Unconditional Love

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

/ 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!

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“What’s The Lord Telling You?” Part 1

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I put the title in quotation marks for a reason. And the reason is, is that particular quote is one I’ve used at least a hundred times. And if the truth were to be known….actually hundreds of times!

In a Wednesday morning prayer time about 10 years ago I felt I heard the Lord saying to me, “Andy, there’s a shift in how this works; normally people move to an area because of a job and then they find a church….but I’m changing that for ‘here’! I’m going to bring people in here from all over…and I’m going to give them a job; some will come and stay, some will come and go back where they came from, and some will go to other places and start fires!”

*My understanding of that is that they’d start fires like the one He started here; ‘kingdom fires’, fires of something simple yet profound, fires of something real and authentic that would appeal to people of all kinds….especially to those that the ‘religious’ church might have scorned and rejected…and the people that nobody else wants; fires built around relationship with the Father; and eternal fires that are sustained, and kept burning by loving others unconditionally!

When I heard that from the Lord I did what I encourage others to do when they ‘think’ they might have heard Him. “Say it….and pray it!” So, we said it and prayed it and it started to happen. People began moving in here from all over; Idaho, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Mexico, Columbia, Canada…. to name a few. And, true to His word (as He always is!), some came and stayed and some came and went….and the fires are glowing in places all over, now!

Oh, and by the way….those people that the Lord said would come……they’re still coming! 

Part 2 – “What’s The Lord Telling You?” – Coming in a day or two

*Don’t forget the “Reflect & Refocus” Series from a year ago!

Here’s one; (click on highlighted link) Find the others in “Archives”:

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Good Ground Grows Good Weeds, Too!

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I was having a conversation today with a couple of close friends, who also happen to be on the Beckham County Drug Court Team. *(click on link for one of my most read blogs) They were both ecstatic about a person they both knew who had just been approved to enter the Drug Court process. That’s a big deal, especially for that person, because it means he won’t immediately have to go to prison and will have a chance to redeem himself if he’ll adhere to the DC rules. It’s a great program here in Beckham County, with a lot of amazing success stories. *(click link for a blog you’ll love!) This person has been down the wrong road for a good long while but both agreed that he’ll be one who’ll be a leader in the DC program as he progresses on his journey!

But their conversation reminded me of an incident at least a decade before. We were having a big youth event at church and a great pastor friend of mine, Lynn Schaal, from Idaho was staying with us at the time. The teens were showing up for the event by the dozens. There was a small group of about 5 kids who came in the door. Most of them were dressed in black and one particular little teenage girl had several piercings and was wearing a dog collar type thing around her neck with huge silver spikes on it. She was obviously a leader among her little small, rebellious looking/acting group. My friend, Lynn, immediately went to talk to her as soon as she came in the door. They had a short visit and when he returned I’ll never forget what he had to say! “I love kids like that!”, he said. “Anytime I get the chance to talk to them, I do!” …..and here’s what he said that really stuck with me, “You know, good ground grows good weeds too!”  I’d never thought about it that way but it’s true. Everyone knows that good ground grows good fruit. That’s a no-brainer. But his point was that oftentimes when you see people who display some of these bizarre and extreme characteristics with dress, behavior, attitudes, etc., that many times ‘underneath’ it all is a person with incredible potential….if it were just pointed in the right direction.

 

Since that day I’ve never forgotten what Lynn said….and as I’ve observed people…I really believe he’s onto something! It’s helped me to look beyond what’s on the surface and to try and see the untapped potential that might lie just beyond what’s seen!

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If He Can Fix My Life…..I Know He Can Fix Yours!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I’ve been blessed in my life to have a lot of good friends. Wasn’t long after my life had ‘made the turn’, so to speak, that a steady stream of my friends started coming to see me. That may not seem like a big deal to you but it really was. For one reason, where I lived at the time wasn’t on the way to anywhere! I mean it was way off the beaten path. So, it was no accident that they were coming to see me. In fact, looking back, it seems pretty obvious to me that the Lord, Himself, was somehow sending them across my path. 

I knew something was very different for me and that for once my life was ‘working’ but I had no idea how to communicate it or put it into words….especially to somebody else. These friends would pour out their hearts to me telling me their problems….all kinds of problems! I had no idea what to tell them….and to be honest some of their problems were pretty intimidating. But I knew one thing…..my life, just a short time before, was pretty messed up! In fact it was so messed up that no one but the Lord could fix it. And even though their problems looked extremely difficult,….and in some cases impossible, I had a profound sense of confidence that they were going to make it. I just knew that if God could fix my life…..He could fix their’s!

Now, more than 30 years later, I still get faced with people’s problems…and just like then, most of the time they look nearly impossible but I still have that same confidence. So, if you’re reading this and you’re in a jam….and maybe, just maybe, it looks as if there’s absolutely no possible solution, run to Him! ‘Cause….I‘m convinced that, “if He can fix my life….He can fix yours”!!

You’ll like this one too!*(click on highlighted link):

There’s Grace For That!

“God, If You’re Out There,  You Gotta Help Me!”WordpressSignature2015b

 

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

/ 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

/ 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.

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

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I know! ….it can get old….and it’ll wear you plumb out if you’re not careful. I mean, a person can only hear just so much bad news until it starts to really take a toll on you! Besides, we’ve all got our issues and most everyone I know is carrying some kind of burden, themselves. You know, life’s tough….it ain’t for the weakhearted!  And to have to listen to everyone else’s garbage just seems like a little too much sometimes! But I think if you’ll back up a step or two and take a closer look there’s a whole lot more at stake here, and something profoundly more important, than meets the casual eye.

I kind of overstated the above paragraph….on purpose, actually, to make a point. Don’t get me wrong, a constant barrage of bad news is hard to deal with, I don’t care who you are. But there are a couple of things at work here that, if you’ll just consider them, might totally and forever alter the way you see these things.

For starters, one thing to consider is that when someone comes to you telling you their problems….in most cases what they’re actually doing is crying out for ‘help’! And, often, what they need most is just a ‘listening’ ear. You know yourself how when you are able to communicate your dilemma to someone how it can help your perspective by just ‘voicing’ it out. And secondly, and I think maybe even more important, when someone is opening up their life to you (telling you their problems), they are extending a great degree of trust in you as a friend or confidant. That’s pretty important if you ask me. When someone trusts you to that degree it seems to me that we should make a gallant effort to honor that trust by, 1) listening, and 2) giving the best godly counsel that we’re capable of. And, a little perk of helping someone else is that it can, sometimes, really help to put our own problems into better perspective, and focus.

So, the next time someone comes to you telling you their problems stop and think a minute and consider what might really be happening!

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Adios ’15

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

One of the most obvious things we realize as we get older is how fast the years go by. If you’re young you won’t believe how fast until one of these days you look back. Well 2015 has been another of those ‘fast’ years. Looking back over 12 months I’d say it’s been a good one. Oh, there’s been plenty of ups and downs; lots of challenges; a huge helping of things to laugh about and a few things that brought tears, too. But, all in all, there’s been an infinite number of blessings to be thankful to the Lord for! And I’m sure I finished the year in a better place than I started!

Summing it up, it’s been another year of perspective on life that just proves to me again that I don’t  have much of it figured out. The few things that I do have figured out seem to get clearer and clearer as the years go by. I’m pretty ‘solid’ on the utter importance of these: 1) The love of the Father; IT/HE never fails! His goodness is ‘almost’ unbelievable! We’ll only know the fulness of it as we experience it firsthand! It has to be relational!         2) Family! Julie (prettier than the day I married her nearly 39 years ago!), my incredible kids (5 of ’em), my amazing grandkids (8, and soon to be 9!), my folks (in their ’80’s). I could never go anywhere else….every single thing that’s important to me is here! 3) Friends! So many good ones, it’d be futile to try to count them. A few of them have saved my life, and kept me in the game! 4) The ‘Ever-Growing’ Trinity Family! The most unbelievably unique, diverse and quality bunch of people you’d ever find anywhere! It’s a family that’s now scattered all over the United States, Mexico and Canada! Yep, I’m sure about it….those are the things that are important! I’m extremely grateful!

I started this blog exactly a year ago (after a few years of trying to figure out how to get started!). It’s been an interesting writing trip so far.

Here’s a couple of numbers from a year of “The Way I See It”: I’ve made 210 Posts; The posts have been ‘viewed’ (read) just under 45,000 times!

Thanks for joining me!

I started 2015 with a series, “Reflect & Refocus”. It’d be a good place to start your 2016! *Click on the highlighted link. You can figure out where to go from there!

Reflect & Refocus #1

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

/ 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”!!

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Room at the Inn?

/ 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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