Tag: buffet

Posted in Family, food, Holidays, life, Scripture, Southern born, travel

Southern Cuisine–The Real Deal

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “He says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:18b

I discovered the difference between the real deal and everything else.  My wife Judy and I travel south to see family.  Before I retired, she was usually our representative to our southern family.  She would make the circuit, sitting and talking and visiting, all of which is right up her alley.  But that was then and this is now.  Now we make the trips together.  I was soon reminded of the value of family and in the process rediscovered the value of good southern cooking.

First, in Valdosta where she is from and where a bunch of her family lives, there is a family of restaurants that are excellent for two reasons.  First, they are all buffets and second, they all specialize in southern cooking.  The buffet is a spread of everything southern…fried chicken, ribs (both fried and smoked), fish, pork chops, chicken gizzards and livers, pot roast and the list goes on and on.  Then comes the vegetables…field peas, lima beans, baby lima beans, black-eyed peas, collard and turnip greens, cream corn, grits and…well, you get the idea.

Well, that was all good but then came Thursday night.  Her family decided to have a mini family reunion of sorts.  Now just like my family, her family is blessed with many queens of southern cuisine.  I admit I just couldn’t wait to taste what was going to be brought.  About thirty relatives showed up and each family brought several dishes. Now imagine with me.  Take the list above and double it and you will have a fair idea of how much food was there.  Now, take what we had at the restaurant, which was very good, and give it a multiplication factor of at least two and maybe three and you begin to understand the Allen family feast.  It was beyond delicious—and not just a dish here or there but every dish.  I won’t even try to describe the deserts.  Wonderful southern food with a wonderful southern family and well, I sure was glad I didn’t miss it.

I did learn something through my southern food experience.  You see, I was very content with the restaurant version of southern heaven until I tasted the real deal and suddenly, I was reminded of the difference.  The real thing made in someone’s kitchen with loving hands and hearts made the restaurant version somewhat of a cheap imitation. Oh, it was good till I had the real thing and then there was no comparison. The real thing trumps anything else every time.

That truth is worth remembering.  There are a lot of imitations out there in the world and they will try and make you discontent with the real thing.  They will try and steal your heart out of a good marriage or make you discontent and leave relationships that have satisfied for years. Like so many of the commercials today, they wave their plastic happiness and try to convince you that their “something” is better.  Don’t believe it—the real deal is better than a plastic substitution no matter how good it looks.  And by the way, that is definitely true when it comes to religion and God.  Don’t ever be tempted to trade the practice of religion for a God who loves you so much He gave His Son to die for you. Like He said in His Book, “I am the Lord, there is no other.”

I am grateful for my trips south, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn once again about the importance of what is real and what is second place.  Never be satisfied with something else when you can have what is real and never trade what is first for what is second.  It is always a bad deal.

So, if you are blessed to have some southern relatives and you visit with them, make sure to sit-down with them for supper.  Chances are you will discover your own spread of southern delights.  And remember to be content and grateful for the spread that God has set before you.  He is a good, good Father and, unlike religion, He loves you so, so much and no matter what, you know, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in communication, food, friends, life, Scripture, Southern born, wisdom

Liver Anyone?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.” James 1:5b

They were laying there taking a bath in rich, brown gravy.  Well, when my oldest brother died, we had to make a trip South.  He lived where I was raised, Jacksonville, Florida and was laid to rest next to our Daddy and Momma.  Well, if you know anything about Florida, you know that sitting right north is Georgia and you know the quickest way to Florida, and Disney World, is down Interstate 75.  Finally, and we are going somewhere…no pun intended…if you go down Interstate 75 to Florida you have to go through Valdosta, Georgia.

As I understand it, there are only two Valdosta’s in the whole world…one in Georgia and one in Italy. Well, Judy was raised in the one in Georgia and that is where we were married so I think you could say that Valdosta is kinda home for us.  We are big fans of southern cooking and there is a place in Valdosta called the Old Tyme Country Buffet and it has become a favorite of ours.  On this particular trip, a couple of good friends from our church were visiting in South Florida and we managed to meet them in Valdosta on our way to Jacksonville.  They were offering a free lunch and a hug—both sounded real good.

So we met at the buffet and before long I was introducing them to everything from cream corn to collards to fried chicken.  As I circled the buffet, I saw something that looked good…real good. It was a pan full of rich brown gravy and swimming in the gravy were thick slices of beef.  I had to have some.  I stabbed a couple of pieces of beef, spooned up some gravy, both for the meat and my mashed potatoes, and moved on.  Things were good and they were about to be better…or so I thought.

I got back to the table, showed my plate to my friends and dove in. One of the first stops on the grand tour of my “heaped high” plate was the beef and gravy. It was tender and looked delicious and without hesitation I took a nice, big bite.  Well, immediately I thought to myself, “Hmmm, maybe beef with gravy isn’t their specialty.” It had a twang to it that I thought tasted familiar. I couldn’t quite identify it so I took another bite and it just wasn’t good…and then I knew why.  That strange twang was not beef…it was liver…beef liver.

There are only a few things in the food world that I don’t like and liver is definitely one of them. Yuck. Gross. I realized I had been tricked…fooled…betrayed.  Well, needless to say that was the end of the liver.  I always try to clean my plate…usually motivated by the memory of starving kids in Africa…but this was one time the liver was heading to the trash.  Not even guilt could force me to eat this beef wanna be.

I told the people at the table how I thought it was one thing and it turned out to be something else and now…I am telling you.  It may have looked like beef but all the looks in the world wasn’t gonna change its identity and taste. There was probably a sign that properly identified this “sheep in wolves clothing” but my eyes were on the pool of gravy and not the little sign.

Now I know and you know that this doesn’t just happen at buffets.  The truth is our world is filled with things that seem to be one thing and in fact are something totally different. Now if we take the time and look closely, hints of truth are usually all around but we too often see what we want see.  What we need to see is the truth.  So, the next time you are tempted to take the plunge, be sure and know what you are diving into.  Before you throw away a marriage and family, before you toss out your character, before you take a swim in the pool of regret…take the time to evaluate and count the cost.

Jesus said one time that it is foolish for a man to start building a tower before counting the cost.  After all, think how foolish he would look if he started it and couldn’t finish it…sorta like stabbing beef and getting liver.  James, the half brother of Jesus, said that if we lack wisdom, all we need to do is ask God and He will gladly give us what we need. Beef or liver—your choice but remember this—even when we mess up God will be there to help us.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne 

Posted in Family, food, friends, life, Scripture, Southern born, thankful

Fruit Salad and Potlucks

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

 “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.” Acts 13:1

Fruit salad anyone? I love food. I love all kinds of food and yes, occasionally I love a lot of food. I don’t know if it is because of my southern roots or my forty-two years of a pastor but the bottom line is food is a big part of my life. But wait…there is more. You see there are certain foods that I like a lot but I know that if my entire diet consisted of just one or two things, things would get boring pretty fast. That is one reason I love a potluck at church.

What is a potluck? Well, it is when all the folks at any given church put some food in a pot, brings it to church and shares it. And, with any luck at all, you end up with a really great meal.  When I was growing up we also used to call it, “dinner on the grounds.” That usually happened for a special occasion such as homecoming. In the South, the weather was usually pretty warm. At the church I was raised at, we had a long outdoor table covered by a tin roof. When the appointed day and time came, we would go outside, put on the food on that long table, pray, and then feast. I really never thought of it before but I guess I am grateful that we really didn’t have dinner “on the ground.”  Once again, some of my favorite memories is of sharing food at church. Call it potluck or call it dinner on the grounds—it was always good.

The vast variety of food was one thing that made the meal so special and I think it helped us learn an unintended lesson. Variety in life, and especially in the church, is not a bad thing.  In fact, it is a blessed thing.  When God designed the church, He designed it so that it was made up of many different people. Paul, the guy in the New Testament, wrote about the fact that just like our body needs different parts—so does the church. In fact, often the greater the variety, the stronger the church. There is a scripture found in the New Testament book of Acts. In chapter 13 and verse 1, we read, “Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas), and Saul.”

Talk about variety, we learn that among the leaders of the church at Antioch there was a guy named Barnabas.  His named means encourager and that is exactly what he was. If you were a little blue he was the guy to see. Next we learn that this church certainly didn’t have any problems with race because Simeon, a black man, was invited into the leadership.  They didn’t see color—and we shouldn’t either. But wait—there is more. The guy named Lucius wasn’t a local guy—in fact—he was from out of town—way out of town—all the way from Cyrene. Perhaps most unusual was Mamean who was a childhood friend of King Herod Antipas and we all know he was a bad guy. Finally we have Saul, who later became Paul, who was a Jesus hater turn Jesus lover and someone God used to literally change the world.

Amazing isn’t it? It is humorous that we can’t even agree on the simple things like what translation of the Bible or what kind of music to play in church. It would seem that if Antioch in Syria could get right, maybe we should too! You see, God puts people in the Body, the church, as He sees fit and since He never gets it wrong we should learn to love the church like Jesus loved the church. So think about it.  Who is there in your church that you struggle to love? How about asking God to help you love them and accept them. After all, with His help all things are possible. He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, gratitude, heaven, life, Military memories, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel, USA

Is This Heaven?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

He asked, “Is this heaven?” The other night I was sitting around and accidentally caught the tail end of the movie, “Field of Dreams.” It is a fantasy movie about a guy who builds a baseball field, and a voice tells him that if he builds it—they will come. Well, he builds it and players from baseball past suddenly start appearing. It is a fun, feel-good movie—especially if you like baseball.

Well, amid all this feel-good stuff, a couple of the players from the past ask, “Is this heaven?” He assures them it is not but rather it is Iowa. To them the ability to play ball again well just felt like heaven. Obviously, they had never been because heaven is way beyond words. With all that said, the other night I fell into food heaven.  Let me explain.  Twenty years ago, some friends invited my wife Judy and I to go to Owensboro, Kentucky to have supper at a place called Moonlight BBQ. As my memory serves me it was somewhere before incredible and heavenly. We enjoyed the food and the company and promised ourselves we would have to make the journey again. Well…we never did.

Now, fast forward twenty years. On my retirement bucket list was to attend an airshow with the Blue Angels and/or the Thunderbirds. On a whim, I searched recently searched airshows only to discover that there was going to be one in Owensboro, Kentucky—just 89 miles from Harrisburg.  What is even more amazing is that Owensboro is a small town to be hosting such a major event.  Well, I told Judy we had to go so we booked a room and made our plans.

It turned out that the airshow, which is on Saturday and Sunday, had a Friday night deal too. At the airport they had several aircraft on display, and you could meet some of the pilots so with Judy’s blessing, I decided I would go to that part too. I went ahead and booked a hotel by the airport and off I went. Well, it turned out rain trashed a major part of the night, so I went ahead to the hotel. I saw a McDonald’s down the road but asked the clerk, “Are there any other restaurants nearby?” He said, “Do you like BBQ?” I said I sure did, and he told me there was a place down the road called…get ready…Moonlight BBQ.

Inadvertently I stumbled into food heaven again. So off I went and what happened next really was a foodie’s paradise. It was a mega BBQ buffet, and everything was just good. There was chopped brisket, ribs, BBQ chicken, pulled pork, fried fish all with all the trimmings you could imagine. Dessert? Yes sir—seven different kinds of pie with two kinds of cobbler and all with ice cream. It was just about then the analogy from “Field of Dreams” came to mind.  Is this heaven?

Well, of course I know that there is no way anything on this earth can compare to what God has in store for us. But I also know this.  Isn’t it awesome that God created this earth for His creation to enjoy. Take a joy ride though the galaxies and you won’t find anything like what He has prepared here for us. And all of this is just a teaser for the big show He has planned for us in eternity. So, enjoy this but also remember that the best is yet to come. He is the author of all things good because He is good. And because He is good, well, we know, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

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

Southern Cuisine–the Real Deal

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

He says, “I am the Lord, and there is no other.” Isaiah 45:18b

I discovered the difference between the real deal and everything else.  My wife Judy and I traveled south to see family.  Since I am still working, she is usually our representative to our southern family.  She would make the circuit, sitting and talking and visiting, all of which is right up her alley.  But this time…things were different.  I decided it was time for me to make time to see my family and I am so glad that I did.  I was reminded of the value of family and in the process rediscovered the value of good southern cooking. We stayed with two of my sisters and then with one of Judy’s nephews and his wife.  At each place, queens of southern delights strutted their stuff, but it all came together one beautiful Thursday evening.

First, in Valdosta where she is from and where a bunch of her family lives, there is a family of restaurants that are excellent for two reasons.  First, they are all buffets and second, they all specialize in southern cooking.  The buffet is a spread of everything southern…fried chicken, ribs (both fried and smoked), fish, pork chops, chicken gizzards and livers, pot roast and the list goes on and on.  Then comes the vegetables…field peas, lima beans, baby lima beans, black-eyed peas, collard and turnip greens, cream corn, grits and…well, you get the idea.  Judy and I enjoyed it so much we went twice.

Well, that was all good but then came Thursday night.  Her family decided to have a mini family reunion of sorts.  Now just like my family, her family is blessed with many queens of southern cuisine.  I admit I just couldn’t wait to taste what was going to be brought.  About thirty relatives showed up and each family brought several dishes. Now imagine with me.  Take the list above and double it and you will have a fair idea of how much food was there.  Now, take what we had at the restaurant, which was very good, and give it a multiplication factor of at least two and maybe three and you begin to understand the Allen family feast.  It was beyond delicious—and not just a dish here or there but every dish.  I won’t even try to describe the deserts.  Wonderful southern food with a wonderful southern family and well, I sure was glad I didn’t miss it.

I did learn something through my southern food experience.  You see, I was very content with the restaurant version of southern heaven until I tasted the real deal and suddenly, I was reminded of the difference.  The real thing made in someone’s kitchen with loving hands and hearts made the restaurant version somewhat of a cheap imitation. Oh, it was good till I had the real thing and then there was no comparison. The real thing trumps anything else every time.

That truth is worth remembering.  There are a lot of imitations out there in the world and they will try and make you discontent with the real thing.  They will try and steal your heart out of a good marriage or make you discontent and leave relationships that have satisfied for years. Like so many of the commercials today, they wave their plastic happiness and try to convince you that their “something” is better.  Don’t believe it—the real deal is better than a plastic substitution no matter how good it looks.  And by the way, that is definitely true when it comes to religion and God.  Don’t ever be tempted to trade the practice of religion for a God who loves you so much He gave His Son to die for you. Like He said in His Book, “I am the Lord, there is no other.”

I am grateful for my trip south, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn once again about the importance of what is real and what is second place.  Never be satisfied with something else when you can have what is real and never trade what is first for what is second.  It is always a bad deal.

So, if you are blessed to have some southern relatives and you visit with them, make sure to sit-down with them for supper.  Chances are you will discover your own spread of southern delights.  And remember to be content and grateful for the spread that God has set before you.  He is a good, good Father and, unlike religion, He loves you so, so much and no matter what, you know, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, Southern born, thankful, travel, Trials

Liver Anyone?

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you.” James 1:5b

They were laying there taking a bath in rich, brown gravy.  Well, we had to make a trip to the South when my brother died.  He lived where I was raised, Jacksonville, Florida and was laid to rest next to our Daddy and Momma.  Well, if you know anything about Florida, you know that sitting right north is Georgia and you know the quickest way to Florida, and Disney World, is down Interstate 75.  Finally, and we are going somewhere…no pun intended…if you go down Interstate 75 to Florida you must go through Valdosta, Georgia.

As I understand it, there are only two Valdosta’s in the whole world…one in Georgia and one in Italy. Well, Judy was raised in the one in Georgia and that is where we were married so I think you could say that Valdosta is kinda home for us.  Well, we are big fans of southern cooking and there is a place in Valdosta called the Old Time Country Buffet and it has become a favorite of ours.  So, a couple from our church was visiting in South Florida and we managed to meet them on our way to Jacksonville in Valdosta.  They were offering a free lunch and a hug—both sounded really good.

So, we met at the buffet and before long I was introducing them to everything from cream corn to collards to fried chicken.  As I circled the buffet, I saw something that looked good…real good. It was a pan full of rich brown gravy and swimming in the gravy were thick slices of beef.  I had to have some.  I stabbed a couple of pieces of beef, spooned up some gravy, both for the meat and my mashed potatoes and moved on.  Things were good and they were about to be better…or so I thought.

I got back to the table, showed my plate to my friends and dove in. One of the first stops on the grand tour of my “heaped high” plate was the beef and gravy. It was tender and looked delicious and without hesitation I took a nice, big bite.  Well, immediately I thought to myself, “Hmmm, maybe beef with gravy isn’t their specialty.” It had a twang to it that I thought tasted familiar. I couldn’t quite identify it, so I took another bite and it just wasn’t good…and then I remembered.  That strange twang was not beef…it was liver…beef liver.

There are only a few things in the food world that I don’t like, but liver is definitely one of them. Yuck. Gross. I realized I had been tricked…fooled…betrayed.  Well, needless to say, that was the end of the liver.  I always try to clean my plate…usually motivated by the memory of starving kids in Africa…but this was one time the liver was heading to the trash.  Not even guilt could force me to eat this beef wanna be.

I told the people at the table how I thought it was one thing and it turned out to be something else and now…I am telling you.  It may have looked like beef but all the looks in the world wasn’t gonna change its true identity…its true taste. There was probably a sign that properly identified this “sheep in wolves clothing” but my eyes were on the pool of gravy and not the little sign.

Now I know and you know that this doesn’t just happen at buffets.  The truth is our world is filled with things that seem to be one thing and in fact are something totally different. Now if we take the time and look closely, hints of truth are usually all around but we too often see what we want see.  What we need to see is the truth.  So, the next time you are tempted to take the plunge, be sure and know what you are diving into.  Before you throw away a marriage and family, before you toss out your character, before you take a swim in the pool of regret…take the time to evaluate and count the cost.

Jesus said one time that it is foolish for a man to start building a tower before counting the cost.  After all, think how foolish he would look if he started it and couldn’t finish it…sorta like stabbing beef and getting liver.  James, the half-brother of Jesus, said that if we lack wisdom, all we need to do is ask God and He will gladly give us what we need. Beef or liver—your choice but remember this—even when we mess up God will be there to help us.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne