Friendship

Business = Finished!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

If you’re not familiar with the Professional Bull Riders organization this post might not mean much to you. And if you’re not familiar with the PBR….maybe you should be. Bull Riding is the most extreme of all the extreme sports. If you have a disagreement on that thought, go get on a bull and, chances are, you’ll quickly change your mind. Bull Riding as a sport has evolved over the past 20 + years into a high-profile, spectator friendly sport that has made celebrities of the bull riders, as well as the bulls. Sports arenas around the country are filling up when the PBR comes to town much due to the overt, raw danger of the sport and the vanishing individualistic nature of the, authentic, American cowboy.

An event was held this past weekend in Decatur, Texas unlike any Bull Riding event ever before, and almost assuredly, will never happen again. “Unfinished Business” pitted eight of the most high-profile PBR Bull Riders in the organization’s history, all retired for a number of years, riding for a, winner take all, $160,000 payoff. Cody Custer and Mike White, PRCA World Champions; Tater Porter, J.W. Hart, PBR World Finals Champions; Justin McBride, Chris Shivers and Michael Gaffney all PBR World Champions and Ross Coleman, perennial PBR World Finals Qualifier.

To say that these men had ‘unfinished business’ in the arena couldn’t be further from the truth. These eight guys left it all in the arena every single time they ever competed, without exception. Their primary reason for coming out of retirement for this, once in a lifetime, event was in the name of charity. I don’t care who you are, you gotta appreciate that! *(consider that a couple of them are nearing 50 yrs of age!)

Shivers and Hart rode their bulls and split the $160,000. The other six didn’t complete their 8-second ride. But, just like always…..they gave it everything they had…..one last time! I care about Bull Riding; I’ve been directly involved with it in one way or another pretty much my whole life. I’d like to see Bull Riding continue to come to prominence as a sport. My reasons are personal. But I look at the field of bull riders today and I wonder who’ll take the place of these men. I don’t see very many out there on the radar screen, today, the caliber of these guys in the way of sheer effort….and the desire to be ‘ambassadors’ for the sport. The door’s wide open for some ‘young guns’ to step up!

Thank you Cody Custer, Mike White, Tater Porter, J.W. Hart, Justin McBride, Chris Shivers, Michael Gaffney and Ross Coleman….for showing unprecedented ‘class’ with every ride and every interview your entire career! Thanks from us older guys that never had the opportunity to ride for a million dollars.

Thanks for showing the rest of the world what the sport of Bull Riding is really about! You finished your business…..and you finished it well!!

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Bless the Lloyd!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

My best friend and right-hand-man, Daryle Perry and I were sitting in my office one day when we saw a blue pickup pull up in the driveway. I saw the guy get out and knew right away that I didn’t know him. He walked toward my office door and had a serious look on his face. My office has a glass door and the man looked through it and I waved him on in. He took the three steps toward my desk and immediately got down on his knees, looked up at me and said, “I need prayer”. I answered, “Sure, what’s your name?” He replied, “Lloyd”.

Now you just need to know this about Daryle and myself; nobody enjoys a good laugh any more than us. But it’s not good at all when we’re in a place where you’re not supposed to be funny….or laughing. We’ve been in many a jam that way but we never saw this one coming! I started to pray, and I meant to say, “Now Lord, in Jesus’ name.” But it came out, “Now, Lloyd, in Jesus’ name.” Well, that wasn’t good! Daryle grabbed his mouth, snickered, busted up laughing and walked out the door leaving me with Lloyd. It was all I could do to keep my composure but I kind of got it gathered back up.

I went ahead and prayed and as I was nearing the end of the prayer I meant to say, “Lord, thank you”. But, yep, you guessed it! “Lloyd, thank you”. Well this time I grabbed my mouth, snickered and busted up laughing! Lloyd looked up at me with a real bewildered look on his face. I said, still trying to keep from laughing, “Man, I am so sorry”! I don’t think he bought it.

Well, Lloyd left and we never saw him again and I still feel bad about that. But I did pray for him….and I was sincere when I prayed. I think he knows that we weren’t laughing at him, but at ourselves. So, if I had one little piece of advice for you it would be this, “Trust in the Lloyd with all your heart”!

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VIP #4 – Paul Luchsinger

/ Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

My rodeo career was just finishing up and Paul’s was just getting in full swing. We’d crossed paths a couple of times but we didn’t really know one another. Fast forward a few years and we had moved from Texas to Oklahoma and started the church in Sayre in ’89. I started hearing about Paul and, his then wife, Susie’s (Reba McEntire’s sister) ministry, which was pretty significant to say the least. We, again, crossed paths a time or two but I never got to spend much time with them.

In about 2008 I bumped into Paul in Wheeler, Texas. We had just finished a leadership training event in a church there and went out to eat. He was in the restaurant with a friend. We talked briefly and went on our way. He said later that the Lord told him that night that he needed to move to Sayre. He came over for a visit or two but it was a full two years before he moved here permanently. After being here a short time, he confessed that he should’ve been here all along.

Paul was not good. Diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and in the process of getting a divorce. His relationship with his kids (all grown) was strained, at best. He was angry, bitter and pretty hard to get along with. He had so many regrets about his life and just couldn’t find any peace to move on. He sorely regretted doing ministry from a condemning standpoint (his own testimony). And just when he’d be at his worst, someone would inevitably show up or call and tell him that 20 years ago, something he said to them totally changed their life. We included him in every single thing we did here. This story’s not about us, but there are some people around here that just won’t let you stay in a defeated mode. We propped him up, we encouraged him, we chastised him when it was unavoidable, we straight-up told him to quit beating himself up,…..but most of all we just loved him, ……and he started to change.

It was a process…but he caught the significance of having a real relationship with the Father, which in turn began to affect every other relationship that he had. He caught the tsunami of God’s grace and he was never the same after that. He started backtracking and repairing broken relationships, none of the least of which was with his children, E.P., Lucchese and Samuel. He was determined to love them and to be there for them in a way, which he said, he’d never really done before. He got that accomplished!

I often compare Paul Luchsinger with the Apostle Paul of bible fame. Both were full of dead religion until their ‘encounter’ with the God of grace. And after that….neither one was ever to be the same! His bitterness was totally gone and he was a blessing to every single person he came into contact with. There’s no telling how many people he helped as he pointed them to the Father. Even when his health was deteriorating he never complained….he always made it about everyone else. He ‘fought the good fight’ like nobody I’ve ever seen before….and may never see again.

I was in North Carolina when Paul graduated to heaven. Not embarrassed to admit that I shed quite a few tears when I received the news. I’m a little sad for us….but not sad for Paul at all. Paul Luchsinger got well in Sayre, Oklahoma! He finished STRONG! I’m sure that he’s not just a VIP in my books, but undoubtedly a VIP in the Father’s eyes! 

**Paul Luchsinger was promoted to heaven on May 12, 2015

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A Word or Two For the ‘Grads’ Out There

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

School’s out! I’ve had five grads myself down through the years finishing up with Cameron a few years ago at this time. I continually tell parents with young children, “You better wake up….’cause that part of your life is incredibly short!” Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to speak at quite a few graduation ceremonies. There are some things that I think will help the new grads to take on the world. It’s not a conclusive list but it’s a good start.

1)  Live – Live is short! Learn to ‘live’ it with zeal and excitement.

2)  Give – The world has two kinds of people, givers….and takers. Givers live a much more fulfilling life!

3)  Forgive – You’ll have a lot of opportunities to forgive…..resolve to not miss a single one!

4)  Laugh – Enjoy the trip as much as possible. You’ll have to work at this one but you can do it!

5)  Learn – Resolve to be a learner. “When you think you know it all, you’re as smart as you’re ever gonna get.” Cliff Taylor

6)  Love – Learn to relate to God as Father! As you’re exposed to His kind of love…..you’ll learn to love like He does!

7)  Relationship, Relationship, Relationship – It’s really what life is all about. Value your relationships!

8)  Get Back Up – You’re gonna get knocked down; to be successful  you just have to get up one more time than you get knocked down.

9)  Be Courageous – Swing for the fence! You have the faith for it so it’s up to you!

10) Destiny – God has a plan for your life and He’s willing to disclose it to you. Go after it!

11) Purpose – Find those things you’re good at and put your effort into those things.

12) No Regrets – Older folks say they don’t regret the things they did as much as the things they didn’t do. Do it!

After thinking about it, maybe this advice is not ‘just’ for the grads. Maybe it’s for all of us. Even if you’ve gotten a slow start…’saddle up’ and move on! It’s really never too late!