Tag: eggs

Posted in Family, food, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, prayer, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

Simply Nonstick

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

Slip sliding away.  Now let’s be honest and let’s be clear.  I don’t have a clue about cooking, but I do know just a little about frying pans.  Back in the old days when it came to frying pans it was cast iron or nothing and cast iron had and has its place.  But some years ago, they started making frying pans that food stuff wouldn’t stick too.  Well about seven or eight years ago we bought a pricy set of pots that were supposed to be stick proof and I guess for the first few years they were.  Then, slowly, and as sure as a slug on a sidewalk, it stopped being non-stick.

Now my experience with frying pans is limited to frying, or maybe it is just cooking in a frying pan, eggbeaters for my breakfast and if you weren’t careful you ended up with a sticky mess.  Sometimes there was more egg left in the pan than there was on my plate.  Finally…my wife Judy said, “Enough.”  She went to the Walmart store and bought one of those pans you see advertised on television.  The ad said that “nothing would stick”. It showed eggs, burnt butter and cheese, you name it and with just a tilt of the pan—off it would go.  Turns out that was not exactly true. I told her she should take the thing back, but she said it was too late.

Well, out of frustration I decided to try something.  I sprayed the pan with some Pam…it’s like cooking oil in a spray can – I think. After spraying the pan, I poured some eggbeaters in and just like that – problem solved.  Those eggs—or eggbeaters—were sliding all over the pan just like the commercial.  It turns out all that the pan needed was a little help.  The bottom line is it is good to have a pan that doesn’t try and keep my eggs.

You know that made me think.  That pan and the spray stuff is a whole like God’s grace and our faith.  Imagine with me that the pan is the grace of God.  Grace simply means God’s unmerited favor.  Now imagine that the spray on stuff is like faith.  Faith is when we believe in something that we can’t see, touch, or feel.  Put the two together and you have a combination that simply will not allow sin to stick and that is good news.  Just like the eggbeaters slid right out that pan, so sin is forgiven and won’t stick around to condemn us.  Grace and faith—what a wonderful combination.

Paul, the guy in the Bible who wrote a lot of the New Testament said this, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” “By grace through faith,” put the two together and your sin just won’t stick to your account. Gone. Forgiven. Banished. And just like the eggs, or eggbeaters, have little or nothing to do with their time in the pan so when it comes to God’s forgiveness that is true too. All we do is believe…everything else is on God. Oh, and just like the commercial…no sin and I mean no sin, is going to stick—no matter how big or bad. His grace is sufficient for the job. You gotta love it.

So, if the next time you are frying something, and it sticks to the pan—just head to the store and get you one of those fancy new ones.  Oh, and don’t forget Pam.  And the next time you get into deep weeds with your sin, just remember this story and step into God’s grace and your faith…it is a winning combo.  No matter how big the mess…His grace is enough. All you need to do is ask for His forgiveness and I can already tell you His reply, “I’ve got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, forgiveness, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, priorities, Scripture, Trials, wisdom

A Really Bad Idea

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love.” Psalm 103:8

It was just a bad idea. Each of us have had times when we do something and from the get-go we know it is just a bad idea.  Remember the story of me at age seven trying to ride a 26-inch bicycle?  And these bad ideas usually bear the fruit of bad endings.

I have a good friend who manages a local restaurant.  For a long time, we would get together once a week and have breakfast at the restaurant.  Well, I was (and am) famous for ordering different things for breakfast.  One was the delicious “preacher stack.”  It consisted of a slice of toast, an over-easy egg, a slice of cheese, a couple of slices of soft bacon, a small serving of hash browns (cooked crispy, of course), a second egg and finally the crowning touch, a smattering of gravy. For variety the hash browns were sometimes replaced with grits. Now, let me tell you, that was “shoot that thing” good. I do believe I might be the Rembrandt of breakfast.  Sometimes.

You see, one time, about midway through the fall season, I got an idea.  Unfortunately, it was a very bad idea.  Now the problem with bad ideas is that sometimes they look good from one angle and horrible from the other.  Well, this time I looked from the wrong angle.  I told my friend, “Jeremy, I have an idea.  I think I want to try chili and eggs for breakfast in the morning.”  Now being the good friend that he was, he tried and tried to get me to change course.  But at that time and from that angle it really sounded good.  The key word there is “sounded.”

The next morning Jeremy cooked up a batch of chili and I was served chili and eggs for breakfast.  The first and second bite wasn’t too bad—weird, but not too bad.  From there it went downhill and by the time I was done—I was done.  I felt like I had swallowed a 12-pound bowling ball and that bowling ball stayed with me all day.  In fact, it was a couple of days before I felt half normal.  It was a very, very bad idea.  He tried to warn me, but no.  Oh boy, just the thought of chili and eggs makes my eyes cross.

Well, a while later I had a nice, innocent bad idea.  I usually walk in the mornings, but Judy and I decided to walk in the afternoon.  That was ok—unusual, but ok.  And that wasn’t a bad idea.  We were going to walk on the bike trail so I thought I would wear an old pair of trail running shoes I had in the closet.  “Why?” Well, I liked the way they looked, and I liked the way they laced up (they had these cool speed laces) but that’s where the love affair ended.  They weren’t very comfortable, and the inside of the heel had long lost its padding. All that was left was a crater where the padding used to be surrounded by rough edges. Everything said, “Don’t wear those shoes.” Well, you know what I did. I wore the shoes anyway and it was indeed a very bad idea.

I had planned on only walking a couple of miles but ended up doing 3.6. Well, at about the 1.8 mile turn around point I noticed that the back of my left heel was starting to burn—to hurt.  Remember the padding that was missing? Well, those rough edges that remained were now slowly eating into my heel.  And with every step it got worse.  I was almost two miles from the car, and it hurt, and it hurt, and it hurt.  I found myself saying over and over again, “This was a really bad idea.”  The problem was I realized it just a little too late.  Well, about 10,000 steps later, I got back to the car and the shoes, and I parted company—forever.  Even sitting there, I said it again, “That was a really bad idea.”

Well, in a while Judy got back to the car from her walk.  As she came over to where I was sitting and noticed I had my shoes off. She made a comment about resting.  I said, “Judy, do you remember the time I ate the chili and eggs?”  She said, “Well, yes, but what has that got to do with today?”  I said, “That was a really, bad idea and wearing these stinking shoes today was a really bad idea.” To make matters worse, when we had started walking, I commented how much I liked the shoes and she remembered that.  “But Dewayne, I thought you said you liked them?”  Well, I liked the way they looked, I liked the way they laced up, but boy, I didn’t like the way they felt after walking.  And trust me—that outweighed all the looks and all the cool laces.

Well, I wanted to tell you this story for a couple of reasons. First, don’t, do not, eat chili and eggs.  What it does to your insides requires the intervention of the EPA. If you eat chili and eggs, be prepared for a period of quarantine. Be prepared to camp in the “valley of the shadow of death.” It. Is. A. Bad. Idea.  And if you are going to walk, remember to pick your shoes based on what is important not what is intriguing or flashy.  At about the two mile point you will thank me. Trust me, I know.

One thing that I really like about the Bible is that it is filled with people just like me.  People who didn’t always listen to God and people who ate chili and eggs and wore the wrong shoes.  Real, live, people who didn’t always make the best choices. The thing I like about God is that He is so loving, patient and kind.  Even when Adam and Eve ate “chili and eggs” in the garden and then wore the “wrong shoes” to cover it all up—He still loved them and still provided a way for them to be forgiven.  They tried to do it their way, but God didn’t throw them under the bus and start over. And guess what?  He doesn’t throw us under the bus either, and I am thankful. When we come to Him with our “chili and eggs,” “wrong shoes,” whining and complaining about how we got the “blisters” in our life, He is patiently waiting.

He is always there for us…bad ideas and all.  You will find the Whisper whispering warnings, “don’t got there,” and encouraging you to “go the right way” and “do the right things”.  That’s just the way He is.  You know He could have carried me back to the car that day, but I think there was a lesson that I needed to learn and a story I needed to tell. I finished the walk limping a little, but also a little wiser.  As I sat there resting in Him, I decided no more chili and eggs and no more worn out, flashy shoes. And the next time I find myself two miles from the car—well, I’ll just remember, He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, gratitude, life, love, loving others, Scripture, thankful, Trials

Cooking Lesson 101

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7

It looked like a chocolate mud puddle…or worse. Well, I am a firm believer that God wires people in different ways. Some people are gifted in music, some in speaking; some are mechanically minded while others are whizzes at math.  It is no wonder why the Bible says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made!”

Now if you are a regular Grits reader you know that I am a “foody.” I am blessed to have a wife who can cook very well. As a pastor at a church, one of my favorite things is when we decide to have a potluck. A potluck is when all the families bring a dish or two or three and we all share. At my church, a potluck doesn’t involve luck at all—you know it is good to be good.  I guess I appreciate good cooks so much because I am not one.  If cooking is a gift, I was in the wrong line when the gifts were distributed.  Let me explain.

One day I decided I wanted something sweet to eat.  I looked in the pantry and, in the refrigerator, but came up empty handed. I looked in the kitchen cabinets and found several boxed mixes.  There were two or three for cakes and one for brownies.  As my mind thought of sweet, gooey brownies–it was a done deal. I read the box and found I needed several ingredients–the mix–check; oil–check; water–check and two eggs–uh, no eggs.

I asked Judy what would happen if I skipped the eggs–she simply said— “It won’t work.”  She said something about a chemical reaction and the brownies being as flat as a pancake, but my mind had one thought–sweet, gooey brownies. I decided to press forward.  In fact, I even added more oil, more water, and some heavy whipping cream just for good measure.  After all, doesn’t more make everything better?  Who cares if it has nothing to do with brownies?

Well, I put them in the oven and set the timer for about twenty-five minutes.  Soon the timer was going off and I opened the door and peeked inside expecting a pan of delicious brownies.  What I found was anything but.  In fact, it resembled an oil slick…the kind you see when a tanker spills its cargo. It was some sort of goo—I guess a combination of pools of the oil, a black slime in the middle and a hard edge all around.  I guess that thing about the chemical reaction was right. Instead of ending up with a nice gooey brownie I ended up with a gooey mess.  It turned out that I wasted all those ingredients and twenty-five minutes of electricity.

So, what is the moral of the story?  Well, for one there is a reason why there is something called a recipe.  Someone smarter than me determined what it takes to make a delicious brownie and they were kind enough to share their wisdom.  If the recipe calls for eggs–it needs eggs.  I don’t know what the eggs do but I do know it does something important.  Someone on the internet suggested you could use Diet Coke instead of eggs.  I don’t know if that is true or not and I am not going to try and find out.  I’ve learned my lesson.  From now on Judy can cook the brownies and I will remain the eater in the family.

Oh, by the way, that following the recipe thing applies to God also.  You see, the greatest “cookbook” for a successful and purposeful life is the Bible. It is filled with recipe after recipe for a life that is truly worth living and it all starts with trusting and having faith in God.  In the Old Testament part of the Bible, a guy named Jeremiah said, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” He knew what we need to know…God is reliable.

Oh, and when the Bible says that Jesus is the one essential ingredient to our salvation–it means it.  I don’t know if Diet Coke will replace eggs, but I do know nothing can replace Jesus. You can add all the good works you want; add all the church you want and get baptized till you wrinkle but without Jesus—it just won’t work.  It is He and He alone that makes salvation possible.  All our additions will only make a gooey mess out of salvation.  Add the key ingredient and you can’t miss!

Well, for all you brownie lovers out there I hope you learned from my disaster!  Just remember, those ingredients are listed and needed for a reason–it won’t work without them.  And for each of you who are looking for a full life—one with purpose and peace, don’t forget the key and that is Jesus. Go ahead, ask others and ask Him.  You will find He is the real deal.  Need a hand in the kitchen of life? Give God a chance. I’ve found that He is always willing and always there. Even when your life looks like a chocolate mud puddle…or worse…you can have the assurance that “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne