Category: Family

Posted in Family, food, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, thankful, wisdom

Counting Blessings!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

I looked in the rearview mirror of time and waved goodbye.  Yup…another month had come and gone. I am simply amazed how quickly the days of the calendar have flown by this year.  I know the old adage that the older you get the faster time goes by but this is getting ridiculous. I was joking a couple of several months ago on a radio program that I do on the first of every month and wished the audience a, “Merry Christmas” and just like that well it is almost time.  In fact, if you go to a store…the decorations are out.

So, before I knew it, October was in the rearview mirror.  Some of you who regularly read Grits know that I am a pastor and you might even know that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. I’m not sure who came up with the idea, it was probably Hallmark trying to sell a few more cards, but anyway, “thanks.”  This year for whatever reason was a pretty low key event.  Like everything else I am sure it had something to do with COVID.  I am blessed to serve at a great church so I’m sure it wasn’t on them…in fact, I think it was on me.

The way that I am wired if something doesn’t meet my expectation then I tend to whine (just a little) and shift from grateful to ungrateful. I think this is a carryover from my days as a kid.  If the birthday wasn’t exactly perfect,  if I didn’t get the Christmas present I had begged Santa for, well, you get the idea.  And with ingratitude comes selfishness. Bummer. Now that I am older, much older, I just happen to know the answer to this wart on my soul.  The answer is, get ready, wait for it, counting your blessings.  Boom!

So the other day when I was thinking about what I saw as a lackluster October, well, I just started counting my blessings.  Want the short list?  Though you would never ask.  Here you go: a homemade raisin pie, a fabulous pumpkin gooey butter cake, a bag full of all kinds of goodies, two dozen donuts from Krispy Kreme (those were delivered to the office to share), a dozen big chocolate chip cookies (also at the office), several cards and a couple of gift cards, pizza…also at the office.  Oh and there is meat in my freezer and one of our Sunday school dumped a great card with a generous gift inside. Also, and I’m not sure if this was a pastor thing or just a friend thing, one of my buds at church, who knew I loved historical items, especially from World War II, gave me four slugs that he had dug from a Japanese bunker on Iwo Jima. Holy Moley. And, of course, who could forget a couple of dozen hugs.  Sounds like the twelve days of Christmas, doesn’t it?

So do you see the power of gratitude and the power of counting blessings?  It is a game changing, in your face ingratitude, overcoming, “shoot that thang” weapon that can change your day or maybe your life.  I know I (and probably you too) sometimes feel like God doesn’t deliver like we think He should.  You know, we prayed and He not only didn’t deliver what we wanted…He was late in doing it.  I know.  But if there is a place this gratitude thing works…it is with God.

You see, those Christmases when I didn’t get exactly what I wanted, well, often I got something even better.  Oh, and those birthdays, yup, the same.  Well, with God He often has something better than we could ever dream about…something so good that we look back and go, “wow.”  Paul, the guy who wrote a large part of the New Testament in the Bible, said, “However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” And I think Paul was perfectly right.

So today, as you start the day, or end the day, take the time to do a little blessing counting.  Be sure you have your shoes off because you are going to need all your fingers and toes and a few more.  Remember, God loves you and He is not one to withhold…He is one to be generous.  You can count one Him…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Grace, gratitude, Integrity, life, loving others, priorities, Scripture, thankful

The Estate Sale

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

If anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw, each one’s work will become obvious.” 1 Corinthians 3:12-13

It appeared in my next-door neighbor’s yard.  It wasn’t unexpected…in fact it was quite the opposite. My wife Judy and I have lived here at 217 for just over 21 years.  In our immediate area we are the “old-timers” in the neighborhood.  When we moved in we were surrounded with older—significantly older—neighbors.  We enjoyed each one but slowly over time, time took its toll and they passed away.  Well, the neighborhood has changed some over the years and more change is coming.

The neighbor who owned the house next door to us is now gone too and they are doing what families often have to do and that is cleaning out the house and preparing it to be sold.  They lived in this house forever—decades and decades. And as is always the case, they accumulated a lot of stuff.  Having visited in their home several times, they had gathered many beautiful treasures along their journey.  Beautiful antiques of all sorts were scattered throughout the home. Some will be saved by family members, and some will be sold at an upcoming estate sale.

If you have ever lived in a house for a long time, you know how easy it is to accumulate stuff.  I know Judy and I often look around our home and marvel at the stuff we have—and need to clear out.  If we don’t, well, someday someone will.  Well, a truck came the other day and dropped off a monster dumpster at our neighbor’s house.  A day later came a crew of several men and women with one mission: to clear the clutter.  Their job was to begin going through the house and discarding the stuff that no one in their right mind would want.  It was a daunting task to say the least.  In a matter of hours that monstrous dumpster was filled and overflowing and there is more, much more, to go.

When it comes time for the sale, I want to go over and see if there is a small treasure that I can purchase to remember our neighbors by.  They were good folks.  I remember one time when I had just moved in, I was mowing my grass and my new neighbor, and I were chatting and I mentioned that it was the second time in a week I had to mow the grass.  He said, in all seriousness but not a drop of meanness, “Dewayne, you don’t have grass—you have weeds.”  I still smile today when I think of that exchange.

So, let me ask you a question.  What treasures and what clutter do we have in our lives.  Now, I’m not talking about our homes…I am talking about our everyday, journey through life, lives.  I know in my life there are things that I treasure—my faith, my family with all its crazy ups and downs, my character and reputation, my precious memories—well, you get the point.  Just like you, I have so many things that fill my life with joy and purpose.  They may not bring much at an estate sale, but they were extremely valuable to me.

But honestly, there is a lot of clutter too.  Often, they are part of the bumps and bruises that naturally occur in life.  There’s a broken heart here, a scarred memory there and too many unkind words—both spoken by me and received by me.  There are missed opportunities and unwise decisions and well, once again, you get the idea.  These all are things that need to go in a dumpster—not later in preparation for our “estate sale” but now.  You see, the more emotional and hurtful clutter we clear discard now the more room there will be for the treasures that matter.

One day Paul, the guy that wrote a chunk of the New Testament was talking about treasures and clutter.  He wrote that each life would consist of treasures—gold, silver and precious stones and clutter—wood, hay and stubble. Then he said that only the treasures will last.  I’m gonna go one step further and say that only the treasures should last.  The rest, the clutter, need to go into the dumpster—today.  In the movie, Frozen, the song encouraged us to, “let it go.” Well, I think today would be a good day, to let the clutter go and begin now to make more room for the things that matter the treasures.

Our lives go by so quickly, let’s not waste a minute.  Let’s be wise enough to make the most of every day so that when the estate sale of our life is held, we will need only a very small dumpster to hold the regrets.  Need a little help sorting through it all?  Well, I am sure that God would love to help you with that…after all, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

I Heard You

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” Proverbs 1:7

Rule number one—it is never a good time to curse God. A while back as I sat out by a fire crackling in our outdoor fireplace, my neighbors were teaching their young son how to ride a bike. He is quite the young man and he did well. Judy went over to help encourage him. There were cheers and yells as he took off and rode maybe fifty yards or more before he gently crashed in the grass. It all took me back almost sixty years.

I was about seven or eight years old. I’m thinking that I had already mastered the bike riding thing, though I can’t be certain. For one reason or another, I decided I wanted to ride my brother’s 26 inch Schwinn bicycle. Now, if in-fact I had already learned to ride a bike and this was just a greater challenge—then that’s pretty cool. If I hadn’t mastered riding any bike—well, then this was a recipe for disaster. The bike was way too big for me, but I was stubbornly determined.

We had a road that ran in front of our house and that was where I was going to attempt this daring feat. Unlike my little neighbor next door, mom and dad weren’t there nor were any of my brothers and sisters. It was just me—and God. So, the best I could, I straddled the mammoth bicycle and promptly fell over. I got just a little mad. I tried it once again and this time the bike rolled forward a few feet and once again—it fell over—on me. I got just a little madder. By now I am muttering to myself—probably condemning myself for failing.

The third or fourth try, by now I had lost count, resulted in another in a series of crashes and the frustration, the anger and probably more than just a little shame boiled out. I shook my fist at God and yelled something like, “God, why won’t you help me.” What followed next is blurred in my memory, but I am pretty sure it came out something like, “God, I hate you.” It was spoken—it was shouted—hurled at the God of the universe. As far as I know it was the only time I ever cursed God. Somehow, in my mind, all of this was God’s fault. It didn’t matter that the bike was way too big for me, or that I lacked the experience to ride such a large bike. All that mattered was in my mind God intentionally let me down—literally—at least four times.

It was about then that I heard a voice. It wasn’t God, but that probably would have been appropriate since I had just offended Him in a big way. It was a female voice. At first I thought it might have been Mrs. Job. If you remember the story she told her husband, “Why don’t you just curse God and die.” But it wasn’t Mrs. Job. No, it was Mrs. Taylor—Mrs. Alston Taylor to be exact and I was about to die. From behind the hedge that encircled our front yard came, “Dewayne Taylor, I heard that. Don’t you ever talk to God like that again.” When Momma called you by your first and last name at the same time—you knew you were in trouble. When she was talking about disrespecting God—you knew you were in double trouble—with her, with Daddy and with God. I was in deep weeds.

Well, once again the end of the story fades from memory. I am sure it didn’t involve me winning the war with the bike. I am pretty sure that there was more than a verbal rebuke from Momma. I am certain that I learned a big lesson about God that day. That lesson is that God demands and deserves our respect—whether we are seven or seventy. The Bible teaches us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” The fear that the Bible talks about is not the kind of fear when you think God is about to zap you. No, it is talking about respect. God is worthy of our respect—He is deserving of our respect. Period.

The verse goes on to say that a foolish person despises wisdom and discipline. Another verse I’ve grown fond of is Psalm 14:1. It says, “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” I mean, I think it is pretty foolish to write God off, but there is something more here. The words, “there is” were added by the English translators to make the verse flow a little smoother. The verse in the Hebrew literally says, “The fool says in his heart, No, God.” Whoa. It is a bad idea to tell Momma no, but it is really, bad idea to tell God no. We need to write that one down.

When I told Judy what I was going to write about today, she asked, “So what did God have to do with you and the bike?” That’s a great question. But you know and I know we blame God for just about everything we don’t like—including when we fall off a bike, even one we had no business trying to ride. So, let’s learn a big lesson from seven year old Dewayne.

One, don’t try something that is clearly a recipe for disaster. I mean trying new and adventurous things is awesome—but keep them in reason. And, never, and I mean never—curse God—especially when your Momma is anywhere around. Just kidding. That is never a good idea. After the bike deal, I’m sure I was wore out and worn down. I hope I had the good sense to take a rest—in Him. And I hope I had the good sense to simply believe, that He’s got this—but always in His way and in His time. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, gratitude, Halloween, life, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Days Gone By…or Not?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“[He] does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44b

In those days it was one of my favorite holidays.  Things change…we all get that but back in the day, Halloween was fun, it was candy profitable and we loved it.  There were church parties where we all dressed up in costumes.  And those costumes weren’t bought in a store…they were made from wherever was handy.  We would have hotdogs and chips and there was always a contest for the best costume.  Come trick or treat night we would again don our costumes. Mine was invariably a hobo—I just went to dad’s closet and boom—I was ready to go.

One of my favorite things was going to Momma’s cedar chest.  It was a magic place where so many cool things were stored.  It was filled with once-a-year delights and special treasures.  One time my daddy had to make a trip of Ecuador for work.  He was a mechanic at the Navy base and one of their planes broke down down in South America. He was selected to make the trip and trust me—it was the trip of a lifetime for him.  He bought everyone souvenirs and mine was a poncho and a short bullwhip.  They were stored in the cedar chest for safe keeping.

But there was something else in the cedar chest—our trick or treat bags.  Momma had made one for each of us out of cloth scraps and in my mind’s eye I can still see them.  At the right time, Momma would open the cedar chest and get them out for the special night. Now these are different days but back then as soon as it began to get dusky, we would hit the streets of our neighborhood.  It was a wonderful time of innocence—no danger, no dark tricks…we were safe and free, and we would run the streets until the porch lights were all out and our bags were full. 

Things are tragically different now.  The meaning has changed, the danger is real and well, it’s just not the same.  When our daughters were small enough to trick or treat it was still pretty safe, but we would never think of letting them go out by themselves and now, today, certainly not the grandkids. I wish they could have known the Halloween I knew but alas they are gone.  Things do in fact change.

Sadly, there is something else that hasn’t changed.  The trick part of trick or treat.  Back when I was, oh, ten or so, we might, maybe take a bar of soap and soap a window or two but even that was rare and brought a twinge of guilt. But those memories are not what I am thinking about.  I am talking about the ultimate, most evil trickster—the devil himself.  If you know anything about him you know he is a great deceiver and he loves to lead, or drag, people down a dark path of regret and consequences.  It’s who he is and it something he was done since the beginning of time.  Just ask Eve and Adam. He promises the best treat—which is a lie—and never tells the rest of the story—the trick. Like he told Eve, “Go ahead and have a bite—you won’t die.”  Well, we know how that turned out.

Well, I know this story is a day late and a dollar short, but the big truth is for every day.  Never, ever, trust what Satan offers.  Jesus said he is a liar and the father of it and trust me—Jesus always tells the truth. What Jesus offers—love, forgiveness, grace and peace—are all real and all can be ours for the asking.  He is the treat of a lifetime—with no small print and no tricks.  You can believe it—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials, Uncategorized

Where’s Brett?

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 and, in a galaxy, far, far away or at least it seemed that way.  It was so long ago that the semi-local mall was still a mall with stores that were open.  Anyway, we were at Target to get a dining set for my daughter Jen and my almost son-in-law Matt as a shower gift.  When we found it, the box clearly said it was a “team lift” item.  Now what that means is that unless you are just dying to have a hernia, you need to have a person help you load the box. I wasn’t…so I did.

I followed the rules and called in the cavalry.  A young man with bigger muscles than me loaded the box while I watched—now that’s what I call teamwork.  So, with the box in the cart, off we went to the checkout area.  When we got there, I wisely asked for some help loading the box into my car.  The young man checking us out called for help and his supervisor came and took over the register while he loaded the box.  I think it must have been his lucky day.

In the process, Sarah, a co-worker, helped and teased how she was used to “helping” Brett out.  That seemed odd to me. “Why?” you ask?  Well, the reason is simple—his name tag said David.  So, I had to ask the obvious question. Speaking to the young man with muscles bigger than mine, I said, “So, why did Sarah call you Brett if your name is David?”  “Well,” he said, “my name is Brett, but I left my name tag at home so I’m wearing this one.”  Obviously, Target has a policy:  you must wear a name tag at work—even if it isn’t yours. That made me smile then and even now.

I thought it ironic that any name tag would do…as long as you wore one.  It seems that Target and the world have one more thing in common.  You see, Target said that any name tag will do, and the world says, “It doesn’t matter what you believe—as long as you believe.”  You know, it’s the old “all roads lead to Rome” theology. That saying comes from a time when there were very few roads, and at least in that part of the world, since Rome built them…they did indeed lead to Rome.  That worked then but it won’t work for heaven.

You see, unlike Rome, God is the only One who made the road that leads to heaven.  And that road leads right through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life and no one can come to my Father except by Me.”  God, the Heaven road builder, laid the rules and the way.  Now you might not think that is fair except for this.  He invites everyone and anyone to travel the road.  No restrictions, no exceptions, no toll.

Remember this.  I suppose you can wear a name tag with the wrong name on it if you want—after all, the only consequence will probably be some confused people.  After all Brett wasn’t really David. But, when it comes to what you believe, the consequences are much, much greater.  You see, it really does matter what you believe—believe the wrong thing and you can end up eternally separated from God and that is a bad deal all the way around.  God loves each of us and longs for us to be able to call Him Dearest Father. 

In a confused, upside-down world, in a world where yes is no, and no is yes or right is wrong and wrong is right…well it is good to have a certainty we can lean on.  Not certain about the whole God thing?  Why not get a copy of the Bible and read it for yourself?  Even today it remains a best seller…for a reason.  In its pages you will find many great promises and among them is this.  No matter what…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, Grace, gratitude, life, love, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Dinged Again

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Remember to keep your eye on the ball.  That’s a real important truth if you are playing baseball but if you are pulling into your garage…well, there’s more to it than that.

It was a long time ago but trust me I remember it very well. I was coming home from work at the office.  As I was pulling into the driveway, I noticed that my granddaughter Faith, who was only seven at the time, was playing in the garage.  Ever the careful Papa, I stopped to give her plenty of time to get clear of the car.  She was playing with her wagon and was kind enough to move the wagon out of the way too.

Now my garage isn’t very deep, so I have a tennis ball hanging from the ceiling to remind me how far I can pull forward before hitting the wall. It’s a great idea…I probably need to patent it. So, like a cruise ship captain, I carefully began to dock the ship.  I had my eyes on two things.  First, my granddaughter Faith.  She was well out of the way but again, you can’t be too careful.  The other was the tennis ball.  When the ball touched the windshield, it was time to stop.  It was a great plan.  Almost.

You see, something had changed, and I didn’t know it. Unknown to me, Faith had wrapped the cord that was holding the tennis ball around something, and it moved the ball toward the wall and away from the car just about a foot.  So…I watched Faith—check. I watched the ball—check.  The one thing I didn’t watch was the wall.  Oops.

So, and you can see this one coming, I hit the wall.  Now I was going really slow so theoretically I should have survived with little or no damage.  Well, theoretically anyway.  You see, before the wall was a hot water heat radiator.  I had figured that into the equation when I had hung the ball so no deal.  But, and it was a big but, sitting on top of the radiator was a leaf blower.  Now wait…don’t give me that look.  Don’t you don’t store your leaf blower on top of your radiator?  Well anyway, when I hit the radiator, the leaf blower fell onto the hood of my car—my nice shiny, dent-free hood and I gave birth to a nice, large ding—dead center and about a foot up from the front edge. Bummer.

Yup, bummer indeed.  There I was trying to do all the right things and ended up messing up big time.  You probably don’t know this, but I am pretty particular about my car and that ding might as well have been the size of a moon crater. I was devastated. If that ding had been anywhere but there it wouldn’t have been such a big deal but there it was—for all to see and for all to ask about. Can you imagine explaining that one?  My once perfect hood was no longer perfect—and it was obvious.  That’s one thing about dings—they are usually obvious—especially on nice shiny hoods. Sigh.

Did you know we have something in common with my dinged car hood?  Yup, we all have dings.  There’s not a perfect one in the bunch.  The Bible says “All have sinned…”  We are all dinged up.  As a matter of fact, unlike my hood which was perfect, we were born dinged. And not only that.  We constantly get more dings every day. We are like a ding factory. The question now becomes, “what are we going to do about it?”  One thing was obvious, I couldn’t fix that ding and we can’t fix our sin problem either.  So, what’s the answer?  Well, I found the Ding Doctor.

My friend Terry told me about a guy named Butch who could get dings out of doors, hoods, or whatever.  So, I went to see him and amazingly, with a lot of skill, he was able to make that ding disappear—vanish—like it was never there.  After he had worked his magic, I couldn’t thank him enough.  But I know something better than that. There is another “Ding Doctor” who can take care of our sin dings.  His name is Jesus.  No matter how big the failure, no matter how massive the sin—He is ready and willing to forgive us.  And when He gets done…well, believe it or not, you are better than new.  God says in the book of Isaiah which is in the Old Testament part of the Bible “Come, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are crimson red, they will be like wool.” How about that?

So, if you get a ding in your door or your hood you might want to check out the ding doctor.  If you have managed to ding up your life, and remember we all have, you might want to see THE Ding Doctor.  There is not a life ding He can’t fix or a sin He can’t forgive.  If your ding looks like a total loss—don’t give up.  Trust me, He can take care of it.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

Some Things Don’t Change

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For I am the Lord, I do not change” Malachi 3:6a

At the church where I get to serve, we have our team meeting (aka staff meeting) on Tuesday mornings at nine.  It is a time for us to get together and plan and chat—and invariably we do a lot of chatting.  While the topics are always varied…it seems to always come back to the “you’ve got the be kidding me” world we are living in.  That usually includes a variety of COVID topics as well as the economy.

I recently was going through some files on my computer and discovered something I had written way back in 2008.  As proof that somethings never change, it was about what we talked about at staff meeting that week—the price of gas.  I was surprised to remember that gas that particular week was…get ready…$3.47 per gallon.

Here we are 13 years later and while it is not $3.47 it is close…very close.  If it makes you feel better, I own two Volkswagen cars that use diesel and it is $3.69 per gallon.  And to think…diesel is made from the leftovers that make gas.  Hmmm. All this is more ironic because I remember (I can’t believe I’m old enough to finally say that) when gas was 32 cents per gallon, and I filled up my Volkswagen for $2.42. Oh, and when there was a “gas war” on you could pick it up for 18 cents per gallon. Ah, those were the days.  At any rate, just like the price of gas seems to change daily so are the days of our lives.

That’s one good thing about God—He simply doesn’t change.  He never had a beginning and will never have an end (despite what our liberal “friends” think) and throughout all that time, He has never changed.  Malachi 3:6 says, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.”  That’s good news for the reason stated in the verse—He won’t change His mind about me or you. Pretty awesome.

Because of the COVID mess and about a dozen other “stranger than life” things, our whole economy, well, our whole country, is in a flux. It seems like there is nothing solid to stand on…but there is…and He is creator God.  For many He may be out of vogue or out of style.  For some He might seem like wishful thinking but for others…well He is the one thing solid to stand on in these shifting sand days.

In the movie “Hidden Figures” some of the smartest people in the nation and the space program were trying to figure the right numbers to get John Glenn up and down safely.  They couldn’t seem to invent a new math that would work and finally someone said, “Maybe it isn’t new math, maybe it is old math.”  And, sure enough, they used an ancient formula and it worked.  They rediscovered that the truth about numbers don’t change.  That is one reason why maybe, just maybe it is time to go back to what worked for eons…faith in God.

The Bible…the oldest and most tested of any sacred writing, says “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”   And do you know what?  That is simply true. Someone said a real friend never changes and that is so true of Jesus Christ.   He will be there no matter what and I like that.  James Taylor, a songwriter and singer from the 70’s wrote, “winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call and I will be there.” Well, I can’t verify that for James, but I can for God.  Go ahead and give Him a try. You will find that He is all that He says He is, and you will also find that no matter what…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Time to Prune?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

What do you mean food doesn’t fix everything?  Well, I don’t know if it is because I am from the South or because I am a Baptist, but I just know food makes everything better.  There is nothing like a healthy (uh, perhaps unhealthy) dose of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, well-seasoned (hog jowl or some other appropriate grease source) green beans and a large portion of bread) to make everything better. And, of course, don’t forget dessert.

The other evening, I came home from a rather difficult meeting.  I walked in the door and my wife Judy, who can read me like a book, instantly said, “do you need to self-medicate?”  I love her…she knows.  Off to the Dairy Bar we went and in just a few minutes I was feeling better thanks to a salted-caramel concrete.  Yup, the saying used to be “take two aspirins and call me in the morning.”  Now it is, “eat two chocolate cookies with a glass of cold milk and call me in the morning.”  Oh, the joy.

So, we have this rose bush in our incredibly beautiful yard—which by the way is also due to Judy and her green thumb.  This rose bush is on an arbor by our back door which used to be a great spot.  It bloomed and as you walked through the arbor you were immersed in their sweet, lush smell.  It was good.  But over time the bush has become not as healthy and doesn’t bloom near as much.

Judy and I were sitting in the yard one morning and she made the comment that the rose bush had a single bloom.  So, I casually mentioned that maybe she should feed it.  Remember, that fixes everything.  A good shot of rose bush food and bam here come the blooms.  But she told me I was wrong.  The problem wasn’t that the rose bush was starving for food—it was starving for light.  Here’s what has happened.

Just to the east of the rose bush where the morning sun comes in, two trees have grown—a dogwood and a redbud.  Both are great trees, and they seem to be real happy.  But in the process of growing, they have shut off a lot of the morning sunshine from the rose bush and that is why it is suffering.  Judy said that the rose bush can survive the way it is but without enough sunlight it won’t and can’t bloom.  What we end up with is a rose bush that is just getting by and that will never really be what it was intended to be—a source of beauty with the sweet aroma of a new day.

So, somewhere in the future there is a good chance that the rose bush will probably have to be moved to a place where it can thrive and that means more sun.  It will be a dramatic change and it might even be difficult but unless we do something the rose will never be and do what it was meant to be and do.  Hmmmm.

I wonder if that is the problem with me—with you?  I wonder if we are growing in a place where the soil might be right but there just isn’t enough light?  I wonder if we need more Son-shine? You see, we might believe that if our lives just had more stuff, more toys, more of this or more of that, we would be happy.  But the truth of the matter—we just need more of Jesus.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” Wow.  First, He affirms He is the light we are looking for.  It might seem easier, even logical to just put a light bulb out by the rose bush, but that light would be insufficient and could never replace the light of the sun.  And trust me, the light we need in our lives can never come from religion, denomination or some other “self-medication.”  We need the true light that can only come from Him.

But He says something else.  He declares that if we walk with Him two things will happen.  We won’t have to just survive in the darkness or starve for light and in fact we will have the light that brings life.  Bam…just what we need…just what the doctor ordered.  And if that isn’t enough, since we walk with Him there will never be the need for a transplant because we walk with the Light—we move with the Light.  Because of that, no circumstances will ever be able to hurt us.

Well, it’s just a matter of time but we will have to move our friend to a sunnier place in our yard.  And I will feel sorry for the bush as we dig him up and prune him back, but it will be for his good.  After the initial pain he will bloom again and that will make it worthwhile.  So, what do you need to do in your life to once again walk with the Son?  What things need to be pruned back or what needs to be given up so you will be free to walk with Him again?  Yup it might be painful but just imagine your life as you are blooming once again.  Imagine the fragrant smell of life with Him.  Make that decision today.  Go ahead and rest in Him.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel, Trials

Root Canal Joy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

He looked at her and said, “Root canal.” My dentist is my friend.  For 21 years he has taken care of my family.  He is a good man and a man of integrity.  But with all that said, one day recently, he uttered the words that sends fear into every rational, sane person.  Root canal.  It all started on a Thursday. We were out of town and my wife Judy was munching on some pork rinds.  For those not familiar with this example of fine southern cuisine, it is fried pork skin.  Yes, I know and understand.  Well, she finished her snack and put the bag away.  Just about then it happened.

Without warning and really for no apparent reason unless you count the pork rinds, one of her teeth broke in half.  We both couldn’t believe it but apparently this tooth was one she had had filled a long, long time ago and over time the filling had deteriorated, weakening the tooth.  Now, hang on.  From the get-go this thing was a God thing…you just had to look a little closer.  We called our friend the dentist and made an appointment for when we got back in town.  But here is the amazing part.  She had absolutely no pain.  The rule book says if you break a tooth, you hurt but God blessed and for the entire weekend, she had no pain whatsoever.  Thank you, Lord.

Well, we got back into town, and she went to see our friend the dentist on Tuesday morning.  At first it looked like a standard put a cap on it thing but then he took a closer look and realized that there was a pretty good chance that the repair would abscess and if it did…well, it wouldn’t be pretty.  And that is when our friend the dentist said the words, “root canal.”  Judy had had one of those when she was about ten and it was not a good experience.  Root canals rank up there with being drawn and quartered. My friend the dentist always teases me when I go to get my teeth cleaned.  He would smile and ask, “Need a root canal today?”

Anyway, his office referred us to a place in Paducah, Kentucky and believe it or not they had an opening that very day.  Obviously, someone had chickened out.  We made the appointment and then made our way to Paducah.  She got there and of course was just a little apprehensive, but the bottom line is this…in an hour they were done.  She said, “Dewayne, it was easier than getting a filling.”  Well, she was amazed, I was amazed, and it was just about that very moment that we figured out it was just another love note from our Dearest Daddy.

I know what you are thinking.  The words love note, and root canal can’t go in the same sentence but indeed then can and did.  When you combine a good God and a good dentist like my friend…well, we almost shouldn’t be surprised. But the truth is this whole deal was incredibly different from what it could have been from start to finish.  I mean no one prays for a root canal, in fact, no one would dare want a root canal, but this is just a good example of God saying, “You are going to have to walk this path, but I want you to know I am here to walk with you.”  And He did.

The “root canals” of life can be far more difficult than this experience and honestly not all of life’s difficulties go as smoothly as this.  But here’s the deal.  This one will serve as a gentle remind for Judy and me that God is good, God is faithful, and God can be trusted.  His faithfulness is not dependent on the outcome or the circumstances.  His faithfulness is defined by His presence, and He is always there, always watching and always caring.

So, as you journey, maybe munching on a bag of pork rinds or maybe not and you hit a bump, try and make your first response to be looking, sensing His presence.  Try not to panic rather try to rest in His peace. Remember what He said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” In other words, regardless of how the story ends, His gentle whisper remains the same, “I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Integrity, life, priorities, Scripture, wisdom

Habits and Me

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7a

I am a creature of habit.  I love a good adventure but also love routines.  You know, like this morning and every morning. I wake up (that one is definitely essential), head to my man cave office, have a cup of coffee, and take a glance at the weather on a local channel. Then comes more coffee, my time with God, then time with my wife Judy, exercise (well, at least some of the time), breakfast, shower/dress and start the day.  Any change in my routine has the domino effect and the whole morning can get off course.

Habits can be really good or really bad.  If it is a good habit, it keeps us on course doing the right thing.  However, if it is a bad habit, it can lead to everything from a bad day to a bad life filled with consequences and regrets. One of the things most of can identify with is our eating habits.  If we have a lifetime of poor eating habits, it can have dire consequences as we age.  Smoking, drinking and drug abuse all are habits that can wreak havoc with our lives—and that is just the short list.

Habits can be changed. They say when you do something consecutively for 30 days it becomes a habit.  In other words, if you start to exercise and can make it 30 days; it should be ingrained in you enough that you will continue it.  If you start eating less sweets and hang with it for 30 days or so, well, they say it just might stick. I’m sure there is some truth to the 30-day thing but I also know that habits have to be maintained or else they can go to “habit” heaven.

The best way to maintain a habit is to do it.  Sometimes, though, it seems nothing works. Let me tell you about something that I have battling for years…and still don’t have a solution.  Now, hang with me! First, I spend a lot of time at the keyboard.  Between writing sermons and writing blogs…I type a lot. So, as you probably know, when a person types a scripture reference it looks something like this–John 3:16.  Well, I do all my sermons in Pages—a word processing program for Apple computers.  When I save the file, it asks me to name it. So, by habit, I always name the file with the word Sermon followed by the reference–so it might look like this:  Sermon – John 3:16.

And that, dear friends, is the problem. You see, Pages will absolutely not allow you to use a colon as part of the file name.  Every time it slaps my hand and replaces the colon with a dash.  So, the name becomes Sermon – John 3-16. As hard as I try, I just can’t accept the change. No, No, and No.  So, Pages and I are at an impasse.  I forget the colon thing and I do not like the dash thing.  It is habitual battle that I fight every time I write a sermon. Try as I may…I can’t seem to break the habit.

The cause of this madness is simple and revealing.  You see, all the other times I write a scripture reference I always use a colon.  Consequently, it is reinforced in my brain to do the wrong thing when I save a file.  Now in this case, I’m not sure what the answer is–do I keep beating my head against the wall when I save a file or learn to write the scripture reference in a new way.  Who knows?

While this one is annoying, there are other habits in our lives that are destructive or at least unproductive?  Is there a bad habit either consciously or subconsciously that you are consistently reenforcing?  Are you finding yourself unable to get up early for an exercise or quiet time because of late night television viewing?  Are destructive habits being fed by destructive reading or viewing habits?  Hmmmm.

One thing remains sure–if we sow corn–we will reap corn.  There is a small part of a verse from a very wise man that has a big truth.  It says, “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” In other words, as long as we are feeding our brains the same thoughts and arguments—we will get the same results.  If we want different results–we must do something different.  They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results–it just doesn’t work.

Well, the good news is that God wants to give us a hand.  His Word is great handbook for life and if we will read and heed—we can, with His help, change. Remember those signs on the road that warn you of a sharp curve?  They really can help us have a better day.  So, dive into His Book and watch as things change.  It may not happen overnight, and you might be tempted to throw in the towel but before you do remember two things.  One, why you started in the first place and two, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne