Tag: hospitality

Posted in Family, friends, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture, thankful

Coach

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” Proverbs 18:24

We had a new staff member at 217. If you are a regular reader of “Grits” you know a lot about the Taylor tribe.  Included in that information is the fact that my wife, Judy, and I have an Airbnb over our garage.  It is a classy two-bedroom apartment that we rent out as a short-term vacation rental.  We have lots of people staying and well, it is quite fun.  Our staff is small at 217.  There is Judy who manages everything and trust me that is a big job.  She also helps with the cleaning when needed.  We have a friend who does the bulk of our cleaning, and she is awesome!  She is always willing to go the extra mile and when Judy and I need to be gone she makes sure the water fountains stay running and flowers keep blooming. My job is to serve as the occasional handy man and the guy who mows and trims the grass. It is not the most important job but trust me in grass growing season I am definitely the man.

So that is the staff at 217…or at least it was…for a while.  A couple of years ago a new and unexpected member was added to the team.  His name was Coach. Here’s the deal. One day our neighbors, who are also awesome, decided to get a cat to make sure no unwanted rodents took up residence in their garage. So, they got a cat and named him Coach. Now to be honest I am not a big fan of cats.  Most of them are a little bossy and arrogant so at first, I was pretty cool on the idea of a new feline friend.  And then it happened.

As it turns out, Coach had more personality than most people I know.  He was cool and calm and way friendly.  You know how some cats think they own the place?  Well, Coach was satisfied with just working the crowd.  If Judy and I were out on the patio, he would sway his way over and just make his presence known in a gentle way.  It seemed he was saying, “Hey, my name is Coach, and I just wanted to say hi.” Now really, this cat had it down.  You couldn’t help but like him.  Now if I am cool on cats, Judy is cold but not this one.  While she wouldn’t want one of her own, she sure was glad when Coach came to the neighborhood.

Now this is the 217 part.  When a guest would pull up at 217 and park, it was not unusual for Coach to come over and say hi.  It almost seemed that he was just waiting for them to arrive.  You would think that he had peeked at Judy’s reservation book to see when guests were coming.  At first, we were a little concerned that the guests might see him as a bother but not to worry.  He was a hit almost every time.

One day, I came home from work and there was our guest bending down to pet Coach. At first, I always explained that he wasn’t our cat but belonged to the neighbors. But when he became a social rock star, I let that go.  I mean if the guests wanted to think that Mr. Cool belonged to me who am I to correct them?  Way to go Coach.  Way to go.

Do you know what?  If I were a cat, I would want to be like Coach.  But wait…why can’t I, why can’t we be like Coach now?  Why can’t we make a conscious decision to be kind? Friendly? Loving?  Hmmm…the truth is we can.  Every day we bump into people, dozens of them, and have the opportunity to make them feel special.  Every day we bump into people and have the opportunity to be a friend, to offer a smile, to make their day a little better.  Every day we have the choice.  I like that.  I want that.

Well, Coach is no longer with us. One day he tried to cross the road and didn’t make it. We all grieved for him…we even had a short service for him. I know that all cats are not like Coach, and I certainly know that not all people are like Coach, but I also know we all can be.  Tucked away in the Christian Bible is a book called Proverbs.  In that book is this, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly.” In other words, if we want friends, we need to be one.  If we want others to like us…we need to be likable. I saw a quote that said, “Our vibes draw our tribes.”  That is so true.  Let’s take a lesson from Coach and be the kind of person who makes someone’s day.  Need a little help?  Well, the “Head Coach” is just waiting to lend a hand.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

The Owner’s Closet

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139:23-24

It’s the one place.  My wife Judy is a really smart person and one day she proved that so clearly.  The place where we live has a two-bedroom apartment over the garage.  Off and on through the years, various members of the tribe stayed there but finally it was just sitting empty.  Not only was it not earning its keep…it was costing us.  It has its own utilities so every month we wrote checks.  And then Judy had a great idea.  She researched and found out there was a pretty new company called Airbnb. It helps owners of properties rent them out as a short-term vacation type rental.  She wanted to give it a try…and she did.

On a shoestring budget and by watching several YouTube videos she turned that little apartment into a beautiful short-term rental.  I told her it wouldn’t work.  A couple of businessmen who attend our church told her it wouldn’t work.  After all, who comes to Harrisburg…a small town in Southern Illinois.  Well, we were all wrong and she was all right. Since 2016 when she opened for business, hundreds have stayed and instead of draining the check book, it now helps supplement our income.  Amazing.

People, book the place for a fee and we will give them full access to the property.  They get the apartment and trust me…it is very nice.  They also get to enjoy our beautiful garden (another Judy thing), the hot tub, and a nice patio area.  It is quite the deal if I say so myself.  Like I said…Judy had a really good idea. However, there is one place, one small room that the guests don’t have access to…the owner’s closet.

You see, in the hallway of the apartment, there is a small walk-in closet that we keep locked. No matter how much they pay, they can’t go in there. They can have everything else…but not that. No, nada, period.  Why?  Well…there are a couple of reasons, but the main one is that it is filled with owner stuff.  It’s the storage closet where extra linens, cleaning supplies, mops, cleaning rags, decorations, things we don’t need and well, just things. If the guests were to see it, they definitely wouldn’t be impressed.  They might even say, “How can the rest of the place look so beautiful, and this look so…boring?”  And they would be right and that is why it is locked.

Every short-term rental that I have stayed in has an owner’s closet and I am sure none of them look as nice as the rental itself.  It’s just the nature of the beast.  But what about this?  What about our lives?  Do you have an owner’s closet in your life that no one, I mean no one, is welcome to open…to enter?  Your spouse? Nope. Your children? Nope. Your friends? Nope. Your parents? Nope.  God? Not even God.  Maybe especially not God. While the truth is all of us have that secret place, we need to know it can be a dangerous thing. When we are tempted to hide things, well, let’s just say bad things can grow in the dark.

Perhaps it is time we have the courage to unlock the door and let a little light in.  I know it can be difficult but if the door is locked, we won’t, we can’t change what’s inside. The best place to start is to invite God in.  If you are one of His kids, or especially if you aren’t, He won’t be surprised because He already knows everything.  In Psalm 139:23-24, a Book in the Jewish and Christian Bible, it says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends You and lead me along the path of everlasting life.”

Now that is just some great advice. Remember this…if bad things grow in the dark…bad things die in the light. If we will just have the courage to unlock the door, open the door, and even flip on the light switch…well, healing can begin, and help will be on the way.  Why not take that giant step today?  As you reach out with the key and slip it into the lock and turn the knob on the door, just know this.  He is there with you, and He will help you all the way.  He’s got this.  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, thankful, Trials

“Eat Mor Chikin”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9

It should be every church’s goal.  Y’all know I am partial to food.  We have been friends for a long time.  I think I was probably one of those kids that was born with a craving for homemade mac and cheese with fried chicken.  “Hey mom, can we skip the milk and go straight for the grease and carbs?”  Yup, sounds like me.  One of my favorite fast-food places is Chick-fil-A. Have you ever noticed something unusual about this place?  Well, let me help you…there is always a line.  Period.

It seems that no matter what time you go by to grab your chicken fix, people are lined up and being served.  If you have ever been to one, you also know they are a very unusual place.  First, the food is really good.  Their chicken, mac and cheese, milk shakes, waffle fries—even their salads are off the scale.  Now about their salads…I must take that on word of mouth since I avoid anything green! Every time I see the commercial for their creamy mac and cheese, I start drooling.  One day, when the line isn’t insanely long, I’m going to get some.  But the bottom line is that they make sure they have something to sell, and they sell lots.

The big thing…even bigger than their food…is their service.  I have never seen a friendlier team of employees.  Every person who works for them seems to be genuinely glad to work there and genuinely glad that I stopped in.  Every time I have stopped, I have felt like I was the most important customer in the place.  One time at a Chick-fil-A at the airport the person who waited on me wasn’t quite up to par, but truth be known they were still far and above most places. And it doesn’t stop there.

Remember I mentioned those long lines?  It is just amazing how organized they are in processing their customers’ orders. In the drive thru, they have employees out in the parking lot taking orders even before the customers get to the window.  They value their customers’ time and prove it by making sure they don’t have to wait any longer than necessary. By the way, it is a Christian based company, and a lot of their business principles are straight from the Bible. People first. And have you noticed that they choose to be closed on Sundays?  Do you know why?  God first.  Love God…love people.

All of this caused me to wonder something.  What if, we, the Church, did business like Chick-fil-A?  What if we “marketed” our message like they market their products?  What we have to offer is the best news ever—the Gospel or Good News that broken people can be healed—that forgiveness is available for any man, woman or child who is willing to place their trust in what Jesus has done.  I mean that is valuable.  Chick-fil-A believes in their product, but do we really believe in ours?  I think we should.

What if every person who came through our doors felt like they were the most important person in the building?  What is every person felt they were valued—both by God and by the church regulars?  You can take it to the bank that God indeed values every person regardless of race, social status, or sin list.  He is not willing that any should perish but that all should be redeemed.  It says it in the Book.  Perhaps the most important working team (think committee) in the church is the hospitality team.  Their job—to make every person feel welcomed, accepted, and wanted.  Yup…that would work.

Well, I do like a good chicken sandwich and a good helping of mac and cheese, but I love the way these folks do business.  I do think it should be the goal of every local church to love God…love people and make it obvious that is what we are about. The God we serve is worthy of more than “good enough” …He deserves our very best. Why? Because He gave His very best for us.  He is for us and through Him anything and everything within His will and purpose is possible.  In these days we have an opportunity to show off our love for God and others.  It can happen…it should happen…because He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, travel

Surprise!

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” Psalm 136:1

I guess you could say this whole thing started as a surprise. Last year I received an email and then a phone call.  It was from the person in charge of a women’s conference held annually for our Southern Baptist women.  They usually invite one “guy” to join the lineup of speakers.  Since it was a women’s conference most of the participants, obviously, were women. Well, this person reached out to me and invited me to speak at this conference. Ok, let’s just be honest.  This was a big honor and big deal.  I had spoken at a chapel service and several of the ladies in attendance thought I might be a good choice to speak. Can someone say, “blown away?”

Well, we chatted, and I told her the truth.  I was very honored to be asked and that I would do my best although I honestly thought this was just a little out of my league.  I mean, last year they had a nationally known speaker who was the son of a very, very well-known speaker—the kind that cause people to say, “Oh look, there goes so and so.” Anyway, I remember my wife coming home last year from this same conference and telling me what a great job this guy did. Can someone say, “gulp?”

I share with about three hundred folks every week and this would certainly be more than that and to be trusted with this level of responsibility was just amazing. So, anyway, I said yes and set about worrying, oh, I meant to say praying, about what to speak on, etc, etc. Slowly, and yet not so slowly, the clock ticked by and then it was time to pack up and head to the conference. The organization provided my wife Judy and me with a room for the event and I thought that was very thoughtful. So, when we checked in, we got our room keys and even a special “welcome” bag with man stuff like beef jerky and even a car freshener.  Once again, I thought, “How cool is that?

So, up we went…all the way to the top floor.  Ok, I thought that was pretty awesome too.  Surely the view would be nice from that height. The meeting is held in the city of our state capital and in fact very near the state capital.  We zoomed to the top and stepped off the elevator. I checked the room number and it said, “1201.” That sounded like the end of the hallway and that certainly was fine. I was counting down the room numbers as I walked down the hall and sure enough it was at the end.  And that is where the surprise was waiting.

I walked up to the door—or should I say doors.  It was in fact a double door and had a brass plaque on the wall next to the door frame.  And what do you suppose it said?  Let me tell you it said, “Chairman’s Suite.” Well, my first thought was something like, “Rats, wrong room…maybe even the wrong floor.”  My second thought was bigger and better, and I said to Judy, who was just a few steps behind me, “Judy, this is the Chairman’s Suite!” Now I was simply speechless. Well, she tried to open the door and as I suspected—it didn’t work.  “Yup, wrong room” I said to myself and to her. But she tried again and…wait for it…the door unlocked, and we walked in.

What waited on the other side was a suite the size of some houses.  There was a kitchenette, a large living room and dining room combination, a large bedroom with a work area and a large bathroom with a large tub and separate shower. We were like kids in an ice cream shop.  We simply couldn’t believe it. Decorated to the nines and each window held a beautiful view of the city below.  Wow.  I kept saying how I, or we, simply didn’t deserve this and the truth is…we didn’t. But I am kinda used to that because a long time ago I stepped into the world of God’s grace, and it is all about not deserving.

Well, anyway, it was amazing. I assume they did the same thing for the speaker last year and that would have made sense because after all he is famous. But the amazing thing is they extended that same kindness to me—just an ordinary guy from down south and that was extraordinary. The point of all this is to point to the kindness of my Dearest Daddy who arranged all of this to send us a love note. It is also to point to the staff who sponsored the event, who hoped it would be a blessing. It was—big time. Psalm 136:1 simply says, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!” And He sure is. As always, when it comes to surprise blessings…He’s got that!  Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, food, forgiveness, Grace, life, love, loving others, Scripture, Southern born, thankful

Ham Sandwiches or Not…

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Rejoice in the Lord always; again: I will say, Rejoice.”
Philippians 4:4

She thought it was funny.  A long time ago, my family and I were visiting with my sister Kathy and her husband Stann.  They lived way down South in the land of grits and hospitality, and we lived just across the river in Southern Illinois.  We had a great visit with them but soon it was time for us to head North.  All of my sisters are good cooks…something they must have got from Momma.  They also have good hospitality genes.  When you visit you feel welcomed and when you leave you know you will be missed.

Well, when it came time for us to leave, Miss Hospitality, kindly made us a lunch.  She said, “I packed y’all some snacks and ham sandwiches so you can stop on the way and have a picnic.  I remember thinking just how kind that was.  To go through all that trouble and to save us a few dollars to boot.  We loaded up the kids and the car and off we went.  The girls were young, only seven or eight, and Sarah was not even a glimmer in our eyes. We drove and drove and then we drove some more and before long it was time for the big picnic.

If my memory serves me right, we stopped at a picnic area on Nickajack Lake just north of the Georgia border and right inside Tennessee.  It was a beautiful place for a great picnic lunch.  My mouth watered as I thought about those delicious ham sandwiches with all the trimming. And, my wallet was happy too. McDonald’s wouldn’t be getting my business today…thanks to my kind sister.  Did I mention how nice she was?

Well, we found a parking spot and chose a picnic table near the lake.  Could it be any better?  Well, I’m sure we bowed our heads in prayer, thanking God for the food and for the kindness of the one who made it possible.  Judy passed out the sandwiches and strangely, I didn’t see any fixings.  Hmmm. That was a bit strange.  Nevertheless, I was grateful for the sandwich, and I must have been the first to take a bite.  Uh, something was wrong.  Something was missing.

As I bit through the bread, there was no ham…there was no mustard…there was no mayo.  All that lay between the bread was a single piece of paper that read, and I quote, “Ha, ha, Ha.”  Wait.  What? Well apparently, my Southern belle, hospitality laden sister had decided to play a practical joke.  There were no ham sandwiches only meatless, slices of bread.  Strangely, I don’t remember laughing. I only remember mourning the loss of my free lunch. Ha.Ha.Ha.

They say what goes around comes around and all my life I have been a practical joker and this time the joke was on me and my dear hungry wife and two precious, little hungry daughters.  I guess the winner of the day was McDonald’s who end up with my $6.75 after all.  While I don’t remember laughing, I’m glad I don’t remember being mad either.  In fact, I am sure that before long, but after a visit to McDonald’s, we were all laughing and couldn’t wait to call my sister when we got home.

As we journey through life we are going to have a lot of opportunities to either laugh or well, get mad.  Can I suggest, may I encourage you, us to do the latter and not the former?  Too often we allow the fire of the moment burn some valuable bridges.  I can imagine a nasty phone call with words of regret and then days, weeks, and months of silence from a broken relationship.  Crazier things have happened, trust me.  But gratefully, that wasn’t the way this story ended.  In fact, I wonder if Kathy even remembers this. I do and it makes me smile.

Paul, the guy who wrote a lot of the New Testament, sitting in a Roman prison with NO ham sandwiches said, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, Rejoice.” Well spoken, Paul, well spoken. So tomorrow or the next day, if you hit a bump, try to remember to smile and not frown.  If someone decides to pull a joke at your expense, go ahead and extend a little grace and a smile. When you do, if you do, you can be assured the Father is smiling too.  And no matter what, as always, He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

Posted in Family, Grace, gratitude, life, loving others, Scripture, Southern born

“No Trespassing”

Posted on by Dewayne Taylor

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35

It was kinda confusing.  A while back I was walking in our neighborhood.  It was early in the morning and the birds were singing, the sun was shining and as Mister Rogers would say, “It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”  As I was walking I would look at the different houses and their yards.  I noticed that several, well actually more than several, of the homes had “no trespassing” signs in their yard or stuck on the house. One home had six or seven signs and about a half dozen security cameras.  I think they must have had something really important inside.

I’m not sure what the deal is but probably there is a valid reason. But being from the South, we generally didn’t stick “no trespassing” signs up in our yard.  More than likely we stuck up a “hey, y’all come on in” sign.  Of course, that was several decades ago and maybe now they have some not so friendly signs down South too.  At any rate this is America and you can pretty much put up what you want as long as it isn’t too mean.  But then there was one house that kinda confused me.

As you probably can guess they had a “no trespassing” sign up.  But right next to the “no trespassing” sign they had a big “welcome” sign.  It caused me to wonder. Which one was correct?  I didn’t know if I was welcome to come up on the porch and sit or if I would be shot if I did.  I wasn’t sure so I kept right on walking because I was real sure I didn’t want to find out. Oftentimes we seem to send conflicting messages.

Sometimes I see this is at churches.  There will be a sign on the message board that says “everyone welcome”.  There might even be a parking spot in the parking lot that says, “reserved for guests.”  Sometimes they have people standing at the door to shake your hand when you come in.  But then I wonder, “do they really mean that or are they trying to act nice?”  I mean everyone expects churches to be friendly because Jesus was.  He liked everybody.  I heard a preacher say once that it was pretty amazing that the people who were the least like Jesus were the ones that felt the most comfortable around Him.  It seemed they liked Him and He liked them.

On the other hand, Jesus was always bumping heads with the religious elite.  Theoretically they should have been the most like Him, but they didn’t like Him and I’m not sure He was too fond of them.  Of course, Jesus was always trying to find the best in others but some of those guys in the New Testament were really mean.  I don’t think there was a “welcome” sign on their house for either Jesus or His friends

There was one group they really didn’t like, the tax collectors.  Because tax collectors worked for the Roman government, they were seen as thieves and traitors. But do you know what Jesus did?  Jesus invited a tax collector to be one of them, to be a part of His inner circle.  Can you even imagine that? “Hey Matthew,” Jesus said, “why don’t you come and be a part of our group?”  I bet the religious guys about fainted and so did the rest of Jesus’s followers.  I can just hear them now, “Well, there goes the neighborhood.”  They might have been right, but Jesus was always more concerned for the neighbor than the neighborhood.  He did more than talk about loving people, He really loved people.

When Jesus was explaining to those who followed Him how people would know that they were His friends, do you know what He said?  It wasn’t because they went to church on Sunday.  It wasn’t because they knew all the answers.  And it wasn’t even because they wore the right kind of clothes when they were hanging around Jesus.  Nope.  Jesus said that people would know that we were His friends because of the way we loved—and in particular, the way we loved each other.  Whenever I share about that, it never goes over very well.  The reason is that it is a lot easier to dress right, talk right and go to church than to love someone—particularly someone who is not very lovable.  But that is what He said we should do. There is a secret to loving others. 

We need to remember that when we were not lovable at all, Jesus chose to love us.  And if we will let that roll around in our heads and hearts awhile, I think we will find that loving others is just a little bit easier.  The next time you are all worked up about something, maybe trying to love someone, just get up next to Jesus and sit awhile.  You won’t find a “no trespassing” sign there…just one that says “welcome.”  And you can just sit back and let Him handle whatever you’re stressed about…cause He’s got this.