blessings – Grits with Grace

Family, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful, travel

Rocks and Fossils

Posted on July 25, 2025July 28, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” Philippines 2:13

They were everywhere but nowhere to be found. A couple of years ago, my wife Judy and I went to a pastor’s conference over in North Carolina. It’s just a little far to travel in one day, so we always choose to stay a night on the road and one of our favorite spots is Cookeville, Tennessee. It is a little over an hour outside Nashville and has several good places to eat and stay. We usually stay at an Airbnb since it provides a little more space and sometimes it offers a little bit more.

This find was Judy’s and that probably explains why we spent more than we normally do. The place was located on a small scenic river and featured two waterfalls within a hundred yards of the property. One was bigger and one was smaller—both were awesome. The smaller one had several rock features but only fell about ten feet. Its big brother, on the other hand, fell about fifty feet and was massive. It’s funny because they both had the same amount of water to work with but, you know, the farther the water falls the more impressive it seems.

Because of the falls and because the area around the river was rocky, the ground was covered with tons (both literally and figuratively) of small rocks. There were all shapes, many colors, and sizes. Most were fist-size or smaller but here is the best part. Scattered around and in all the rocks were a heavy sprinkling of fossils. Most were of ancient water plants that had become trapped in the sediment and slowly, over time, became fossilized. There were all kinds, and since they were so unique—I just had to have some. So, Judy and I went hunting.

From the get-go, it seemed she was better at it than me and soon she was shouting, “Here’s one, here’s another.” Well, that caused me to look harder than ever. Well, before long, we both had plenty, and they are now on display in my office at home. But here’s what is amazing and what prompted this short story with a big truth. The fact is they were everywhere but there were so many rocks to poke through it was just hard to find them. They were there but they were well camouflaged…looking a lot like their rock brothers and sisters. Making it even harder was the fact that one side of a rock might have a cool fossil and the other—nothing. The only choice was to keep looking and keep turning over as many stones as possible.

Isn’t that just like life? We look for this or that and sometimes we become frustrated and give up and behold—it was right in front of our face the entire time. That is never truer than with God things. We think God has turned off the blessing faucet when the truth is we just aren’t looking close enough…hard enough…and we give up. Well, let me encourage you to keep flipping those rocks over because you never know what might be on the other side.

Sometimes the answer to our prayer or our miracle is just one stone flip away. God loves to bless His children so don’t give up and don’t be surprised if you find yourself staring a blessing in the face. Paul wrote, “For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” In other words, don’t give up…He’s working, and He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, gratitude, life, love, marriage, Scripture, thankful

Real Love, Real Blessed

Posted on June 26, 2025June 16, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” 1 John 4:10

It was hotter than a firecracker. Today, forty-nine years ago, I became the luckiest guy in the world. Oh, I know, Joe DiMaggio thought he was but that is because he didn’t marry Judy. You see, on June 26, 1976, this Florida cracker married one fine Georgia peach—Judy Dawn Allen thus ensuring my standing as the luckiest guy in the world. Looking back over the past all most fifty years, I am amazed just how good God has been.

I met Judy at church one Wednesday night. I was stationed at the nearby Air Force base. She was only sixteen and I was twenty. It had to be a miracle that her parents even let me near her but then…I did meet her at church. Smile. I walked into church that Wednesday night, saw her standing in a group of about five or six young ladies, and well, that was that. I got her phone number from a friend who attended that same church, gave her a call, asked her out on a date and she said yes. That yes led to another yes on April 1, 1975, when she agreed to marry me and that yes led to an “I Do” on June 26, 1976. How about that?

So what is the secret to being married for 49 years? All you have to do is marry someone like my wife Judy. She loves God and Jesus, loves her family, loves people but most of all—she loves me. I never could figure that part out. I am certain I am not worthy of her love but still she scoops it out in large quantities. She loves me when I get it right and when I don’t. She loves me when it is hard and loves me when it is easier. Amazing.

As amazing as all that is—the way God loves me is even bigger and better. He too lavishes His love out on me, and He too loves me regardless of my performance. On my best day, He loves me and on my worst day, He loves me still and a zillion years from today He will still be loving me. His word says, “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” Now that is what I call love. That is what I call amazing.

Looking back, hot or not, I’m grateful for that summer day in South Georgia when an amazing God allowed me to marry an amazing young lady. Over forty-nine years, walking together, and all but five of them as a pastor’s wife, well, I’ll forever be indebted to the One who gave her to me and to her for saying yes. He took care of me then and He will take care of me for all the tomorrows yet to come. As always, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

communication, Family, food, friends, gratitude, Holidays, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, thankful, Thanksgiving, travel, Trials

Worth Every Mile

Posted on November 27, 2024November 26, 2024 by Dewayne Taylor

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20

It was crazy but worth every mile. For years my side of our Taylor tribe held a family reunion. It all started after the death of both of our parents and just seemed like the right thing to do. Fortunately for all of us, we had some very committed and caring siblings that made sure it happened. While the date bounced around, for a while we held it on Thanksgiving weekend. I know for us that was a good time. Being a pastor, each year was a more of a maybe than a definite yes or no, so we didn’t make every one…but every one we did make was, well, special.

I remember one year someone in the church family had died and I needed to stay and officiate at their service. To me honoring life after death is not an obligation but an honor so if I can I try to be there, both for the one who has slipped into eternity and especially for those left behind. That meant on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving that year, we had a service and rather than leave town on Tuesday, we stayed and held the service and left as soon as it was over…about noon.

Now everyone knows that the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is the biggest, the busiest, the craziest travel day of the year and that year—the Taylor tribe from Illinois discovered that truth firsthand. We had no more gotten on the interstate highway—less than an hour from our home— and we ran into heavy traffic. That song about “over the river and through the woods” was more than a song. It seemed that everyone in the world, or at least the Midwest, was going to grandmother’s house and apparently, she lived down by Atlanta.

There was not a time that there wasn’t traffic and a couple of times there was just one of those standstills. That is when, for no apparent reason, in the middle of nowhere traffic just stops. There was not an intersection, there was not an accident or a broken-down vehicle—it was like people just decided to press pause. Now if you know anything about me, you know I don’t do traffic well but this time, well, I did better than average. As the day pressed on, as the traffic got heavier, as day turned to night, as the clock ticked off the minutes and hours, as we got more and more tired…well, average disappeared.

By the time we were outside of Atlanta on Interstate 20 heading west, it was about 1:30 am. 1:30 am…think about that. I can still remember the fact that the interstate, every lane, was packed with traffic…bumper to bumper…at 70 miles per hour. I didn’t believe it then and as my fingers press the keys…I can’t believe it now. Where in the world were all these people going at that time of the night…uh, make that morning? Of course…they were going to grandmother’s house.

Well, we finally arrived at John Tanner State Park at about 2:30 am. We were tired. We were exhausted but all that didn’t matter. We were there. We opened the car doors and stumbled out of the car and into the lodge. Waiting for us was a was a beautiful moment of clarity. There in the “living room” of the lodge was a big chunk of the Taylor tribe. Instead of going to bed, they had waited up to greet us and it was at that moment it was worth it all. Just then I had an epiphany…this, this was family. While they couldn’t drive the miles for us they could be there and greet us and simply say “we are glad you made the drive.”

Well, we all quickly went to bed and woke up a little later the next day. The morning was spent preparing the feast and what a feast it was. We told stories, we laughed, we shared and we ate…a lot. And I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was worth every minute in the car and every mile in traffic. Well, that was many years ago and the family reunions don’t occur that way anymore. And, too many—and even one is too many—of our family have changed their address from this world to the next. And while I wish I had more of those memories, I am so grateful for each and every one that I have.

While this Thanksgiving will be different than those and for many, different even from last year, let’s strive to make this one worth remembering too. Let’s remember the key word in the holiday—thanks. Paul, the guy in the Bible, said, “Give thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” As always, he was spot on. Like Bing Crosby sings in the movie, “Holiday Inn,” let’s remember we have plenty to be thankful for…because we do. And, if you are struggling in the gratitude department, just take a look around and count your blessings, and then remember that no matter what, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Mother's Day, Mother's Day, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, sovereignty of God, spring, thankful, Trials

Remembering Momma

Posted on May 13, 2024May 12, 2024 by Dewayne Taylor

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also praises her: Many women have done noble deeds, but you surpass them all!” Proverbs 31:28-29

Well, it’s time. Enter Mother’s Day…a day to celebrate our mothers, our wives and other ladies who have poured their life into our lives, but time can make that harder. Let me explain. You see, time can be a bane and a blessing. It is difficult to live with but we sure can’t live without it and as we get older, it can begin to fuzz the brain and our memories. Things that at one time were vivid and clear become a midst and sometimes disappear into the fog.

That seems to be true of so many of my childhood memories—my Momma memories. Things that I am sure were so valuable, so definitive at the time, are now simply not there. I am sure that is the case with my memories of my parents as a child. When that happens, I simply fill in the gaps with hints and clues from the things I do remember. As the pieces come together, it quickly becomes obvious that my Momma was one of my anchors and a huge blessing in my life.

As I scan the landscape of my childhood, as I piece the pieces together, I realize that I had a really good childhood, and it was largely because of my parents and in particular, my mother. As the baby of eight, by the time they got to me, two things were obvious: they had it down to a science, and I was pretty spoiled.

Because of our finances, we didn’t get everything we wanted (not by a long shot), but Christmas, birthdays, and usually even ordinary days were special. Momma was often the one who made that happen. She was a stay-at-home, hold the fort down, mom and was always there when I needed her. Perhaps you have heard of a Swiss Army knife. It is one crazy invention where a simple pocketknife becomes an all-purpose, whatever you need tool. And that describes Momma. Whatever the occasion she was there for us…for me. Well, truth be known, while she didn’t wear a habit like Mother Teresa or a nurse’s uniform like Florence Nightingale or banish a sword like Joan of Arc, in my eyes she was that and more.

I wonder how many times I was sick, and she became Doctor Momma? On so many occasions I can remember her pulling me into her lap and holding me. On one particular occasion, when I was over five and under ten, I was very sick— fever, nausea, and a young body that felt like it had been beaten. I know now it was probably the flu and probably contagious and yet there she was in our old rocking chair, at two in the morning, cradling me and holding me. That was Momma.

Sometimes Momma put on her Leonardo da Vinci hat and showed a designer flare. I can remember as a teenager I had a rather new pair of jeans—ordinary to some—valuable to me. I was horseback riding one day, and the horse cut a corner too sharply and ran me into a pole, ripping my jeans right above the knee. Bummer. My Momma simply cut the legs off the jeans where they were torn, put in some bright red cloth, and sewed them back together. There you go…good as new, and since it was the 70’s, it made a statement. I had a one-of-a-kind pair of jeans.

Two or three times a day Momma always put on her chef’s hat. A couple of years ago I made a thoughtless and inaccurate comment about Momma’s cooking not being “the best in the world.” Can someone say, “Dumb?” Can someone say, “Really?” No, Momma was a great cook, and my waistline still proves it. She had the amazing ability to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary. To me, her chicken and dumplings and blackberry dumplings were both legendary. Oh, and did I mention her fried corn beef hash? No, Chef Momma was amazing…and we loved her for it.

Yup, my Momma was amazing and the longer I live the more I realize just how blessed I was to have her. It has been said that men often marry women like their mothers. Well, that at least helps to explain the amazing wife that God has given me. In so many ways she too is that wife, that mother, that grandmother that so many wish they had. I don’t have to wish…Judy is my wish come true. Someone once said that a person who has one good friend in their life is blessed. Well, without going any further than my home I know I have had two—Momma and my precious wife Judy. Thank You, Lord…a bunch.

Remember, there is no such thing as perfect Momma’s but a lot of us have been blessed with great ones. At this time of year when we celebrate Mother’s Day, if Momma is still around, be sure and let her know how much you appreciate her. And if she isn’t…well, be sure and thank the Lord. And one more thought…be sure and thank your wife, for all she has done. Guys, trust me, we would be lost without them. Oh, and do remember this, there is a God who loves you more than your Momma ever could or did. It’s good to know that no matter what…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

Rocks and Fossils

Posted on May 22, 2023May 21, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

For it is God who is working in you both to will and to work according to His good purpose.” Philippines 2:13

They were everywhere but nowhere to be found. A couple of months ago, Judy and I went to a pastor’s conference over in North Carolina. It’s just a little far to travel in one day, so we always choose to stay a night on the road and one of our favorite spots is Cookeville, Tennessee. It is a little over an hour outside Nashville and has several good places to eat and stay. We usually stay at an Airbnb since it provides a little more space and sometimes it offers a little bit more.