Category: friends

Posted in communication, fear, friends, Grace, life, loving others, Scripture

Turn Off the Mike

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless, and he deceives himself.” James 1:26

It wasn’t what it seemed.  The life of a pastor is, well, interesting.  In fact, the life of the pastor’s family is interesting.  For forty-two years you could say that we live in a glass house and that would be so true.  I remember when we lived in a parsonage (that’s a house provided by the church) and we had a wood burning stove.  It was difficult to control the heat so often we would leave the front door open to allow some cooler air in.  There was a sweet (and she really was) older lady who attended our church and she was very concerned that we had our door open.  She would call saying, “Judy, do you know that your front door is open?”  Of course we did, but she felt it was her civil and religious duty to make sure we were stewards of our electricity.

When we moved to Cobden, Illinois our girls were very young…five and four.  Back in those days during worship, the pastor had a big chair where he was to sit on the stage.  I don’t know if we did it that way to make the pastor seem important or so everyone could stare at him. It was just the way we did it.  Now here is what was interesting.  While I was sitting on the stage looking at everyone and everyone was looking at me, Judy was playing the piano.  Many pastors are blessed with musically talented wives and I certainly was one of them.  Now don’t miss this.  I am on the stage and Judy was at the piano. Who do you suppose was watching the girls?  Well, that would be no one.  And you know, girls will be girls.

Like so many siblings, the girls loved to pick at one another.  It was always nothing serious…just enough to make mom and dad nervous.  Well, that Sunday was one of those days.  They were being little girls and poking and pinching each other. They were giggling enough to cause a bit of disturbance and to catch their mother’s eye.  Judy gave them “the look”.  Now every married man knows about “the look”.  Personally, I would rather stare down a cobra than face “the look”.  The problem was, while Judy was looking…they were not.  They were busy poking and pinching.  You might wonder what I was doing.  I was sitting on the stage trying to ignore the two little girls on the first or second row.  I was pretty good at it, too.  However, there was no ignoring the lady at the piano.

When they didn’t get the message, Judy made sure I did.  I don’t know if it was “the look” or smoke signals coming from behind the piano, but I got the message loud and clear.  Handle it.  As much as I didn’t like sitting on the stage on the throne, I preferred that to handling the girls in public.  I rose from the throne and walked straight to the girls.  I took them by the hand and as casually as possible led them out the side door of the sanctuary.  Now there is one thing that every pastor has to remember whether he is going to the restroom or taking his kids out to have a come to Jesus meeting.  Turn your microphone off. I didn’t.

As the door closes behind us, Becca, our oldest, and in her sweetest five year old voice says, “Daddy, please don’t hit us.”  Now, pause, because I know in this world the idea of hitting a child conjures up all kind of bad things.  If there was any hitting it was only going to be a gentle swat on the bottom.  Period.  I knew that and the girls knew that.  Thanks to my not turning my microphone off—everyone in the sanctuary knew it too.  You can probably imagine that sweet little voice coming over the speakers.  There were no tears between the three of us but there were plenty of tears in the sanctuary.  No, they weren’t grieving for those precious little girls—they were fine.  They were tears from laughing so hard.  We walked back into the sanctuary and every person was either rolling on the floor or trying to stay in their seat.  It was a Hallmark moment.

Yup…we live in a glass house for sure.  Even worse, I still had to stand up and preach later in the service. Amazingly, somehow, we made it through.  It is things like that which make our relationship with the families we serve so special.  I deeply appreciated that through the years.   Anyone who knows the Taylor tribe knows that we are unapologetically human.  If you are looking for a perfect, plastic pastor family…well, you won’t find it with us. I’ve often said that people can handle Christians who make mistakes…they get that.  What they can’t handle is when we act like we are perfect and better than they are. Truth is we are neither.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, said if anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Well, spoken, James.  In fact, we could probably put several actions in place of controlling our tongue and come to the same conclusion.  I am always so grateful that God can handle our imperfections. He never regrets inviting us into His family but He does desire for us to be honest and real…and so does everyone else.  Go ahead, take off the mask and just be you.  You can rest assured that His unconditional love will still be there…even when you leave your microphone on.  And, if you do, don’t worry, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in friends, Integrity, life, Scripture, Trials, wisdom

Stinky Feet

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” 2 Corinthians 2:15

I smelled it as soon as I opened the door.  When God made us, He did a really good job.  In one place His Word says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  In another it says that we are made just a little lower than the angels.  And then at the beginning He says that we are made in His image. Wow…that is all pretty impressive. When God was working on our blueprint, He decided to give us five senses—five ways to interact with the world around us.  Those five senses are touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste.  All five of them are incredible and it is almost impossible to pick one over the other.  For a foodie like me, it would seem that taste would be my number one, but I’m just not sure.

If smell isn’t number one, it certainly is a close second.  Smell enhances our taste and can trigger so many different emotions. Smell can change what is going on in a whole room.  Many years ago, I went through a period when I had—oh, I hate to admit it—stinky feet.  It was bad.  To this day, I am in the habit of taking off my shoes when I am in the house.  I think it is a throwback to my Southern genes.  Anyway, when I would go to someone’s house, I would kick my shoes off and what was in the shoes suddenly spread throughout the room.  It wasn’t pretty.  I’m trying to say, it was really bad.

Within minutes, perhaps seconds, moans and groans filled the air along with the atrocious odor. There was an immediate rebellion and demands to stuff my stinky feet back into my shoes.  I had no choice.  The good news is that it turns out there was something about my walk-around, everyday shoes that caused the odor.  When I changed shoes, the offensive odor went with them.  But to this day, I (and maybe you) should be aware that certain things can cause certain reactions—and they are not always good.  But, fortunately sometimes they are.

Enter Bath and Body “Leaves” candles.  You probably know that Bath and Body is famous for several things but their three wick candles are—well, wicked.  And one of our favorite scents is “Leaves.”  It is just the essence of fall.  During this time of the year I can walk into my house after a long day and as soon as I open the door a sense of calm and “all-things-good” just washes over me.  I love it. Try as I may, I can’t describe it—it is just good.  And then it happens.

Slowly, the longer I stay in the area where the candle is, the rich aroma of fall suddenly disappears.  That smell that made me feel so relaxed seems to mysteriously disappear. But wait—don’t lose hope.  If I go back outside, if I go upstairs and come back—it comes back.  Once again, the rich aroma of fall invades my senses and I am changed.  This cycle goes on hour after hour and day after day.  In the mornings, I like another candle in my home office.  It is called Teakwood Mahogany.  It is a man candle. After a few minutes…I smell nothing.  Judy opens the door and comes into my office and is instantly overwhelmed—almost offended—by the strong smell.  Amazing.

The truth is, it can be dangerous.  It isn’t dangerous if it is the scent of a candle, but what if it is the scent of love in your marriage?  What if it is the scent of faith in your Dearest Daddy?  What if it is the scent of contentment—in all things being well? If and when that happens—it becomes dangerous.  When the aroma of life becomes like stinky feet or as bland as an unscented candle—well, it can and will lead down paths that we don’t want or need to take.  Marriages go south, faith drowns in fear, and discontentment creeps into every corner of our lives.  At best we become unhappy, but worse, we began to throw away the things most precious to us. 

I think, like leaving the room refreshes the aroma, we need to keep moving.  We must avoid becoming stagnate.  You know what happens to a stream that stops flowing don’t you?  It becomes a slimy pit.  So, we need to find ways to keep our marriages, our faith, our contentment, fresh, by stirring our lives with His grace—with His presence. We have to make sure the aroma we are giving off is pleasant and not “stinky feet.”

Paul, one of the Bible writer guys, says, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.” Well said, Paul, well said. What kind of aroma are you sharing with your family, your church, your workplace, your neighborhood?  Is it the sweet smell of love, faith and contentment, or is it the atrocious odor of self and sin?  I know one of the best things I ever did was ditch those shoes.  Bye, bye stinky feet.  What do we need to get rid of so we won’t be offensive but rather be welcoming?  Nothing smells as sweet in our lives like the aroma of Jesus.  So, sit down, pull off your shoes and rest with Him.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, marriage, priorities, Scripture

Kitchen Wisdom

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “It was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard.” 2 Chronicles 5:13

They hang silently on the wall…shouting…with no one listening.  We have lived at 217 West Poplar Street for twenty-five years. Given almost all of that was as a Baptist pastor at one church that is quite amazing since we preachers don’t usually stay in one place that long.  That might be why so many of us preachers are fond of Willie Nelson’s song, “On the Road Again.” You might wonder why we tend to move around, and the answer is three-fold. First, sometimes God says go, sometimes the people we serve say go and finally, sometimes we say go. There you go…no pun intended.

So, to live in one place for that many years means that we have hung around long enough to see our kids grow up and have kids, for sticks to become trees and flowers to not only bloom but multiply. As the years have gone by, we have painted the house, inside and out, a couple of times and redecorated more times than that.  Furniture has come and gone and so have a lot of decorator items.  You know how it is—tastes and styles change and of course we must occasionally keep up with the Jones.

Well, amidst all that change there are some things that have hung around—and hung is a good word for it.  As an example, when we moved in we papered the main part of our kitchen, and it is still there today—two decades later.  There are two reasons.  First, we like it and second, we definitely do not like stripping wallpaper, so every time we think about changing it—-we just think about stripping it.  Now hanging over the stove is something that we have had for a long time—in fact, it may have come with us from our previous home.

It is a three-dimensional wall plaque that, along with other things, has six words on it. I hadn’t really read it in a long time but this morning I happened to glance over at the stove and for the first time in a long time—well, I read it.  Here’s what it says, “Live well, Laugh often and Love much.” Now that is a great mantra to live by. And for the past couple of decades, it has hung in the same place, over the stove, shouting its grand advice and yet, for the most part, no one listened.

Regardless…it is great advice.  Think about it. Live well.  Stop and smell the roses. Learn to appreciate the people who fill your life—especially the ones we call family. Take the time to admire a sunrise and sunset—like it was the first one you ever saw.  Laugh often.  Rediscover the fine art of laughing at a corny joke or the crazy antics of your dog or one of your grandkids. Sometimes we just need to laugh till we cry.  Love much. Love the way you did when you first saw him or her.  Love homemade ice cream like you did the first time you tasted it.  Love God like the day He forgave you.

Someone said once, we need to learn to dance like no one is watching.  I like that—especially considering I can’t dance.  But for any of this to happen, we must learn to listen to the things that matter and yet are so easy to ignore.  Like the plaque over the stove.  Like the song the frogs sing after a spring rain.  Like the symphony the stars lift to the One who made it all.  Starting today, starting now, why not take time to read or perhaps just listen to all that is going on around us.  No, not the static, not the noise, but rather the music of life.  The words go something like this—live well, laugh often, and love much.

There’s an interesting verse tucked away in the Old Testament part of the Bible.  It says, “And it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard.”  We learn that it was their job to be heard but it was the people’s job to listen…and respond. The music of life, laugher and love are all around us—we just need to listen. My Dearest Daddy sometimes, well a lot of the time, must remind me to slow way down and listen as His creation sings and as He whispers, “I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in food, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful, travel

Johnson’s Shut-Ins

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 

They were a hoot and a blessing.  My role as a full-time pastor began in 1983.  I had the privilege of pastoring the LaMonte Baptist Church in the small town of LaMonte, Missouri.  We had a population of several hundred people, a few dozen dogs, and life was good.  If you have ever watched “The Andy Griffith Show” then you can imagine life in LaMonte.  It was good living with a good bunch of folks.

A great example of those good folks were Leo and Opal Johnson.  They lived catty corner from the parsonage which sat right across the street from our church.  When we went to LaMonte, our family consisted of me, my wife Judy, and our two daughters—Rebecca and Jennifer.  Later, we added a dog named Sam.  Our daughters were two and three and that alone made life interesting.

I’m pretty sure God put the Johnsons catty corner from us for a good reason.  They were like family, kinda like an uncle and aunt, or maybe even a mom and dad and the truth was…we needed them.  You see, for whatever reason, our girls liked to take their clothes off—in the front yard—of the parsonage.  Judy and I never figured out why…they just did.  Sometimes it was to play with the water hose and sometimes it was just because.  At any rate, Opal would call us occasionally just to let us know that they had done it again and we would go out and fix it again.

Our dog Sam was really fond of the Johnson’s too.  Some mornings you could smell frying bacon wafting from across the road.  Opal was cooking breakfast.  Invariably, it was just about that time that Sam would have to go outside.  We finally figured it out that it had nothing to do with needing to go…it had to do with needing to visit the Johnsons.  Sam would go and scratch on their front door looking for some breakfast…which she always got. Yup, I think God knew we needed the Johnsons. They were an important part of our lives and when they were out of town…we sure missed them.

They were beyond faithful in attending church and I always appreciated that.  Sometimes, though, they were gone and often they went to see, “The Johnson Shut-Ins.”  Leo would come and say, “Pastor, we are going to the Johnson Shut-ins this weekend.”  I so appreciated their commitment to their elderly relatives.  I had never met that side of their family, but I was sure they were as nice as Leo and Opal.  Well, a while later, I found out that the Johnson Shut-ins weren’t relatives at all.  It turns out there was a beautiful park in Southern Missouri called, wait for it, “The Johnson Shut-ins.”  Here all the time I thought they were going to see their relatives and instead they were going camping.  It still makes me smile.

Leo and Opal were like family to us long after we left LaMonte.  In fact, when the time came for us to go, God just about had to pry us out of LaMonte and friends like them were a big part of the reason.  I love that God always knows just what we need.  Whether it was special friends or a new next chapter in the story of our lives…He always gets it right.

Not too many years ago, God decided it was time for Leo to go live with Him and it was my privilege to share at his service.  I spoke about faithfulness, loving God, cutting firewood, and a little dog named Sam who loved to eat breakfast with Leo.  I also told the story about the Johnson Shut-Ins.  I told the folks that day about a man and his wife who were a whole lot like Jesus and who always had time to share a little love.

We all receive many gifts throughout our lives.  Of course, none tops the greatest gift ever which is eternal life through Jesus.  You can’t top that one.  But always remember the greatest gifts aren’t bought in a store—they often live catty corner from us.  They are the people that God brings into our lives to help us as we journey through this life.  He knows we need Him, and He knows we need others.  God sends people to help build us up—to encourage us.  And He, well, He is always there too, ready to help because you know, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, gratitude, life, loving others

Taking Care of Family

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” Proverbs 19:17

I know I didn’t know them…but I felt I did. As a pastor, retired or not, I occasionally receive a call from either a funeral home or a family that has experienced the loss of a loved one and they don’t have a pastor that can help them.  Well, one day that happened.  A mother had died and her sister, on behalf of the family, contacted me.  Could I help them?  I agreed but I had a request.  I try and make every service personal and special and since I didn’t know her or the family I asked they provide some personal memories of their mom.  Graciously they did, and in so doing they painted a picture.

She and her husband was blessed with five children—a challenge and a blessing. When the sister sent me some information, it became painfully apparent that life had been financially hard.  Their mother had worked at a local manufacturing plant but was constantly being laid off.  When she was, she worked as a cook at one of the local restaurants.  It finally reached the point where the inconsistency of the one job made the other more attractive and she began working all the time at the restaurant.

She appreciated the consistency of the restaurant job, but it made for an even tighter budget at home.  I was moved by the comments of each one of her children.  They were so appreciative for a Momma that did everything possible to provide for them.  They spoke of gratitude for a roof over their heads, food for their stomach, and heat in the winter.  One spoke of the fact that regardless of the fact that Momma and the family were broke, somehow, someway, she made sure there were presents at Christmas and on their birthdays. That meant a lot to me.

At the service I rhetorically asked, “What does success mean?” It was one of those questions that I didn’t expect an answer…but I got one.  Quietly, one of her sons said, “Being comfortably full.” When he said that it moved me…it still moves me.  In a world where it seems everyone one has so much, in this family’s world abundance was a roof, some heat, food for their stomach and on a real good day, being comfortably full.

After hearing from her son, I went on to say that to me success is owning the things that money can’t buy…the things that don’t come from Walmart or some other store.  Success is five kids who at their Momma’s funeral talk about the sacrifices she made, the hard work she did to make sure they had a roof over their head, some heat, and food in their stomachs.  I then read a story paragraph that someone wrote about success.  It said, “What is success? Success is living well, laughing often, and loving much. Success is gaining the respect of those who know us best; finding and living our purpose and leaving our world better than we found it.” I finished that service in deep appreciation of a 72 year old mother who did that and so much more.  She gave her five kids a home.

I’ve written several times that money was pretty thin when we were growing up but I am sure we had more than this family and these kids.  I’ve written before how much I appreciated the fact that Momma and Daddy always made Christmas and birthdays happen.  It may have been courtesy of the local finance company but it happened.  Now I am reminded that there were and are plenty of people where even that would not have been an option but somehow—they make it happen.

So, I’m just writing to say thank-you to someone I never knew—but felt I did.  I want to say thank-you to five grown up now kids who taught me to even more deeply appreciate what my Momma and Daddy did. They too made it happen whether it was a roof over our heads, or fuel oil in our kerosene tank or food on the table.  Let me encourage you to take the opportunity to thank the ones who made it happen in your life—whether it was years ago or yesterday.  Maybe take the time to whisper a prayer of gratitude for those in your family—or maybe even outside your family—that made it happen.

Maybe, just maybe, you can be one that helps make it happen.  Maybe you know someone who could use a little help.  Maybe God has given you a little more so you can share with those who have a little less. Proverbs 19:17 says, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— 

and He will repay you!” I like that.  When we share, we are being the hands and feet of Jesus and that is always a good thing.  You may be the one that your Dearest Daddy uses to whisper in someone else’s ear—someone who is struggling to make it happen.  And what is He whispering? He’s saying, “I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, life, love, loving others, Scripture

My God-Father

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “And I will be your Father, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18

Well, it was just a thought…but it was a good one.  The other day I was chatting with someone and the topic of having or being a godfather popped into the conversation.  I think the person said they had one or was one…I’m not really sure.  You see, I am a Baptist, and I am pretty sure that is not really a Baptist thing.  I don’t think there is a rule against it, but I do know it is rarely brought up.  I pastored for forty-two years, and I don’t remember it coming up more than a couple of times…not counting the times when we were talking about the movie.

All of this kind of got me thinking about what does a godfather do.  I mean just in case someone asked me to be one, I thought I needed to be ready.  According to dictionary.com, “A godparent is a person who has pledged to help with the upbringing of a child, especially in a religious way. In some denominations of Christianity, when a child is baptized, they are sponsored by (usually two) adults who pledge to help in this way.” Well, there you go.

If you take the definition from dictionary.com, it actually sounds like a pretty good idea. We all know that when our first baby comes along, we discover the little boy or girl doesn’t come with an owner’s manual.  It turns out you are pretty much on your own so a little help is a great idea.  Someone said, “It take a village to raise a child” and there is a lot of truth in that.  I know that my Momma would have tweaked that just a little—like this boy needs a whole continent. 

I didn’t see it in the definition, but I bet somewhere in the godfather thing is the idea that the chosen one has to buy some really cool birthday and Christmas gifts.  It just seems logical. Regardless I think this is not something that should be taken on lightly—if you really are going to do the job.

So back to the beginning.  We are chatting about godfathers, and it was one of those times that I thought something and said something that was almost, but not quite profound.  I said, “But who needs a godfather if you can have a Father who is God?”  Now isn’t that almost profound? You see, it is always nice to have some flesh and bones help you along but to have the Creator of the whole show as your Father…that is a horse of a different color.  And, even when godfathers have all the good intentions in the world, they might just come up short—but Creator God never does.

When I think about the fact that God is my Father, that He is never ashamed to call me His, that He loves me and likes me unconditionally—well, that is amazing. And when I think that He will never, ever come up short, that’s when it goes right off the chart.  The Bible says that my God-Father not only knows the cattle on a thousand hills but He owns the hills too.  My God-Father can take on the biggest monsters and win every time.  Oh, and He is never too busy, never too tired, and never changes His mind.  All of that and so much more is what caused me to say, “Who needs a godfather if you can have a Father who is God.”

I guess it is the parents who choose the godfather but when it comes to my God-Father…well He chose me, and He wants to choose you too.  My God-Father plays no favorites and invites anyone and everyone to be a part of His family.  All we must do is believe, to have faith, turn away from our old messed up life and choose to follow Him.  That’s it.  I don’t know about you but I’m glad I can call God, Father, and I’m so glad He calls me, son.  So, if you are looking for a godfather, there are plenty of good choices and just for the record that is a nice thing to do.  But if you are looking for a God-Father, there is only One and He can’t wait to help you do life.  He’s just waiting to let you know that this time and every time “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

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

Possession and Perception

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “How sweet Your Word is to my taste—sweeter than honey in my mouth.” Psalm 119:103

Well, I guess it is only partly so.  All my life I have picked up things that were said and passed along. As I grew a little older, I discovered that some of them are true and some just aren’t.  A friend in our office had a stye in her eye that was really bothering her.  She made an appointment with the doctor but before she went, I asked her, quite sincerely, “Did you rub the stye with a gold ring?”  Well, she looked at me like a calf at a new gate (that’s one of those sayings) and said, “What?”

Well, I tried to explain to her that all my life this was something I heard.  In fact, I can clearly remember my Momma taking my Daddy’s wedding band (which I now own) and rubbing my eye with it.  What I don’t remember is if anything happened. And that’s not all. I was a full-grown adult before I found out how much time I wasted growing up by waiting 30 minutes after I ate before going back into the water to swim. It was just a fact that if you did you were probably going to drown.  Turns out—ain’t so. How about that?

A saying that I have heard all of life is, “possession is nine-tenths of the law.”  I’m not even sure what that means but I think it means that if your neighbor borrows your pitchfork and doesn’t return it for a long while and then you go back and try to retrieve it, somehow it magically becomes his. Come to think of it, I still have my friends pitchfork from my days in Cobden.  Oh, and I think there is a shovel out there in the garage too. Maybe there is some truth there after all.

Well, a takeoff from that saying is this saying—and it is true.  It goes something like this, “Perception is nine-tenths of the message.” In other words, how a person perceives what you say is just as important as what you say.  Think about it—and I think you will agree.  If you say something and the person thinks you said something totally different it can be hurtful and confusing.  It is also true when we try to describe something and just aren’t clear. We say it one way…and they hear another. It reminds me of the story of three blind men who tried to describe an elephant.  They each grabbed a different part of the elephant, and each had a totally different perspective.

A while back, I was teaching and was talking about how we describe the Bible.  So often we portray it was a Book of just no, no, and no again.  Well, there are plenty of no’s in the Bible but there is also plenty of times when God says yes! The main message of the Bible isn’t rules and regulations but God’s grace and redemption.  From the beginning to the end, the message is the same: God loves us, and God wants to redeem us. He extends grace to all that are willing to turn from their sin and believe.

So, the next time you are trying to paint a word picture of something, keep in mind the importance of perception.  And the next time you are telling your friend about the Bible and what the Bible says, remember, perception is important.  Need a little help? No problem.  The God who inspired it and led men to write it…well, He’s got that. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, friends, Integrity, life, priorities, Scripture

Nip It in the Bud!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Everyone who commits sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4 

  

Leave it to Barney.  Some of you might remember Barney Fife from the old television show, “The Andy Griffith Show.” He was one of the iconic characters and played the town deputy under Sheriff Andy Taylor.  Barney was a little off-center most of the time.  One of my favorite memories was that they only trusted him with one bullet, and he had to keep it in his pocket. He may have been a bit off-center but every once-on-a-while he would come up with something insightful.  One of those was his saying that we should “nip it, nip it in the bud.”

He knew (at least every once in a while) that an ounce of prevention was better than a pound of cure. Now he didn’t always follow his own good advice but who does? Truth is we would all be better off if we did, “nip it, nip it in the bud.”  A while back I went to the skin doctor for my semi-annual skin check.  Twice a year I have them look and make sure something isn’t growing on my skin that shouldn’t be. Some of that skin stuff can get pretty nasty.  Like I’ve said before I’m ok with dying…I just don’t want to die stupid.

So usually, I am an A+ patient. Besides the usual assortment of old people stuff, she always tells me I have good skin.  Well, that didn’t quite happen this time. As she checked my forehead, she found two spots that were kinda rough and she said, “Dewayne, these might be pre-cancers so it would be best if we burned them off.”  So, she wasn’t sure if they were but, in her opinion, it was better to be safe than sorry—and I agreed with her.  Let’s “nip it, nip it in the bud”. So, she got out her handy burner-off thing and just like that they were frozen.

“Wait,” you say, “I thought you she was burning them off?”  Yup that’s right but she burns them off by hitting them with something so cold it literally burns them off.  Ever heard of, “freezer burn?”  Same sort of idea.  Anyway, it was all over after a little bit of stinging and a few days of everyone asking, “What happened to your forehead?”  And guess what?  Because we nipped it in the bud, I don’t have to worry about it turning into something a little nastier.

This “nip it, nip it in the bud” thing is good advice. Imagine how many regrets a little nipping could save us! And what about when we nip a “pre-sin” in the bud before it becomes a disaster in our lives? Yup, the more I think about it the more I am sure we owe old Barney a debt of gratitude.  So, let me suggest a semi-annual visit to the skin doctor and a daily visit with the Great Physician just to check and see if there needs to be a little nipping on those nasty “pre-sins.” It might sting a little but hey, don’t worry, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, friends, life, loving others, prayer, Scripture, spiritual battles, Trials

His World–Their World!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.” 1 John 4:16

It’s like traveling around the world. I never cease to be amazed at the world that God has created for us. My wife Judy and I love to travel, and I have found a way to kinda, sorta travel while sitting right in my living room chair.  It all happens courtesy of YouTube. I’m not sure why or how but one day, I stumbled upon a video of sorts that would take a part of the world and set pictures of it to relaxing music.  It may be England or Africa or Germany or maybe Utah.  Regardless, it is amazing and marvelous. I truly enjoy it and perhaps you should try it.  And then…it got better.

So, while I was trying to pick a place to visit, I found a feature that showed live webcams from all over the world.  Every few seconds, a different live video of a different part of the world would appear along with the current weather for that location.  Ok…this is way cool.  Imagine all these different places, all being shown live.  People are walking, visiting, or perhaps sleeping.  Cars are driving up and down the streets and trucks are making deliveries. It might be raining or snowing, warm or cold, sunny, or cloudy.  It is a world tour of the…world.

Recently, I was watching, and a video showed up showing early morning Philadelphia.  The sky was blue, and it was a beautiful spring morning.  God was showing off.  And then, just like that, I found myself looking at a place high in the Austrian Alps and even though it was mid-May it was snowing to beat the band.  For all intents and purposes, it was still midwinter. And it was just about then that it hit me.

All those videos were just like snapshots of our lives…each one different and each one unique.  As we look around some folks’ lives are like a beautiful spring morning—things couldn’t be better.  Look over there and there is someone enduring the beating rain of a severe storm and finally, glance over there and someone is locked in the midst of winter.  We sometimes forget that our lives, our experience may not be the experience of the person standing next to us.  While our lives are neat and orderly, theirs might be filled with gale force winds and pounding hail.  For us things couldn’t be better—for them things couldn’t be worse.

Can I encourage us to remember that?  Can I encourage us to be sensitive to the fact that our world may not be someone else’s?  Can I encourage us to be more understanding when someone seems to be rude and huffy when perhaps, just perhaps, they are doing everything they can just to stay afloat.  Jesus was so good at this.  He could read someone and respond and it wasn’t just because He was God in the flesh but also because He was determined to love others.  We can, and should, do the same thing.

So, if you do the computer thing, check out YouTube and search for relaxing music or videos and enjoy and as you are, remember that those places are places where people are living and maybe struggling.  Then, determine to be like Jesus, who managed to love each person no matter what. A song says that Jesus loves the little children, all the little children, and if He does…we should too. 1 John 4:16 says, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love.” We have come to know and believe that no matter what…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in communication, friends, life, loving others, Scripture, spiritual battles, Trials

Ignored

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk.” Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.” John 5:8-9

No matter how hard I tried…he ignored me.  So, I am a   walker…sometimes more consistent than others… but generally I walk several days a week.  The habit person in me likes the consistency of taking the same route over and over.  The adventure person in me likes to vary the routes that I take.  The bottom line…it is a coin toss every time I walk.  Regardless of which route I take; I see him frequently.

Who is he?  He is one of the homeless guys here in our small town.  Actually, I am only assuming he is homeless.  Like I said, frequently and no matter how early, I see him riding his bike, pushing his bike, and sitting somewhere, anywhere holding onto his bike. When I stroll by, I try to be friendly.  I walk by and give him a wave and a smile with a “good morning,” attached. He doesn’t respond.  If you remember the story of Brier Rabbit and Tar Baby, you know when Tar Baby didn’t respond to Brier Rabbit—he got more than a little upset.  Well, I think Brier Rabbit and I might be distant cousins.  My thought was, “What’s up with this?  Why is he ignoring me?”

Well, there were many attempts after that attempt, and it wasn’t just with him.  I would try to wave, be friendly, and give a “Good morning” if we were in voice range.  Almost without exception…there was nothing just a blank stare.  Well, earlier this week it was the same song, same verse but this time something occurred to me…or more accurately maybe Someone spoke to me.  The thought, the inner voice was this, “Dewayne, he is ignoring you because that is all he knows.”  A bell went off in my head and in my heart.

I realized in that moment that to most people, these folks who live in the streets are ignored because they become invisible. Most people don’t even see them much less acknowledge them.  And, I think, that once you have been ignored for so long…when you are invisible to the world around you…you stop seeing and feeling too. It becomes easy to just look, to stare until the world around disappears.  And, you need to know, that it isn’t always homeless people…it can be just everyday walk-around people who have been bruised and hurt one too many times.  They go to work, they function, but in reality, they stare into nothingness just trying to get by.

What are we to do?  Well, first we don’t stop trying to reach out and touch those around us.  Jesus was so good at seeing the invisible and loving the unlovable and do you know what?  He never gave up.  A story is told about a lame man who laid by a pool forever…or, at least, it seemed forever…38 years to be exact.  The rumor was if you could be the first in the pool when the waters stirred, you would be healed.  It wasn’t true and it really didn’t matter because he could never be first.  And then…Jesus showed up.

Jesus saw him, spoke to him and asked this question, “Do you want to be well?”  The man gave Him the story about him and the waters.  Jesus didn’t quit.  He just said, “Pick up your mat and walk.”  Well, the guy took the gamble, obeyed, and…he was healed…just like that.  Amazing.  Thirty-eight years of suffering ended abruptly. I guess we can’t offer the broken around us that kind of deal, but we can see, we can speak, and we can pray and when we do that…who knows what God will do?

Let me encourage you…and me for that matter…to start seeing again, to start loving again, to start making a difference, no matter how small, again.  If you see someone obviously broken and you are a Jesus follower, just remember how broken you were when you met the Healer and He whispered, “I love you…I forgive you.” And as you remember, take that moment to reach out and let that person know how much God loves them and longs to forgive them. Oh, and let them also know that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne