Category: gratitude

Posted in food, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, travel

Cruising with the Captain

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Have you ever taken a cruise? I’m not sure how it all began but a while back, my wife Judy and I decided to take a cruise. If I remember right it began in San Juan, Puerto Rico which was an adventure in itself. We then cruised to several islands in the Caribbean all the while “living” onboard this really big cruise ship. The bottom line?  It was an amazing experience. One of my big hesitations about this cruising thing was being in such a “small” area with 4,000 of my closest friends. As it turned out there was more than enough space for all of us. Through someone cooking our food, making our bed and dozens of other things, well, we joined the cruising fan club.

That was more than a few years ago and we have take more than a few additional cruises. Some of them were five days long and the longest was twenty-five days. And so far it seems we are always up for another one. It just seems to fit our niche especially now that we are retired. I was trying to come up with something to write about when I thought about this. In one aspect the cruise experience, along with the ship and crew, are somewhat like the “Shepherd” experience. Let me explain. Oh, and I’ll go ahead and ask for a little grace.

I know this is a stretch and that’s where the grace comes in. When we board the cruise ship, the cruise line who operates the ship and who hires and trains the crew has a goal…to meet all of our needs and a boat load (pun fully intended) of our whims. The whole cruise experience is designed to make us want to do it all over again. And not just do it all over again but to do it with them. Grace time! So, King David, the one in the Bible and who wrote Psalm 23 said, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I have everything I need.” So here is David writing this great analogy. In one sentence He gets it totally right. When God is our Shepherd…well, we don’t need anything else. He is the great Provider for His Kids. He loves us beyond limit and desires to meet our needs and, yup, a boat load of our desires or sometimes whims.

Ephesians 3:20 puts it like this. “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Well, there you go. He is a God who can’t stop loving and forgiving, who lavishes us with grace and mercy and who will never stop doing that and more. All of that is why my cruise analogy is pretty weak but I hope it makes us pause and think. So today, I hope you will choose to “cruise” through life with the Captain of your soul and if you can’t call Him that yet–why not do so right now? Once you do, you too can experience the joy of cruising with Him and knowing that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in gratitude, life, Scripture, travel

Life at the Laundromat

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” Mark 6:34a

I bumped into the real world at a laundromat. We were in Lincoln City, Oregon for the night and it was time to do something normal–we had to wash clothes. Back at 217 that meant a simple trip downstairs to the basement. There were our washer and dryer–again normal for a lot of people. But those were a couple of things that didn’t make our packing list so we had to go to a place we don’t normally go–the laundromat. So we gathered our dirty clothes, searched our GPS for the closest one and off we went. Now we had been to a laundromat before but trust me–it was a long time ago. We had just returned from our assignment in Germany with the Air Force and hardly anything in our house. Our bed and other furniture hadn’t arrived yet and we didn’t own a washer or a dryer.

The GPS led us to the right place and we once again gathered our clothes. We fed the change maker a five dollar bill and it gave us a hand full of quarters. We tossed our clothes in the washer and began the wait for the load to finish. There was a Family Dollar store close by so we wandered over there for a few minutes and then returned to the washing and drying Meca. I found a chair and waited for time to pass and it was then that I started seeing the people. I quickly noticed that the laundromat was an island of hurting people. I didn’t know their stories but it one thing seemed to be apparent. Each person wasn’t there because they wanted to be. They were there because they had to be. For whatever reason they didn’t have the means to wash and dry their clothes in the comfort of their homes.

The expression on their faces and body language all seemed to say, “My life is hard.” One lady who has struggling mentally was washing and drying the same clothes over and over again. A younger couple came in with their clothes stuffed in a bag and he leaned on a cane as he walked. There weren’t a lot of smiles but there sure seemed to be a lot of burdens.

I’ve always knew that my life is largely surrounded by healthy people with decent incomes and Jesus smiles. While I would see people with hard knock lives during my walk about life, I rarely entered their world. The laundromat helped me to not only see but to feel, to experience their world. It was an experience that I hope will lead me to love others and be more open and willing to help others. Let me encourage you to find an island of lostness and hurt and visit there. When you do you can thank God that you are just visiting but you can also ask Him to help you help them. That will probably make Him smile as He replies, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in gratitude, heaven, life, Scripture, thankful, travel

Stars and Satellites

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” Psalm 139:14a

It was silently majestic. We were staying at an Airbnb that overlooked the Columbia River Gorge. This gorge is nationally known for its natural beauty. The Oregon side is steep and mountainous and the home of dozens of waterfalls. The Washington side is more of a steep slope that culminates at the top of a ridge hundreds of feet above the Columbia River. A home on top of that ridge was our home for a couple of nights. Our host had done a wonderful job of decorating the patio area with beautiful flowers in full bloom and comfortable furniture that included a full-length couch that begged to be stretched out on and a plush chair just made for slouching in. It was a little piece of heaven on earth.

Both nights we made it a point to spend the end of our day watching as the daylight slowly vanished and night came on. As darkness arrived—so did the stars with all their majesty. It wasn’t hard to feel and almost hear the heavens singing and shouting the glory of God. There was very little light pollution, so the stars seemed almost as bright as those we experienced in the West Africa wilderness. We were simply amazed. On the first night, I saw a falling star streak across the sky. Amazing.

As the last light of day gave way to the first darkness of night, we began to see something else. Mingled among the stars were satellites, dozens of them, streaking across the sky. While not nearly as amazing as the stars, they still managed to amaze us. Those small dots of reflected light were all shot into space on top of a rocket and traveling in space at 17,500 miles per hour. And that, Grits friends, is the point of the story. First, creation itself declares in unabashed boldness that there is a God and He is amazing in every aspect of His existence. Then comes part two.

I watched in silent amazement as those tiny dots zoomed across the sky. It was then I was reminded that they were created by men. That reminded me that we are not products of evolution but are marvelous creations of God. You see, monkeys and apes don’t make satellites or planes or cars or anything else like that. They may be smart, but they never have been, are not now, and never will be smart enough to do anything like that. Nope…it takes a fearfully and wonderfully made creation like us to do something like that–and even then it is way past amazing.

So as a gentle reminder, all creation reminds us of the great God who loves us, and all this amazing mechanical and technological stuff we’ve put together reminds us that we didn’t come from globs of jelly on a beach or a monkey swinging on a tree. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made. Don’t believe it? Just read His Book, and you will clearly see that from day one and before—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, travel

And Now You Know!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” Romans 1:20

So what in the world do y’all do?  Now that is a good question. Perhaps it all started with our twelve years in the Air Force and especially our three years stationed in Germany. The bottom line is my wife Judy and I have always loved to travel. As you can imagine that was a little difficult during my 42 years as a pastor. When your calendar is defined by Sundays, Wednesdays and holidays…well, it somewhat limited our travel opportunities. With that said, we both were so grateful for the mission trips the church allowed us to lead and for the vacation time the church granted us. I always chuckled when we would escape for vacation and someone would invariably say, “Is that preacher gone again?” And I guess we were.

So when retirement came we immediately embraced and enjoyed the freedom that it granted. And in the last two years, three months and twenty days we have travelled with abandon. Sometimes it was another continent, sometimes another country or state and sometimes, well, just another city. But wherever and whenever, we have enjoyed our journeys. And here is the part that is most important…at least for us. Our travels don’t take us to the biggest and best amusement parks…no it usually takes us to places were we can see and embrace this wonderful creation of God. Nothing thrills us more than to just look and see what God has done. Whether it is a majestic mountain, a cool mountain stream or a thundering waterfall, we see the handiwork of God. And we look, we ooh and awe, we smile and grin and we talk about it. 

This latest trip took us to the Alaskan Inner Passage and several small towns along the coast. It  also took us to and through the Olympic National Park where we saw Hurricane Ridge and the Hoh Rainforest. We followed the Washington Coast and drove over to the Columba River Gorge where we saw waterfalls that were so tall they seemed to fall straight from heaven. We laid in a backyard and just looked at the stars and the satellites as they raced across the sky.  We even saw the International Space Station doing the same. We spent some time walking the Oregon Coast listening to the mighty Pacific Ocean thunder before driving down to see the mighty Redwoods in Northern California. Yup…it was amazing and I suppose I’ll be writing about some it in the coming days.

Now here is the amazing thing. Right here in Southern Illinois, just next door in the Shawnee National Forest, or maybe just down the road or in your own neighborhood, we…you…can see the handiwork of God. Every sunrise and sunset, every cloud and ever changing leaf all shout the God of creation. So whether you travel like Judy and I or whether you just like to sit in the backyard and have a cup of coffee, be sure and look for God because surely He is there just waiting to sit with you. Take the time to enjoy Him for surely…He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Christmas, Easter, Family, gratitude, life, Scripture

Daddy and the Television

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

It was a special moment in time. Home movies…movies of everyday life in an everyday family. That is true today but back in the days before smartphones it was especially true. It was almost magical when someone went to the closet and got out the family camera and started shooting. It could have been a special occasion like someone’s birthday or a holiday like Christmas or Easter. All of them were special but sometimes the really special ones were just of everyday life.

As I was recently watching this treasure trove of movies from the mid sixties, I was enjoying once again seeing some of my loved ones who are no longer with us. Grandmother and Granddaddy were there as were my Momma and Daddy. Of all the different scenes of everyday life with the Taylor tribe, one stuck out and that is what I want to tell you about. It appeared to be a regular evening…one of those times when someone grabbed the camera and mashed the button. And then–there it was.

The scene showed my Daddy sitting on the floor. Our small black and white television was pulled away from the wall. Daddy had the back pulled off and was working on the innards of the set. He was studying it pretty intently. Apparently the television had gone on the fritz and he was doing his best to get it going again. Now my Daddy was a wiz when it came to working on jet engines and he could work on car engines and lawn mowers too. But it never occurred to me that he could or would work on a television. Back in those days things like televisions and radios were filled with tubes and the best I could tell he was plugging and unplugging those tubes just in case one of the had lost its connection.

Now I honestly have no idea if he got the thing working or not. What struck a cord with me was that he wasn’t afraid to try. I guess there were television servicemen in those days but we sure couldn’t afford one so he jumped in and did his best. Did.His.Best. That’s one of my favorite recent realizations about Momma and Daddy–they always did their best to take care of us. And do you know what?  They did a great job. Come what may they were willing to jump in–all in.

You know, that’s what God did when it came to saving us.  He jumped all in. Now let this soak in. I know you’ve heard it before but try to hear it like the first time. John 3:16 says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” Now that is all in. He loved us enough to give His Son to a Roman cross and He did it because He loved us. Because.He.Loved.Us. You know He wants us to experience that love and share that love with others. Like working on a television when you don’t have a clue–that can be a challenge. But we don’t have to worry because He does have clue–He does know and not only that–He’s got this–every time.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful

Rescue–I Just Ran Out

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” Psalm 37:24 

I just ran out. You know words can mean more than one thing. Those four words are a prime example. First, if someone says, “I just ran out” they might be talking about sugar. Maybe they were going to make a cake and realized that the day before they had used all their sugar. They would call a friend and say, “Can I borrow some sugar? I was going to make a cake and realized I just ran out.” Then of course there is a guy who found a snake in his bedroom. As he relayed the story to one of his friends, his friend might say, “So what did you do?” The guy might respond, “Well, I just ran out.”

Well, the other day I came face to face with a new meaning for those words. I was visiting my sister in Anniston, Alabama and was doing my morning walk thing. The fact that I was walking was nothing short of the goodness of God. After a long stint of hip and back pain, I was finally back (no pun intended) in business and trust me I was telling God just how grateful I was. So, anyway, is I was booking it pretty good–walking and talking with God.  And then–it happened.

There was a place in the road where the pavement looked like pavement does when someone didn’t do their job. As I walked, all of a sudden, the toe of my shoe hung up on something and I found myself fighting to stay upright. Rather than just fall flat on my face, I was able to start running. It may not have been pretty, in fact, I’m sure it wasn’t but somehow I was about to run enough to regain my balance and keep going. It was an amazing feat for my feet if I do say so myself.

So what do you think I did? Whine and complain? Nope. Grumble and groan? Nope. Pout and shout? Nope. As soon as I got my balance back, my hands shot into the air and I began praising the Lord. I knew this was yet another big intervention by my Dearest Daddy. With nothing on but shorts and a teeshirt, the road rash would have been of biblical proportions and on top of that there was the real possibility of some broken bones. But God was more than faithful. He sustained me, He held me, and He saved me. Plain and simple–He helped me run it out.

I was and am so grateful. I never get tired of telling and writing about the goodness of God. This particular time reminded me of Psalm 37:24. Speaking of the Godly, the author writes,     “Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand.” I can’t number the times that my great Rescuer came to rescue for me. And do you know what? If you think about–neither can you. 

This story could have had a harder and more difficult ending but God in His grace decided on this ending. And had I fallen–well, He would have still been good and still been gracious. Let me encourage you–always be on the outlook for the goodness of God. Trust me–it is everywhere. No matter the circumstances and no matter the outcome, always know and believe that, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, gratitude, life, marriage, Scripture

Fifty Years–The Great Adventure

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her. Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD will be praised.” Proverbs 31:28-30

It’s not always easy. So imagine you are Shakespeare and you are drawn to write a romantic scene for the ages. In your mind you see a beautiful, young maid standing on a balcony and below a charming prince. Both are madly in love with the other but what do you say, what do you write? You settle on, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” Well, it probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, but hey, it surely was a crowd favorite. Ok, let’s try again.

This time you are a lawyer and a writer. It is 1814 and you are watching as the British bombard Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. The outcome of battle seems in doubt.  You wonder if the young nation will survive the nigh? As dawn begins to light the sky, He was inspired after seeing the American flag still flying over the fort. His poem describing the battle and the American victory was published within a week with the suggested tune of the popular song “To Anacreon in Heaven”. The song with Key’s lyrics became known as “The Star-Spangled Banner” and slowly gained in popularity as an unofficial anthem. It finally achieved official status as the national anthem more than a century later in 1931. But finding the right words just couldn’t have been easy.

Now imagine you are celebrating 50 years, five decades, of marriage and you find yourself trying, struggling to find the right words to put to paper. You know and every person in your world knows, that when you met and married Judy Dawn Allen you married up–way up. And honestly, we both know that we did absolutely nothing to deserve the blessings and grace that God has poured on our lives. We were two young kids, she younger than me, and by grace we were able to follow Him down a path that cannot be any less than amazing.

We walked together down the path of twelve years in the military. I can tell you two things. They were lean years and yet they were some of the best years. Then God whispered and we jumped from the security of the Air Force into the arms of our Dearest Daddy. Together we served four churches, I pastored and she ministered and all four opportunities were a pastor and wife’s dream. No we weren’t perfect, neither were our congregations but we all loved Jesus and each other and that was more than enough.

Along the way, God blessed us with three incredible daughters and sons-in-law and eight grandchildren. When we get together we are a little wild and a little crazy but that is what makes our tribe a great tribe. In my middle daughter’s home there is a writing that says, “In this house…we are real, we make mistakes, we say I’m sorry, we are silly, we have fun, we give hugs, we give second chances, we forgive, we laugh a lot, we love each other–we are a family.” The truth is that is true most of the time. But even if we get off course…we always find our way back to true north.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again. If you want to stay married for fifty years there are three important things. First, keep breathing. Second, keep God dead center in your marriage universe. Believe what He says, do what He says and love Him like crazy. Finally, be sure and marry an incredible person–like Judy Dawn Allen. Any success I’ve enjoyed in the military and in the pastorate and any success our children have enjoyed so far in life can be directly traced back to my wife and their mother.

Judy–thank you for sharing these decades with me. These words, straight from the depths of my soul, still fall short of describing my deep love for you. Short of God’s grace and mercy and His salvation of my soul, you are His greatest gift to me. And I am sure you are a key partner with Him as you both have assured me over and over again that, “We’ve got this.” I love you. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, Father's Day, gratitude, life, Scripture

My Daddy

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“You are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13a

I think you would have liked my Daddy. With yesterday being Father’s Day and all, I just felt like I needed to tell you a little bit about my Daddy. On a Sunday morning in 1974, he up and moved to heaven. As far as I was concerned we both were too young.  He was 62 and I was 20. If I was to try and describe my Daddy I would probably go to the Bible and look at some of the characters there because my Daddy believed the Bible and in a very good way, my Daddy was a character.

My Daddy was like Adam–the very first man in the Bible. While there is a lot to be said for Adam the one think that sticks out to me was that he was a hard worker and so was my Daddy. Everyday, without question, he would get up and go to work at the Jacksonville Naval Air Station where he worked on jet engines. His shop was not air conditioned and since it was Florida it could get kinda hot and humid. It was my Daddy who taught me to value work. He was the one who taught me to take the family push mower and go from house to house knocking on doors and asking, “Sir or Ma’am, would you like your grass mowed for $2.00?” Yup, I made and spent a lot of money mowing grass. He’s also the one who taught me to get a job washing dishes at a local restaurant for seventy-five cents an hours and to bag groceries for a dollar an hour. My Daddy, like Adam, knew the value of hard work.

Oh, and the fella in the Bible who built things like an ark–my Daddy was like him too. No, my Daddy didn’t build an ark but he sure knew how to built a home. He and Momma put their lives together and eight kids later made a home. Neither one of them was perfect but they sure did love us a lot. They sacrificed so much and made sure that the house we had, an old repurposed Army barracks, was not a house but a home. Together they built a marriage and home and taught us to love one another–even when it was hard. My Momma and Daddy both knew the value of love.

My Daddy was also like that guy in the Bible named David who was a giant killer. When one of them, Goliath, decided to challenge God and His people, David took a couple of rocks and took care of him. Giants didn’t bother David and they didn’t bother my Daddy either. Raising eight kids wasn’t easy–in fact you could probably say it was ginormous. Plenty of times, despite all he did, there was more month than money but somehow the lights stayed on and the table was always set. When his heart gave out and he had to retire, he would work all night as a security guard just to make sure we stayed afloat. My Daddy knew the value of keeping his family secure–even when it meant killing giants.

When Jesus was teaching that day on the side of mountain, he looked at the people and all the daddies there and said to them, “You are the salt of the earth.” He was telling them that they were the foundation of all that He was about to do and teach. My Daddy would have fit right in there because he was the foundation of my small part of the world. I remember the time I came in from a late night date and he was praying at the kitchen table. I also remember the time he was leading us in family worship and he was kneeling at his chair talking to God. Those are precious memories. My Daddy was indeed the salt of the earth. He was a good man who loved God, loved Jesus and loved me. And along his life journey, he learned and taught me that no matter what, our Dearest Daddy could be trusted and could and would say, “Don’t worry…I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Grace, gratitude, heaven, Scripture, thankful

Cuddling Up with God

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.” Psalm 19:1

We were snuggled under a blanket. So this week we are in Vienna (not Italy but Illinois for our bigger world readers) taking care of the grand dogs while the the family is down in Florida on vacation. Zoe and Riley are pretty special pups and we love watching them. Becca and Jon live just outside a quiet Southern Illinois town in an equally quiet neighborhood. Since we live in the center of our small town…we love the quietness.

Last night I was snuggled down on the couch under a blanket. The air conditioning and the ceiling fan were both cool enough to make it feel nice and cozy. In fact, we love to sleep cool. We have four, that is right four, fans in our bedroom and each night we turn the air conditioning down. In the winter, it is not uncommon for us to open a window or two to let the cool and sometimes cold air in. Why do we do it? Because we love to cuddle down under a quilt or blanket to sleep!

So it was kinda natural that I had rounded up a blanket to cuddle with on the couch. So there I was cuddling when suddenly I heard, and the the the pups heard, a knock at the back door. They kicked into guard dog mode and I looked over at the door only to see my wife Judy outside. I went to the door and opened it and asked the obvious question, “What are you doing outside?” Well, it turned out that she had gone outside to see what God was doing that night and the door had locked behind her.

She said, “Dewayne, you need to come out and see the stars.” Well, I really wanted to go back to my cuddling on the couch but I decided I needed to see what she was seeing. I stepped out and there, in the darker darkness of the country side, was a sky full of beautiful and bright stars. I was overwhelmed. It instantly reminded me of the starry skies I would see in Africa. Well, anyway, we sat down and were amazed. The skies were just ablaze with God’s creation and they were all shouting His glory. As we watched, we saw several satellites making their silent but fast journey across the night sky. I was blessed to see a shooting star shoot across the sky. It all was just amazing and I told Judy I was so glad she shared it with me. If I had stayed inside I would have missed all. And then it occurred to me.

Just like I was cuddled under a blanket on the couch, there I sat cuddling under a blanket of stars filled with amazement at the wonderful, great God we served. I quoted Psalm 19:1 that says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of His hands.” And I knew for certain it was so. It was like listening to the finest choir singing the finest hymns of praise–all directed toward Him.

Well, after a while, we went inside–hoping for a repeat performance on another night soon. Cuddling up with God under His blanket of stars was so overwhelming and yet peaceful. Just like cuddling under a warm blanket on a cool night, so cuddling with the creator of the universe is beyond worlds. I felt safe and satisfied knowing that no matter what, I can rest with Him because, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Grace, gratitude, Scripture, travel

New Every Morning

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” Lamentations 3:23-24

 ¡Hola! Soy una petunia mexicana. So on one of our recent journeys, my wife Judy made an essential stop at a local nursery to buy some plants for our yard. When we are in the south, whether it is as far south as Georgia or as close as Murray, Kentucky, we need to check out two things–what houses are for sale and what plants can we bring home. In this case, we were in Alabama at a Lowes and she brought home a petunia mexicana. In case you don’t speak Spanish (I don’t) the opening line says, “Hello! I am a Mexican petunia.”

So it turns out that our transplanted friend loves Southern Illinois–probably because it is southern. She carefully planted it in a large pot filled with Miracle Grow potting soil and the rest is history. In the few weeks that she has been in our backyard, she has just flourished. The greenery is green and lush but the best part are the blooms. Here’s how it goes. The day begins with it being covered with petite bluish purple blooms. They last the day and then they are done. By evening all that is left is the lush greenery. But there is a surprise coming.

You see, the next morning as the sunrises, new blooms appear. The whole plant is once again covered. It really is just beautiful. At the end of the day the whole process starts over again. But as sure as sunshine, the blooms are there and beautiful. It reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures. You see, in Lamentations 3:23-24 we read, “Because of the LORD’s faithful love we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” Did you see it?  Just like the Mexican petunia provides a fresh bouquet of flowers each day, so God in His marvelous grace provides a bouquet of mercy. How about that.

Just as He provided manna each morning for the children of Israel, so He provides His mercy for us each and everyday. He is always faithful and always right on time. The Hebrew even suggests that it isn’t just any old mercy…it is the mercy that we will need for that particular day. I find that so assuring and so amazing.

So if you want to come by 217 and check out our Mexican friend, feel free to. She is at her best in the morning–just like God’s mercies. God bless you today as you journey with Him. And always remember, “Recuerda que, pase lo que pase, ¡él puede con esto!” Oh, in case you are wondering that says, “Remember no matter what, He’s got this!” Bro. Dewayne