food – Page 18 – Grits with Grace

Family, food, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture, Southern born, wisdom

Tripe and Gossip

Posted on August 4, 2020August 3, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.” Proverbs 20:19

The more I chewed the bigger it got. I have lots of food memories from growing up. First you need to remember that I was born in the South and folks from the South have a whole different way of eating. And trust me…that means it was good…mostly. I can remember fried chicken Sunday dinners with green beans and mashed potatoes…the kind that didn’t come from a box but from a real potato. A lot of Sundays we had pot roast with those same yummy potatoes and green beans.

My mama made really good biscuits. You can’t imagine how good they were hot out of the oven. While we did occasionally have dessert we really didn’t need it. We would just take one of mama’s biscuits, slather it with butter and then pour cane syrup all over it. Shoot-that-thing! You don’t know good if you’ve never had homemade biscuits and syrup. Now with all that said, there were a few things we had that were a bit—different.

I remember I decided to try something new with my peanut butter. It could have been that we were out of jelly but anyway I got the mayonnaise out of the refrigerator, smeared it on some bread and then loaded on the peanut butter. Bam…just like that a new delicacy was born. That became one of my favorites for years. One day I had one and then got the stomach flu and well, we parted ways.

We didn’t have a whole lot of candy growing up and I’ve always had a sweet tooth. Somewhere along the journey I discovered the sugar bowl. Did you know you can get a teaspoon full of sugar and put it in your mouth and it tastes like a candy bar? Well, it probably didn’t taste like a Snickers, but it was plenty sweet. You know what they say, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

School lunches were always an adventure. There were deviled egg sandwiches (awesome), deviled egg sandwiches with potted meat mixed in (not so awesome), potted meat sandwiches without deviled eggs (yuk) and finally Vienna sausages (uh, well, somewhat good). You just never knew what mom was going to put in the lunch bag. My all-time favorite was pimento cheese. To this day that is one of my favorites. And then there was—tripe.

Tripe wasn’t a lunch item, it was always for supper. Some of you may not have discovered the wonder of tripe or even know what it is. Well, for those of you who don’t know tripe is cow’s stomach. Yup and let me just tell you it was an experience. It always smelled great cooking but eating it was a real challenge. Mama usually cut it up in pretty small pieces but you still had to get a sharp knife to get it down to bite size. Now tripe was…chewy. In fact, tripe was very chewy. Which is why it never made it into the lunch bag—it took two hours to eat one small piece. You see, the more you chewed it, the bigger it got!

I’ve heard it said that celery is one of those negative calorie foods…it actually takes more calories to chew it and digest it than are in the food itself. I think tripe must be one of those also. In fact, I am sure there is a tripe diet somewhere out there. You take a bite, chew for two hours and bam…lose two pounds. Good, ole, tripe. The supper of champions.

You do know that gossip is a lot like tripe don’t you? You mutter a few words about your friend and before you know it, you have yourself a belly full of trouble. Those few hurtful words just get bigger and more hurtful each time they are repeated. Feelings get hurt, relationships are broken and talk about a belly ache…oh yeah. While the Bible doesn’t say much about tripe it does say a lot about gossip. One of my favorites is Proverbs 20:19, “The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip; avoid someone with a big mouth.” How’s that for being straight to the point?

One of the best ways to avoid gossip is to remember a couple of things. If the person you are telling isn’t part of the problem…don’t tell them. Also, if you wouldn’t say something to a person’s face you shouldn’t share it behind their back. Now the problem is, most of us just love a good piece of juicy gossip. The Bible says, “A gossip’s words are like choice food that goes down to one’s innermost being.” That might be true but I know one more thing about tripe. If it gets stuck in your throat you are in deep weeds. That choice piece of gossip can get stuck too, and can cause heart breaking consequences.

Well, I gave up tripe a long time ago. I guess I had enough when I was a kid. I wish I could say I have totally given up gossip the same way. I have found out given half-a-chance I can find myself saying, “Hey, did you hear…” and that tripe-like-sin is right back in my mouth. We just need to be careful to keep it out of our mouth. The good news is Jesus is more than willing to help if you ask. He can handle all kind of things whether it be a tough piece of tripe stuck in the wrong place or a juicy piece of gossip right on your lips. Just ask Him. He will help cause He’s got …even this.

Family, food, life, Scripture

Food Truck

Posted on June 23, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

“When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

There’s a new food truck in town. For the past several years I have begun my day by walking for exercise. I take several different routes but one of my favorites is around the lake at the city park. It was there I met Bubba the goose (for past readers he said to tell you hi), saw the power of integration in the goose families (they are doing fine), saw a man waging a war with people I could not see, and saw the new food truck in town. Let me explain.

We walkers see two kinds of exercisers. Some people come and go and some are regular as clockwork, they show up to walk each day. Like Forest Gump they start running—or walking—and just don’t stop. These folks become unofficial friends. We may not know each other’s names, what we do for a living or where the other person lives but for those few minutes at the park our lives intersect. And then, there’s the “food truck.”

She loves dogs and really animals. She walks her dogs every day in the park…and there are several. But what is interesting is that for a long time there was a cat walking with her. I mean a lot of people walk dogs, but a cat? The feline wasn’t on a leash but would just quietly walk behind her and the dogs. Talk about intriguing. So after a while I just had to talk with her. It turns out it wasn’t her cat at all. She met the cat one day while walking and it looked a little thin so she started dropping some dry cat food on the sidewalk and …well the cat had breakfast and hung around for dessert. There was a new “food truck” in town.

Sadly, one day our feline friend wasn’t there and I learned that he was hit by a car and didn’t survive. We mourned together…a lady I didn’t know losing a cat she didn’t own but we paused and grieved. But before long, there was another cat. I first saw him on the sidewalk about a block from the park and he was having breakfast on the sidewalk and I knew the “food truck” had been by. The relationship wasn’t as tight or as long but she had made a new friend by meeting a need.

Well, one day I was again walking in the park and ahead I saw several squirrels having breakfast. Yup, the “food truck” fed squirrels too. And then a few days later I saw several ducks gathered on the walking trail. Turns out ducks like cat food and they too were having breakfast. The “food truck” was a hit in the park and everyone was invited. But the funniest part was yet to happen.

So I am walking, and across the narrow lake I can see her walking her dog. Behind her is a group of ducks having breakfast. Then on my side of the lake there are three ducks and they are on the move. They are waddling as fast as their little legs would take them and they are quacking up a storm. Again, my duck is a little rusty but I believe they were saying, “Hey wait for us.” So huffing and puffing they waddle down a small peninsula and jump in. Paddling furiously they headed straight across the lake. Like kids chasing the ice cream truck they swam on. It was my last lap for the day but the last time I saw them they were on shore and hollering, “Wait, we’re coming.”

I don’t know my friend’s name but I do know her impact. Her acts of kindness to animals makes her a hit with them and with me. She just seems to care and really, besides this strange sort of fan club, gets no other reward. She just does what she thinks is the next right thing. I wonder how different our world would be if we did the same. Jesus did. The Book tells us that when He saw people—He didn’t see social class, He didn’t see color—He just saw people and He had compassion on them. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd or maybe like ducks needing breakfast.

Compassion is best defined as simply love in action. Its seeing a need and then doing what you can to meet that need. Imagine today taking the time to show kindness to someone having a difficult day. Imagine today taking the time to give someone a smile when they are only used to frowns. Imagine today doing simply the next right thing—without reward, without expectation—simply because it is the right thing to do. It might just be amazing. It might just look crazy…like a cat following a lady walking her dog. It might just be game changing.

In a few minutes, I’m going to do my walking thing. I don’t have any cat food. In fact my shorts don’t even have pockets but I can pack an intentional smile for someone who needs one. I can do that. Sometimes Jesus gave out free lunches to crowds—big crowds. Sometimes He healed broken bodies and spirits. But something that I think we overlook is that He probably smiled…a lot. Imagine His joy as He shared and showed compassion—love in action. Like the cat, like the ducks following the “food truck” people followed Him. Not just for the bread, though some did, but because around Him they felt safe. They felt loved. They found a place where they could rest from the craziness of life. We can too. He’s got this.

Family, food, life, Scripture, thankful

Miss Pauline’s Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Posted on June 17, 2020June 17, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” Psalm 34:7

Try it. You’ll like it. Over the years I have met so many incredible people. I have learned that people are not perfect but people add spice and challenge to life. People make life…life. I am a pastor by call and by trade and I love it. There are many reasons that is true but one is the people I get to serve with. One of those was Bob. Bob is a friend from my past but at the same time Bob is a friend that I could see tomorrow and we would pick up right where we left off.

Bob is one of those people with a quirky sense of humor. I love that because I do too. I remember one time he showed up at the church office and beeped the horn. I went and opened the door and went out. He told me to come around to the other side of the truck and hop in. Well, I went and opened the door and what greeted me was a five or six foot rattlesnake coiled up on the from seat. We almost had a natural disaster there on the spot. Turned out the snake was headless. Bob liked snakes so I don’t think he did the honors but why miss the opportunity to scare your pastor to death?

Now Bob and I are Baptists. One thing you need to know about Baptists is that we believe food is the cure all for all things. If we are sad—we eat. If we are happy—we eat. If someone dies—we eat. If someone gets married—we eat. And sometimes, well, we just eat for fun. Well, Bob and I were at one of our meetin’ eatin’ times and I was eating some raisin pie. Now this wasn’t your normal raisin pie. This was Miss Pauline’s sour cream raisin pie and it was incredible. I was working on my second piece when I invited Bob to have a taste.

“Nope,” he said, “I don’t like raisin pie.” Well I began to persuade him with all of my preacher passion. “This,” I explained, “is like no other raisin pie you have ever eaten.” I went on to explain how this pie would make your tongue slap your face. So after about five minutes of “you really need to try this,” he did. The results were as expected and immediate. Two or three pieces later Bob was an official member of the Miss Pauline’s sour cream raisin pie fan club.

Here is what he and I came to discover. There is raisin pie and there is Miss Pauline’s sour cream raisin pie and the two are not the same. And once I tasted Miss Pauline’s pie, I wanted him to experience it too. I just knew that if he did, he would be a fan for life. And do you know what? I think that is true about Jesus too. I find a lot of people are not too keen on God or Jesus. The reason is simple. They have tasted religion and decided pretty quick that wasn’t too tasty. I agree with that one. Some have tasted church and depending on their experience it was either a disaster or a delight. At any rate, church isn’t the fix all that people think that it is. Religion or church are just plain ole raisin pie. You need more…you need Jesus.

Yup, Jesus is like Miss Pauline’s raisin pie. He is so much more than religion and so much more than church…He is the One who knew the price for sin was death and then willingly paid the price for that sin. He died on a Roman cross to pay the price for our sin and then came back to life three days later to prove He was the Son of God. It is a pretty amazing story. If you have never read about it let me suggest you get a copy of the Bible read about Him. You will find Him in the first four books of the New Testament. You will find He is like sour cream raisin pie…delicious and irresistible. But you can’t know that if you don’t take a taste.

David (he is one of the Kings of Israel from Bible times) was on the run from one of his enemies when he wrote, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!” David was saying if you will take just one taste of the real deal you will like what you taste. Its not religion, its not church—it is the Man who died on the cross because He loved me and you.

So, if you ever get the chance to taste sour cream raisin pie, especially if somehow you can find a piece of Miss Pauline’s, well don’t wait and don’t delay. Even if, especially if, you have tried plain ole raisin pie you are gonna be surprised! And if you haven’t read the story of Jesus, well don’t wait and and don’t delay. Even if, especially if, you have been turned off by church and religion, you are gonna be surprised. You are gonna find out that He is the real deal. You are gonna find out when and if you decide to follow Him, He will be your new BFF (best friend forever) and He will never leave you sitting beside the road. He is the kind of friend that you can call at 2:00 am and never get a busy signal. He is the kind of friend who invites you to sit and chat on the front porch and rest a while. He is the kind of friend that is like a strong, big brother who loves you. Strong enough to say, “I’ve got this” and pull it off. Try Him…You’ll love Him.

food, life, Scripture, Southern born

Stupid Watermelon

Posted on June 2, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. Against You—You alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight.” Psalm 51:3-4

I should have just stayed home. You probably don’t know there is such a thing as a stupid watermelon but if you live long enough you will surely run into one. In my case it happened just a couple of weeks ago at our local grocery store. Before I begin the story you need to know that I am one of those slightly older people who has “old people’s skin.” In case you don’t know “old people’s skin” happens as a person ages. The result is skin that bruises and wounds easily. Let me just say, “It ain’t fun.” It goes like this.

You are opening the storm door with one of those automatic closing things. The wind catches the door, banging into your arm. Congratulations…you are the proud owner of a new bruise. You are carrying a pile of limbs to the rubbish pile and one shifts in your hands and against, or rather into, your arm. You win again. You are going up the stairs…yes, I said up the stairs, and your foot catches on the riser and you fall against the wall. Double congratulations…you win a bruise and cut. Sigh.

And it is always the hand you use the most. In my case I am left-handed so my left arm continually looks like I play major league football or have wrestled with a full-grown lion. Either way…its’ not pretty. And mark my word, just about the time you get it healed up…bam…you start all over again. That, dear friends, is where the stupid watermelon comes along.

I don’t do grocery stores. I definitely do food…I just don’t do grocery shopping. Well, one evening I was feeling pretty jovial and decided to go to the grocery store with my wife Judy. We enter the store and get one of those cute (on no…I said cute again) mini baskets and off we go. We are heading back to the bakery so I am in a particularly good mood. I can already taste the greasy, fried dough. Then…it happens. There is a sign that says, “Watermelons – $3.99.” Judy loves watermelons.

We pause and begin to study the watermelons. She thumps them. She pats them. She caresses them. After several minutes the winner is chosen. “I want this one” she declares. Her galant, strong prince, hoists the winning melon out of the bin of losers and prepares to put it in the buggy. Because we have a mini-buggy, I decided to put it in the bottom rather than the top. That is where things got ugly.

I bend over and prepare to slide the watermelon into the too small bottom portion of the buggy. Just at the time of releasing the melon and removing my hand—it slips. As it falls into the too small bottom portion it rolls on my hand and catches my finger between the basket and watermelon. “Ouch,” I said. When I was able to maneuver my finger from between the basket and melon—I saw it. Not a bruise…oh no…but a nice ¾ inch skin laceration. It was bleeding. Badly. Profusely. It was then the true nature of the melon escaped my lips, “Stupid watermelon.” No wonder they were on sale for $3.99.

It seems at least they could have put a sign up that read, “Stupid Watermelons – $3.99.”

Well, I quickly became obsessed over the true nature of the evil watermelon. “Hey Judy, do you have a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from the stupid watermelon?” “Honey, do you want some cheese to go with the stupid watermelon?” On and on it went and the watermelon and I became mortal enemies. And the coup-de-grace? Not only was it stupid…it wasn’t even sweet. Sigh.

But no, I had to find out the hard way. About then Judy said something like, “Well, it really wasn’t the watermelon…it was the buggy.” I began to protest but I think she said something like, “And you know it happened because it slipped out of your hand.” By that I assumed she meant the one that was cut and bleeding. Somehow it didn’t make my hand feel any better and two weeks later I still have some healing to do. But…she was right.

It wasn’t the watermelon, it wasn’t the buggy it wasn’t even me. It was just one of those things that happen. I just needed to blame something because my hand hurt and 746 people were going to ask, “What happened to your hand?” Blaming it on a stupid watermelon just seemed easier. The truth is, it is easier to blame than it is to own. It has been that way since the beginning of time. In the garden, Adam blamed Eve and God for the hot mess they were in after they chose to sin. Eve, of course, blamed the serpent and the serpent, well, he just smiled. Whether it is broken skin or a broken heart; whether it is someone’s fault or not; whether you own part of the skirmish or all of it—why not take a moment and own it. Press the pause button, calm down and then just eat the watermelon. That way, you will get the last laugh. Then, tell God about it, all about it and take a rest in Him. He’s got that and this.

food, life, Scripture

“Pigdemic”

Posted on May 26, 2020 by Dewayne Taylor

Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

I was afraid I had caught it. We have all heard all we need to hear about the corona virus. Regardless of what magazine, newspaper, news program, talk show or person you talk to, eventually, the topic of this pandemic will come up. Nothing has so dominated the public’s attention like this, this, this disaster, this tragedy, this pain in the neck, this maker of our new normalcy…COVID-19. Oh, and I wasn’t afraid that I caught that. Nope…but I was almost certain I had caught its first cousin.

Did you know that the pandemic had a first cousin? Oh yes, it does. It is the dreaded…wait for it…pigdemic. Yup…you read it right. Pigdemic is a new phenomenon that is sweeping the nation. It happens when people are forced to stay at home for extended periods of time, bored out of their minds. In this condition, people eat and eat and eat. They eat things that they love, they eat things they like, they eat things they don’t like and they eat things they have never heard of. The consequences are weighty.

Clothes magically shrink while hanging in closets, mirrors suddenly make people appear shorter and wider, gravity seems to take on added strength when we try to get off of the couch and exercise becomes more difficult, much more difficult. And that is where I made a self-diagnosis. I had the pigdemic. It happened like this.

First, despite my shrinking clothes, I have managed to walk 2.5 miles, five or six days a week at a respectable 14 minute mile pace. Well, this morning, after walking, my wife was going to ride her bike. I decided I would join her. After all, riding a bike had to be easier than walking. So off we went! I was surprised when she was about 40 yards ahead of me and I was panting like a dog on a hot day. “Hmmmm” I said. She had to stop and adjust her seat (for which I am eternally grateful) and I told her, “I don’t know if it is because I walked this morning or maybe it is those pesky donuts but I am tired. This is hard.” She laughed and kindly said it was probably because I had walked. I was sure it was the donuts.

So we kept riding, I kept falling behind and I was pretty sure I was going to die. I was certain I had the pigdemic. I wasn’t ready to swear off donuts but I was close. Well, I had been hearing a noise on my front wheel (which sounded strangely like a pig squealing) but I didn’t think too much about it. I should have. I finally told Judy I was going to stop and check out the squealing pig sound. I did and it turned out my front wheel was off center causing my brake to be about half on. I loosened the front wheel and centered it slightly and got back on. Two amazing things happened. The squealing pig was gone and suddenly I could peddle a lot easier. A whole lot easier.

It turns out I was not about to die from the pigdemic. It was a brake that was braking when it should have been coasting. I discovered it is amazing when you ride a bike how much harder it is when the brake is on…even a little. A little braking can quickly break your spirit. I decided before I ride again I’m going to check my bike out a little closer and make sure there are no squealing pigs on board.

I wonder if that is what the writer of Hebrews had in mind? He encouraged us to lay aside every weight and every sin that might hinder us from running our race or riding our spiritual bike. I think it might be. The weights are things that may not be wrong for us but are just not helpful. It might be like riding a bike and carrying a ten pound rock in your basket…just because you like rocks. Sin, well, we know what sin is. If you are biking it might be like riding with a flat tire. Not a good idea. Whether it is rocks or flat tires, the bottom line is life is harder when we carry stuff that we don’t need or that can and will hurt us.

So, if you are riding your bike and there is a sound that sounds like a squealing pig, it probably isn’t the pigdemic. It’s probably a wheel off-center causing your brake to brake. If life seems a little more difficult, why not ask God and see if you have a rock or two in your basket or worse, a flat tire. Try praying this prayer from Psalm 139:23-24. “Father would you search me inside and out, run some tests on me, and see if there is anything hindering me, hurting me? Would you see if there is something that I’m doing that offends you? Would you lead me in a way that shows others I am on Your path? Thank-you Father. Amen.” Now that is one prayer that God wants to answer. He wants you to peddle through life with the wind at your back, a song in your heart and no squealing pigs on board. And when you get home you can rest in Him. Do you know why? Yup…He’s got this.