Category: life

Posted in Grace, gratitude, life, patience, Scripture

Near or Far–He’s the Light

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105

I love a good deal. If you know me…you know I love to find a good deal. Back in the old days finding those deals involved going to a brick and mortar store and walking the aisles. These days…well things have changed. Every morning, after getting my cup of coffee and spending some time with Jesus, I check my email. I have several emails that come every morning and they tell me about deals offered by various sellers. Two of my favorites are Amazon and Walmart.

Well, the other day, Amazon was offering a way cool flashlight. It was rechargeable and insanely bright and best of all they had it on sale for $9.99–one third the regular price. What a deal. Well, I ordered one and in a few days it was delivered to my door step and guess what? It was everything they said it would be. One of the features that I really liked was you could choose between spotlight mode or wide-angle mode. The spotlight mode could light up a tree over a hundred yards away. On the other hand, the wide-angle mode was perfect for walking. The beam was at least six feet wide and made walking at night a breeze.

Yup…the choice was mine…long distance or closeup. It would seem that every flashlight would offer such a feature…but they don’t. But wait…shouldn’t, or why wouldn’t…God do the same through His Word? Well, in His wisdom God decided to let His Word light up our path only a few hours or maybe a days ahead. In Psalm 119:105 we read, “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Have you ever wondered why He choose that way of doing business?

Well, I can share at least two reasons. First, it helps us to learn to depend on Him. If I am walking at night, I have to constantly redirect the beam as I walk my path. That is what God does with His Word. We have to depend on Him to light the path to keep us safe. The second reason is He knows if we know too much we will become overwhelmed. You see sometimes too much is just too much so He shows us only as much as we can handle.

So there you go! To walk physically at night…get yourself a great flashlight. But to walk the path of life, be sure and allow the Word of God and the God of the Word to light your path. Oh, and don’t get ahead of the light. Walk patiently and wait for Him to reveal the way to go. You can trust Him to reveal what needs to be revealed when it needs to be revealed. After all, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, travel

Down But Not Out

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

You’ve got to be kidding me. So we were down at Panama City Beach during our last foray to the South. We were able to get a room facing the gulf which made for some great cups of coffee on the balcony in the morning and unbelievable sunsets in the evening. God definitely showed off. I have been trying to keep up my exercise routine which includes riding my bike and walking. One morning I decided to walk. I tried the beach but the sand was just too soft so I cut through to the road to try and find a better walking surface. I should have stayed on the beach.

The main road had a portion set apart for bikes so I decided to walk there. I guess because of the heat and humidity there were ridged cracks in the road about every five or six feet. I knew right away that I needed to be careful because they were obvious tripping hazards. So off I went and everything went well…until it didn’t. About halfway through my walk, I managed to miss one of the toe stubbers and caught my shoe on an big one and…down I went…face first. Are you kidding me? Is that even possible? Well, it was and it is. Once again, the Lord watched out for me and all I had was a scratched chin and a skinned knee.

Now if you are a regular Grits reader you might have noticed there have been several stories recently about my ability to fall. None of them were age related they were accidents or just plain old oops. But regardless, it has just about become a little embarrassing. And gratefully, none of them resulted in a serious injury…that is except my pride…which really took a beating. Ordinarily I would have let this one pass without a story (which would have made my wife Judy happy) but because of one of my favorite Bible verses–I just had to write one.

In Psalm 37:23-24 we read, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand.” Now isn’t that a great word from the Word? And as I thought about that verse and my recent adventures in falling, I realized it was a great truth for all of us. First, God orders our steps. He knew every fall (and everything else) before it happened. Somehow it all fit in His plan and His plan was and is delightful. You see, every fall taught me a little about me, God and life. They were worth it.

The verse goes on to tell us that when we fall into stuff like sin and failure, we will not stay down. Each time I fell physically, I was able to get up. And guess what? Every time we sin we don’t stay down either…not because we can get up but because He picks us up. Every single time. How awesome is that? Well, there you go…that is a great truth for today and every day. We don’t have to fear our failures because He will be there for us. No matter what, we can face the day knowing that–He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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

Scars…And Hope

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  Psalm 30:5b

It was one of those moments. My wife Judy and I were sitting on her brother’s patio in South Georgia waiting for the sun to make its appearance. Slowly but predictably the night slipped away and a new day began the birth process. As I looked out across the yard in the dusky gray of early morning, a pile of burnt trees, caught my eye. The trees were piled up the result of a hurricane that had swept through the area taking too many trees with it. About a year later, a power line fell and sparked a fire in the field igniting dried grass and the piles of dead trees. After a six hour battle, the forest service got the fire under control. Although time has passed, the scars from the fire remain.

A few minutes later, I glanced across the road and saw more scars. These weren’t caused by a fire but rather from the wind of the hurricane I mentioned earlier. These scars were different because the trees were different. These trees were younger pine trees and because they were thinner they weren’t blown over but instead left twisted and bent. Regardless…what remained was a field of scars–reminding all who looked of the night winds over one hundred miles an hour ravaged the area.

Scars are not confined just to nature, are they? They can be found everywhere including our lives and the lives of those around us. Sometimes the scars are physical but sometimes they are emotional. Regardless, as we bump into people we should remember that most of them bear the scars from past pain. The one glimmer of good about scars is that they remind us that the wound will eventually heal. A field ravaged by fire will give birth to new growth and new trees. A forest damaged by the wind will also eventually regrow. And gratefully, even the wounds of life will eventually heal leaving the past in the past.

That same morning that I saw the charred trees and the ones twisted by the storm, I saw something else. As the dawn grew and the night slithered away, the sun peeked over the horizon and beams of light filled the whole area. They bathed the green grass, the piles of charred trees and even the twisted forest. And, in that moment, I realized those beams were beams of hope. The dawn of that new day offered new hope. 

Here is the big truth for this story. Just as the beams of the sun brought hope, so the beams of the Son of God offers hope to those still struggling with the wounds of life. No matter the cause, no matter how intense the pain, Jesus can bring light and hope into the darkness. And, He doesn’t do it some of the time, rather He does it every time. So today as you look around or perhaps in your heart and you see the wounds and scars of life,  remember that Jesus is there, is here to help you heal. And remember this…each scar is a reminder that wounds do heal and that no matter what, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Grace, gratitude, Scripture, travel

Baby Glaciers

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father!” John 14:8-9

They were little glaciers. On our recent journey to Alaska one of the highlights was an opportunity to see a real live glacier. To do that you have to travel up a rather narrow body of water. When you arrived at the end…there was the glacier. So, very early one morning, my wife Judy and I along with a couple of hundred crazy passengers gathered at the rail of our ship and watched as the beautiful scenery passed by. It was another of those moments that just confirmed my faith in our creator God. It was so obvious that what I was seeing was not an accident…rather it was the intentional act of a very intentional God.

Before long we began to see chunks of ice floating in the water. Their size was as varied as the colors in a rainbow. Some were small while others were large. And we were told that often what we could see on top of the water was just a sample of what was beneath. So we snapped picture after picture of these giant ice cubes. Before long we were told that because of the size of the ship (which was ginormous) we couldn’t get any closer to the glacier. So the captain of the ship began to spin the ship around in a circle so everyone would be able to see what little there was to see.

After a while, we slowly began to make our way up the channel of water making our way back to the bay. As we did a thought occurred to me. I realized that every one of those pieces of ice had broken off of the glacier. So while we couldn’t see the glacier itself we were seeing its “offspring.” So rather than grieving over what we couldn’t see, I decided we should be enjoying what we could see…and that changed everything. Really the only difference between the mother and her babies was their size. How about that? And then I realized something else–that is how it should be with us and Jesus. When people see us Jesus followers they should be able to see and realize that we are like Jesus.  We may be smaller in scope and size but we should be shining examples of who He is. Jesus once said to His disciples, “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” Likewise, it should be said of us, “If you have seen us then you have seen the likeness of Jesus.

Let me encourage all you Jesus followers out there to live in such a way that people can recognize we have been with Jesus. The way we live, the way we act and the way we treat people should all show others Jesus. Like the smaller chunks of ice reflected the very nature and character of the glacier–let us reflect the very nature and character of our Savior. When we do then others will know that no matter what they face, this Jesus, the Son of God, can handle it. After all, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

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

Life Savior

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 
“I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no other Savior.” Isaiah 43:11

She didn’t want me to write this story. So we were in Georgia grand-dog sitting while our daughter and family were on a grand adventure of their own. They left Atlanta, headed to New York and then on to London. They needed someone to keep their dog Tubby, who happens to be the most important member of the family, and we volunteered. As it turned out this was only leg one of our own adventure. From their home in Cumming, a suburb of Atlanta, we are traveling to Valdosta to visit my wife Judy’s family before loading up and going to Santa Rosa beach and Topsail State Park. Finally, and everyone take a breath, we will stop by Anniston, Alabama to see my sister and then back to our home in the Burg.

We decided to take our electric bikes with us and as it turned out there were several trails for us to ride pretty close to our daughter’s home. On our first ride, which we could start and end from her house, we had an incident…or rather an accident. The way they designed the sidewalks was totally evil. As you crossed a road the sidewalk had an immediate hard turn and since they had high curbs (don’t ask me why) you either made the turn or you didn’t. Well, Judy didn’t and since I was right behind her when she stopped…I had to stop too. Well, I managed to stop but unfortunately I didn’t manage to get my feet down in time so I promptly fell over. It wasn’t pretty and it was almost a disaster. I fell flat on my back on the concrete sidewalk and the only thing that saved me from a serious head injury (besides the Lord) was my bike helmet. I whacked my head and for a brief moment in time everything went white but like a computer resetting, a moment later, everything came back into focus.

Of course Judy asked if I was ok and I, of course, said I had no idea…and I didn’t. Finally I was able to get to my feet and though dazed I was able to continue the ride. Well, Judy was really to sell the bikes but the bottom line was it was simply an accident. The second bottom line was I was very grateful that I was wise enough to wear my helmet. Again, there is no doubt it was a lifesaver. Thank you Lord. You see, too often people will say, “I won’t need a helmet” but you never know. I never planned to have a head whacking accident but guess what? I did.

So this story is not about the need to wear a helmet but I do hope I encouraged you too. The story is really about our need for a Savior. And, unlike my accident, we all need a Savior because we are all going to crash into eternity. And crash without Jesus is a crash that is unsurvivable. You may not need religion but you definitely Jesus. So before you take another ride–get a helmet. And before you live another day–ask Jesus to be your life Savior. That is a decision you will never regret. No matter the crash, you can rest assured that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

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

When The Old Becomes New

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 

Just like that it went from blah to beautiful. So for the record I know very little about AI. I am not a member of the AI Fan Club and I really don’t use it very much at all. But I did have a bit of fun with it the other day.  Over the years you have read as I’ve talked a lot about gadgets and technology. Well, the other day, and maybe my wife Judy mentioned it, I decided to ask AI to rework an old photograph that I had. The program I used was Google Gemini. So here’s how it went. I had an old picture of my seven brothers and sisters. It was taken in 1974, at the cemetery, the day my Daddy was buried. It was one of a very few pictures I have of all my siblings–a simple snapshot and the effects of age had left it pretty faded.

I asked the Gemini program to “brighten, sharpen and cleanup” the picture. So, in less than a minute, the retouched photograph showed up on my screen and the results were pretty awesome. Don’t believe it? Well, check it out at the top of the post. Well, that caused me to start looking for some other photographs that were seemingly beyond enjoyment and ask Gemini to fix them up–and time and time again it did. The picture of me in uniform is of a change of command ceremony that I was a part of. Originally it was black and white and again from the 1980’s. Take a look and be amazed at what happened.

I just think all of that is pretty cool…to take something old and make it like new. And, did you know that is exactly what God does with us. In fact, He goes one step further. He doesn’t just make us look better…He makes us new. Paul, the guy in the Bible, wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” Wow…how amazing is that.

So do you think it is time for a fresh start…a new beginning? In fact, maybe you think you were born so wrong the first time you need a new one. No problem because Jesus is the Bible told a guy, “You must be born again.” When it comes to fresh beginnings and new births, well, no one can top God. It is cool that Gemini can retouch a photograph and do what it does but that way pales to what God can and is willing to do. So, go ahead and ask and He will give you that new beginning you’ve been longing for.  After all, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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 communication, food, friends, Grace, life, Scripture, sovereignty of God

Lost and Found

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

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

They were as lost as a gaggle of geese. A couple of years ago, we had a large gathering of people from several states. While they were diverse…they had one big thing in common—they all had a heart for children and families. Each person there represented a different ministry that ministered to families and children. It was an annual meeting held in a different state each year. Thay year it was Illinois’ time to host the meeting. A friend was kind enough to allow them to use her large Airbnb located out in the country—way out in Shawnee Forest country.

Our church was serving the meal, and I was speaking. When it came time for me to head out to “the farm” I had to choose which way I wanted to go.  There was the regular route and the road less traveled. I was at the point of decision when at the very last minute I changed my mind and chose the road less traveled. I was taking my time since I had a little time to kill. Before long I was out in the country and on the road less traveled. Driving at a blazing 35 miles an hour, I saw a van coming toward me…followed by another vehicle. It was then I noticed it.

It was an arm sticking out the window and flagging me down. I thought maybe there was a deer in the road ahead but not at all. As we came side by side, he asked a question, “Do you know where Nan’s farm is?” These folks were hopelessly lost and had apparently been so for a while. I assured them I did (especially since that was where I was going) and told him to follow me. I gave them time to turn around and before long we were at the farm—safe and sound.

As it turned out, these folks had been calling the already arrived group trying to get directions to the farm. The problem was exasperated by the fact they had no clue where they were. As we pulled into the driveway, they were sending someone to find them. The good news is they found me first. That makes this story have a “happy ever after” ending. They got where they were going—in time for supper—and I got to be the hero—leading them to their destination.

Probably the only reason this story earned a Grits story is one simple fact. Back in Harrisburg, I made a last-minute decision to go “the road less traveled.” Had I gone the way I always went…well, they might still be lost today. Smile. One simple decision changed everything, and do you know what? I don’t think it was an accident. I believe the timing and the route I took was one of those God things that people talk about. I don’t believe it was a coincidence or an accident—I believe it was just one more example of our Dearest Daddy looking out for His kids. I believe He does that—a lot.

Whether you are the one led to change lanes at the last minute or the one hopelessly lost, you need to know that your Dearest Daddy is watching out for you.  You see, with Him watching, you are never as lost as you think you are. After all—He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne