Category: loving others

Posted in Family, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

Looking for Grits

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

I went and searched, and we were out. You all know that food and I go way back. One of my favorite rooms in my house isn’t the biggest—not by a long shot.  In fact, it is one of the smallest.  It is so small, when they built that part of our house shortly after World War II, they had to custom make a little door for the little room.  I find myself using that door a lot.  And where does that door lead?  It leads into our pantry.

Not every house even has a pantry but ours does.  It is where we keep all our food stuff.  Of course, the cold stuff goes into the refrigerator, the frozen stuff goes in the freezer, and just about everything else goes in the pantry.  So, when you need something that has to do with food…it is the “go to” place.  There are cans and boxes and bags and containers that all share one thing in common—they all contain food.  When Judy is cooking, she will often go there to get what she needs.  Most times she will find it sitting right there on the shelf but sometimes it is empty, sometimes we have used the last of the last and then it is time to go to the store.

Well, I think it is time for my wife (and graphic designer) and me to go the store and get some more Grits.  As you know, our stories are taken from everyday life and after three and a half years, the shelf is getting just a little bare. So, we are going to take a little break and go to the store. For the next couple of weeks, we are going to be “out of pocket” on a mission trip and a week of vacation. We are certain between those two we can surely come back with a fresh supply of adventures and stories.  So, what does that mean?

After today, if you want to find Grits, you will need to visit our Facebook page and scroll back and pick a story to read.  Even better, you can visit our website, http://www.gritswithgrace.com and you can either scroll or search by topic or even scripture. Virtually every story we have written and used or reused over the last three years is there. I hope you will make that your Grits pantry for the next couple of weeks.

If you are into praying, you might ask our Father to help these two weeks to be profitable and peaceful—filled with service and purpose. As you look for Grits each morning, take a moment, and ask God to guide our steps.  We are hoping it will be a time when we can recharge our batteries and come back with a bag full of Grits’ ideas.  Jesus told His disciples that when they grew a little weary, they should come to Him and He would give them rest.  As we go, we are looking forward to spending some time together and with Him.  But don’t forget the big thing we have learned over these months and years that no matter what, we know for certain that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

“Eat Mor Chikin”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9

It should be every church’s goal.  Y’all know I am partial to food.  We have been friends for a long time.  I think I was probably one of those kids that was born with a craving for homemade mac and cheese with fried chicken.  “Hey mom, can we skip the milk and go straight for the grease and carbs?”  Yup, sounds like me.  One of my favorite fast-food places is Chick-fil-A. Have you ever noticed something unusual about this place?  Well, let me help you…there is always a line.  Period.

It seems that no matter what time you go by to grab your chicken fix, people are lined up and being served.  If you have ever been to one, you also know they are a very unusual place.  First, the food is really good.  Their chicken, mac and cheese, milk shakes, waffle fries—even their salads are off the scale.  Now about their salads…I must take that on word of mouth since I avoid anything green! Every time I see the commercial for their creamy mac and cheese, I start drooling.  One day, when the line isn’t insanely long, I’m going to get some.  But the bottom line is that they make sure they have something to sell, and they sell lots.

The big thing…even bigger than their food…is their service.  I have never seen a friendlier team of employees.  Every person who works for them seems to be genuinely glad to work there and genuinely glad that I stopped in.  Every time I have stopped, I have felt like I was the most important customer in the place.  One time at a Chick-fil-A at the airport the person who waited on me wasn’t quite up to par, but truth be known they were still far and above most places. And it doesn’t stop there.

Remember I mentioned those long lines?  It is just amazing how organized they are in processing their customers’ orders. In the drive thru, they have employees out in the parking lot taking orders even before the customers get to the window.  They value their customers’ time and prove it by making sure they don’t have to wait any longer than necessary. By the way, it is a Christian based company, and a lot of their business principles are straight from the Bible. People first. And have you noticed that they choose to be closed on Sundays?  Do you know why?  God first.  Love God…love people.

All of this caused me to wonder something.  What if, we, the Church, did business like Chick-fil-A?  What if we “marketed” our message like they market their products?  What we have to offer is the best news ever—the Gospel or Good News that broken people can be healed—that forgiveness is available for any man, woman or child who is willing to place their trust in what Jesus has done.  I mean that is valuable.  Chick-fil-A believes in their product, but do we really believe in ours?  I think we should.

What if every person who came through our doors felt like they were the most important person in the building?  What is every person felt they were valued—both by God and by the church regulars?  You can take it to the bank that God indeed values every person regardless of race, social status, or sin list.  He is not willing that any should perish but that all should be redeemed.  It says it in the Book.  Perhaps the most important working team (think committee) in the church is the hospitality team.  Their job—to make every person feel welcomed, accepted, and wanted.  Yup…that would work.

Well, I do like a good chicken sandwich and a good helping of mac and cheese, but I love the way these folks do business.  I do think it should be the goal of every local church to love God…love people and make it obvious that is what we are about. The God we serve is worthy of more than “good enough” …He deserves our very best. Why? Because He gave His very best for us.  He is for us and through Him anything and everything within His will and purpose is possible.  In these days we have an opportunity to show off our love for God and others.  It can happen…it should happen…because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, fear, forgiveness, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Wait and See

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” Genesis 17:17

I quit just a little too soon.  I think there must have been this line in heaven where all the babies wait to be assigned dads, moms, skills, and bodies in heaven.  I can just imagine me standing there waiting.  I am watching as all the boy babies make it to the front and they are soon on their way with these bodies that are destined to be tall and muscular.  They make the jump to earth and their new homes just waiting to grow up and become the next Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan.  I can also imagine my turn at the front of the line and Saint Peter saying something about sports and I miss understood and thought he said something about ketchup, and I said, “Sure, I’ll take a squirt.” Anyway, I arrived on earth a little shorter than average and not a sports bone in my body.  I should have listened more closely.

All this became pretty apparent when it came to choosing teams.  Whether it was kickball, volleyball, basketball, dodgeball, or baseball, when the teams were chosen, I was near the end of the line. As far as school sports are concerned, well, there were hundreds of kids in the schools I attended and trust me no one ever offered me a contract.  The only place I had a measure of success was, of course, at church.  I managed to make the church softball team though it was the “B” team. We did play tackle football after our Bible study time on Wednesday nights and there I made a name for myself. One of our teachers was named Eddie and he was, well, one large man and no one could tackle him, so they called him “Big Eddie.”  While I wasn’t nearly that large, I was harder to tackle so I gained the name “Little Eddie.”  Hey, when you are nameless in the world of sports, you will take anything.

My only foray into “professional sports” was Little League baseball when I was about 9 or 10.  I don’t remember if I made the team, or if everyone made the team.  Regardless, we were called the Gators and we, or rather they, were pretty good.  Again, I had absolutely no talent in baseball, so I was assigned to right field on the rare occasions that I got to play.  I was the kid who prayed a lot during the games.  It wasn’t that I was particularly spiritual—it was emotional survival.  First, I would pray that they wouldn’t play me and then, if they did, I would pray that no one would hit the ball to right field.  It didn’t work. Invariably someone would and well, it wasn’t good.

Then, of course, there was the batting thing.  Did you know that there are players who say they can see the stitches on the ball as it comes toward them?  Did you know there are players who know when and how to swing?  Can you guess I wasn’t one of those players?  Nope, the pitcher would pitch, and I would wonder where the ball was. That wasn’t pretty either.  So, the sad (you are feeling sorry for me by now, aren’t you) bottom line is that one day I just refused to go to practice.  I made it through about three quarters of the season, and I just gave it up—I quit.

Well, guess what?  It turns out that even without me, the Gators ended up winning the championship.  Yup, they sure did.  I remember, the coach came by my house one evening and he was carrying a trophy.  He said that the team had won it all and even though I hadn’t finished the season, he wanted me to have a trophy.  I probably mumbled something about quitting because I was hit by a semi-truck and thanked him for bringing the trophy by.  The truth was there was no excuse—I just quit. And the other truth is because of that, the trophy meant absolutely, the grand total of—nothing.  I didn’t earn it and I didn’t deserve it.  Not because I wasn’t good, but because I didn’t finish.

I really don’t have a lot of regrets in life but that is a small one I do own.  I’m ok with not being tall and gifted in sports, but I’m not ok with being a quitter.  Not then—not now. If I had waited, I could have been a champion, but I didn’t wait it out.  You know there was a guy in the Bible who had the same issue.  God had promised him a son, an heir.  The only problem was he and his wife were old—really old.  In fact, when God told him he was going to have a son, this guy fell on his face and laughed and said, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Instead of believing God, he decided to do things his way or really Sarah’s way. Since she couldn’t conceive, they opted for a concubine rather than wait on the miracle.  What a bad idea.  He and the concubine did have a son, but it wasn’t the son God had promised.  It really didn’t go well…and sadly it still isn’t going well.  Much of the conflict in that part of the world stems from this one man.  Oh, the consequences.

Oh, and by the way, guess what?  When they were both older than dirt, Sarah, his wife did in fact conceive and the promised son was born.  God came through after all—surprise, surprise.  If only they had finished the season…if only they had waited, how different things would have been.  The good news is that God kept His word and blessed Abraham beyond his wildest dreams. You see even though Abraham quit believing, God never quit believing in him…and He won’t quit believing in you either.  I like that…actually, I love that.  Regardless of what you are waiting on, just hang on…just be patient, just wait and see what God has in mind. He’s never late and He’s never early, He’s right on time because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

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

Satisfied

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

It was the strangest thought but somehow it made sense.  One morning a couple of years ago, I was doing my walking thing.  It was a brisk morning with a strong wind and cloudy skies and just for fun…a light rain.  It was one of those mornings the treadmill probably made sense, but I didn’t listen.  I turned in a good time…not that I desired to go fast, but I desired to get back to my car.

In an attempt to take my mind off the wind, rain and cold, I was mulling around some ideas about a message series I was teaching at the church where I pastor.  It was called “taking care of business” and carries the idea that as Jesus followers or as Jesus churches we are called to do and not just talk.  We are called not to just believe, but to act. Our lives and the life of our church need to show a spiritual profit or, like any other “business” we will go out of business.  And that’s when it happened.

Here’s what came to my mind.  From out of the blue, or in this case gray, came, “Your neighbor’s car will only look attractive to you when you are unhappy with yours.”  Now keep in mind the statement has nothing to do with my car or my neighbor’s car—it has to do with being content with what you have.  You see, it is often easy for the grass on the other side of the fence to look enticing. Other things, including other gods, all of a sudden, look better. It can be true in many things but more importantly it is true in our faith.

We live in a world of constant flux and when that is true, it can impact anything and everything.  We grow discontented and emotionally and spiritually disoriented.  We start looking for something, anything really, to make us feel better or good.  And too often we look in all the wrong places.  The contentment satisfier is, wait for it, Jesus. Never ever confuse that with anything else…including church.

If you want to be content, if you want to be happier, learn to be grateful for what you have instead of grumpy because of what you don’t.  Remember that the things that matter aren’t bought in a store they come from meaningful relationships.  They are born in delivery rooms and discovered on a hilltop as the sun goes down in a beautiful array of colors. They are the products of dreams and the anchor of our hope.  They are the love notes from a loving God who takes the time to say, “I love you” every single day.  You see the Bible guy Paul, and probably sitting in some difficult place said, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” I think He discovered that gratitude doesn’t depend on circumstances—it depends on perspective.  Hmmm.

So why not today, make a list and check it twice of all the things God has allowed to come into your life.  Instead of longing for what is not there, why not grasp what is already within your reach?  Listen to the Great Giver as He tells you how special and blessed you are—where you are—and assures you that “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Cotton Candy and Sin

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

Her name is Maggie, and she likes to serve. Our church has a ministry that involves a Fun Foods trailer filled with all kinds of good things…things like snow cones, popcorn and best of all—cotton candy. And while popcorn and snow cones are relatively safe, those brave enough to make cotton candy are going to get messy.  Very messy. This past Saturday, our church took the trailer to a fall festival and soon we were set up and ready for business.  When my wife Judy and I got there, Maggie was already making cotton candy, so we decided to join her team.

Maggie was the one actually running the machine, I was the one that opened the bags and held them open while she put the cotton candy in the bag and Judy was the one who put on the twist ties.  We were quite the team but let’s be clear—Maggie was the cotton candy queen—clearly this was not her first rodeo. We soon settled into the groove, and we were slinging cotton candy left and right.  I even got to go and be the front man and encourage people to have some.  I kinda stretched the truth and told them it was sugar free, oh, and that their doctor said it was ok.  I confessed later.

Like I said, we were slinging cotton candy left and right and it soon became apparent that so was the machine.  When we started the process Maggie was clean as a whistle but the longer she worked, the pinker she became.  Let me explain. We were making pink cotton candy and I quickly learned that cotton candy attracts cotton candy. If a little is stuck to you then very soon some more will stick to that little bit and that is what happened to Maggie.  Well, before the shift was over Maggie was very pink. In fact, she was almost covered with a layer of sweet, pink hair.  It was pretty amazing, and it taught me a valuable lesson—not about cotton candy but about sin.

You see, just like a little cotton candy stuck on you attracts and grabs more of the same, so it is with sin.  When we allow a little sin to get stuck in our lives, if we are not careful, soon we can become a sin magnet.  Sin attracts sin and while it was obvious with Maggie and the cotton candy—that is not always the case with sin.  We need to learn to be alert—to keep an eye out—and when we spot something—have the wisdom to do something right there and then.

Well, in Maggie’s cotton candy world she didn’t have time to stop and remove the small pieces that stuck to her in the beginning, so she ended up pink.  But when it comes to sin—take the time, make the time to solve the problem by removing the sin from your life. Trust me—that is one thing you won’t regret. It is easier to deal with a little sin than to allow it to stick around (no pun intended) and grow. If you need any help, God is always ready and willing to help us. In fact, He is the sin removing and forgiving expert. Just ask and He will be glad to help.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, thankful, travel, Trials

Welcome to the Buffet

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10

It’s not for everyone…and I didn’t think it was for me.  You see, several years ago Judy and I decided to take the plunge and go on a cruise.  I always wrote cruises off because the thought of being in that small of an area with 4,000 of my closest friends just didn’t sound appealing.  Well, for whatever reason, I finally said yes, and I am so glad that I did.  We had a great time.  If you regularly read Grits, you know we love to travel.  Well, take that, plus good food and entertainment and the fact that somehow it just didn’t seem crowded and well, it was just fun.

I had always heard that the food was plentiful and incredible, and it really was.  All you want and all included.  When you bought your ticket, all the perks were thrown in and I was determined to make sure I took advantage of them all.  They say the average person gains like five pounds on a cruise and I am pretty sure I can testify to that.

Now let me ask you a question.  Wouldn’t it have been crazy if I chose not to take advantage of all that had already been paid for?  Would it be crazy if I had bought cans of sardines and cases of crackers on board to eat.  Well trust me, it would have. The crazy part is that too often we ignore the wonderful blessings that God gives us as His children.

I received an email years ago and it told how Bill Bright, a great teacher and leader, used to tell the story of a man who carefully saved his money until he was finally able to travel on a beautiful cruise ship. It was all he could do just to save enough to buy his ticket. Thinking he wouldn’t have enough money to buy meals in the ship’s fine dining room, he decided to take along some cheese and crackers for food.

For several days he sat in his cabin, watching the stewards go by with carts full of luscious lobster, prime rib, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Finally, he couldn’t stand it any longer. He reached out and grabbed one of the stewards by the arm and begged him for a plate of food. “Please, help me. I’ll go to work; I’ll scrub the deck. I’ll do anything to get something to eat. My cheese and crackers are turning stale, and I’m starving to death.” “But, sir,” the steward replied, “don’t you know? Your food comes with your ticket.”

Sadly, many Christians live their life the way this man did on the cruise ship. Rather than embracing and receiving all that God has for them they become satisfied with “cheese and crackers,” living off the scarcity of the world when they could be dining on steak and baked potatoes. Either out of stubbornness or just a lack of knowledge, they don’t allow the Holy Spirit to take control of their lives and produce the luscious fruit of the Spirit–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They chose spiritual poverty over abundant life and scarcity over the joy of enjoying the abundance of their Dearest Daddy.

I’ve discovered that it is too easy to slip into leanness when God wants us to have so much more.  And, no, I’m not speaking of things.  Things are just things.  I am speaking of the richness of knowing Creator God—up close and personal. Too often I’ve been satisfied at times with the bare bones of salvation—a hope of heaven for sure but walking into walls in this life—afraid and seemingly alone. The best day of your life is the day you trust Jesus and second best…well, it is finally figuring out that He is with me and will be with me all the way.  It is figuring out that He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

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

Trust -The View from Above

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

 “Do you want to take a ride in an airplane?” We spent a week down in North Georgia visiting my sister Agnes and her husband, JW.  It was so special to visit with family and just relax.  It is one of those things that you don’t realize how much you miss it until you start doing it again.  We stayed at an Airbnb that they own and woke up to good coffee and a beautiful lake scene that no artist could ever capture.

I’ve done several special things this week and one of them happened Tuesday.  JW still works at the airport as an mechanic and still flies private aircraft.  I went with him out to the airport because they had two World War II aircraft there—a C-47 cargo plane that participated in the D-Day invasion (how cool is that) and a B-25 light bomber that also flew in World War II. Both were amazing to see and both are still flyable. Well, JW asked me, “Would you like to go flying?”  No, not in the C-47 and not in the B-25, but in a small plane own by the company he works for.  Well, the answer was YES.

So a few minutes later, after fueling up and a pre-flight, we were heading down the runway and into the wild blue yonder! Our little plane was not a speedster but it was all we needed. We cruised at about 3,000 feet and 125 mph and I was just enamored with the view from above.  I love flying but this kind of flying was extra special. It was like you were immersed in it all—kinda like when you lean over a banister and look down. It was a totally different perspective of the world that I had lived in for the past few days.  We even flew over their house.  We were both surprised how difficult it was to spot what was so familiar from the view above.

As we were flying the thought occurred to me that my Dearest Daddy always has a better view from His perspective. Sometimes I am tempted to question His decisions and the things He does or doesn’t do. But flying around reminded me that if I could see things from His perspective, I would probably doubt less and trust more. Doubt less—and trust more—those are big and powerful words.

So let me encourage you today, whether it is one of those wow everything is perfect days or one that has you questioning, just trust.  God loves you too much to abandon you and He is too wise to ever make a mistake.  Just pause and think…if we could see what He sees…we would most certainly understand and even agree with His decision. Just trust. And when that seems almost impossible then at least do this. Remember, that no matter what, no matter how big, no matter how difficult—He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, missions, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Three Days, Day 1

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

They say that God works in mysterious ways.  So one week God showed up in three very different ways on three very different days.  Now if you aren’t a God follower you might write this off as chance and circumstance but my life and faith journeys won’t let me do that.  Regardless, sit back and enjoy the story.

So if you are a Grits reader you know that my day job is leading a church.  I am the senior (by position and by age) pastor at a local church so God plays a big part of my walkabout life—both at church and otherwise.  Well, on this particular week it all started on Sunday.  It was a special day because we had a guest visiting our church who works in another part of the world.  She is a good friend of my wife Judy and me.  We have visited her and served with her several times where she serves. So we had her share about her work at a brunch we held and also in both of our services.  It was good.

Our worship services consist of two big parts—the music part and the Word part.  The Word part is when I get to share with the folks both in the room, on the radio and Facebook Live.  I love it…when it goes right. Smile.  Well, this particular day, The music part was just awesome and the sermon came together in a way that only God could orchestrate.  He was good.

We also gathered our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  If that doesn’t ring a bell just google it and you will discover one of the most purposeful things you can do. Basically you fill a shoebox with kid’s stuff and then drop it off at a collection point.  Samaritan’s Purse will ship the box (about 12 million of them) around the world to make some child’s day.  It is awesome.  Well, that day we collected our boxes, all 519 of them, and the climax was our kids marching in carrying a bunch of them.  It was very good.

So, when I was giving some closing comments at the end of the service, I told the folks that this was a “trophy Sunday.” What I meant was that it was the kind of day that you put in the special part of your brain where you put memories that you don’t want to forget.  Just like a trophy reminds you of a special event, so day was one we should keep safe because one day, someday, you just might need to be reminded that God is indeed good.

You see, not everyday is a trophy day.  Not everyday is going to be a cloudless and sunny day. There is going to be day’s that make you wonder “what in the world was God thinking?”  It may be one of those days when you think “how could a good God every allow something like this happen.”  It may be one of those days that rub you wrong…like a cheap, scratchy wool sweater.  We all have them, don’t we?  When one rolls around, you simply go to your trophy shelf and remember that God is good and even that is bigger than it sounds.  You see God doesn’t just do good…He is good.  And that is true even when our world goes south.  And sometimes it will.

The biggest trophy on my trophy shelf is a bloodied, Roman cross.  It is where Jesus died a sacrificial death…not for His benefit but for our’s.  His death that day paid the price for the sin, the messes, the brokenness of an entire world.  And God said if we would believe that what He did and choose to follow Him, we could have His love on our trophy shelf forever.  I know in today’s world that sounds hokey but trust me, it is anything but.  Go ahead check it out, check Him out.  It is a trophy worth having. One of the best known verses in the Bible is John 3:16.  It simply says that God loved the lot of us—all of us—so much He allowed His only Son to die so that anyone who believed in Him, could live forever.  Like I said, check it out.  Hey, watch Grits in the coming days for part two of “Three Days.” It is a story that gives weight to the fact that, “He’s got this.” See you then. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, gratitude, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

Beautiful

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice; let the sea and all that fills it resound. Let the fields and everything in them celebrate. Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy.” Psalm 96:11-12

I was surrounded by beauty.  As I write this I am in the holy land—no, not the one where Jesus lived—the one where people eat grits regularly and without sugar.  My wife Judy and I are in Carrolton, Georgia visiting with my sister Agnes and JW. Even though we have been in the Midwest for 43 years, in Southern (and I do mean Southern) Illinois for 37 years and in Southeastern Illinois for 23 years, we still deeply enjoy returning to the land of our roots.  You can take the boy and his girl out of the South but you can’t take the South out of them.

During our time here so far, we have seen several things that are beautiful.  During my time at my sister’s home, I would walk in the mornings.  They live in a delightful neighborhood with many beautiful homes.  As I walked the quiet streets, I can honestly say I appreciated the beauty of the neighborhood.  But remember, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

One day, a great couple, good friends of Agnes and JW, treated them and us to a day on a beautiful and large lake in Northern Alabama.  Now it truly must have been Northern because neither of our two new friends ate grits but they sure were nice people. We boated around this huge lake for several hours admiring the magnificent homes. It was a beautiful site to behold. But remember, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.

Well, Agnes and JW own a small home on a small lake in the country and we were also able to spend a few days there.  Because of the design of home, which is a simple studio style one bedroom and bath, they call their place, “The Gazebo at Lake Tisinger.” Their place sits right on the lake…again not a large lake but one that is strictly private because there is no public access. There were no speed boats, no crowds, nothing except the beauty of nature.  Most of the shore line was filled with old growth trees.

So this morning I woke up, got my coffee, and walked outside and was just overwhelmed with the beautiful scene before me.  There, mirrored on the calm waters, was the reflection of the trees and the freshly minted blue sky of another of God’s days.  It was magnificent and I realized that as much as I enjoyed my sister’s beautiful neighborhood, and as much as I enjoyed seeing the magnificent homes on that much larger lake…it paled to the beauty of God’s handiwork. Beauty is in the eyes on the beholder and from where I sat, I knew I was seeing and enjoying one of God’s best works.

God never makes a mistake and He always gets it right but sometimes it just seems He goes over the top.  I think this time He did exactly that. Of course, I guess He does it a lot doesn’t He? Whether it is a cradle in a stable or a well used Roman cross on hilltop or an empty tomb—He does all things well.  Our challenge is to be sure and take the time to see, enjoy, and admire all that He does.  Does that really matter?  Yes, it really does.  When we learn to see and admire His handiwork, it reminds us to believe, understand, and know that no matter what, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

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

Just Like Magic

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.” 2 Kings 6:17

Just like magic…there it was. So, a long time ago, you know, back in the mid-eighties, a “thing” was going around.  The bottom line was you were supposed to look at this picture that seemed to be a picture of really nothing and if it was your lucky day, suddenly, a 3-D image would appear.  It was crazy.  I remember one Sunday afternoon we were at a friend’s house, and I was staring at this large picture like crazy. And then it happened. Boom.  A 3-D picture just jumped off the page.  I remember shouting, “I see it, I see it” and just about that time—it was gone.

A couple of days ago, I received an email, and it is generally full of interesting tidbits and the like. Well, it said that there was an arrow in the FedEx logo.  Well, I certainly had never seen one, so you know I had to go and look.  And…I did.  I Googled FedEx and clicked on images and there were tons to see.  I looked and no arrow.  I looked again and still no arrow.  I was just about to think that the email writer person was jerking my chain and then it happened.

Between the “E” and the “X” there was perfect, plain as the nose on your face arrow. I was and still am amazed at how I didn’t see it and then “bam” I did.  And the cool part is that once you see it, you cannot “unsee” it.  Trust me when I see the FedEx logo the first thing that grabs my attention is the arrow.

It made me wonder how many wonderful things surround us every day and we simply don’t see them.  How many miracles has the Dearest Father placed in our world and for whatever reason, we just look right past them.  The answer, of course, is to make it a point to start being intentional in our looking for them. I am sure I never would have seen the arrow if someone had told me to look.

As you journey today, let me encourage you to intentionally look for the miracles and blessings scattered around the landscape of your life.  Trust me, look intentionally and you will see them. If you need a little help, just ask and the One who made it all will make them apparent.  He loves it when we look, and He loves it when we know that “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne