2 Timothy 1:7 – Grits with Grace

birthday, friends, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful

Holey Moley

Posted on September 26, 2025September 26, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was January of 2004, and it was a day to remember. On that day, my birthday, as a gift from a friend, I received my first flat panel television. Of course, back then it was brand new technology, and they were a little different. This one was about three inches thick and weighted about seventy pounds. Over the years, things have changed and that is true with televisions too. Thankfully, they have gone on a diet. Today, a larger television weighs less than half of the earlier models. Regardless, it can still be a little tricky to hang one on the wall…especially if you are “handyman” challenged. Let me explain.

A while back I was going to attempt to mount a television on our bedroom wall. I mean, it seemed easy enough. You take the television off the other wall, take the mount off the other wall, and go to the new wall. You drill a couple of holes and mount the mount. “That’s easy,” I said. “That’s no problem,” I said. “Anybody can do that,” I said. “In fact,” I said, “a blind man could do it.” About then discovered my name wasn’t “anybody” and I wasn’t blind.

Our house is old, and I do mean old. How old? Well, Miss Alice’s house next door was built in 1902, and she said when her house was being built ours was already there. That means our house is at least 127 years old—holy moley—that is old. At any rate that means there must be some plaster walls and there are. There is a reason why someone invented sheetrock and the reason is no one likes plaster walls. They are a pain. They easily crack. They are difficult to drill through and oh, a stud finder doesn’t work and if you are going to mount a television…you need to find the studs in the wall.

I started searching for the elusive stud in the wall. I tapped on the wall, I laid hands on the wall, I talked to the walI, but all to no avail. I then called a friend of mine and he said to start drilling holes till you find a stud. I was paralyzed—I could just imagine my wall having a religious experience and becoming very holey. But anyway, I started drilling.

Well, five holes later (we need to hum a few bars of, “holy, holy, holy”) I finally found a stud and amazingly when I found one, I could find the next. As I screwed the bolts into the wall, I said a prayer and put the television on the mount. It worked. And, believe it or not, it is still there today. I just hope that no one looks behind the television and sees all the “oops!” If you should ever hear a loud moan from over Poplar Street way, well it might be that things went south after all.

One of the things I learned (again) through all of this is how fear can paralyze us. I mean I stood there and looked and studied (no pun intended) and looked and studied…trying to get the courage to start drilling. I was afraid that I might end up drilling hole after hole after hole and have Swiss cheese instead of a wall. I was afraid and so for a while I did nothing. When I finally decided that I could and should…it gave me the courage to start and finish my project.

If you find yourself facing a difficult task, if you find yourself overwhelmed with fear—find someone to give you a little encouragement. Sometimes that might come in the form of flesh and bones, but it can come without either—it just might come from God and from His Word. When you find yourself in the grip of fear, remember 2 Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” And always remember that regardless of what we face, we can have the confident assurance that, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, friends, Grace, life, pride, Scripture, travel, Trials

Don’t Miss the Adventure

Posted on August 12, 2024August 9, 2024 by Dewayne Taylor

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was a great adventure. Every year our youth pastor takes a group of people to canoe on the Jack’s Fork River in Southern Missouri. A couple of years ago, people were signing up in the foyer after services and something very strange happened. I spoke. Well, that was not strange since I often say too much. But what I said was definitely strange. I looked at my wife and said, “We should do this.” Of course, she fainted and required CPR, but after reviving her, she signed us up. Now I like adventures, a lot, but I am not a fan of cold water, make that very cold water, canoes, and falling out of a canoe and trying to get back in. The potential for all of that was part of this adventure. But it was too late. We were going.

It is funny how things can grow in your mind. The more I thought about this the more I was certain this was not going to have a good outcome. I began to say, half in jest and half believing it, that I was going to die. I wasn’t sure if the cause of my demise was going to be drowning or a heart attack from the cold water, but I was going to die. As the days passed heading toward the day of the great adventure, the dread became more and more real.

Now, I need to be honest. My fear had nothing to do with the water, cold or not. My greatest fear was embarrassment. I just knew, given the wobbly nature of a canoe, that we would end up in the water. I was cool with that…no pun intended. The problem was the spectacle of me trying to crawl back into the boat. I could just imagine my slightly (well, perhaps more than slightly) pudgy body struggling to go over the side and back into the boat. And, by the way, it was not an unfounded fear.

You see, years ago, at another event at another church, I was on the back of a jet ski with a friend of driving. We were zipping along and then, suddenly, he was zipping, and I wasn’t. I slid right off the back of that jet ski and right into the water. Well, he circled back around, and I spent the next two hours (ok, a slight exaggeration there) trying to crawl back onto the jet ski. And, yes, people were watching and yes, people were laughing, and I was dying…not from drowning but from embarrassment.

Well, here I am years later, and that scar still has all the makings of a fresh wound. Whenever a situation like that comes around, fear creeps in and I want to run in the opposite direction. Fear does that, you know. Fear will cause us to miss a lot of great opportunities, a lot of great adventures, and the crazy part is that the thing we fear often doesn’t materialize or at least isn’t nearly as bad as we thought. But such is the way of fear.

So, we went and guess what? We didn’t lose it. Though several folks ended up in the water, somehow, Judy and I didn’t. It was probably my well experienced (not) and expert (not) command of the canoe. Actually, it was no small measure of grace. Oh, and while the current did make recovering some of the boats difficult, it wasn’t from the depth of the water. In most places the water was only a couple of feet deep. In other words, if we had dumped, I probably could have stepped right back in the boat. Hmmm…how about that.

If you find yourself facing the unknown or maybe the possibility of reliving a part of your difficult past, don’t assume the same outcome. And, better than that, remember that the thing we fear is usually not the monster we think it is. And, better than that, there is a loving Father, who wants to walk with you no matter what. I love the verse in the Bible that teaches me, that reminds me, that fear doesn’t come from God…it comes from the devil. The enemy knows fear paralyzes…he knows it causes pain, and he knows he can control us through our fear. But regardless of all that, one thing I do know is that no matter what my fear, my God is bigger than my enemy and because of that I can rest assured that “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful, travel, Trials

Don’t Miss the Adventure

Posted on August 16, 2022August 15, 2022 by Dewayne Taylor

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was one great adventure! Every year, except for covid year, our youth pastor takes a group of people to canoe on the Jack’s Fork River in Southern Missouri. Last year, people were signing up in the foyer after services and something very strange happened. I spoke. Well, that was not strange since I often say too much. But what I said was definitely strange. I looked at my wife and said, “We should do this.” Of course, she fainted and required CPR, but after reviving her, she signed us up. Now I like adventures, a lot, but I am not a fan of cold water, make that very cold water, canoes, and falling out of a canoe and trying to get back in. The potential for all of that was part of this adventure. But it was too late. We were going.

It is funny how things can grow in your mind. The more I thought about this the more I was certain this was not going to have a good outcome. I began to say, half in jest and half believing it, that I was going to die. I wasn’t sure if the cause of my demise was going to be drowning or heart attack from the cold water, but I was going to die. As the days passed heading toward the day of the great adventure, the dread became more and more real.

You see, years ago, at another event at another church, I was on the back of a jet ski with a friend of driving. We were zipping along and then, all of a sudden, he was zipping, and I wasn’t. I slid right off the back of that jet ski and right into the water. Well, he circled back around, and I spent the next two hours (ok, a slight exaggeration there) trying to crawl back onto the jet ski. And, yes, people were watching and yes, people were laughing, and I was dying…not from drowning but from embarrassment.

So, we went and guess what? We didn’t lose it. Though several folks ended up in the water, somehow, Judy and I didn’t. It was probably my well experienced (not) and expert (not) command of the canoe. Actually, it was no small measure of grace. Oh, and by the way, while the current did make recovering some of the boats difficult, it wasn’t from the depth of the water. In most places the water was only a couple of feet deep. In other words, if we had dumped, I probably could have stepped right back in the boat. Hmmm…how about that.

Family, fear, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, thankful

Holy Moley!

Posted on October 4, 2021October 3, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was January of 2004, and it was a day to remember. On that day, as a gift from a friend, I received my first flat panel television. Of course, back then it was brand new technology, and they were a little different. This one was about three inches thick and weighted about seventy pounds. I still keep it stored away simply because it is so special. Over the years, things have changed and that is true with televisions too. Thankfully, they have gone on a diet. Today, a larger television weighs less than half of the earlier models. Regardless, it can still be a little tricky to hang one on the wall…especially if you are “tool” challenged. Let me explain.

Our house is old, and I do mean old. How old? Well, Miss Alice’s house next door was built in 1902, and she said when her house was being built ours was already there. That means our house is at least 119 years old—holy moley—that is old. At any rate that means there must be some plaster walls and there are. There is a reason why someone invented sheetrock and the reason is no one likes plaster walls. They are a pain. They easily crack. They are difficult to drill through and oh, a stud finder doesn’t work and if you are going to mount a television…you need to find the studs in the wall.

Family, fear, Grace, gratitude, life, prayer, Scripture, thankful, travel

Fear, the Canoe & Me

Posted on August 6, 2021August 5, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7

It was one great adventure. Every year, with the exception of last year, our youth pastor takes a group of people to canoe on the Jack’s Fork River in Southern Missouri. Several weeks ago, people were signing up in the foyer after services and something very strange happened. I spoke. Well, that in itself was not strange since I often say too much. But what I said was definitely strange. I looked at my wife and said, “We should do this.” Of course, she fainted and required CPR, but after reviving her, she signed us up. Now I like adventures, a lot, but I am not a fan of cold water, make that very cold water, canoes, and falling out of a canoe and trying to get back in and the potential for all of that was part of this adventure. But it was too late. We were going.

It is funny how things can grow in your mind. The more I thought about this the more I was certain this was not going to have a good outcome. I began to say, half in jest and half believing it, that I was going to die. I wasn’t sure if the cause of my demise was going to be drowning or heart attack from the cold water, but I was going to die. As the days passed heading toward the day of the great adventure, the dread became more and more real.

You see, years ago, at another event at another church, I was on the back of a jet ski with a friend of mine driving. We were zipping along and then all of a sudden, he was zipping and I wasn’t. I slid right off the back of that jet ski and right into the water. Well, he circled back around, and I spent the next two hours (ok, a slight exaggeration there) trying to crawl back onto the jet ski. And, yes, people were watching and yes, people were laughing, and I was dying…not from drowning but from embarrassment.

So, we went and guess what? We didn’t lose it. Though several folks ended up in the water, somehow, Judy and I didn’t. It was probably my well experienced (not) and expert (not) command of the canoe. Actually, it was no small measure of grace. Oh, and by the way, while the current did make recovering some of the boats difficult, it wasn’t from the depth of the water. In most places the water was only a couple of feet deep. In other words, if we had dumped, I probably could have stepped right back in the boat. Hmmm…how about that.