I Was Born Rich!

February 4, 2016March 31, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Not the, born with a silver spoon in your mouth, kind of rich. But rich, nonetheless, in other things that, today, stand out as being much more important. If you consider the things that are really important in life like, …..to name just a few: good health, lots of good friends, a beautiful loving wife, loving parents, healthy kids and grandkids (smart & pretty too!), then I would have to be among the wealthiest people on planet Earth! I realize that those things are not experienced by everyone and there’s not a day that I’ve taken any of them for granted. I’m more grateful for those things today than at any other point in my life.

But, regardless, if maybe you don’t have all those things in abundance now…..there’s an incredible inheritance awaiting you. Jesus said in John’s gospel, “You must be born again”. He said that to an extremely religious man by the name of Nicodemus. He didn’t understand and reasoned out loud, “How can a man enter his mother’s womb and be born again?” (paraphrased) But Jesus was talking about a ‘spiritual’ birth. Jesus went on to say, “unless you’re born again you can’t enter the kingdom of heaven”.

Being born again is the simplest, easiest thing to attain. God has made it that way! It amounts to you and I agreeing with what Jesus completed on the cross….and then ‘receiving’ Him into our lives. When that happens some amazing things begin to transpire. One of those things is that you begin to experience that ‘incredible inheritance’ I mentioned earlier!

His Word declares, “We’ve been given all things that pertain to life and godliness”. Think about that one for a minute! On top of that we now have this awesome opportunity to engage in relationship with the Father. His Spirit ‘lives’ in us! And, Heaven is the ‘icing’ on the cake!

So, even though we may be struggling to make ends meet financially, and we may not know how we’re going to make our next car payment…..when we get this perspective we’ll clearly understand that we’ve been born (again) RICH!

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$$$ – Being a “Thousandaire” Might Just Be Better Than Being a “Millionaire”!

You’re Better at Hearing the Lord Than You Think!

February 2, 2016July 28, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Well, it’ll take some commitment on your part but I totally believe that it’s true. I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on hearing God but I’ve heard Him lots of times (missed him plenty of times as well)….and I’ll bet you have too.

When I started going out speaking at churches in the mid 80’s I didn’t know much (still don’t know much….but you should’ve been around in those days! lol), but I did understand that the Lord speaks and when I’d say something to that effect in a church I noticed that some people (even pastors) often had a funny look on their faces. You know, I didn’t grow up going to church and when I came to the Lord it was for real and I thought it was a ‘given’, that spiritual people heard from the Lord! I actually believed everybody ‘thought’ that way! Turns out it wasn’t as true as I thought it was.

Now, I’ve never heard the audible voice of the Lord but I know plenty of people who say they have and I have absolutely no reason, whatsoever, to disbelieve them. But God is not limited to speaking with an audible voice. He speaks in lots of ways including, ….but not limited to: through the Bible, through our circumstances, through dreams and visions, through prophetic words, through other people, through our kids, through signs and wonders…..and by, what the Bible calls, the ‘still small voice’.

Jesus said, “My sheep know Me….and they hear My voice”. So, if you’re not ‘hearing’ the Lord….chances are the problem is not on His end! I firmly believe we should change our thinking based on the reality that God, the Father, has chosen us to be His own children. Fathers, and He’s the perfect One, always want to communicate with their kids. So, you gotta know that God wants to speak to you!

Get your antenna up! You’re better at this than you think you are!

You should like these, too:*Click on highlighted link:”

What’s the Lord Saying to You? Pt 1

What’s the Lord Saying to You? Pt 2

Just Say, “Yes”!

January 28, 2016January 31, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I know…..that’s not how you first heard it. “Just Say No”, (click highlighted link) was the slogan for the anti-drug campaign initiated in the ’80’s and ’90’s. The whole idea was created and championed by none other than, Nancy Reagan. “Just Say No” is great advice when it comes to drugs. Hopefully hundreds of thousands of both young and old have heeded that advice…and will continue to do so.

I’m suggesting we start another campaign kinda of like the one Nancy started but with the slogan, “Just Say Yes”!! Well, obviously, you can’t say yes to just anything. That would be dumb. I’m saying we, “Just Say Yes”, to the plans of the Father for our lives. I don’t know many people who would reject that line of thinking….but in practice I’m afraid we might be suffering a little! God has an incredible, intricate and very personal plan for our lives. We can only ‘lay hold’ of that plan, and the details of it, by faith. But the good news is that you have adequate faith, and more than enough of it, to get that done!

If you’ve been really sincere and serious about your walk with the Lord you’ve surely inquired of Him about His plan for your life. If not….you could, and should, start now. Nothing difficult about it. In fact it’s so simple that anyone (even a caveman! lol) can do it. If you’ve heard some things from the Lord and said “yes” to them…I’m convinced that you’re already experiencing the blessings that accompany that kind of response. But what about the things that we don’t even know about yet? Well, that’s where this “Just Say Yes” mindset really begins to be beneficial for us. We should “Just Say Yes” to the things we’re aware of….but go into the next realm where we say “Yes” to the things we don’t even know about yet!

I agree, that’s a radical step of faith…but it’s what we’re created for! So, the next time that something comes up in your spirit that you think might be the Lord…..Just Say Yes!! You can’t go wrong!

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What If I’d Said, No?

“To Die is Gain”

January 27, 2016January 31, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

Paul said it this way, “To live is Christ; to die is gain”. He was way up in years and could see the end in the distance. He even told the Lord that it’d be OK with him if he could just go ahead and die, but God saw it fit to leave him awhile longer. But Paul had a great perspective on death, and one that I think we should at least consider adopting, ourselves.

I see this verse clearer this week than I’ve ever seen it before. I know it’s because of my Dad’s transition from Earth to Heaven a week ago. Totally unexpected and devastating to our whole family in every way but now, a week later, I think I’m getting a little glimpse into what Paul was saying.

We’ve had literally hundreds of people call, text, message, drop by, etc. No one really knows what to say….and understandably so. I have found, especially in the last few days, that it doesn’t really matter when they don’t know what to say. Just being there, just caring, however it is expressed and however it comes across, means everything to us right now. I know I speak for the whole Taylor family when I say we’re amazed by the number of genuine friends that we have. And for that, we’re eternally grateful.

Our terminology, when someone dies, might need a little tweaking. “Sorry for your loss”, “Sorry you lost your Dad”; Those are some of the common condolences. Heck, I’ve used them many times myself. *(Nothing is lost if you know where it is!) But if what Paul said is true…maybe we should change our condolences to, “Happy about your gain”!, or, “So glad to hear about your Dad’s promotion!”, or, “Congratulations on your Dad’s new place!” It would be much more appropriate, especially when we have the correct perspective.

I have my moments, don’t get me wrong. It just comes out of nowhere when I least expect it and the tears are immediate. But so far…I can’t stay sad for long. And my sadness….it’s not for my Dad, even though I miss him a lot. No, I’m sad for me and my crew (My Mom, my brother and our families). But as quickly as I get sad….I can hear my Dad telling me to “Dry it up”! (something he’d say when we’d cry from a spanking). “Don’t be sad….be happy!” He’d already told us more than a few times not to worry or cry for him when he was gone. It seems to me that it’s the ultimate win-win scenario!

“To live is Christ….and to die is gain”!!

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VIP’s #10 – Cliff & Charlene Taylor

“What’s The Father Telling You?” Part 2

January 26, 2016February 7, 2018 / Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

If you didn’t read “What’s The Lord Telling You?”Part 1.…you really should read it before reading Part 2. *(click on highlighted link).It has been an interesting journey in learning to ‘walk out’ the things the Father has put in front of us. It’s always challenging, never boring and the amazement of it still mystifies me today. When the Lord said He would be bringing people in here from all over ….He meant it! Most are still here. Some have come and gone (just like He said!), and others are yet to come. My own take on what the Lord is doing in that is that He has brought, and is bringing, them here to catch the DNA of the house (Trinity Fellowship). Then the natural, or should I say spiritual, thing that happens is that they become a positive influence wherever they may go imparting that same DNA in their own realm of influence.

I’ve grown very close to many of the people who have arrived here as a result of the Father’s plan. They have become like family to me and it’s hard to imagine how it’d be without them in my life. Most of them look to me as their pastor and some would also say that I’m a spiritual father to them. Either is a huge responsibility and one that I’d never take lightly. But their first disappointment with me happened when they would bring their life’s problems or dilemmas to me. And, rather than give them an easy answer, my response would nearly always be, “What’s the Father telling you?”. Some of them would even admit, now, that it made them mad when I would ask that question.

It’s never been my way of skirting the issue or passing the buck. But looking back on my own life it’s been those things that the Lord has ‘said’ to me that has made the biggest transformation in my life. It’s the things He’s ‘said’ that has caused the church to flourish and be the influence it is. But even more important….when I ask them the question it has caused them to go to the Lord themselves! And rather than me being some kind of spiritual guru for everyone….they’re all learning to hear the Lord for themselves! And to tell you the truth, I’m totally convinced that the Lord likes it this way above every other way imaginable!

Think about it this way; If you have kids, would you want to talk to them about the important things in their life….or would you rather have someone else talk to them for you?!! Well, God is the perfect Father….and He desperately wants to talk to you!!

What’s He telling you?!

PS-Most of those would now say that it’s the very best thing I’ve done for them!

*Maybe some of them will ‘weigh-in’ and let you hear it from their own perspective!

This Version of the Taylors’ Est. on This Day 49 Years Ago!

January 7, 2016January 7, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

It’s a pretty good sized family. Now, about 18 strong….and getting ready to be 19! This version of the Taylor family was officially established 39 years ago. But 49 years ago today is really when it started, unofficially,….at the Stovall Theater right here in Sayre, Oklahoma. That’s when, at age 13, I met up with the prettiest girl I’d ever seen, to sit by her at the picture show. (that’s what we used to call the movie theater!) I have no idea what the movie was that night but I do remember the girl. Her name was Julie Drake. Our parents had been friends for years but we’d only met less than a year before. There must’ve been something magical about that little date at the movie that night because we did it again…and again, and again. And ten years to the day after that first night at the movie theater we were married. And, now, today it’s been 39 years! It’s almost unbelievable how fast those years have gone by.

So, here we are, now in our 60’s,…after having raised 5 incredible kids (and others that we’ll join up with in heaven shortly) who are in various stages of raising their own families and taking on the world themselves. Add to that 8 of the smartest, best looking grandkids (it’ll be 9 by the end of the month!) that you could possibly imagine. And even the staunchest unbeliever on the planet could not argue that this was undeniably a ‘match made in heaven’….in the truest sense of the word!

I’ve done a lot of dumb stuff in my life but I really outdid myself 49 years ago today when I asked Julie Drake to sit by me at that movie. She’s been the perfect wife, the perfect mother…a truly incredible person by anyone’s standards. People would have to wonder how someone like me could’ve ever ended up with someone like her. It’s more than luck….it’s nothing short of the sovereign will of the Father! We’ve been through all the challenges that couples can go through….and somehow made it to here. It’s obvious that we were made for each other.

Oh, and by the way…she’s still the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen!

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I’m Just the Messenger

January 6, 2016January 6, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

This story is one that I’d never heard my entire life until I was almost 40. I remember vividly the day my Mom told it to me. It touched me in the deepest place possible….I think you’ll understand.

My Mom & Dad had tried to have kids but it had resulted in a couple of miscarriages and the loss of a baby girl that’d be two years older than me. They were living in Canadian, Texas and my Mom was pregnant with me and having major complications. She’d been told by the doctor to stay in bed and not do anything strenuous for the duration of the pregnancy. There was a knock on the door one day and a little lady was there who asked my Mom if she could come in and pray for her. She said yes and the little lady came in the house and prayed for her. After she prayed she said to Mom, “Now, you’re going to have this baby and it’s going to be OK. It’s going to be a little boy….and he’ll be God’s messenger.” The little lady left and Mom never saw her again. She asked a couple of people in town about her and was told that she was just some crazy little ‘religious fanatic’ and to not pay any attention to anything she said, or did.

I first heard this story several years after I’d already said, “Yes” to the Lord but the news of it came at a time when I really needed some encouragement and the confirmation helped me to keep moving on.

What If It’s Not to ‘Break’ You,….but to ‘Make’ You?

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

It’s been about 7-8 years ago; I was riding my bike on a 15 mile jaunt. I like the bike for several reasons. For one, it doesn’t hurt my joints anywhere, and …..2, I like it because I can ride and, at the same time, do some serious thinking, praying, pondering, etc. On this particular day my mind was pretty much preoccupied with the dilemma that two people very close to me were having to go through.

As I prayed for both of them, intensely, the Lord reminded me of at least half a dozen people I’d been involved with over the years that were pitted up against, what at the time appeared to be, insurmountable circumstances. In each of those half dozen or so instances the Lord showed me how He came through for them when it didn’t look like there was any way possible. He also reminded me of how those circumstances somehow ‘catapulted’ them into His perfect will for their lives. In each of those instances the outcome was nothing short of miraculous.

As the Lord encouraged me with those examples I heard His ‘still, small voice’ say to my spirit, “Andy, this is not to ‘break’ them….it’s to ‘make’ them!” I knew at once that this was the voice of the Lord. He always knows just the right thing to say….at just the right time! *And just for the record…not once did I think that the Lord somehow arranged these people’s harsh circumstances so He could teach them a lesson! It’s sad to say but there’s plenty of people out there who think that God does just that. NO WAY!! That totally goes against the nature of a father….and He’s a better Father than any of us could be!

What the Lord said to me totally, and immediately, put their problems into perfect perspective! ….which brings the conversation to you and me. What if these trials we go through in life are not meant to ‘break’ us….but to ‘make’ us?! The Bible often eludes to the fact that we’re being purified like gold. That all sounds great until you consider how gold is mined and then purified so it can actually be used or sold.

Most of the time that ‘rock’, that’s brought out of the mine, looks absolutely nothing like gold. I mean, you can’t see any gold in it at all. It’s only when that rock is ‘heated’ up to insanely, intense temperatures that the gold begins to emerge. When the heat causes the ore to melt….the impurities come to the surface. The ‘dross’ is scraped off the top and discarded….and the heating process starts again. Sound familiar?!! Well, it’s the exact process that the Father allows us to go through in our ‘being conformed into the image of Jesus’!

As we go through these unpleasant circumstances in life it’d serve us well if we’d consider that maybe, just maybe…..“they’re not to break us…..but to make us”!!

Room at the Inn?

December 24, 2015December 24, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 6 Comments

You know the story; Joseph and Mary arrived at the motel late on that fateful night….only to be informed of the “No Vacancy” status. Not one single room available so they had to search elsewhere. The only thing they could find was a barn,…..equipped with animals,….. so they settled in.

Sometime during that night Mary gave birth to her Baby, precisely as the prophets of old had declared. The Angels showed themselves to the shepherds who were working out in the fields at night. And ‘wise men’ came from far away to witness what was happening there. Without a doubt this was an event that the world would forever commemorate, ….and rightly so!

In this busy time with Black Friday, Cyber Monday, some goofy controversy over Happy Holidays vs. Merry Christmas, our culture has made it all about shopping, money and commerce. But for the wise ones among us, it’s still about Jesus! And the reality that He was born…..and died….and rose again after He finished the work set before Him….is a guarantee that sin would never again hold us hostage, and that our relationship with His Father (now our Father, too!) cannot, would not ever be revoked!

On this Christmas Eve we oughta slow down for a minute and just say, “Thanks”. My prayer for you/us is that it’ll be a ‘special’ time for you and your family. And let’s not forget to make some ‘room’ for Him!

Merry Christmas from the Taylors’!! *(kinda like the Griswolds’, only scarier…and more of ’em!)

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Why I Say, “Thank You, Lord”, When I See the KOA Sign!

December 22, 2015December 22, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

To begin with, December 18, 2006 was not going to be anywhere near a normal day (none of our days are very normal!) for the Taylor family. Nope it was going to be a big day for us. Clint (oldest son) and Kristy were about to have their third baby. A C-section had been planned for about 8am that morning and, as usual, we were there to celebrate the arrival of Preslie Reece. One of the things I like about the Taylors’ is that when something like this is taking place….the entire Crew (there’s quite a few of us!) is there! Pretty amazing family trait if you ask me.

Kristy’s surgery had been postponed for an hour so we made our way down to the coffee shop in the hospital. While we were sitting there my cell phone rang and I could see that it was Cole (our 3rd son) calling in. He couldn’t be there at the hospital with us because of his job with a local sign/billboard company. I was sure he was calling in to see if we’d had the baby yet. When I answered the phone Cole’s boss was on the other end. he said, “Andy, Cole’s been hurt really bad and he’s headed to the hospital!”

Within just a few minutes they notified us that Kristy had been taken back for her surgery. So, here we were, having a grandbaby on one side of the hospital….and on the other side of the hospital our son was coming in and we had no idea what to expect…except that it was ‘bad’! It was almost the full range of emotions that we experienced at that moment.

Cole and a co-worker were working on a KOA sign on Interstate 40 between exit 50-51. Cole was up it the lift bucket, 40 feet up….on his way up to 80 feet when the bearing assembly in the bucket broke and gave way. The lift which telescoped out came crashing down. When it finally hit bottom Cole’s face hit the railing around the bucket. He was knocked unconscious just momentarily. (Cole was as fit as he could possibly be, working out in the gym nearly every day. I’ve always thought that contributed to saving his life that day) His co-worker immediately called 911.

When Cole arrived via ambulance at the ER it was a terrible sight to see for Cole’s wife Kelly, and Julie and me. Eyes were pretty much swelled shut, face bruised and red….but the worst part of all was the absence of 6 of his teeth in the front. *It was only a few days before this that I told Julie how great a smile Cole had! …now….no teeth!

After a battery of x-rays the doctor returned to the ER and said to Cole, “Well, I found your teeth.” Cole answered, “Did I swallow them?” “No, they’re up in here!”, the doctor said, pointing to Cole’s face. All six of his front teeth were pushed completely up into his nasal cavity!

They stabilized Cole, loaded him in an ambulance and set out for the OU Trauma Center in Oklahoma City. We took a good look at our new grand baby girl, Preslie, grabbed some overnight clothes and headed for Oklahoma City, too.

The trauma team worked on Cole for nearly 8 hours that day. Most of that time was spent working in his mouth. We were home by the next afternoon and Cole was holding his brand new niece!

It was just one week before Christmas and we had so much to be thankful to the Lord for! ……and that’s why I say, “Thank You, Lord”, every single time I pass the KOA sign!