Psalm 37:23-24 – Grits with Grace

communication, Family, Holidays, life, love, Mother's Day, New Year, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, wisdom

James

Posted on January 1, 2026December 28, 2025 by Dewayne Taylor

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way. And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

A while back we were down at my daughter’s house who lives near Murray, Kentucky. They have blessed us with two of our eight grandchildren and if you know anything about grandkids they are just a bunch of fun. Matt and Jen live in the country near Kentucky Lake and my wife Judy decided we needed to take a walk. Now if you know Judy you know she believes that people build houses for essentially one reason—to sleep in. If you aren’t sleeping, you need to be doing something—outside. Period.

So, naturally, we took a walk. I was with my grandson James and we were having an adventure. Soon we were walking hand in hand. Now, James, who was six at the time, is a very thoughtful young man. So, eventually, he asks me, “Papa, what is your real name?” Now I knew what he was asking but why not have some fun when you can? So, I told him my name was Papa. “No” he said firmly, “your real name.” Well, I gave in and told him it was Dewayne.

He took a shot at pronouncing it and got real close. I thought that might be the end, but no, the best was yet to come. He then asked me, “Papa (he didn’t try Dewayne) how old are you? Well, that was a good question, so I gave him the answer. “James,” I said, “I am almost 67 years old.” Again, almost without hesitation he said, “Papa, you’re almost dead.” I died laughing—no pun intended. The Bible mentions something about out of the mouth of babes, truth comes, and I guess truth be known…there’s a lot more days behind me than before me.

Another of my favorite James stories also occurred several years ago. Judy and I drove down to Vienna to Jon and Becca’s house and the Johnson clan drove up from Murray. Everyone was there with the exception of Sarah and Blake who at that time were stationed in Savanah, Georgia. The occasion for us getting together was my oldest granddaughter’s 15th birthday. So, anyway, it is always more fun when the grandkids are around. If you just wait you will learn something—or at least get a good subject for a sermon or a story. The latter was true in this case!

The family had migrated to the basement and only James and I were left upstairs. So, I said to James (who was two at the time), “Come on, James, let’s go to the basement.” We headed toward the stairs and I wisely offered my hand and he even more wisely took it. The wisdom of that decision became apparent quickly. Now James was and is, all boy. As we headed down the stairs, he didn’t go slowly or carefully—he literally headed down. I mean, full speed, Katie-bar-the-door down. As we started down, he performed a combination of running, jumping, and skipping maneuvers. Stairs were missed but hey, who cares, it was fun. Let me just say I was glad that I had a good grip on him because if I hadn’t, well, it wouldn’t have been pretty.

We made it somewhat safely to the bottom of the stairs and I had to share the story and we all had a good laugh. But later, as I pondered how that all played out, it made me appreciate God in a whole new way. I freshly realized how glad I am that God has a good grip on my hand. As I charge head first into life, if He didn’t have ahold of me—well, it just wouldn’t be pretty. But just like I held onto James, so God has ahold of me. Only eternity will tell how many times He saved me from pain and suffering and the consequences of thousands of bad decisions.

Years ago, while reading the Bible, a passage jumped off the pages and into my life. It said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way. And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” That is such powerful truth. The fact that God directs my steps, that the path He chooses for me is cause for Him to delight and that when I fall, He’s got me…well, that is good, good news. And the best part is, it is true.

As we leap into 2026, it’s good to know that we can have someone like God holding our hand. If you are a Jesus follower you know all about that and, if you aren’t yet, He is just waiting for you to take the leap of faith. Why not give Him a try? God’s not big about denominations or even religion but He is real big about loving you and He wants to walk with you in this New Year. James didn’t know too much about stairs when he took the plunge, but his Papa did. James could rest assured that when it came to stairs…Papa had it all under control. And when it comes to life, we can rest assured that our Dearest Daddy knows all about life and has it all under control. You might say, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, wisdom

His Day, Your Day

Posted on October 24, 2024October 16, 2024 by Dewayne Taylor

This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

25,860. You know we ought to be grateful for each day we have because one of these days we just might not wake up. In the morning, I wake up, get up, make a cup of coffee, get the weather report and settle in for some time with my Dearest Daddy. That almost always includes several devotions from different people and sometime in prayer. I’ve learned that one of the easiest ways to pray is to pray some scriptures back to God. I might personalize and pray Psalm 37:23-24 this way, “Lord, I know my steps today are ordered by you and in fact my path is something you delight in. I also know that if I stumble and fall, that you are not going to leave me there. You love me too much to do that, so you promise to pick me up. Thank You, Father.”

I also like to pray Proverbs 3:5-6. When I do, it might go like this, “Lord, You tell me to trust in You with all of my heart and that I should not trust in my way of doing and understanding things. You tell me, in all my ways, that I am to acknowledge You, to respect You, to revere You, to declare the fact that You are God, and I am not. When I am willing to do that, You promise to make my paths straight—to give me the best path for me life. Thank You, Father for that.”

I love those two scriptures but there is one that I love just about as much. It is found in Psalm 118, verse 24, and I might pray it like this, “Lord, thank You for this new day that You have given me—a day that You have designed and made. I know it is Your will that I should rejoice and be glad in this gift You have given me. Help me today to do that. Amen” This is a good prayer but also a challenging one. As you know, and I know, because of circumstances and life, it is not always easy to rejoice in the day that God gives us.

The other day I was thinking about Psalm 139:16a that says, “All my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Wow! How amazing is that. Equally amazing is the impact this verse has on Psalm 118:24—that not only is it the day He made—He made it with me in mind. You see, for me today is day 25,860 of all the days of my life thus far. Now get this…each one, including this one, God made and planned with me in mind. And what is true for me is also true for you and that means we can live in His peace and the confident assurance that He has us in His heart and in His mind. So, no matter what number day this is for you—enjoy it because—He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne

birthday, Family, friends, Grace, gratitude, life, love, loving others, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful

James

Posted on December 27, 2023December 26, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way. And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

A couple of years ago we were down at my daughter’s house who lives near Murray, Kentucky. They have blessed us with two of our eight grandchildren and if you know anything about grandkids, they are just a bunch of fun. Matt and Jen live in the country near Kentucky Lake and my wife Judy decided we needed to take a walk. Now if you know Judy you know she believes that people build houses for essentially one reason—to sleep in. If you aren’t sleeping, you need to be doing something—outside. Period.

So, naturally, we took a walk. I was with my grandson James, and we were having an adventure. Soon we were walking hand in hand. Now, James, who at the time was six, is a very thoughtful young man. So, eventually, he asks me, “Papa, what is your real name?” Now I knew what he was asking but why not have some fun when you can? So, I told him my name was Papa. “No” he said firmly, “your real name.” Well, I gave in and told him it was Dewayne.

He took a shot at pronouncing it and got close. I thought that might be the end, but no, the best was yet to come. He then asked me, “Papa (he didn’t try Dewayne) how old are you? Well, that was a good question, so I gave him the answer. “James,” I said, “I am almost 67 years old.” Again, almost without hesitation he said, “Papa, you’re almost dead.” I died laughing—no pun intended. The Bible mentions something about out of the mouth of babes, truth comes, and I guess truth be known…there’s a lot more days behind me than before me.

It was funny then and it is funny now. And it was true then and it is even more true now. As I pondered those words, it made me appreciate God in a whole new way. I freshly realized how glad I am that God, and not disease or circumstance, numbers my days. As I charge headfirst into life, especially in years of uncertainty, I know if He didn’t have a hold of me—well, it just wouldn’t be pretty. Only eternity will tell how many times He saved me from pain and suffering and the consequences of thousands of bad decisions.

Years ago, while reading the Bible, a passage jumped off the pages and into my life. It said, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD and He delights in his way. And even if he falls, he will not be utterly cast down because He upholds him with His strong hand.” That is such a powerful truth. The fact that God directs my steps, that the path He chooses for me is cause for Him to delight and that when I fall, He’s got me…well, that is good, good news. And the best part is, it is true.

As we get ready to leap into 2024, it’s good to know that we can have someone like God holding our hand. If you are a Jesus follower you know all about that and, if you aren’t yet, He is just waiting for you to take the leap of faith. Why not give Him a try? God’s not big about denominations or even religion but He is really big about loving you and He wants to walk with you into this New Year. While the number of our days is unknown and even how those days will play out are a mystery to us it is not unknown to our Dearest Daddy. And when it comes to life, we can rest assured that He knows all about life and has it all under control. You might say, “He’s got this.” Bro. Dewayne

Family, fear, forgiveness, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, thankful, Trials

Three Days, Day 2

Posted on September 15, 2023September 14, 2023 by Dewayne Taylor

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24

I never saw it coming. Day one of “Three Days” was so awesome you would think that the day following a trophy day would be at least somewhat awesome, right? Let me tell you that is not always the case. If you read, “Three Days, Day One” you know that my day job is being a pastor and one day recently, I and the church, had a “trophy Sunday.” Now I need to be honest and let you know that not every Sunday qualifies as a “trophy Sunday.” In fact, some of them can be pretty difficult but that’s not a deal because it is just the way life goes. “Less than days” have nothing to do with where you work or what you do—it has to do with life. Like I said in day one, when you have a really good day, put it on your trophy shelf so you can easily find it when you need a reminder that you are blessed.

Well, you know that Mondays always follow Sundays. It is no accident that Mondays get a bad rap. It just seems that if you are going to have a challenging day, Mondays get the call and in my case, that is exactly what happened. So after the trophy day at church that Sunday, I bounded (slight overstatement there) out of bed about 4:10 am, ready to embrace the day. Because it was Thanksgiving Week and because my wife Judy and I were taking a trip down south to see family, I only had two days in the office that week. I expected and needed some productive time. There were several things that just had to get done before I left but I was confident that I could get it done. So, like a horse in the starting gate, I raced to the office…early.

When I got to the office, for fortification, I made a cup of coffee and then hit the spacebar on my computer and immediately noticed that it was a little slow to wake up. “Hmmm,” I said, wondering what was up with that. It did eventually start responding but things were just not right. One of the things I had to get done was to update the electronic sign for our church. To do that my Apple computer needed to talk to the sign which— speaks Windows—think EngIish and German. I have a program on my computer that is supposed to act like a translator but it was on strike. From there things just went downhill. Not only was the Apple computer not speaking to the Windows sign, everything, and I mean everything, just came to a standstill. No matter what I did, no matter how many times I restarted the computer, nothing helped. I watched the clock as my precious day slipped away through my idle hands.

Now, I believe in God. I believe that God directs my day and my path. One of my favorite verses in the Bible says, “The steps of a good man (good as in God’s goodness) are directed by the Lord and it is He who directs His path.” I know it and I believe it though my faith that particular day was sagging. In fact, I left the office that day feeling just a little put off with God. I mean didn’t He know I had to get this stuff done? Didn’t He know I only had a little time to get a lot done? Well, I finally just blurted out to Him, “God why are you doing this to me.” I was frustrated and maybe, just maybe a little angry…if not at God at least the circumstances. Looking back, I realized that I was having a little case of “spiritual amnesia.”

Spiritual Amnesia? Yup…it’s a real deal and I really had it. You see, I had forgotten the “trophy Sunday” and even forgot to revisit it to remind me of God being a good God. I had forgotten that I believe that God directs and plans my day…meaning He had planned that day as an exercise of faith and trust…in Him. I forgot it all and that was not fair to Him, my wife, Judy, who bore some of the brunt of my frustration and anybody else who happened to be close enough to feel and hear my frustration that day. Are you getting the picture that Monday was not a “trophy day?” Ever had a day like that? Trust me, I get it and I understand and so does our Dearest Daddy.

Well, that night, I sat down at my home computer and worked and watched how that same God that I had grumbled about multiplied my time and efforts and much of what I needed to get done, got done in just a couple of hours. It was then that my “spiritual amnesia” fog began to clear. It was then that I remembered that God doesn’t do things to people…He does things for people. You see that non-trophy day was about learning—-I was in “God school” and He was teaching me things like faith, trust and patience. I also remembered the rest of that favorite verse. It says that even if I should stumble and fall, I will not, can not, be completely cast down because He, God, will pick me up. I may fall in a mud puddle of frustration but He loves me too much to leave me there.

So the day ended better than it started. I went to bed that night with a feeling that no matter what tomorrow held, I would do what I could do and just leave the rest to Him. I got out of bed, had my coffee and had a little talk with Him and He whispered to me that He would be with me that day and that no matter what He would not abandon me. I knew that somehow the third day of “Three Days” was going to be ok and that what I write each day is indeed true, “He’s got this.” Brother Dewayne

Family, gratitude, life, prayer, priorities, Scripture, sovereignty of God, Trials

Three Days Day Two

Posted on November 30, 2021November 29, 2021 by Dewayne Taylor

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand.” Psalm 37:23-24”

I never saw it coming. Day one of “Three Days” was so awesome you would think that the day following a trophy day would be at least somewhat awesome, right? Let me tell you that is not always the case. If you read, “Three Days, Day One” you know that I my day job is being a pastor and one day recently, I and the church, had a “trophy Sunday.” Now I need to be honest and let you know that not every Sunday qualifies as a “trophy Sunday.” In fact, some of them can be pretty difficult but that’s not a deal because it just the way life is. “Less than days” have nothing to do with where you work or what you do—it has to do with life. Like I said in day one, when you have a really good day, put it on your trophy shelf so you can easily find it when you need a reminder that you are blessed.

Well, you know that Mondays always follow Sundays. It is no accident that Mondays get a bad rap. It just seems that if you are going to have a challenging day, Mondays get the call and in my case, that is exactly what happened. So after the trophy day at church on Sunday, I bounded (slight overstatement there) out of bed about 4:10 am, ready to embrace the day. Because it was Thanksgiving Week and because my wife Judy and I were taking a trip down south to see family, I only had two days in the office that week. I expected and needed some productive time. There were several things that just had to get done before I left but I was confident that I could get it done. So, like a horse in the starting gate, I raced to the office…early.

When I got to the office, for fortification, I made a cup of coffee and then hit the spacebar on my computer and immediately noticed that it was a little slow to wake up. “Hmmm,” I said, wondering what was up with that. It did eventually start responding but things were just not right. One of the things I had to get done was to update the electronic sign for our church. To do that my Apple computer needed to talk to the sign which— speaks Windows—think EngIish and German. I have a program on my computer that is supposed to act like a translator but it was on strike. From there things just went downhill. Not only was the Apple computer not speaking to the Windows sign, everything, and I mean everything, just came to standstill. No matter what I did, no matter how many times I restarted the computer, nothing helped. I watched the clock as my precious day slipped away through my idle hands.

Now, I believe in God. I believe that God directs my day and my path. One of my favorite verses in the Bible says, “The steps of a good (good as in God’s goodness) are directed by the Lord and it is He who directs His path.” I know it and I believe it though my faith that particular day was sagging. In fact, I left the office that day feeling just a little put off with God. I mean didn’t He know I had to get this stuff done? Didn’t He know I only had a little time to get a lot done? Well, I finally just said to Him, “God why are you doing this to me.” I was frustrated and maybe, just maybe a little angry…if not at God at least the circumstances. Looking back, I realized that I was having a little case of “spiritual amnesia.”

Spiritual amnesia? Yup…it’s a real deal and I really had it. You see, I had already forgotten the “trophy Sunday” and even forgot to revisit it to remind me of God being a good God. I had forgotten that I believe that God directs and plans my day…meaning He had planned that day as an exercise of faith and trust…in Him. I forgot it all and that was not fair to Him, my wife, Judy, who bore some of the brunt of my frustration and anybody else who happened to be close enough to feel and hear my frustration. Are you getting the picture that Monday was not a “trophy day?” Ever had a day like that? Trust me, I get it and I understand and so does our Dearest Daddy.

Well, that night, I sat down at my happy home computer and worked and watched how that same God that I had grumbled about multiplied my time and efforts and much of what I needed to get done, got done in just a couple of hours. It was then that my “spiritual amnesia” fog began to clear. It was then that I remembered that God doesn’t do things to people…He does things for people. You see that non-trophy day was about learning—-I was in “God school” and He was teaching me things like faith, trust and patience. I also remembered the rest of that favorite verse. It says that even if I should stumble and fall, I will not stay down because He, God, will pick me up. I may fall in the mud puddle of frustration but He loves me too much to leave me there.