Living Longer

Keep Your Eyes On The Road!

/ Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

Well, it’s just good advice….especially when you’re driving. I’ve got a habit of ‘gawking’, as Julie calls it! I don’t want to miss anything on a road trip. I’ve been known to ride the rumble strips quite a bit and have nearly ran off the road a few times. I know, it’s a bad habit. I’m working on it! (Seems like I say that a lot!)

But keeping your eyes on the road is not just good advice for us while we’re driving….it’s good advice to adhere to while we’re on the ‘road of life’, too! It’s awful easy to keep looking back at the past. There’s lots of people out there who spend most of their time looking back at the past. And most of the time it’s dwelling on mistakes, wrong decisions, hurts and regrets. Don’t get me wrong, I think glancing back at some of these things can be productive….as long as we can learn from our mistakes, correct whatever needs to be corrected and move on. But living in the past is not a good thing, especially if you’re gazing at the negative things. It makes for a discouraging, depressing life.

When we’re anchored in a relationship with the Father we’re able to be encouraged in that….wherever we are in life….it can get better. I think we should at least consider that our best days are in front of us. Looking ahead has some profound benefits (Especially if you’re driving a car!!). But it has some extremely encouraging benefits in life as well. Looking ahead gives us something to ‘live for’. It gives our life meaning. It keeps us growing and evolving into our true identity. 

Experience is a great teacher. We should realize that and make the best of our ‘snafus’. We should approach our life like we do when we’re on a road trip down the interstate. Check the rear-view mirror occasionally, don’t be gawking…..and by all means…..Keep your eyes on the road!

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I’m Going Out on a Limb, Here, And Say It’s Beyond Your Capacity to Imagine!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Did another funeral yesterday (#347). It’s always an honor to be asked to do a service for a family. And even though it’s a day of sadness and grief for family and friends….it’s a great opportunity to give them comfort and to tell the ‘good news’. Over the years I’ve seen a lot of different situations with families going through the loss of a loved one. It’s hard when there’s tension among the siblings, which I see a lot more than I’d like to. I feel for the family members who regret not having spent the quality time with the deceased that they feel they should have. There’s dozens of other scenarios that the passing of a family member brings to light. I’ve tried to be as helpful as I possibly could be in those, sometimes volatile…and painful, situations.

There’s nothing like a funeral to bring people’s thoughts on eternal things. I think that can be a very good, very productive thing in people’s lives. Of course, for me and the performing of a funeral….the one thing that can calm all the fears and uncertainty for the family is if the deceased person had a relationship with God. If so, the service can be upbeat and encouraging. Most of the time at least one of the family members knows the answer to the question…but not every time. In those situations where nobody really knows…I always have peace knowing that the Lord is gracious and compassionate….and a fair Judge.

I have an opinion that I can’t prove….so it’s just an opinion…but I’ve thought about it a lot. I think we’ve underestimated death and our passing from this life to the next one. My opinion is that it’s a whole lot more glorious than we would ever think. If the Father is as good to us in this life as He is….it just makes sense that our passing from here to there would be Some Kind of amazing trip! The problem is that we haven’t had anyone come back and tell us how it is.

You may have a really healthy imagination but my opinion is that the trip is glorious beyond our capacity to imagine!

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25,000; Twenty-Five Thousand; 25K; 25 Large!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

That’s how many “Views” I’ve received on my blog, “The Way I See It”, since January 1 (25,145 as of this post!). I’ve posted 130 times. Whoever you are, where ever you are….I appreciate you taking the time to read the blogs! It’s my deepest desire that the blog has blessed you in some way. Give me some feedback! What are your favorite blogs? Mention two or three that have helped you in some way. Hit the “Share” button on FaceBook so your FB friends can access the blog.

Listed below are the Top-Ten Blog Posts ranked by how many times they’ve been read. If you haven’t read them….do it now! If you have….you might want to read them again. I’ve also included a few that are some of my very favorite. *By clicking on the red link you can go straight to that blog. I’d like to grow the, “The Way I See It”, family so I’m asking you to “Share” when you like a post and recommend that your friends become “Followers”.

Lady Gaga, Little Monsters & Jesus!

All I Know is God Loved John Very, Very Much!

VIP #4 – Paul Luchsinger

VIP #1 – Booger Bryant

Quit Telling Me What the Problem Is!

Bless the Lloyd!

“Keith” – It Was a Short Friendship….But a Good One!

Branson to Cherokee – The Longest Night I Ever Spent

Maybe You Should Quit Whippin’ Your Own A#$!

You’re Not Welcome Here!

………..and a few of my very favorite ones.

“Obviously, I’m God’s Favorite”!

You May Not Know This, But I’m Kind of a Big Deal!

It Ain’t Grace’s Fault!

Tee-Ball…..The #1, Undisputed, Very Best Team Sport of ‘Em All!!

How Gunnar Payne Changed the World!

……….or if you just need a good laugh!

The ‘Baddest’ Dang Turkey in Arkansas!

That Whole, “Greet the Brethren With a Holy Kiss” Thing, is Waaay Overrated!!

Just Some Friendly Advice: Always Approach a Possum With Extreme Caution!!

Thanks again for reading the blogs!! Weigh in on your favorites and spread the word!!

THANKS!!   

AT

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There’s Just Something About ‘That Name’!!

/ Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

After we had moved from the ranch in the Texas Panhandle into Oklahoma, we still went to church for a time in Allison, Texas. This particular Sunday we had come back the 30 miles to our house. Our great friends, Daryle and Carrie Perry and their daughter Micah came to our house for lunch. After lunch we were just sitting around, hanging out and visiting when one of our boys yelled at us from our bedroom. Clay, who at the time was about 2, had taken the lid off the toothpaste and in trying to taste it had swallowed the lid. He was choking and gasping for air when I got into the room. You can imagine the panic that ensued!

By now we’re all in the room as I grabbed him and tried to reach in his mouth for the lid. No luck! I handed Clay to Carrie who is a very proficient nurse and she did everything she knew to do to dislodge the lid…..but to no avail. Just so you can grasp the chaos of the situation, there was total panic on all of us. It was the worst feeling you could possibly imagine. Clay had turned blue and the clock was ticking!

I grabbed him from Carrie and went to the floor with him. I reached into his mouth as deep as I possibly could (Afterward I had bite marks high upon my wrist!) and could just barely touch the lid with the tip of my finger. There was just no way I was going to be able to get it out that way. Clay had become limp and blue…and beginning to be lifeless. The situation was getting dimmer! Out of total fear of the worst-case scenario, and utter desperation I yelled at the top of my lungs, “In the Name of Jesus, Come Out!!”.

I no sooner got the words out when that toothpaste lid shot out of Clay’s mouth like a missile onto the floor! He took in a huge breath of air and immediately everything was OK! We all just sat down on the floor crying….out of relief.

The Name of Jesus has power! Using that Name ‘saved the day’ for us there on the bedroom floor 25 years ago (and a lot of other times since then, too!), and It’ll save the day for you too!

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Just Some Friendly Advice: Always Approach a Possum With Extreme Caution!!

/ Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

About a year after we had moved from the ranch in Texas we were living in a nice place just 10 miles south of Cheyenne, Oklahoma. We had a big ‘ol Chow dog named “Buddy”. He wasn’t much count for anything except for barking non-stop if he heard or saw anything during the night. It had become pretty common for the possums to come up during the night and try to steal some of his dog food. He killed a couple of them and I imagine a couple dozen or more got some of his food and made their escape. That happened at least once a week. The big house we lived in had a nice, wrap-around porch all across the front and around one side. On the front porch we had a long church pew; it was about a 12 footer. His favorite thing was to get one of those possums hemmed up and bark at them until the fight happened or they, by chance, got away.

It was the middle of the summer and the yearly rodeo was going on in Cheyenne so we thought we ought to take in a night of it. We got home about 11 pm and got the kids put down and were just about to ‘hit the sack’ when ‘ol Buddy went to barking. It doesn’t take much of that to start wearing on my patience, you understand. I’m barefooted and in my underwear, (tighty-whiteys in those days…..I have since upgraded!). I grabbed a broom on the way out the door and it was just as I thought. He had him a possum down the porch at the end of the long church pew. Now, nobody likes possums; I guess they’re harmless but they’re just nasty if you ask me. My plan was to spook him off the porch with the broom and then let nature take it’s course.

I’m ticked off and yelling at ‘ol Buddy, who’s still barking furiously, as I neared the end of the church pew. Well…..when I got to the end of the pew and reared back to smack the varmint with my broom…..I finally got a good look at the possum. But, it wasn’t a possum!

Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a BADGER at point-blank range with all his teeth showing (it looked like a few dozen of ’em), slobberin’, hissin’….and ready to attack……with nothing but your underwear on or not! It was a first for me!! My whole life flashed in front of me! Instantaneously I had a vision of me being ripped to shreds by this maniac of an animal! He was On. The. Hook.!! I mean….have you ever heard a ‘good’ story about a badger?? Right! That’s ’cause there ain’t no good stories about ’em!! Every outrageous, horrifying thing I’d ever heard before about badgers somehow, at that moment, seemed really legit!

I bet you could still see my toe prints in the concrete on that porch where I skidded to a stop! In my mind I said, “If you’ll just give me one tenth of a second….I’ll be out of your life forever!” Well, fate happened to be on my side that night….thank the Lord! I have no idea what happened to the badger; don’t even care! I was just glad to get out of there with my life!

That was the last time I ever rambled down the porch with a broom! (I’m a quick learner!) And, just between you and me, I can’t remember if I ever wore those underwear again or not!

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We Oughta Get Our Ducks in a Row!! Part 4 – Relationships

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Get your ducks in a row, AKA ….Setting your priorities in order. If you really want your life to go smoother, I’d say realign your priorities ASAP. It’s quite amazing how much better it all goes when we do it. Here’s where we are so far: 1) Spiritual Life. 2) Marriage.       3) Parenting. #4 on my list is “Relationships”.

In real estate it’s location, location, location. But in the kingdom of God it’s relationship, relationship, relationship! At the end of our lives we’re going to realize that it’s not money, fortune or fame that’s caused our lives to be full and significant. No, it’ll be crystal clear then that what’s really made our lives ‘rich’ are the relationships that we’ve been involved in. I say we need to make the adjustment now and start placing the value on our relationships that the Father has so we won’t miss the significance of each one of them over the long haul.

God is sovereign when it comes to relationships. By that I mean that He’s instrumental in bringing us together for His purposes. And, when He does bring two people together He never does it for just what one person can offer the other; When He brings people together it’s always a win-win! Everybody benefits!

While the greatest blessings in life come from our relationships, they can also be extremely challenging. It’s very common to get your feelings hurt, get wounded or betrayed through relationships but they’re still worth the effort. Here’s a little formula that we’ve been working on for a few years. We’re far from perfect in our execution and not everyone is willing to ‘buy in’ …… but if, and when, they do the rewards are almost certain to come.

1) God is sovereign in relationships. *You only know the people you know because of God

2) Every relationship, given enough time, will encounter problems. (It’s very common!)

3) Anytime we make the problem more important than the relationship….the relationship is in trouble.

4) Since God put us together, we must make a resolve to ‘stay’ together. (What God has joined together, let not man put asunder)

5) We must work to restore the relationship. (sometimes a ‘mediator’ is needed to help heal the relationship) 

6) The Payoff: What we’re finding out is, if we’ll put the value on relationship that God has placed on it and sit down and work it out, ….God not only restores the relationship, but He restores it and makes it ‘stronger’ than it was before the offense.

When we put the value on our relationships that the Father has put on them…..life takes on a whole new meaning!

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Are You Living Longer….or Just Growing Old?

/ Andy R Taylor / 12 Comments

There’s a difference! I remember when I was a kid, when anyone hit 60 that was old, really old!! But I ran past 60 last year so fast it wasn’t funny. And the fascinating thing is….I don’t feel old at all. Maybe it’s just because it just happened so fast. I mean, the years do go flying by. I heard that enough times when I was younger but I had no idea it would happen this fast!

Some people, I’ve noticed, start getting old in their 40’s and 50’s….they just seem determined to do it. But there are others who just keep thinking young. I like that…..I think it’s a mental thing. I think, somewhere along the way they just decided not to be old in their thoughts and actions. Yep, there is a difference in ‘living longer’ and just ‘growing old’. I’m thinking we would be making a huge mistake if we really stopped living our life and just settled in to growing old. Life is a precious thing. It can be pretty vicious at times, but still precious, nonetheless. I say let’s keep squeezing all we can out of life. And while I don’t have all this figured out, here’s a few things I think’ll help:

1) Realize that the Lord’s not through with you! It’s the truth! Even the Bible says that we’re to ‘bear fruit’ in old age.

2) Invest in the next generation! The things we’ve learned through our life experiences are invaluable to them.

3) Stay Active! Make a bucket list…..and why not a long one?! Get busy about doing those things you’ve always wanted to do!

4) Keep using your mind! Challenge yourself and don’t allow your mind to get lazy!

5) Keep Moving! Do something physical every day and don’t wait ’til later on to do it!

6) Take care of your body! Eat good, don’t be dumb about that!

7) Try your best to keep a good, positive attitude! 

8) Be relational! Life is really all about relationships! Engage, interact, enjoy!

Let’s ‘live’ longer…….and not just grow old! *Reply with your ‘tips’ on “Living Longer”

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