years from today He will still be loving me. His word says, “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” Now that is what I call love. That is what I call amazing.

Looking back, hot or not, I’m grateful for that summer day in South Georgia when an amazing God allowed me to marry an amazing young lady. Over forty-seven years, walking together, and all but five of them as a pastor’s wife, well, I’ll forever be indebted to the One who gave her to me and to her for saying yes. He took care of me then and He will take care of me for all the tomorrows yet to come. As always,, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

He’s Writing a New Story

Posted on June 23, 2023June 22, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6

“Do you have a pencil?” he asked. Realizing there were plenty of kinds of pencils he added, “You know, the old-fashioned kind?” I’m not sure why he needed it, but I rummaged through my desk drawer and found one. I think he needed one with the lead on one end and an eraser on the other. The kind where you use one end to write a story or make a mark and the other you use to remove your “oops.” Today we are more likely to use the delete key on a keyboard. Erasers were my friends. Delete keys are my new friend. It makes my oops disappear. I have a lot of oops.

My delete key changes things. As I look back over the last year, I am still amazed at the way things were shut down. I was even more amazed as I was forced to go to my calendar and delete things. On my personal calendar and on the church calendar, one by one, meetings and events were deleted. It was difficult for me…it was difficult for us and in the midst of it all, I almost lost sight of the big picture…a picture so big only God could be holding the brush.

One day I found myself staring at the calendar like a blank canvas and I realized what had been planned didn’t matter anymore. But here is the really good part. The space that was cleared left plenty of room–room for God to write a new story. A different story. A better story. Things like a new Wednesday program for our church was born. In the white space created by that largely empty calendar, Grits was born. The bottom line is without God orchestrating the delete button, things that needed to change would have stayed the same. New men’s, ladies, and children’s programs would not have been born. And a year’s worth of Grit’s stories would still be in my head and heart but not on the page. The thing I resisted led to the freedom to do it.

I’ve heard stories of different ways God used that hot mess to rewrite lives. We saw what could happen if we started to freely, to openly, invite Him to use the delete button and rewrite the stories of our lives. We discovered opportunities, adventures that suddenly filled the pages of our lives. A walk to the park became a safari. Homemade pizza night became an edible art gallery. The dining room table was cleared, and we pulled out the family games that had stayed in the closet too long.

Cards were written, calls made, and stories shared. Think about it. Remember how the kids’ faces lit up as they heard again how you met each other or how you met Jesus? Think of the new stories yet to be told as we look back when things were so hard, and we all learned how to trust God for help. We saw faith leaping off the page of the Bible and right onto the pages of our lives. If we asked, we might hear our kids tell us “Mom, Dad that bad time was the best time because we got to be together.” How about that?

Yes, those really were challenging times. Financially. Emotionally. Spiritually. And honesty…they still are. But what if God is writing a new story that in the end is the stuff of legends? What if in a few years these days are some of the best memories? And it was all possible because we said, “Ok God–go ahead and use the delete key. I’m trusting that Your story is better than my story. I’m trusting You.”

You see, God’s best use of the delete key is when He applies His grace to our sins, our mistakes, our misguided decisions, our oops. New pasts and new futures are His specialties, and they are often written in crazy days like these. So, go ahead, press that delete key. Rest in Him. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, life, loving others, missions, prayer, thankful, travel, Trials

Can You Say That Again?

Posted on June 22, 2023June 21, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Strange things happen in Africa. For the past 12 or 13 years, our church has made regular trips to Africa. We began in Niger and later moved down to Mali. The last six years or so we have been working in Uganda. Regardless of what country, you can always count on Africa to give you plenty of unusual and strange sights. So, in some ways I wasn’t surprised.

We were on an island in Lake Victoria, Uganda. On any given trip we visit at least three or four different islands offering free medical care, children’s ministries, ladies ministries and visiting the people in their huts to tell them the stories of Jesus. The point of it all is to let them hear the Good News that there is a God who loves them—a lot. It was later in the afternoon, and we were winding down for the day. The medical clinic was finishing and four or five of us men were sitting in the shade under the “front porch” of one of the buildings.

So, we were talking and like I said you see some different things in Africa, so I wasn’t surprised when my friend said, “Look, there goes a woman with a peg leg.” Well, I turned around to look and didn’t see what he was talking about. I did see a lady some distance away but couldn’t see her peg leg. I mean, the only peg legs I knew about were in Peter Pan, so it piqued my curiosity.

I turned back around but didn’t say anything. But it stuck in my mind. After ten minutes or so, I just had to ask my friend about this strange sight. I said, “Tim, did you say something about a lady with a peg leg?” His expression told me I must have missed something. He gave me a perplexing look. All he could manage was a “uh?” I said, “You know, a few minutes ago you said you saw a lady with a peg leg.” He responded with, “No. I said I saw a man carrying a stringer of fish.” Silence. Snickers. Laughter.

Yup. Somewhere in the process of the conversation what was said and what I heard were two totally, and I mean totally, different things. There was no lady with a peg leg, only a guy with a stringer of fish. You are probably wondering how I got “peg leg” out of “stringer of fish.” All I can say is strange things happen in Africa. I’m glad there wasn’t a crippled lady but the idea of a peg leg like Captain Cook’s sure did intrigue me.

And do you know what? Sometimes I think this happens with God and me. I think He is saying something, and I totally miss it. Does that happen to you? I think it’s more common than we think. We think we hear Him say, “You have the right to be mad” and in fact He’s saying, “Forgive.” We think we hear Him say, “Take” and He was actually saying, “Give.” Oh, and then we thought He said, “Quit” and He was saying, “Serve.” And it just goes on and on. We hear “Leave” and He is saying, “Stay.” We hear “Go ahead” and He is saying “Stop, wait, don’t.” Seems strange things don’t happen only in Africa. Smile.

So, I’m not sure what caused the totally humorous miscommunication in Uganda. It may have been my hearing, could have been the village noise…who knows. There may not have been a fix for that, however, when it comes to hearing God clearly there is something that will really help. It is His Word. In so many situations (though I’m not sure peg legs are one of them) the Bible gives us clear guidance.

Here is one thing you can count on. The voice of God (what we think we hear God saying) will not, ever, never, contradict the Word of God. If you think you hear Him saying, “Revenge” when someone has hurt you, you probably have “Peg Leg Syndrome.” If you think you hear Him saying, “Be afraid” when circumstances are frightful, you probably have “Peg Leg Syndrome.” You get the idea.

Talking about the Word of God, Paul said that it is good for learning, good for insight about what is wrong in our lives, good for correcting us when we are wrong and good for teaching us about how to live right. The Bible is an amazing Book. It has stood the test of time and, while there are different translations, there is not a version 4.3 because God got it right the first time.

So, if you are talking with your friends and someone mentions a lady with a peg leg, you might want to ask for some clarification. And if you think you heard God say something that sounds a little not like Him, check the Book, and go to the source. Peg leg stories can be funny, but withholding forgiveness when it is ours to give, hating instead of loving, leaving too soon instead of staying…well, that can cause a lot of pain. And if you find yourself singing and living that 1974 hit “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” it might just be a bad case of Peg Leg Syndrome. Just pull out the Book, read a little and rest in Him. He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful, Trials

My Friend, Frances

Posted on June 21, 2023June 21, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.” Proverbs 17:17

Johnny Cash sang it. “My name is Sue…now you’re going to die.” Well, his name wasn’t Sue, but it was Frances. Like Sue…it was a somewhat unusual name for a man and Frances was an unusual guy. I met Frances when I went to pastor at the LaMonte Baptist Church. The church had three deacons and they were named Leo, Francis, and Floyd. All three of them were special guys and I grew to love each one of them for who they were. I was a very young, inexperienced pastor and new at the pastoring thing. So new, in fact, that when I mowed my grass at the parsonage, across the street from the church, I would wear dress pants. I wasn’t sure if pastors were allowed to wear jeans so close to the church. They can.

So, even back in 1984, Judy loved flowers and the parsonage was woefully short in that department. In fact, I’m not sure there were any flowers in the entire yard. Well, one day Judy declared that she wanted a flower bed. She began to actually plan the where’s and how’s of the flower bed. If it had been me, I would have grabbed some flowers, dug a hole, stuffed them in, and applied dirt. Good luck. Not Judy. She decided that the flower bed should go along the front of the house and that it needed to be raised. That means we needed to find some timbers to build up the height of the bed. Again, after a little thought, she decided that railroad ties would do the job.

Somehow, I casually mentioned to Frances that Judy wanted a flower bed. Now Frances was the go-to guy when it came to things like the parsonage. He had already led the charge in installing a brick flue so we could have a wood burner, so he was the natural choice for the flower bed. I said, “Frances, Judy would like to have some railroad ties for her new flower bed. Frances didn’t miss a beat. He said, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at five.”

Well, sure as shooting, the next day at five, Frances pulled up in his big ole dually, white Dodge pickup truck. You know there are pickup trucks too pretty to get dirty and then there are real pickup trucks. Frances had a real pickup truck. I climbed inside and we headed toward Sedalia, the largest town nearby. I figured we were heading to the hardware store there to purchase some ties. I was wrong. You see, there was a railroad that ran parallel to the main highway. We went down the road a bit and then…Frances turned.

Yup, he turned on a small road and then immediately took a right. We had arrived at the railroad tie store, only it wasn’t a store…it was the factory. I found myself in railroad tie heaven. You see, the railroad company had recently replaced their ties and the old ones were strewn all down the rails. As far as you could see there were railroad ties. I was just amazed. I should have been afraid.

Frances said, “Preacher, how many ties do you think you will need?” Well, I told him I thought ten or twelve would be enough.” So, we started going along the tracks and selecting the best ones for the flower bed. Just like a carpenter would choose the best 2×4’s at the lumber yard, we picked the best ties. This was just awesome. And then it happened. I heard the sound of a distant train whistle.

Now I didn’t think a thing about it. I was always a bit gullible and way too trusting so I had just assumed that Frances had called the local railroad office, told them the church needed a few of their old ties and got permission to get some. I was wrong. I heard the train whistle the second time and it was decidedly closer. I noticed that Frances had picked up the pace…he was moving a little faster. I still didn’t think a thing about it. I just assumed he didn’t want to be that close to the tracks when the train went by. Well, that was kind of true.

The whistle blew again and this time it must have been about a mile down the tracks and Frances said it, “Preacher, we got to go.” I did sense a bit of urgency in his voice but I kind of thought it was a safety thing. It turned out it was a bit more than that. As we got back in his truck I said, “Frances, what’s the hurry?” I was thinking we could just move the truck further away from the tracks and we could even wave at the crew as they went by. “Preacher, you don’t think they are giving us these ties, do you?” Wait. What?

Yup…I just discovered that we were stealing ties from the railroad. It wasn’t a matter of safety it was a matter of not going to jail. So, Frances cranked the engine and mashed the gas and off we went just before the train came by. In the back of the truck were a bunch of railroad ties and in the front were two guys. One was a preacher, one was a deacon, and both were guilty as sin. One knew all about it and the other was just learning but both were tie stealing criminals. Frances was smiling and I was wondering if I was going to jail. But somehow it all seemed like a great adventure.

Well, we got back to the parsonage, and we built the flower bed. Frances helped with that too. Years later when I would return to the church to preach, or perform a funeral, or maybe just drive through town, I would look and see the ties. I didn’t remember the sin (After all, I’m sure I confessed it. God had forgotten it and I figure I should too.) No, I remembered a crusty old deacon, but more than that, a friend who wanted to help. His way wasn’t ethical but all these years later, his willingness, his own brand of love is still lodged in my heart. The Book says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

You know there are fancy friends, and rich friends and maybe even friends in positions of power. And then there are the Frances kind of friends and that isn’t bad. Of course, if you’re gonna steal railroad ties, you need the Jesus kind of friend. His specialty is forgiving when you mess up and He’s the best friend of all. He’s the kind of friend that wouldn’t have frowned or pretend He didn’t know you when He saw you in Walmart. No, He’s the “stay by your side” friend. Through thick or thin, jail or not, He would say, “Don’t worry…just rest in Me. I’ve got this.” Now that’s my kind of friend. Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, Grace, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Smarty Pants

Posted on June 20, 2023June 19, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. John 6:67-68

“I’m sorry. I’m having trouble understanding you right now.” Now if you are married that is something you just might hear occasionally. My wife Judy and I have been married for 47 years and it has been a great adventure. They say after you have been with someone for so long you start completing each other’s sentences and can almost read their mind. I think that is true. But every once in a while…well…I miss it, or she misses it, and we look at each other like a “calf at a new gate.” That means like a young calf who has never gone through a particular gate and says, “I’m not sure I like this or understand this.” Calf.At.A.New.Gate.

Well, the other woman who lives in our house is named Alexa. Actually, we have several of them and we can tell her what to do and she does it. We have several items in our home that are wirelessly controlled. For example, our thermostat can be controlled from anywhere we can get an internet signal. I can tell Alexa, “Alexa set upstairs thermostat to 80” and she does it. Boom. I also have some of the lights in our home that have a “thingy” that will allow me to control them with Alexa. I just say, “Alexa, turn on the lights” and all the lights in the room come on. That is especially good at night when you are getting into bed, and you don’t want to catch your toes on the corner of something because you can’t see.

A while back we “cut the cord” and started streaming our TV through the internet. It is definitely cheaper and cleaner…if you follow my drift. All this is just great until…wait for it…the internet goes down. That happened recently. I woke up and groggily walked into my home office and asked Alexa to turn on the lights. She said, “I’m sorry. I’m having trouble understanding you right now.” That is code for there is no internet. That also means that I can’t watch the weather or anything else. Oh, and I also can’t control the thermostat…I must actually walk over and turn it up or down. Then you add to that list that you can’t check or send email, can’t check the news, can’t, can’t can’t—it almost sounds like 2020 all over again. No. No. And No.

The deal with all this cool smart stuff is if the internet connection goes down…things come to a screeching halt, and you quickly find yourself wondering if smart is so smart after all. I know this is true for me and almost eight billion of my closest friends. We often think we have it all figured out and that we don’t need God directing our lives or telling us this or that. What we often discover is that without Him…well, we can make a mess pretty quickly.

What we write off as life being crazy and messy is what life becomes without faith and believing. I’m not sure I can imagine what life would be like if we decide we don’t need God anymore, but I am sure I don’t want to find out. Oh, we can get by without religion…no problem there…but God…I don’t think so.

Well, it turned out the internet was down all that day and the next. Rumor was someone hit a pole somewhere and knocked out one of the main lines. I learned that day that all that smart stuff wasn’t worth anything without the thing that made it smart. And in the process of learning that, I was reminded that when we think we are really smart and that we have it all figured out…well, we are not much without the One who made us. Take Him out of the equation and things can grind to a halt pretty quickly. As I waited to for the internet to come back online, I think I heard a whisper from the Whisperer. He seemed to be saying, “Don’t worry. I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, Father's Day, friends, Grace, gratitude, heaven, Integrity, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Daddy

Posted on June 19, 2023June 18, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12

He didn’t wear a cape or an iron suit, but he was a hero to me. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I was born. It all happened on January 6, 1954, in Orange Park, Florida. I was number eight in a family of eight. This can’t be confirmed but I think it went something like this. My Daddy was somewhat of a perfectionist and he and my Momma had tried seven times to have the perfect child. He went to her and said, “Well, honey, I know we have tried seven times to pull off this perfect child thing and I say we give it one more shot. I really think eight is going to be our lucky number.” So, ta-da here I am…living proof that persistence pays off.

My Daddy was 42 years old when I was born. He had plenty of experience at the father thing and you know, I think he did a great job. I don’t recall a lot of special events in my early and later childhood but that isn’t because they didn’t happen. I can remember family camping trips to the beach as well as all night fishing trips to the same. I can remember family vacations to see relatives in all the hot vacation spots like New Jersey and Texas. I can remember trips to Silver Springs, Six Gun Territory and Doctor’s Inlet which was a great place to go for a lake swim. But there are also several memories with just dad and me.

When I was about six, Daddy took me fishing on Cedar Creek. It was just me and him. At this age, I wasn’t very good at fishing or paying attention. Truth be known I had a hard time staying focused on anything for very long. Anyway, the fish were biting that day, but I had a hard time watching the bobber. Over and again, Daddy would ask, “Dewayne, where’s your bobber?” I would look and it was gone. We lost a lot of good worms that day.

Later, when I was about ten, Daddy took me hunting. The big deal was that he allowed me to take my BB gun. I wasn’t allowed to carry a real gun; you will see why in a moment. So, we were walking through the woods, and I was about four feet behind dad. Silent as an F5 tornado, I crept through the woods. I was too noisy, but dad was way patient. And then, well, I shot him in the back. Now wait, don’t panic. It was only a BB gun, and he did have his heavy hunting jacket on. I had my finger on the trigger (oops) and every so slowly and without even realizing it, increased the pressure. Just like that it went off and got dad square in the back. Bummer.

Do you know what? He didn’t holler and in fact he didn’t say a single word. He just looked over his shoulder and gave me that “I’m glad that wasn’t a 12 gauge” look. I appreciated that and have never forgotten the fact that he could have made me feel “less than” but didn’t. I’m sure we had a talk about gun safety, and it must have worked out because I never shot him again.

My two favorite memories of him don’t involve a fishing pole or a gun. They involve God. Honestly, Daddy didn’t go to church a bunch, but I know he was a Christian because of the way he lived. Two events, two memories are burned into my mind and heart. The first is a time when we were having prayer time together as a family. Some people call it family altar…at the time I probably called it too long. I remember it was time to pray so we all got down on our knees around the room. I got a little bored, so I peeked and there across the room was my Daddy, on his knees, talking to God. It made a big impression on my young heart.

Later, when I was about 17, I caught Daddy praying again. I came home from a date late one night and there sitting at the kitchen table was my Daddy—praying. With his hands clasped together he was talking to God. I don’t know what prompted the late-night prayer meeting, but I know it again made a big impression on me as a young man. And that is the point. My Daddy made an impression on me that impacted so many areas of my life. Integrity, work ethic, caring and providing for your family and being a man were all part of the core curriculum.

I didn’t get to keep my Daddy too much longer. When I was in high school, he had a massive heart attack. He lived a couple of more years but when he was just 62 and I was 20, God decided to take him home. Suddenly, on a Sunday morning he went to heaven. It was hard and is hard to this day. He never got to meet my wife, children, or any of his eight great grandchildren. He never got to see much of my career in the Air Force or hear me preach a sermon. I hope in heaven they keep tabs on us down here and I hope I’ve made my hero proud.

Well, now that we are all sad and weepy let me throw this in. Whether you are young or older, take the time this Father’s Day, and every day, to tell your dad (and mom) how much you appreciate them. One of God’s big commands is that we honor our parents and when we do—we honor Him. There’s no better way to do that than to tell them and show them that you love them.

I know things don’t always work out with dads and if that is the case with you, I am so sorry. My Daddy wasn’t perfect…none are but his love outweighed his warts. If you are a Jesus follower, I hope you can extend some grace…just like God did to you. And always remember, you have a Heavenly Father who is perfect, who always gets it right. He’s always waiting for you to crawl up in His lap and take a rest. And the icing on the cake is He is stronger than a superhero…and because of that, He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

No Trespassing

Posted on June 16, 2023June 8, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.” John 13:35

It was kinda confusing. A while back I was walking in our neighborhood. It was early in the morning and the birds were singing, the sun was shining and as Mister Rogers would say, “It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.” As I was walking, I would look at the different houses and their yards. I noticed that several, well actually more than several of the homes, had no trespassing signs in their yard or stuck on the house. One home had six or seven signs and about a half dozen security cameras. I think they must have had something very important inside.

I’m not sure what the deal is but there probably is a valid reason. But being from the friendly side of the South, we generally didn’t stick “no trespassing” signs up. More than likely, we would stick up a “hey, y’all come on in” sign. Of course, that was several decades ago and maybe now they have some not so friendly signs up too. At any rate this is America, and you can pretty much put up what you want as long as it isn’t too mean. But then there was this one house that confused me.

As you probably can guess they had a no trespassing sign. But right next to the no trespassing sign they had a big welcome sign. It caused me to wonder which one was right. I didn’t know if I was welcome to come up on the porch and sit or was I going to get shot if I did. I wasn’t sure so I kept right on walking, and I was really sure I didn’t want to find out. To be sure there are lots of times when we seem to send a conflicting message.

Sometimes I see this in churches. There will be a sign on the message board that says “everyone welcome”. There might even be a parking spot in the parking lot that says, “reserved for guests.” Sometimes they have people standing at the door to shake your hand when you come in. But then I wonder, “do they really mean that or are they trying to act nice?” I mean everyone expects churches to be friendly because Jesus was. He liked everybody. I heard a preacher say once that it was pretty amazing that the people who were the least like Jesus felt the most comfortable around Him. It seemed they liked Him, and He liked them.

On the other hand, Jesus was always bumping heads with the religious elite. Theoretically they should have been the most like Him, but they didn’t like Him and I’m not sure He was too fond of them. Of course, Jesus was always trying to find the best in others but some of those guys in the New Testament were mean. I don’t think there was a welcome sign on their house for either Jesus or the ones He hung out with.

However, there was one group they really didn’t like and that was the tax collectors. They worked for the Roman government, and they were seen as thieves and traitors.

Do you know what Jesus did? Jesus invited one of them to be a part of His inner circle. Can you even imagine that? “Hey Matthew,” Jesus said, “why don’t you come and be a part of our group?” I bet the religious guys about fainted and so did the rest of Jesus’ followers. I can just hear them now, “Well, there goes the neighborhood.” They might have been right, but Jesus was always more concerned for the neighbor than the neighborhood. He really loved people.

When Jesus was explaining to those who followed Him how people would know that they were friends with Jesus, do you know what He said? It wasn’t because they went to church on Sunday. It wasn’t because they knew all the answers. And it wasn’t even because they wore the right kind of clothes when they were hanging around Jesus. Nope. Jesus said that people would know that we were friends with Jesus because of the way they loved—and in particular loved each other. This is never a popular topic when I speak in church. The reason is it is a lot easier to dress right, talk right, and go to church, than to love someone—particularly someone who is not very lovable. But that is what He said do.

There is a secret to loving others. All we need to do is remember that when we were not lovable at all, Jesus chose to love us. And if we will let that roll around in our heads and hearts a while, I think we will find that loving others is just a little bit easier. The next time you are all worked up about something, maybe trying to love someone, just get up next to Jesus and sit awhile. You won’t find a no trespassing sign there…just one that says “welcome.” And you can just sit back and let Him handle whatever you’re stressed about…because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Call the Plumber

Posted on June 15, 2023June 8, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

I knew it, I just knew it. A while back, my wife told me that she had dropped her special eye liner down the drain in our bathroom. It was the kind that was encased in a holder like a pencil and one day the eye thingy just slid right out. Now, I’m not sure what an eye liner even does but I know it was important to her. And, since it was important to her, it was important to me.

With my limited, and I do mean limited, knowledge of plumbing and drains, I did know that there is a thing called a trap on a drain. It is designed to catch things and keep them from going wherever the water goes…the place of no return. I also knew checking the trap was not a big deal. You unscrew a couple of things and when you are done you screw it back on. No deal, right? Uh, well, usually.

Well, I took it off and dumped it out. There was some really ugly stuff in there but none of it had to do with eyes. So, after cleaning it out I screwed it back on and checked to make sure everything was nice and dry. It wasn’t. One of the joints was leaking. I took it apart 3,291 times and 3,291 times it leaked. I finally called it quits and asked my real plumber son-in-law to swing by and check it out. The diagnosis was simple.

The problem was a cheaply made part from China that was apparently, barely staying together before the eye-liner thing. The answer was to buy a new part, screw it on and bam—you are back in business. So, I go to store number one and buy the part the guy says I need. I bring it home, take it apart, wrong part. Bummer. So, I went to another store and bought another part that the guy said I needed. I brought it home, I took it apart and indeed, it was the WRONG part.

If nothing else, I am persistent. I went to a third store where the nice guy behind the counter sold me a whole bag of parts at a very good price. “Yay!” I said. I went home, opened my big bag of parts, and discovered indeed that it would fix a problem, for someone, somewhere—but not my problem. They didn’t fit either. I gave up and went on vacation.

Sometimes a trip to Florida with family will give renewed clarity and determination. When I got home, I decided if I just tried harder, if I just adjusted and twisted enough, I could make one of all those parts work. Well, I got on the floor, dumped all the parts on the floor and took it all part again and…failed. Miserably. In fact, instead of one leak I now had two. By now I was certain of two things. I was not a plumber, and I was very glad God called me to be a preacher.

Well, I decided to give it one more try. This time I took the old broken parts with me to the store. Store one and two were closed but store three was open. I walked in and the nice guy said, “Can I help you?” I told him I honestly wasn’t sure. I gave him the short story of how I now owned a small plumbing supply business, and I needed this part—and I showed him the dirty, slimy old part. He reached down and pulled a bag full of parts off the shelf and together we looked. There, inside the bag, was the part I needed. He saw it, I saw it. Things were looking up.

I bought the bag of parts and took them home. I managed to rig the other leak with some electrical tape—hey it worked—and then I put on the new part, the right part. It took exactly one minute to screw on the right part and ta-da—it didn’t leak. Success. Victory. I was one happy shade-tree plumber. Of course, I now own two bags full of parts that I don’t need—yet—and probably spent enough to pay a plumber to fix it but it was done, and I was the hero! I’m going down today to apply for my plumber’s card.

I bet you are wondering what today’s big truth is all about? We could talk about frustration. We could talk about determination. We could talk about some other word that ends with “ion.” But the big truth is this. I kept trying to put the wrong part in the right place and no matter how hard I tried—it just wasn’t going to fit. It was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole—it wasn’t gonna happen.

Of course, we do this all the time in life with God. How many times do we have an issue, or a problem and we are sure we can cram something into that place that doesn’t fit and be happy? How many new cars, houses and televisions have been bought trying to scratch an itch that only God can scratch? Sometimes we just know if we “get religion” or start going to church, or start this or stop that, everything will be ok. Our life, our marriages, our fears will all be better or disappear. Those may be good things, but they are not THE thing.

The thing is a personal relationship with Jesus. You may have heard how He came to bring light into a dark world—including your dark world. You may have even heard how He came to set things right between you and God—in fact, make it possible for you to call God Father. It’s all true and it’s all right there in the Book. Paul, one of the guys who wrote a chunk of the New Testament, said “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” That just means we are saved by believing and not doing. It’s really quite amazing.

So, if you have a plumbing problem…save yourself some time and frustration and call your son-in-law the plumber. If he isn’t one, hire one. But if your life is a leaky mess, call on Jesus. No matter the problem, no matter how big the problem—He is the fixer. He can take care of it and you. Why? Because He loves you—a lot. You can rest in Him when life wears you down. You can turn to Him when life gets crazy because…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Trials

Losing Your Grip

Posted on June 13, 2023June 8, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:4-5

It was definitely an “I need coffee” wakeup. You know sometimes you bound out of bed like an overactive gazelle and sometimes you just sorta fall out of bed. Well, today was somewhere in between. I am an early riser but today was earlier than normal…4:00 am. It wasn’t an overactive brain but an overactive bladder. “Wakeup sleepy head. Time to rise and shine.” Yeah. Right. Sure.

I went into my man-cave to tell the Keurig coffee machine I needed help…fast. As I was getting things ready, I looked at the floor and there was a small round thing. I recognized it as one of the mementos I had on a wall displaying memories from my stint in the Air Force. It was then I looked up. There was a gaping hole in the display. A large picture frame that had been the center piece for the display was missing.

So, I stumbled around, keep in mind this is still before coffee, and started finding things. First, there was the picture frame…not on the wall where it belonged but on the floor. Also lying on the floor and on my desk where several things that I had placed on top of the frame. It was like an avalanche of memories had fallen off the wall. What in the world?

Well, here’s the deal. I am (or used to be) a fan of Command Strips. It’s a product that allows you to hang things. You simply put a sticky thing on something and then put another sticky thing on the wall, press them together and ta-da you are done. Well, apparently make that almost done. Or, maybe done for a while. Or, maybe done till it decides it is done. Regardless…the picture isn’t on the wall. Of course, there is that thing about cleaning the wall with alcohol before you stick it there. Did I do that? Hmmm. Probably not…the wall didn’t look dirty to me.

Anyway, there are a couple of things that made me think about this whole falling off the wall thing. First, I walked into the man-cave and noticed a little round medallion on the floor but didn’t see the gaping hole on the wall. Isn’t it amazing how we sometimes notice the small things and miss the giant ones? That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said we walk around with a 2×4 in our eye while telling someone they need to take care of a speck of dust in their eye. How weird is that? Or maybe not.

And then there is this whole falling off the wall thing. You see that picture had been hanging on the wall for well over a year. The two sticky things were stuck together like white on rice. Then slowly over time they started to lose their grip. Little by little the one stuck to the wall became loose and then one day…it just fell. And when it did…it took several things with it. I don’t think it woke up and said, “Well, today is the day I’m going to fall off the wall.” Nope…little by little gravity pulled and tugged until it won.

I’ve had some pretty good failures in my life. And do you know what? Very few of them were planned. Most of them were just products of neglect. Stopped getting on the scale. Stopped exercising for a few days…weeks. Stopped having my time with God in the morning. Stopped telling my wife she hung the moon. And then one day…you just fall off the wall. You stop loving, stop believing, stop doing the next right thing. You suddenly find yourself in a hot mess. And rarely does it affect just you.

So, what do you do? Well, I find that the Bible is a really good resource for avoiding the landslides of life. Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He says we should watch out. Look for signs that you are losing your grip. Beware of pattern changes, attitude changes. Second, pray. Yup, prayer is a big one…but maybe not like you think. Worry less about being on your knees and using big words and just tell God what is on your mind. Then, get ready, trust Him with the answer…the solution. Last…be ready to acknowledge your own weakness. It’s ok to acknowledge when our “want to” doesn’t measure up to our “gonna do” or our done. That’s why we need God. Big time.

I’m gonna put the picture back on the wall. This time it won’t be with a sticky thing. I’m gonna use a nice big screw. That way, it can’t lose its grip…the screw will do the work. And I think I’m gonna try that with me and God. I’m gonna stop trying to hold on to Him and let Him hold on to me. I bet that is a better idea. I bet I can rest in Him then. After all, He’s got me…and He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne