Category: priorities

Posted in Family, friends, life, loving others, priorities, Scripture, spring, Trials

Tragedy, Triumph and Toughness

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:55

They were a feather covered “band of brothers.”  A while back when I was walking in the park, I once again realized what a “band of brothers” the geese and ducks are in the park.  As I made my laps around the park pond, I couldn’t help but notice what was happening.  No, they were not a few like the Marines, and I have no clue if they were proud of anything besides the huge mess they make on the walking path, but they were quite the band.  Their slogan might be, “The Tragic, the Triumph, and the Tough.” Hmmm…that sounded better when I thought it up but hey, let’s see how it goes.

Monday of that week, I noticed in the geese and duck community there were signs of tragedy brought on by a duck couple’s poor choices.  Monday, they had decided to lay some eggs and they chose the worse place ever—just three feet off the walking path.  It was simply a hole in the ground with no protection, no anything.  It was an invitation to disaster.  Tuesday she was on the nest, and he was doing his daddy duck thing—waddling, strutting, and quacking.  By Wednesday, it was game over.  Lap one, they were gone, and one lone egg lay on the grass outside the nest.  Lap two, they were back, and the egg was gone.  Lap three they were walking around sadly quacking.  I don’t speak fluent duck, but it seemed they were asking, “What happened?” I told them…out loud… “Bad choice guys, bad choice.”  It was a tragedy.

But with the occasional tragedy comes moments of triumph.  About ten or eleven days after the tragedy, I found a bunch of feathers by the walking path…bummer…and it looked like another sad tale…and it was.  But then something happened.  A little further down the path, there were two small ducklings that had somehow survived the onslaught.  They were survivors…they were beating the odds.  When I walked a few days later, they were still there…sticking together…a small “band of brothers.”  They were hanging around a couple of big ducks, but it was clear that they were on their own.  Way to go little ducks…keep on keeping on!  It was a moment of triumph.

And then there were the tough guys. They had survived being goslings and now they were big, they were bad, and they were tough.  The geese love to stand around on the walking path and, uh, well, you know.  It’s really quite messy.  That day, I was speeding along, and I soon realized the geese and I were on a collision path…either them or me were going to have to hit the grass and it wasn’t going to be me. So, I “parted the waters” and they all puffed their chest out and started hissing at me.  They hissed, I kept walking and they finally moved. We had played chicken (no pun intended) and I had won, but I had to admire their toughness. Like I said, “gutsy.”

Tragedy…Triumph…and Toughness. It seems life is life no matter what. We all know about tragedy…live long enough and it is going to mess with your life.  The difference is ducks and geese rarely see it coming and we often do. The difference is they have to face it alone, but we have a Someone who will walk with us through the hard times. That someone is Creator God.  He is always there and always willing to help. He can turn tragedy into triumph.  While there are plenty of epic failures in our paths, we can also know the joy of winning…of triumph. I remember when ABC Sports tag line was “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” and that is the way of life.  Sometimes we win and sometimes…well, we don’t.

I know it is natural for us, like our goose friends, to puff our chest out, and hiss and strut around trying to prove how tough we are. But truthfully, often we are not tough enough and that is when we need to lean on the One who is.  Our Dearest Daddy loves us so much that He sent His Son to take on our greatest enemy…death…and soundly thrash it.  No wonder Paul, one of the guys God used to pen a lot of the New Testament, said, “Who got the last word, oh, Death? Oh, Death, who’s afraid of you now?”  You gotta love Jesus’ toughness when it came to taking on sin and the grave.

Well, if you live in Harrisburg, Illinois or if your town has a park with a goose and duck “band of brothers” stop by and see what you can see…what you can learn.  And if you’ve never met the God who took on death and won…why not check Him out today.  You will discover a God who is strong enough to say, with confidence, “I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in life, Military memories, priorities, Scripture, spiritual battles

Losing Your Grip

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”  Matthew 7:4-5

It was definitely an “I need coffee” wakeup. You know sometimes you bound out of bed like an overactive gazelle and sometimes you just sorta fall out of bed.  Well, one morning was somewhere in between.  I am an early riser but that day was earlier than normal…4:00 am. It wasn’t an overactive brain but an overactive bladder.  “Wakeup sleepy head.  Time to rise and shine.”  Yeah.  Right. Sure.

I went into my man-cave to tell the Keurig coffee machine I needed help…fast.  As I was getting things ready, I looked at the floor and there was a small round thing.  I recognized it as one of the mementos I had on a wall displaying memories from my stint in the Air Force.  It was then I looked up.  There was a gaping hole in the display.  A large picture frame that had been the center piece for the display was missing.

So, I stumbled around, keep in mind this is still before coffee, and started finding things.  First, there was the picture frame…not on the wall where it belonged but on the floor.  Also lying on the floor and on my desk where several things that I had placed on top of the frame.  It was like an avalanche of memories had fallen off the wall. What in the world?

Well, here’s the deal.  I am (or used to be) a fan of Command Strips.  It’s a product that allows you to hang things. You simply put a sticky thing on something and then put another sticky thing on the wall, press them together and ta-da you are done.  Well, apparently make that almost done.  Or, maybe done for a while. Or, maybe done till it decides it is done.  Regardless…the picture wasn’t on the wall.  Of course, there is that thing about cleaning the wall with alcohol before you stick it there.  Did I do that?  Hmmm.  Probably not…the wall didn’t look dirty to me.

Anyway, there are a couple of things that made me think about this whole falling off the wall thing.  First, I walked into the man-cave and noticed a little round medallion on the floor but didn’t see the gaping hole on the wall.  Isn’t it amazing how we sometimes notice the small things and miss the giant ones? That’s what Jesus was talking about when He said we walk around with a 2×4 in our eye while telling someone they need to take care of a speck of dust in their eye. How weird is that? Or maybe not.

And then there is this whole falling off the wall thing. You see that picture had been hanging on the wall for well over a year. The two sticky things were stuck together like white on rice.  Then slowly over time they started to lose their grip.  Little by little the one stuck to the wall became loose and then one day…it just fell.  And when it did…it took several things with it.  I don’t think it woke up and said, “Well, today is the day I’m going to fall off the wall.” Nope…little by little gravity pulled and tugged until it won.

I’ve had some pretty good failures in my life.  And do you know what?  Very few of them were planned.  Most of them were just products of neglect.  Stopped getting on the scale. Stopped exercising for a few days…weeks.  Stopped having my time with God in the morning. Stopped telling my wife she hung the moon.  And then one day…you just fall off the wall.  You stop loving, stop believing, stop doing the next right thing. You suddenly find yourself in a hot mess.  And rarely does it affect just you.

So, what do you do? Well, I find that the Bible is a really good resource for avoiding the landslides of life.  Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” He says we should watch out.  Look for signs that you are losing your grip.  Beware of pattern changes, attitude changes.  Second, pray.  Yup, prayer is a big one…but maybe not like you think. Worry less about being on your knees and using big words and just tell God what is on your mind.  Then, get ready, trust Him with the answer…the solution. Last…be ready to acknowledge your own weakness.  It’s ok to acknowledge when our “want to” doesn’t measure up to our “gonna do” or our done.  That’s why we need God.  Big time.

I’m gonna put the picture back on the wall.  This time it won’t be with a sticky thing.  I’m gonna use a nice big screw.  That way, it can’t lose its grip…the screw will do the work. And I think I’m gonna try that with me and God.  I’m gonna stop trying to hold on to Him and let Him hold on to me.  I bet that is a better idea.  I bet I can rest in Him then.  After all, He’s got me…and He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Walking Wisely

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

It’s funny…start something and it just might stick around forever. For forty-two years I made my living helping others do life.  I was a teacher/pastor.  Each week I prepared a message to share on Sundays.  Some weeks I helped someone walk through the “dark valley” as they said goodbye to a loved one.  And sometimes, I did special things like speaking on the radio, teaching on Wednesday or at special events.  Well, a long time ago, I began using different colors of marking on my notes to help me study.

For no reason in particular it goes something like this.  Whenever I use a particular scripture, I highlight that in pink.  When I have something that is important, I highlight that in green. An illustration gets highlighted in blue and any notes I hand write merit orange.  And then the text in general gets highlighted in yellow.  Oh, and then a while back, just to change things up, I added purple to the mix.  If nothing else, I can say safely say my notes look something like a rainbow. Amazing, but somehow, it works.

The funny thing is all those years ago when I chose those colors for those parts of my notes, I had no idea that for the rest of teaching life that would be the way it would be. There was no rhyme, no reason to what color I assigned to each part—I just did it.  And that made me think.  I wonder how many other things are there in my life, that I somehow made a decision to start, to do and now all these years later they are still a part of me? Ring a bell?

For most decisions, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans.  Hotdog? Ketchup or mustard only?  Relish or no relish?  By the way, I made the “mustard only” decision about ten years ago and now I can’t imagine eating a hotdog any other way. But then, some decisions we make can lead to hurt and even destruction.  Some can damage our character and integrity—robbing us of joy and peace.

Someone said, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” And it can all start with the simplest thing—like a thought.  Need a little help figuring it all out?  Well, the Book gives a great prayer for us to pray. It says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Now that’s a good prayer and good advice. You can trust Him…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in forgiveness, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God

Uphill/Downhill

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

In one way it was so easy…the other…so hard.  Several years ago, after an extended break, I decided to  start riding my bike again.  I’ve been walking for quite a while…actually since I was about two. Just kidding…not that kind of walking…the exercise kind.  Ever since I fell way out of love with any sort of running, walking has been my go-to exercise.  I’m pretty good at it too.  I can still “pick ‘em up and put ‘em down.”  I usually walk a mile in about sixteen minutes…which isn’t half bad.

They say it is good to change up your exercise routine, so I pulled out my trusty, older Diamondback bike, aired up the tires and started riding again.  My bike may be a couple of decades old, but she is still a good riding machine.  I knew, in spite of my regular walking, that biking was going to be a little challenging.  The reason?  Different muscles. The muscles you use to walk and the ones you use to pedal are totally different. So, I could definitely feel the pain…especially going uphill.

While Harrisburg doesn’t have any real hills, we definitely have some uphill grades and my legs let me know right away when I was there.  I usually do an out and back which means going out I can coast down the hill but coming back seven miles later it is ouch city. By the time I reach the top of “the hill” my heart rate has jumped, and my legs are feeling the burn.  Isn’t that funny…same road but different direction with dramatically different results. Remember, it is always easier to go downhill than up. Always.

The other day I was thinking about that principle when it occurred to me how true it is when it comes to sin and repentance.  The road to sin (you know the stuff that God says not to do) is always downhill.  It is way too easy to coast right into a mess and the further you go…the bigger the mess.  So, let’s say you decide enough is enough and you decide to turn around.  Yup, the uphill ride to repentance is never as easy as the ride out was.  Gratefully, God is always there to help you home, but it still takes His power and our will power to stay on course.

Someone said that no matter how far we have walked away from God, the return trip is only one step…the first one.  While that is true, we still have to feed the determination to stay the course because that downhill slope is always calling us to go back. Me and a bunch of other imperfect people are so grateful for 1 John 1:9 which says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” It’s great to know that His grace will be waiting on us to carry us…even push uphill toward home.  Always, and I do mean always, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in fear, food, life, money, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God

Faith and Shifting Sand

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “God is not a man, that He might lie, or a son of man, that He might change His mind.” Numbers  23:19a

Well, I just don’t understand it.  You know, there are some things in this world that just don’t make sense.  You probably have noticed that we seem to be in the middle of some kind of financial crisis.  Inflation is inflating…can someone say ouch? And then there is this whole gas thing.  As I write this gas is over three dollars a gallon and just for fun there is talk of raising the gas tax–already the second highest in the nation. Can someone say double ouch? It is hard to believe that just a few years ago when we were doing the pandemic thing gas was about $1.52 and we said we just couldn’t believe it.  Well, go figure.  And the amazing part is that we are all driving as much as we did when it was cheaper.  Those guys with the big pickup trucks with big engines are still putting the pedal all the way down. It’s like gas is free.  What?

And then of course there is the shortage thing.  They are saying it has to do with supply and demand.  Well, if that is true somebody needs to start demanding more supplies.  Things, like eggs, require a loan to get a dozen.  In a time of precedented happenings, life just seeming to be going on like before.  The restaurants are full, the some store shelves are empty, and no one seems to be in a panic.  In fact, in at least one instance they seem to be celebrating. Yup…it’s true.

I’ve just about given up watching the news, but when I do they will sometimes show this scene from Wall Street.  It occurs at the end of the day, and it shows about fifteen or so people on this platform and it is their job to ring the bell calling for an end of the trading day.  So, the other day, when the stock market had fallen nearly 1,000 points there were people there and as they rang the bell, they were cheering like madmen (or women).  They were yipping and yelling like they had just won the lottery.   Big smiles and grins filled their faces.  It’s like they didn’t even know what had just happened.

Well, it turns out no matter what happens on any given day, these folks, and it is always different folks, get up there and do this madman (or woman) celebration.  I’ve concluded it has nothing to do with the market…they are just glad to ring the bell.  Maybe it is because the day and damage is done or maybe it is because they made a ton of money.  All I know is it sure is confusing.  It sends this crazy mixed-up message and I’m left scratching my head. Good or bad? Happy or sad? Who’s knows?

So what do you do in a world that often doesn’t make a lot of sense? That’s a fair question. To be honest, there are times these days when I don’t know exactly what to do or say.  I want to complain but that isn’t going to help.  I want to whine but that doesn’t change anything.  I want to get mad sometimes but, well, what good does that do?  I think the right thing is stay the course and to believe and trust…in God.  I mean even if you aren’t a God person maybe today would be a good day to give it a try!  Everything around us is shifting and sinking—maybe we should try something different.

I’ve been on my personal Jesus journey for more than a few decades.  I’ve seen the mountain tops and I’ve trudged through my share of valleys and the one constant has been God.  I don’t always understand but I have found that even when I don’t…He is faithful. The Bible, the oldest and most reliable of sacred writings, tells us that God is not a man, that He might lie, 

or a son of man, that He might change His mind. I know that might seem a bit extreme if you are not a believer and I get that.  But don’t these extreme times call for something extreme…like faith?

I’m not sure what the price of gas will be in a week. I’m not even sure there will be eggs in the cooler but I am sure that no matter what my Dearest Daddy in heaven will be the same…good, faithful and trustworthy.  I’m sure that no matter what, He will be there, the Whisperer whispering, “Don’t worry son, I’ve got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, travel, USA

Enjoy the Journey

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4

It just depends.  Several years back, my wife Judy and I returned from a trip out west.  It was a trip that would involve flying and driving.  It was also a trip with one purpose…to get away, to relax, and to enjoy.  It is not uncommon for us to take a trip and encounter some less than perfect weather.  We have learned to say, “Oh well, at least we’re away.” Away…that’s a good thing.  You see, the purpose of a journey can often determine the success of the journey.  Set your sights too high and too narrow and you will often find frustration and stress.

Let me explain.  The first leg of our journey was simple…get to Colorado as quickly as possible.  Because that was the goal…we flew.  Also, because that was the goal every delay caused me to have a stressful moment.  Long check-in, stress.  Long security, frustration.  Flight delay, double both.  You see, the point was to get there…not to enjoy the journey.  When I was much younger, just the thought of getting to fly was exciting.  I would always ask for the window seat so I could watch the world go by.  The joy was the journey, but now, alas, it is just a means to get somewhere, and the wonder and joy have slipped away.

Leg two of the journey was different.  It was a hybrid of experiences. Renting a new and different car to drive, driving in a new part of the world, and going at a pace that better enabled us to enjoy it. Usually. But honestly, there was still a battle to be fought…an alligator to be wrestled to the earth.  I had to determine if the destination was the goal…or was it the journey?  I mean I know that there is always a destination but if that becomes obsessive, the joy quickly slips away.  It was my call—enjoy the journey or race to the destination.

You see, if I am racing to the destination, then put me on an interstate highway where the roads are wide, and the speed limit is high.  Out in Wyoming, the speed limit on the interstate was 80 mph…Katie bar the door.  Oh, and those long, straight two-lane roads—yup, 75 mph.  That fit my destination minded mindset just fine, thank you.  But then there were the times that we were in the Rocky Mountains on a curvy, mountain road just driving.  There really wasn’t a place we had to be—we were just driving and that changed everything.  If there was a slower driver in front…that was fine. We would just sit back and enjoy the scenery as it slid by the windows.  The journey was the destination and joy was the result.

But here is what I discovered.  As soon as there was a “gotta be there” destination and mindset then that same road and that same slow driver became a stress point.  The only thing that changed was the pressure to get there.  That same scenery was an ignored blur as the only thing that mattered was looking for a passing zone so I could get there—wherever there happened to be.  The end of the day often told the story—tired and stressed or refreshed and blessed—the way I traveled seemed to make all the difference.

There will always be a destination to get to and there will always be slower drivers and unexpected obstacles to keep us from getting there, but joy in the journey changes everything.  Jesus knew that His destination was a Roman cross, but He never let that stop Him from enjoying the day and loving those around Him.  He loved the joy of the journey.  I can just imagine Him smiling as He changed the life of a leper or blessed a small child…all joy in the journey.  Paul, one of the guys who wrote a large part of the New Testament, said, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”  In other words, have joy in the journey…no matter what that journey looks like.  He did that really well.

So, when you find yourself on a winding, two-lane road, enjoy the journey.  Take a moment to watch the beauty around you slide by the windows.  See what God has allowed to come into your world that day and the destination will come soon enough.  And when you find yourself backed into a rushed corner, there’s a couple of things you can do.  First, plan a little better when you can and then use that extra time to talk to the Father about that day or maybe relax in Him because, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in life, priorities, Scripture, Trials, Uncategorized

What Time Is It?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“Teach them Your Word, Your Word is truth.” John 17:17b

It was the 60’s and 70’s. The novel, “A Tale of Two Cities” starts with “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and that pretty well describes those two decades.  Out of those somewhat crazy times came some of the best music ever written—at least modern music.  I know that is true because people from all the other decades seem to come back to the 60’s and 70’s. Some, ok, maybe a lot of it, was kinda crazy but that is what made it so cool.  There was a song that was released by the group Chicago in 1969 called, “Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is.”  It was a quirky song, in fact, that is how the guy who wrote it described it.

What is kinda funny is that it is a song that my wife Judy and I live daily.  If you read Grits, you might remember that I like clocks a lot. It all started a long time ago and is one hobby or obsession that has stuck with me through the years.  I am intrigued because of the design and engineering that went into each clock.  Some of my clocks are babies, only sixty or seventy years old.  Some though are well over a hundred.  Some were bought at a shop somewhere, one special one was built by a couple of friends and two were built by me…with a little help from my friends.

In today’s world, so many clocks are engineering marvels and keep time very accurately.  But some of the older ones tend to be a little less accurate.  So that is where our song comes in.  You see most rooms in my house have a clock or two or three and often they are the older mechanical types.  So, you go into the room and look over there and there is a clock.  It says it is, oh, let’s say 2:13 pm.  Then you look over there and there is another clock, and it says it is 2:20 pm. Then on the wall going up the stairs is another clock that declares it is 2:05 pm.  What?

Well, all of that is not a problem until you are about to leave, and you need to know if you are on time or late.  And trust me, more than once, Judy has said, “So what time is it, anyway?”  Well, I know my clocks pretty well and I know their habits as well.  I pretty much know who runs slow and who runs fast and who doesn’t run at all.  So I can usually tell her just about what time it really is.  It can be a bit confusing…but in a pretty good if not quirky way.

The bottom line is if I really need to know the time, I have three good choices.  First, my trusty Apple Watch.  It is very accurate and if it is strapped to my wrist…it is an obvious first choice. The second choice is my phone which is married to my Apple Watch.  The only problem is I’m not married to my phone which means it may or may not be close by.  The third choice is the kitchen stove.  It always tells the truth…but it still depends on me setting it correctly. And if the power goes off, well, you get the flashy thing until I get around to setting it.

I was thinking, which is always a dangerous thing, that where we go for truth is a lot like trying to find the correct time.  Similar to the question in the song you might ask, “Does anyone really know what truth is and what it is not?”  Well, the answer is…wait for it…the Bible.  For millennia this most ancient of sacred writings has stood the test of time.  It has made the best seller list forever and while there are many different translations and reading styles…there never has been a version 2.1.  Do you know why?  It is timeless, changeless and without error.  I know, I know you might think differently or maybe heard differently but let me encourage to check it out for yourself.  Do some honest research and you will probably come to the same conclusion that I did—it can be trusted because it is the real deal.  And trust me…these days we need the real deal.

When you find yourself running around and asking everyone you meet, “Hey, does anyone really know what’s true and what’s not?” I hope you will turn to the one source that is spot on, right on and always on target. Jesus said it best when He said, “Teach them Your Word, Your Word is truth.” I like that…plain, simple truth. And, when you have a question, when you are stumped, just ask the One who knows and always speaks the truth—God.  Oh, and don’t worry, He always has the answer because He is the answer.  In other words, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in food, Grace, life, money, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Buyer’s Remorse

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” John 1:16

I wish I hadn’t—but I did.  Buyer’s remorse.  The official definition is, “a feeling of regret experienced after making a purchase, typically one regarded as unnecessary or extravagant.” I guess most of us have experienced it at one time or another.  Sometimes it is a minor deal.  You buy something from Walmart, get home, think about it and decide you really didn’t need it.  So, thanks to Walmart’s generous return policy, you lay it aside and the next time you are at the store, you simply return it.  No harm, no foul.

Then sometimes it isn’t quite the easy.  You are at the grocery store and your “you need to watch your diet” wife is out of town. Smile.  So, as you wind your way through the various aisles of calorie rich delights, you find yourself on the cookie aisle. The packages are calling your name and you say, “Why not?” Because you can’t decide you buy two and since your “you need to watch your diet” wife is not around, you eat both. As the last cookie of package number two slips past your lips, you realize you probably shouldn’t have bought two, or maybe even one, and you have a sense of remorse…diet remorse and buyer’s remorse.  Still, no big deal.  You wait 24 hours and don’t have a heart attack and hide the packages deep in the trash. No harm, no foul.

There are times when the fix is reclusive, and the consequences are bigger than an expanded waistline.  Twice, not once, I have bought new cars that I later regretted.  You know, you visit the lot, you see the car, you smell the car, you buy the car.  You feel important driving it and watch as people watch you driving it.  And then it happens.  A couple of payments down the road of too much debt and not enough payday, you get it.  Major, big time buyer’s remorse.  And this time, there is not a Walmart return policy, and the ouch is bigger than you ever imagined.  This time…well, it is certainly not “no harm, no foul.”

Yup, most of us have slipped on that banana peel.  The important thing is to learn.  Now, I have learned about the car thing…at least I think I have but the cookie thing…well, that is still a work in progress. Smile. And judging from the past, it might be a long, long road. You might be wondering, “Is there anyone who hasn’t experienced buyer’s remorse?”  The answer is yes and the who might surprise you.  That Who is God.

I’ve always been amazed with God.  He is so generous, so loving, and so kind.  He always goes the extra mile to show me that He is for me and not against me.  His patience with this slower learner causes me to wonder how He could not regret loving me.  But here is the deal…and don’t miss this.  God loved me enough to send His Son to a rugged, cruel cross to pay the payment for my sin. I didn’t deserve it and honestly no one does.  But it gets better.  He did that knowing that I wouldn’t always get it right. He did it knowing I would often get it wrong. But it gets better.

Here it is.  Not once in the past, no once today, not once tomorrow, not once for the zillion years of eternity yet to come will He ever have buyer’s remorse.  He made the deal and not once regretted making it. How is that even possible? How is that even conceivable?  Well, the answer is that God not only loves me, He also loves us. Perfectly. In other words, He loves us looking through the lens of His perfect Son.  Instead of seeing warts, He sees us whole and perfect.  Oh, not that we are, not that we ever will be…at least here.  No, it’s all because of His grace and His Son and His sacrifice for us.

So, today, be careful as you cruise the aisles of Walmart…and life.  You might want to avoid the cookie aisle and ice cream freezers of life…things that tend to lead to regret and consequences.  But by all means, be sure and linger in the grace aisle and take in the wonder of it all. As you look at all the packages of love and love notes from the One who loves you most, remember what John wrote, “From His abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.” And if you do happen to slip up, don’t worry.  He won’t change His mind about you.  After all, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in friends, Grace, loving others, priorities, Scripture

Coon Hunting

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” Romans 9:2-3

You know, whatever it takes.  I loved being a pastor and I loved it when people started coming to church.  I’ve always tried to encourage the folks who attended our church to make sure that everyone…and I mean everyone, felt welcome.  Church is not a country club where you pay your dues to be served.  Church is more like a hospital where people come because they know they need help. Those that are already there are not there to be served but to serve. So when a guest comes to church it should be treated like a big deal…because it is.

Now being friendly isn’t costly—in fact, often it blesses us more than the one on the receiving end of our friendliness.  I figure it might just give them a good reason to come back.  Of course there are those times when you need to go just a little further.  And this time…was one of those times.  When I pastored in another town, a family began attending our church  and I did my best to make them feel welcome.  Mom and the kids seemed very open and before long they were regular attenders.  Dad, on the other hand, wasn’t quite as open.  This one, I thought to myself, needs a little extra effort and that is how it happened.

It turned out that Brad was a coon hunter.  He happened to mention it one day at church and I told him I had never been coon hunting and he began to describe this late night adventure.  Now honestly, running around in the woods in the dark in the middle of the night wasn’t something on my bucket list but seeing Brad get closer to God was…so I went coon hunting.

Brad told me to show up at his house about dark and we would leave from there.  He had a coon dog and a flashlight…oh, and a gun.  We began walking out towards the woods behind his house and before long the old coon dog began to get pretty excited.  So Brad let the dog go, waited just a minute, and then said to me, “Let’s go.” Well, I soon found out that coon hunting isn’t like following a trail in the woods.  Coon hunting is like walking, and running, through the Amazon Rainforest, at night trying to follow a bellowing dog who doesn’t necessarily want to be followed.  We were slapped in the face by branches, tripped over big roots, and crossed a couple of creeks. Can someone say, “Wet feet?”  Yup, just like that old song about going over the river and through the woods…that is what we did…but there wasn’t a grandmother or a house anywhere in the picture.

So eventually, the coon dog gave up and so did we.  We tramped back through the woods and after an hour or so, found ourselves back at my car and his house.  We were wet, tired and coonless. I told Brad thanks for taking me on such an adventure and I hoped to see him Sunday at church.  I drove home and slipped in between the sheets somewhere around two in the morning.  I was somewhere beyond tired but also sure it was the right thing.

Best I remember Brad  did start coming to church a little more regularly but I don’t believe he made a Jesus commitment…at least not then.  Occasionally we would talk about the great adventure and we would laugh about me tramping through the woods in the middle of the night. Fortunately, there wasn’t a second invitation to go coon hunting.  Brad didn’t know Jesus yet but he did know about mercy. Smile.

So as we journey along this Jesus road we need to ask ourselves, “What are we willing to do to be Jesus to the ones we bump into?”  They say the best sermons are the ones not preached from the pulpit.  Amen to that. Someone also said, “People don’t care now much you know until they know how much you care.”  Amen to that too. Paul, the guy in the Bible who wrote most of the New Testament said that he was willing to lose his relationship with Jesus if it meant his friends could be saved.  Wow…that is commitment.  That is amazing.

When you are trying to decide what to do to reach people…or what not to do…just listen for the voice of the Whisperer.  Most likely you will hear His gentle voice and when you do just do what He says.  Trust Him.  Believe Him. Share Him.  Oh, and should it involve chasing a coon dog through the woods in the middle of the night, don’t worry.  He’s got that.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, Family, life, marriage, money, priorities, Scripture, thankful

Shredding Checks–Checks Our Faith

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7

There must have been a zillion of them. While my wife Judy and I are not hoarders we do have a tendency to hang onto things.  We are kinda sentimental so things like birthday and anniversary cards tend to hang around. While that may be sweet and sticky it still doesn’t explain the fact that we have a lot of old records–lots of old records. Now for a point of clarification. I’m not talking about the kind made from vinyl that you play on a turntable or phonograph.  No, I am talking about the kind you put in boxes and filing cabinets and then forget about.

So, for the past 30 years, we would put different Taylor records in boxes and put them away on a shelf. And then it happened. On a whim, we decided it was time to do something about our mega record mess. Since all of the records were beyond the statute of limitations (in other words we were not required by law, our relatives or anyone else to keep them) we decided to buy a shredder and start shredding.  So for the last several days I would spend a couple or three hours feeding these thousands of documents to the hungry little shredder.

As I was feeding this paper monster a zillion old checks, I couldn’t help but pay attention to what some of them said.  There was a time when paper checks were the thing and the bank actually sent the cancelled checks back to you. And as I shredded them, I realized they were a snapshot of our lives together. The earliest ones were dated back to the mid-nineties and the latest were about 2014…I think. There were literally hundreds of them–all amounts and written out to all kinds of people and organizations. You name it and it was there…groceries, stuff, more groceries and more stuff. There were lots for insurance, lots for medical needs and more for insurance and more for medical needs. On and on and on it went.

I am grateful that I can tell you that there were regular checks made out to our local church and a couple of other ministries. I don’t tell you that to brag–after all they weren’t the biggest checks in the pile–but they were regular and each one wasn’t a “have too” check like our electric bill. No, each one was written voluntarily and was a love note to our Dearest Daddy. Each one was given in love and each one represented our faith in Him.  They became a testimony to the faithfulness of our Father. Some of those checks were written in times of abundance but some were written when things were pretty lean. But no matter the circumstances–our Dearest Daddy was always faithful. He never failed–no not once.

So how about you? Have you, in a practical way, discovered the faithfulness of God? Does a glance at your calendar or your bank statement tell a tale of faith? I hope so because trusting God is one of life’s greatest adventures. Check this out! Maybe today is the day when you discover the wonder of knowing that no matter what–He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne