Coach – Grits with Grace

Family, friends, gratitude, life, Scripture, thankful

Here to Help–Not Hurt

Posted on March 3, 2023March 2, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” John 14:15-16

Ok…just one more…I promise. This week I have written two stories about this new adventure with a company that helps people reverse their diabetes. If you haven’t read the first two, why not wander over to http://www.gritswithgrace.com and check them out. You will find out there have already been some highs and lows. A couple of times, within the first couple of minutes, I was ready to chuck the whole thing out the window. But then, when I had a few minutes to think about it, it began to make at least some sense. The bottom line is the jury is still out for the long term but in the short term…well, I get it.

I wrote about all the cool gadgets that this company gave me to help monitor where I am in the journey. I have access to the information but so do they…and they are watching. So far…they must have liked what they’ve seen because they said I am doing very well. One of the reasons for that is this gadget called a Dextron G6. It is a continuous glucose (or blood sugar) monitor. Every five minutes it tells the wearer their sugar level. When you eat, you can see in just a little while what that meal did to your blood sugar levels.

It is interesting to eat, wait, and watch for the results. You eat some bad stuff (usually bad for your sugar level but good for your tongue) and before long your sugar level is up where it doesn’t belong. You see it and so do the folks at this company. When I see it, my response is, “Wow, I guess I shouldn’t have eaten that…or at least not so much of that.” Usually that leads to a second response that asks the question, “What is worth it?” When my coach at the company sees it, she gently nudges me in a better direction. The goal is to make a better decision next time…and that sounds fair to me.

Did you know we Jesus followers have something like this when it comes to doing life? Yup…we sure do. You see, our monitor that tells us how we are doing is called the Word of God, or the Bible. This marvelous Book is not a book of rules but rather a guidebook, a roadmap for doing life. And, if we are wise, we will read and then follow it. It really helps (and this is just like the monitor thingy) to see the Bible as a friend and not an enemy—not just rules but helps. So, when we decide to go down a path that is not good for us, what we know and what we can know, will help us make better decisions. It gets better.

You see not only do we have the Book, but we also have a Coach to help us and encourage us and He is called the Holy Spirit. One of His jobs is to help us see our sin as sin and point us in a better direction. And, by the way, we must not see Him as an enemy but rather a friend, a dear friend who never wants to hurt but always wants to help us. Jesus described it like this, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” What a great word…Helper. So, from where I sit, two of the best decisions we can make as Jesus’ people is to know, trust, and follow God’s Word and then listen, obey, and trust the Holy Spirit.

When we start to believe that God is for us and not against us, when we start to believe that God’s Word can be trusted, and when we start to believe that the Holy Spirit is here to help and not to hurt, well, I think life is just about to get better…a lot better. I am seeing some pretty cool results from my diabetes wellness adventure, and it all began when I started watching and trusting the gadgets, they gave me and believing my coach is my friend. It is true with them, and it is true with God. He is worthy of our trust, and He will be there for us…always. Don’t you doubt it for a minute—He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, friends, life, priorities, Southern born, thankful, Trials

Cross Country

Posted on December 13, 2022December 4, 2022 by Dewayne Taylor

Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24

They called it a physical fitness test. I called it Hades. It happened every nine weeks. That was the length of the grading period at the high school I attended. Every male who attended Nathan Bedford Forest High School and was breathing was required to take a physical fitness test at the end of the grading period. It involved several things…pushups, pull-ups, and my personal favorite, throwing up. What was ironic about this is for all the time before the test we didn’t train for it. We might play softball or volleyball or some other team sport, but we didn’t train for “the test.” We also played something called battle ball where we gathered in the gym and played a sadistic form of dodge ball. There was a guy named Johnny who had abnormally long arms and could hurl the ball at incredible speeds. The last thing on earth you wanted was to be the last victim on one side and Johnny on the other. It wasn’t pretty.

Anyway, we were not prepared but that didn’t matter. We had to take “the test.” The worst part of this Gladiator style arena of horror was the cross-country run. Let me see if I can set the stage. Imagine you are in North Florida, and it is late May. The temperatures regularly climb into the lower and upper nineties. The humidity is at ninety percent or higher. Remember they call Florida the Sunshine State and that is for a reason…the sun is beating down unmercifully. And, by luck of the draw, you have physical education (PE) class right after lunch. The day before, the coach announces that we would be running “cross country” tomorrow. It was too late to train…it was too late for anything but a few prayers.

In an attempt not to throw-up, you eat a light lunch and then report to P.E. You pray to stumble and break your leg on the way to class, but that prayer goes unanswered. You change clothes and anxiously report outside. They call the roll and then give the command to report to the starting line. What lies ahead is two and a half miles of running in the heat of a hot day complete with “air you can wear.” Like “sheep led to the slaughter” you line up waiting for the whistle. Soon, too soon, it blows and off you go.

Now you really need to understand that cross country for those who have trained for it is a challenging, but somewhat enjoyable sport. I’ve even heard reports of a runner’s high. I never experienced that, but I did experience a runner’s low. It happened about a hundred yards into the course when I realized that I was going to die—or wish I could. I can still remember the course to this day. It was two and a half times around the perimeter of the school property. If you ever wonder what eternity is like talk to me…I ran it. Actually, to say I ran might be a stretch. I sorta ran it. Not soon enough and it was over. As you cross the finish line you hear people saying, “Don’t run toward the light…don’t run toward the light.” After about 15 minutes your heart rates goes below 600 and you can breathe again. I hated that test. A lot.

I never really understood the point of asking someone to do something and not preparing them for it. We ran that distance and more in basic training in the Air Force, but we slowly prepared for it. Again, it was challenging but doable because of the training. I think this is not just a lesson about running, but about life. I’ve heard that life is a race and unless you are incredibly unfortunate, it is not a sprint but rather a marathon. If you are going to succeed in life then you need to prepare, you must train and pace yourself. Fail in that and you might well fail in everything you attempt.

Paul, a man from the Bible, wrote a letter to a bunch of Jesus followers in Corinth. They had their own set of games and there were prizes to be won. It was an open deal so anyone could sign up but if you were wise, you trained first and you ran with commitment. In that letter to the church at Corinth he says, “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.” In other words,…train like you wanna win and run like you wanna win and do you know what? You just might do it. Regardless, you can finish the race knowing you gave it your very, best shot.

I went through three years of high school and had four nine-week periods per year. If my math is right that equates to sixteen times that I had to line up to get ready to throw-up. Guess how many times I trained? That would be zero. Sixteen times I knew it was coming and sixteen times I thought the next time would be different. Hey, plant corn and you’re gonna get corn. Every.Single.Time. So why not start today to run for the gold—to live like no one else? Why not start today to make the best of everyday and when race day comes…you’ll be ready. There’s a great Coach who will help you train and run. His name is Jesus, and He is on your side. He’ll even run beside you…all the way, shouting words of encouragement. Listen as He shouts, “You’ve got this, Dewayne.” “How?” I ask? “Because I’ve got it for you,” He responds. I like that. Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, life, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

And the Winner Is

Posted on January 27, 2022January 26, 2022 by Dewayne Taylor

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

It was a whale of a deal—I think. Three or four months ago my wife Judy and I were at HomeGoods. She was shopping and I was sitting. HomeGoods is a great store if you are looking for things for your house. After checking my email and winning several hands of Solitaire, I decided to at least look around. If you know anything about me you know there is a word that draws me like iron to a magnet, like a moth drawn to the flame, like water seeks lower ground—well, you get the idea. And what is that word? CLEARANCE.

Different stores use different colors of signs announcing their clearance but I can spot any of them a mile away. That particular night it was in a pretty obvious place, so I decided to check out the clearance aisle. Now I need to be candid and let you know I see clearance stuff like I see Dairy Queen. You see there is nothing I need at Dairy Queen, but DQ isn’t about needing it is about wanting. I want ice cream…I don’t need ice cream. Yes, I know it feels like a need, but it isn’t. Ice cream isn’t like air…we can live without it…I think. Anyway, when it comes to the clearance aisle it isn’t about needing it—it is about being a good deal. Who can pass up something that is like 90% off? Well, apparently, I can’t.

I wandered back to the clearance aisle and started poking around. Nothing really caught my eye until right before I was about to walk away. There was a flat box about fifteen inches square and it looked intriguing. Something was stacked on top of it which is probably why it was still there. On the cover it showed a round circle with about 25 red balls sitting in small indentions. It was beautiful…I think. It was imported from Italy and made of beautiful, and I am not exaggerating, alabaster. It felt expensive, it looked expensive, and the original price was rather pricey. It was marked $39.99. Nice.

So, I looked around on the box and found the clearance price. It was…get ready…three dollars and ninety-nine cents. “What?” I said. “Can it be?” I said. “Ninety percent off?” I said. I mean I was amazed. I couldn’t wait to show it to Judy. I covered it back up and went to find her. She was already in line, but I pulled her out to show her my prize. When we got to the aisle, I showed it to her. She was impressed and then she popped the question, “What is it?” I told her I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was some sort of game. There were no rules and no indications that’s what it was but hey, it was $3.99. We bought it.

We proudly set it up first on a table and then in our bay window. I checked the internet but couldn’t find any information on the item. I did find the company and they were sellers of fine alabaster but our treasure remained a mystery. Enter the grandkids. Judy made the mistake of showing this treasure to Will, one of our grandsons. She explained it was sorta like checkers (really?) and you would jump the balls like you do in checkers. However, since the “board” was round there were logistical problems. So, they started to “play” and then he popped the question. He asked, “How do you win?” And Judy said, “I don’t know.”

I thought that was great because so often in life we play the game and have no idea how to win. And, truth be known, it affects all kinds of areas in our life. How do you win in your career? How do you win in your marriage? How do you win in choosing your potential mate? How do you win with church? With Jesus? You see, without knowing how to win you are sure to either get bored or get lost. As much as I believe there is joy in the journey, I also know that there has to be goal, a measuring stick, a finish line. Success needs to be measured. If it isn’t you might find yourself stuck in a rut and as someone said, “a rut is a grave with the ends knocked out.” So, what are we to do?

It seems to me that we should approach life with a goal—what do I want to see happen today? Regardless of the arena, try and define what would be a win for that day. And the best part? You can start stringing those days together and before long you have a life of wins. Now when you are defining a win, I believe you should set the definition in line with an authority, and I can think of no better authority than the Word of God. Even if you aren’t a God-follower you will find that the Bible is a Book worth reading, knowing, and following. Go ahead and give it a read. And if you are a God-follower, well, you probably already knew that—we just need to do it.

Paul, one of the writers of a chunk of the New Testament said that we should run with a purpose and not be like a shadow boxer. We shouldn’t run like Forest Gump, aimlessly, but rather like Jesse Owens. We should box like a man in the ring making every punch count. Run with a purpose, fight like it matters…because it does. Anyway, Judy and I are going to keep the game even though we don’t know how to play or win. But tomorrow, I think I’ll wakeup and have a chat with my Dearest Daddy, my Trainer, my Coach and get His opinion on how to win in life. After all, He never loses, and He’s always got this. Bro. Dewayne

Family, gratitude, life, Scripture, wisdom

The Clearance Aisle

Posted on January 27, 2021January 26, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

It was a whale of a deal—I think. Three or four months ago my wife Judy and I were at HomeGoods. She was shopping and I was sitting. HomeGoods is a great store if you are looking for things for your house. After checking my email and winning several hands of Solitaire, I decided to at least take a look around. If you know anything about me you know there is a word that draws me like iron to a magnet, like a moth drawn to the flame, like water seeking lower ground—well, you get the idea. And what is that word? CLEARANCE.

Different stores use different colors of signs announcing their clearance, but I can spot any of them a mile away. That particular night it was in a pretty obvious place, so I decided to check out the clearance aisle. Now I need to be candid and let you know I see clearance stuff like I see Dairy Queen. You see there is nothing I need at Dairy Queen but DQ isn’t about needing, it is about wanting. I want ice cream…I don’t need ice cream. Yes, I know it feels like a need, but it isn’t. Ice cream isn’t like air…we can live without it…I think. Anyway, when it comes to the clearance aisle it isn’t about needing it—it is about being a good deal. Who can pass up something that is like 90% off? Well, apparently, I can’t.

I wandered back to the clearance aisle and started poking around. Nothing really caught my eye until right before I was about to walk away. There was a flat box about fifteen inches square and it looked intriguing. Something was stacked on top of it which is probably why it was still there. On the cover it showed a round circle with about 34 red balls sitting in small indentions. It was beautiful…I think. It was imported from Italy and made of beautiful, and I am not exaggerating, alabaster. It felt expensive, it looked expensive and the original price was rather pricey. It was marked $39.99. Nice.

As I looked around on the box I found the clearance price. It was…get ready…$3.99. “What?” I said. “Can it be?” I said. “Ninety percent off?” I said. I mean I was amazed. I couldn’t wait to show it to Judy. So, I covered it back up and went to find her. She was already in line but I pulled her out to show her my prize. When we got to the aisle, I showed it to her. She was impressed and then she popped the question, “What is it?” I told her I wasn’t sure, but I thought it was some sort of game. There were no rules and no indications that’s what it was but hey, it was $3.99. We bought it.

I thought that was great because so often in life we play the game and have no idea how to win. And, truth be known, it affects all kinds of areas in our life. How do you win in your career? How do you win in your marriage? How do you win in choosing your potential mate? How do you win with church? With Jesus? You see, without knowing how to win you are sure to either get bored or get lost. As much as I believe there is joy in the journey, I also know that there has to be goal, a measuring stick, a finish line. Success needs to be measured. If it isn’t, you might find yourself stuck in a rut and as someone said, “A rut is a grave with the ends knocked out.” So, what are we to do?

It seems to me that we should approach life with a goal—what do I want to see happen today? Regardless of the arena, try and define what would be a win for that day. And the best part? You can start stringing those days together and before long you have a life of wins. Now when you are defining a win, I believe you should set the definition in line with an authority and I can think of no better authority than the Word of God. Even if you aren’t a God-follower you will find that the Bible is a Book worth reading, knowing, and following. Go ahead and give it a read. And if you are a God-follower, well, you probably already knew that—we just need to do it.

Paul, one of the writers of a chunk of the New Testament said that we should run with a purpose and not be like a shadow boxer. We shouldn’t run like Forest Gump, aimlessly, but rather like Jesse Owens. We should box like a man in the ring making every punch count. Run with a purpose, fight like it matters…because it does. Anyway, Judy and I discovered the game is called “Solitaire” and are going to keep it even though we don’t know yet, how to play or win. But tomorrow, I think I’ll wakeup and have a chat with my Dearest Daddy, my Trainer, my Coach and get His opinion on how to win in life. After all, He never loses, and He’s always got this.