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Turkeys Just Need to Tend to Their Own Business!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I’m a little put out! Turkeys, yeah you know…the big goofy lookin’ bird, are beginning to get a little big for their britches, if you know what I mean. They’re really starting to get on my nerves. I don’t mind a slice or two of turkey around Thanksgiving. It’s not necessarily my meat of choice on that holiday, or any other for that matter, but I’ll do it if I have to. If I’m forced to eat it I’ll go for the deep fried, cajun version.

But, the last few years turkeys have been branching out into new areas and I think it’s a huge mistake on their part. I’m sure you’ve noticed turkey jerky. Now that’s plumb out of character for a turkey. He shouldn’t be doing that at all. Then there’s turkey chili! Are you kidding me??!! Absurd! No way should a turkey be attempting to be the main ingredient in a fine dining dish like chili! It ain’t right! But the worst offense of all is now they’re doing turkey bacon. That’s downright un-American! I had a friend visiting here awhile back from back east. We went to a popular breakfast spot and when it was his time to order he asked if they had turkey bacon. The waitress looked at him thinkin’ he must’ve been joking….but he wasn’t. I cut through the awkward haze by saying, “He ain’t from around here!”.

Now, here’s the way it oughta be. Turkeys, listen up! You need to stick with Thanksgiving. We’re giving you that. But, jerky…..NO! That’s something that’s way better left to deer and beef. Cattle know what they’re doing when it comes to jerky…so just leave ’em alone and do your own thing. And, chili, ……..c’mon now. You know that ain’t in your job description. Nobody in their right mind’s gonna opt in for turkey chili. It don’t even sound good.

Now, let’s get this straight once and for all; You back off and leave the bacon alone! That’s a specialty that’s best left to the hogs. Hogs were made for bacon. I mean, you don’t see them trying to push bacon on folks for Thanksgiving, do you? Right! You can brag all you want about turkey being a more healthy choice but it ain’t working. There’s just some things real people ain’t wiling to compromise….and bacon’s one of ’em! Besides there’s no way that turkey bacon can put a sheen on your hair like the real thing!

So, turkeys, ….just tend to your own business; stay in your lane. And, quit trying to do things that are way out of your pay grade!

Do that…..and we’ll get along just fine!

 

Just for laughs:

The ‘Baddest’ Dang Turkey in Arkansas!

The Luge….Western Oklahoma Style!

The Way I See It, We’ve Got Two Choices

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Life is full of tricks and turns. It’s universal in that we are all going to go through an entire array of experiences, both good and bad in the course of our life. Some of these experiences are expected while others seem to come out of nowhere…..and are totally unexpected. We might be on the mountain one day and way down in the valley the next. Those valley experiences can really take a toll on us if we don’t do something to offset the stress.

At this stage of my life I can’t imagine someone not turning to the Lord in the midst of their trials. But, just like anyone else…..before I knew better, I didn’t do it either. Now I do know better. I’ve learned through some very unpleasant seasons in life to lean on the Lord through those times. Once we start to trust the Lord with our life that scenario should become a no-brainer. As we mature we begin to understand that the hard times afford us with some profound growth opportunities.

But, what about the good times; the mountain top times when things are seemingly as good as they can get. I’m suggesting that we turn to the Lord during those times, as well. Most of us at one time or another have thought how dumb the Israelites were when they were being blessed by the Lord. It’s interesting, but during those good times they were prone to stray away from the Lord and His goodness. If we’re not careful we’ll make the same mistake, ourselves. We should resolve to be grateful, and turn to Him….even in the good times.

Many people have made their choice to try to make it through life without turning to the Lord. That’s tragic but I think it happens for a couple of obvious reasons. First, God has been mis-portrayed by many to be mean-spirited and judgmental. Second, He gets the blame for every negative and painful thing that happens by some people. But the truth of the matter is that He’s a Father…..and He’s good! Really good! You just have to taste and see for yourself!

There’s gonna be plenty of hard times….and hopefully plenty of good times in life. The way I see it we’ve got two choices; we can either run from the Lord or run to Him. I’ve never seen the former work, ……not one time. On the other hand, I’ve never seen the latter ‘not work’!

The choice is yours!

 

Check these out, too:

“If You Could See The Big Picture”

They Don’t Call it ‘Test’imony For Nothin’!

Perspective; It Makes All the Difference!

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Think You Know it All?

/ Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

It’s a rare individual that hasn’t encountered at least a few times in life those that think they know it all. You know the guy that, whatever the subject might be, always knows more than everybody else. They’re an authority on everything! Those folks are really hard for me to be around. I have this theory; *(stick with me now; Oh, and this is not spiritual!) You can put a hundred people in a room. If you take the ten off the top that think they know everything, and the ten off the bottom that really don’t know anything, ……put those twenty in the same room and you can’t tell which is which! LOL I’m just kidding but, if you think about it, it’s not too far from the actual truth.

One of the most important pieces of advice I’ve ever received in my sixty-three year run on the planet came from my Dad when we were growing up. I still, to this day, think about it often. Here’s what he said; “When you think you know it all, you’re as smart as you’re ever gonna get.” You can apply that truth if you’re a jet pilot, a plumber, an oilfield worker or a parent. Knowledge is a wonderful thing but even the Bible gives a bit of a disclaimer saying that it has the potential to ‘puff’ one up. (cause us to be prideful) Think about it; When you think you know it all you close yourself off to any new information. Why? Because you don’t think you need it. You already know everything.

My Dad’s advice long ago served to put me in the mode of being a lifetime ‘learner’. I don’t think I even came close to understanding the ramifications of that advice at the time. But looking back, now, it seems pretty obvious that it’s been extremely beneficial in my life,…..and in every area of my life all these years. It’s amazing what, and how much, you can learn when you come to the conclusion that you don’t know everything.

Feeling like you have to know everything is a tremendous load to try to bear. Why not just take the position of a ‘learner’. Life will suddenly become a lot more interesting…..and people will find you a lot easier to be around!

*Happened onto this by doing a little Google search:

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts. John Wooden

These’ll be helpful, too:

Don’t Tie the Ends Up!

10 Tips That’ll Help You Become a “Learner”

Listen More …….. Learn More!

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“You’re Gonna Like the Way You Look, I Guarantee It!”

/ Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

You’ve heard that slogan before, right? It was the tagline for Men’s Wearhouse and their national ad campaign starting in 1986 and concluding only a few years ago. It was used exclusively by George Zimmer, the founder, and CEO of MW. Interestingly enough, Zimmer was removed as CEO by the Men’s Wearhouse board for undisclosed reasons in 2013. The company made a whopping $2.48 billion in sales that year. Zimmer’s stock holdings tallied up to a nice $67.5 million….so he didn’t do too bad despite losing his position at the helm.

There are millions upon millions of dollars spent on physical appearance these days. It almost seems that Americans, both men, and women, are obsessed with how they look. TV commercials air on literally every single show advertising everything from cosmetics, liposuction, skin and hair products, grooming gadgets to cosmetic surgery. I don’t guess I have a problem with that, within reason anyway. I mean, I want to look good myself. I doubt I’m gonna spend a bunch to change the way I look…..but some people do and that’s their business.

When God made us He made us all unique and beautiful in our own way. I’m sure that when He looks at us, which I expect is often, that He really likes what He sees. We’re all different; we look different, think different, act different and have different personalities. But there’s something extremely profound that happens when we engage in relationship with the Father. Everything changes! We begin to gravitate into our true identity as His own sons and daughters. We cease from our striving and trying to earn His blessings. We begin to be at peace with our own selves, …..we learn to be comfortable in our own skin, as they say.

There’s something amazing that happens to a person’s appearance when we understand we’re ‘good’ with God. Our countenance (our look or appearance) changes in a very positive way. Our eyes, which the Bible calls the ‘window’ to our soul, have a look of peace and contentment. Our physical appearance is transformed when we settle into our God-given identity. And, what’s even more profound is that in our interaction with the Father we can begin to see ourselves like He sees us.

When that starts to happen…………

You’re gonna like the way you look, …..I guarantee it!

“Obviously, I’m God’s Favorite!”

God Loves You, And There’s Nothing You Can Do About It!

The Fear of the Lord…..Let’s Get It Right!

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Lean on Me

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

When I hear the song, “Lean on Me”, it reminds me of when I was in college out at ‘ol Eastern New Mexico University in Portales right out of high school in ’71. The song, by Bill Withers, was a #1 hit on both the soul singles and the ‘Billboard Hot 100′. It ranks #208 on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Hits of All Time”. The song has a great positive message.

“Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on”

“You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on”

It oughta be a priority in life to ‘be there’ for other people in their times of need. It takes a special person to put their own baggage, issues and problems on the back burner in an effort to help someone else out of life’s jams. And if we believe anything of what the Bible says about sowing and reaping…we’ll be sowing some good seeds that will bring a nice little harvest when we find our own selves in that place of need. It’s really how humanity ought to work.

Are you someone that a friend could lean on? It requires that we become listeners and encouragers. Oftentimes that friend doesn’t need advice near as much as they just need someone to listen to them. And, for that person, sometimes it just helps to hear themselves talk about their dilemma. Being there for someone and hearing their problems can give you some incredible insight in how to pray for them.

Anytime a person comes to you and tells you their problems,…..what they’re actually doing is asking you for help. And, the fact that they came to you just says that you have at least earned some level of trust with them. That’s a pretty important factor; I wouldn’t take it lightly! Trust is an extremely valuable thing.

One word of caution; being a person worthy of someone leaning on can bring it’s own set of problems. We must keep in perspective that while we want to help….we can never take  the place of the Lord in their lives. Our goal should always be to point them to Him!

Brace up!

Your People need someone dependable to lean on!

More good ones: *(Please  “Share” These!)

They Don’t Call it ‘Test’imony For Nothin’!

‘Thorns in the Flesh’

You Ever Get Tired of People Dumping All Their Problems On You?!?

That One “Nut Job”!

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Sacrifice Cats? Why, Yes…..Yes We Do!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

When we started Trinity Fellowship back in 1989 there were less than ten of us. We didn’t know much but we were sure we’d heard the Lord. Those early years were extremely challenging (as have been the rest of ’em! lol), but really rewarding too. Looking back, those were some great years. The little group of people we started with were growing in the Lord….and we were growing in how to lead them. We were literally in the ‘school of the Spirit’! Being the only non-denominational church in town we had to grow through what I call, “the snake handlers syndrome”. Because you’re different there’s a lot of talk….and much of it was negative talk. They don’t know what you’re doing….but because it’s different it has to be wrong. We were looked down on by the other leaders and churches in town and often ignored, made fun of and treated with disrespect. That all served to make us that much more determined to hear the Lord and be obedient to what we believed He was saying to us.

One particular case in point was when one of the ladies in our group came to me somewhat distressed. She said that another person asked her at the beauty shop if it was true that we sacrificed cats, …….if you can believe that! I asked the lady from our group what she told them, to which she replied, “I told her….NO! ….absolutely not!!” I said, “Well, you go right back down there and tell ‘em that we do sacrifice cats!” She had a surprised and puzzled look on her face. I said, “But be sure and tell ‘em there’s nothing religious about it……we just don’t like cats!” I don’t think she told ‘em!! LOL, I do think we had quite a few visitors who came just out of curiosity!

But, seriously, there’s not one thing that cleanses a feller’s soul quite like a good ‘ol cat sacrificin’!

*(Easy cat lovers….I’m just kidding!)

More humor:

“It’ll Ride”

Them Swallows Can’t Return to Capistrano Soon Enough For Me!

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

The Lessons I Learned from Jeff

/ Andy R Taylor / 8 Comments

The last year we lived on the ranch in the Texas Panhandle I had the responsibility of taking care of 2500 head of cattle. About 1800 of those were close to 40 miles away north of Canadian, Texas on the expansive Urschel Ranch. I’d go up about three times a week and spend the day horseback checking the cattle; getting a decent count on them, making sure they had water, making sure none of them were out of the pastures they were supposed to be in. It’d make for a long day but it was enjoyable to me.

I was about three years into my walk with the Lord. Didn’t know much but I was learning a lot. I had given my testimony a couple of times and was already feeling the call for ministry…even though I had no idea what all that might mean. A friend and I had a cowboy church service (years before anyone ever heard that term!) at the Hemphill County Expo Center in Canadian and I preached the message. That was a first! I have no idea what I preached about but I do remember that one of my friends since childhood (a few years older than me) got saved that day. Let’s just call him, Jeff.

Jeff was a cowboy and had been in some of the very worst combat fights in Vietnam. In three different battles there were over a hundred US troops under fire….and all three times less than fifteen came out alive. Jeff was one of the ones each time. But, it had left an indelible mark on him. He struggled with deep depression, was separated from his wife, had trouble sleeping and agonized over the things he was ordered to do in Vietnam. Jeff was a scary looking guy, well actually if you weren’t friends with him….he just didn’t look scary….he really was scary. He’d done plenty of crazy things and the locals weren’t sure what he might do next! He hair was cut short on the top but long in the back…..way down past his collar. He had about 6 top front teeth totally gone! He wore denim shirts with the sleeves cut out of them and he had lots of tattoos; something not that common in those days. He spent a lot of his spare time at the gym pumping iron and was quite a specimen of a man.

Part of my regular routine the times when I’d go up to check cattle was to make it back to the Dairy Queen on my way home and catch Jeff after he got off work. I made it a point. I was doing my best to encourage him and give him good, sound advice. I’d pray with him every time before I headed home. One particular time we were in the DQ when a Greyhound bus made its stop there. The place was completely full of people. Jeff got there before I did and saved me a spot. His intimidating look had the attention of just about every person in there. Bear in mind that when he talked, Jeff talked really really loud; maybe louder than anyone you’ve ever known! I asked him that day, as I always did, “Jeff, how are you doing?” He replied in his loud voice, “Andy, I’m doing really good!”. I knew that I needed to press in a little more. “But, Jeff, …..how are you really doing?” And in a voice a lot louder than you need to be talking in Dairy Queen he said, “Yep, Andy, …….I’m doing so good I got rid of all my plastic explosives yesterday!!” You could’ve heard a pin drop! Every eye in the house was on us! It was funny, ….in a crazy kind of way; all those people started gathering up their food without saying a word and getting out the door as fast, but as inconspicuous as they could. It was like they didn’t totally believe him. I bet some of them are still telling that story today!

I learned a lot in my experiences with Jeff. I made it a mission of mine to help him. I wanted him to be OK; I wanted him to be well. Julie and I had planned a little vacation and were planning on being gone for about a week. I got real worried that if I wasn’t there to check on Jeff that he wouldn’t be alright. I even told Julie as much. I was actually afraid to go on vacation fearing he would implode. But, the Lord spoke clearly to my spirit at that point and said, “It’s Ok, Andy, …..you’re not the one that’s taking care of him anyway.” That put it in perspective for me. God always knows the right thing to say, and always at just the right time.

I wish this story had a happy ending….but it doesn’t. Several years later Jeff was living downstate in Texas and took his own life. I can’t help but believe that the Lord has lots and lots of grace for people like Jeff. 

I’ll never forget the things I learned…and I look forward to seeing him in Heaven.

Try these:

“It’s Not Your Job to Fix Them!”

Identity Theft

The Thing About Unconditional Love

Double Check Your “Invitation List”!!

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“I Am the Danger”

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

That’s one of the most memorable, ‘stand out’phrases in the popular TV series, Breaking Bad. The show ran for five seasons on AMC. (*you really should watch it if you haven’t!) The story is built around Walter White, an underachieving high-school chemistry teacher in Albuquerque with a brother-in-law who’s a federal DEA agent. Walter goes out on a routine drug bust with Hank where he accidentally encounters Jesse Pinkman, one of his former, and way below average, students escaping the drug bust from an upstairs window. The two make eye contact and that’s how the story begins. Walt is mesmerized by Hank’s talk of the amount of money these meth dealers are making. The story gets more complicated when Walt discovers he has inoperable lung cancer. His worry about that and how his family will make it without him consumes him until he comes up with an idea. He looks up Jesse, who has all the contacts in the drug world, and the two enter a bizarre partnership whereas Walt begins to manufacture the purest crystal meth anyone has ever seen, blue meth. And, the adventure begins.

Much of this took place without Walt’s wife, Skyler, having any notion about it. She found out about it at a point and after an intense conversation/argument with Walt about it she says, “Walt if what you’re saying is true….you could be in a lot of danger”. To which Walt angrily, emotionally….and, actually, truthfully declared in a loud voice, “I am the danger!”. And, …..he really was!

In our walk with the Lord, there are plenty of roadblocks and challenges of about every kind you could think of. Any of these things have the potential to take us out or at the very least stall us out in our journey with Him. We’re encouraged in the Bible that these things are all a normal part of the Christian life. The struggle is real, so they say.

But, in the final analysis, it really comes down to you….and your willingness to exercise the faith that already resides within you. You’ve heard the old saying about certain people, “You’re your own worst enemy.”. That can be true of any of us if we’re not careful. You see, nothing……and I mean nothing, (*or nobody!) can keep you from fulfilling the destiny the Lord has purposed for you……except you! ‘You are the danger’! You might be tempted to bail on that plan. I’ve been tempted that way in the dark hours so many times it ain’t funny. But to do that would be a sure guarantee of missing my own destiny. There’s bound to be those points in time that we have to decide, yes….or no to the plan of God.

You’ll either be the ‘danger’ to yourself and risk forfeiting your own destiny……or you’ll be the ‘danger’ to the enemy (your adversary, the devil) that he’s always dreaded you would be!

You are the danger!

The choice is yours!

You’ll like these, too:

Turns Out They Were a Lot Smarter Than We Thought They Were!

Shift Happens!

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Weapons of Mass Distraction

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

WMD’s, weapons of mass destruction; that’s a fairly new term we’ve started hearing over the past fifteen years or so. WMD’s are defined as: a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains), or the biosphere. There are those out there so devious as to devise these ways to wreak havoc on the masses. It’s still hard for me to wrap my mind around anyone wanting to do that kind of harm to humanity….but it exists. And the potential for the use of WMD’s is probably growing rather than diminishing. Pretty scary to say the least!

You know, the Bible says that we have an adversary, the devil, who loves to kill, steal and destroy. he (caps left off on purpose!) doesn’t have a lot of tricks….but he’s very good at the ones he does have. he’ll do anything he can to keep us from coming to the Lord to begin with. It seems that there’s always someone in front of us that is over-religious and arrogant about it to boot. Those folks can come across in ways that make some people think we’re all like that. I know a couple of these people and it bothers me that in their perceived zeal for the Lord that they actually repel people from coming to the Father. Tragic, but it happens.

But, even after we’re born gain there are plenty of distractions thrown our way to keep us from the best that the Lord has for us….and to cause us to possibly miss our destiny. Many of these distractions are not the work of the ‘enemy’ (but plenty are!) at all but just the details of life, ….which we all agree, can be very distracting.

So, “what”, you might ask is such a big deal about distractions? Distractions have a profound way to keep us from our real purpose in life. God has a plan, an intricate one, for our entire existence on the planet. Our lives will never take on the value God has placed on them until we’re moving in unison with His Spirit. And, if we lose sight of that because of our distractions we end up questioning, or doubting, even our importance to the Father.

If we’re going to fulfill the plan of God for our lives it just makes sense to start now to learn some inventive ways to deal with distractions. If not you could be dealing with these little things from now on. It’s important to note that these things fight directly against your faith. That’s a pretty important thing to remember!

It might take a little work to identify what your distractions are and how you’re going to deal with them, but you can do it! …..

…..And you’ll have to if you’re going to keep these Weapons of Mass Distraction from stealing from your destiny!

What are your distractions??

Try these, too:

Weapons of Mass Construction

“You Are Here”

It’s Either a Blessing or a Curse!

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That Crazy Little Thing Called Love

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

Today’s the day that we are reminded to observe the strongest of all the emotions, love. There’ll be literally millions of dollars spent today on roses (actually lots of other varieties of flowers, too, since the roses often sell out!), candy, cards and all kinds of other things to show our love to our people. I think it’s a good thing even though, just about like every other holiday now, it’s grown to be so commercial that it’s almost gotten out of hand. Retailers gotta love Valentine’s Day. Men are apt to lose all contact with reality when it comes to this day. We’re not the best shoppers in the world, if you know what I mean! But, it doesn’t take a ‘rocket surgeon’ to make a call and buy some roses. Problem is most of us will wait ’til the day Of……and they’re all out of the dang roses! *Don’t ask me how I know this stuff! Then it’s normal to go into total crisis mode. Instead of buying roses we’ll go and try to find some flowers of some kind only to find that they’re picked over too. So, next step is to ‘double-up’ on the big read box full of chocolates. We get the biggest one we can find, you know to make up for not gettin’ any roses. Then it’s over to the card isle to get a nice romantic card. That card isle, Heads Up!!, ……there ain’t nothing like it I’ve ever seen before. It’s the scariest sight you’ll see for awhile! There’s fifty men reachin’ and grabbin’ for a card….any card. I mean, it’s like a bunch of buzzards on roadkill. They all have a distressed, uneasy look on their face. I find it interesting that there’s not one single woman in the card area, not one! I’m guessing they might’ve done a little early shopping; just a guess. So, if you’re lucky you might find a card; gotta be real lucky to find an envelope that goes with it….but who knows, you might! (pink card with a red envelope; she’ll never notice!) It’s not unusual for a guy to try to find something else to buy for his girl…you know, ’cause he didn’t get the roses. So, all in all, it usually works out pretty good for the wife or the girlfriend. And us guys…we usually manage to bail ourselves out, somehow.

But it’s all done in the name of *“That Crazy Little Thing Called Love”!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! ……..and good luck shoppin’ guys!

PS-If that reminded you of a story, feel free to let us in on it. It’ll make us all feel better!

*If you click on the highlighted link you can watch Dwight Yoakum sing the song. Nobody really does that song like Freddy Mercury but that video was a little too racy for my likin’!

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