Loyalty – A Forgotten Virtue

October 30, 2015October 30, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

It’s not totally forgotten but you’ve gotta look pretty hard these days to find it. I’ve seen, in my fairly short time on the planet, loyalty wane by quite a bit. It used to be pretty common, but not anymore. It doesn’t really matter where you look. A lot of the old-timers are still pretty loyal to either their Ford, or Chevrolet pickups. When it comes time to buy, they go with what’s served ’em well for years. But the younger generation is not nearly as loyal. But that’s just one simple example.

I think one of the root causes of this lack of loyalty is due to the fact that, as people, (and especially Americans) we’ve been spoiled. We want what we want, we want it now, and if we’re not getting it, and the quality is not ‘up to par’ of what we expect…..we go elsewhere. It seems to be true whether we’re talking about your brand of peanut butter, a restaurant, a relationship you’re involved in……or the church.

As a leader, and I think I’m speaking for most of that group, you learn to appreciate loyalty whenever, …..and wherever you find it. For us loyalty, and having people that you know you can trust to ‘stick it out’ with you no matter what,…..means just about everything! The lack of it can be ‘crippling’, to say the least. Real, genuine leadership is a very lonely place to be at times and knowing you have even a few who are loyal to the ’cause’, makes a ton of difference.

Jesus had to deal with the whole loyalty issue Himself. After once saying something that not everyone agreed with there was an exodus of people who didn’t like what He said. He looked at the Twelve and said, (paraphrased) “Are you guys gonna leave too?”. Their answer, at least this time, was a good one; “Where would we go, Lord……for it is You Who have the words of life.” His disciples didn’t always get it right…but they did this time. For those guys, to ‘jump ship’ now would be to miss their destiny and the reason they were on the planet in the first place!

It’s one thing to change brands of orange juice if you continue to be disappointed in the quality…..but to bail on your church when the going gets tough is an entirely different issue. God has a ‘place’ for you. There’ll be plenty of mountains and valleys; plenty of mistakes made by leaders; plenty of times you’ll wonder if you’re on track or not. But if He’s placed you there you need to ‘stay hooked’ until you absolutely know otherwise. Don’t miss your destiny,….and the reason you’re on the planet to begin with, because of your disloyalty!

You might like this one too: *(click on link)

Character Matters!

A “Disposable” Relationship

October 29, 2015October 29, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

That’s what I’d call my relationship with the Lord between 1974 to 1984. I didn’t grow up going to church. In fact, by the time I was thirty I hadn’t even been in a church much. I got saved in 1974. It was in an area-wide crusade in Wheeler, Texas about thirty miles from where I grew up. It was on the first night and I was by myself sitting on the very back row. When it came ‘invitation time’ I knew, somehow, that the Lord was dealing with me. I got up and took the long walk all the way to the front of the High School Auditorium and gave my life to the Lord. Some people gathered me up, took me to an adjoining room with several others who had made similar decisions and there they prayed with me.

It was legit. I mean it really ‘took’. I can still remember the days following that night. When I’d have a thought or say something that was out of the character of Jesus, I’d immediately know it. I now know that it’s just how the Holy Spirit works. Julie had a little paperback Living Bible (before we were married) that she gave me. I just started reading on page 1. I got over into the book of Leviticus and got bogged down in all those ‘begats’ and put it down and didn’t pick it back up. I was rodeoing at the time and didn’t have any Christian friends and drifted away from any real, ongoing, relationship with he Lord. Nobody’s fault but my own.

So for the next ten years or so my relationship with the Lord went pretty much like this. When I’d be in a jam of some kind in my life, I’d run to Him for help. But as soon as that dilemma was over I was back to ‘my own way’. So, in that sense, I had a disposable relationship with the Lord. I treated Him as some kind of ‘possession’ that I’d use whenever I needed and just ignore Him the rest of the time.

Looking back….the incredible part is that even though I really had no sincere devotion to the Lord…..He’d help me anyway! Pretty amazing, huh?! Maybe you find yourself in such a place. Don’t allow your relationship with Him to be ‘disposable’. Life can be so much better….but don’t take my word for it. Taste and see for yourself how good the Father is!

The words to one of my favorite songs goes like this; “One day every tongue shall confess you are God, one day every knee shall bow. Still the greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now”!

You just can’t go wrong!

Virtual Reality

October 20, 2015January 10, 2018 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

We only started hearing that term around ten years ago. Now we hear it fairly often. “Virtual Reality” is a term given for ‘an artificial environment experienced through sights and sounds generated by a computer that mimics an actual experience’. The technology has come a long way in a short time and is advancing at warp speed. You can, with the computers help, fly a plane or a helicopter without ever leaving the ground, or even take a visual trip through the human body. Pretty amazing stuff, huh?!

But as amazing as the technology is……when I hear the term, ‘virtual reality’, it makes me want to give my own definition. My definition is simply this: “Almost real”.It appears real. It feels real. It can cause the same emotions and reactions as the real thing……but it’s just not real!

We should be careful these days to make sure that the church is not just a church of “virtual reality”! Most everyone wants their church experience to be without problems, snags and negative happenings of any kind. That’d be great with me too……but it ain’t reality!! The truth of the matter is that there’s all kinds of problems in any church. As people…..we’re pretty flawed (sorry if that hurts your feelings!), and in our process of being ‘renewed’ we make all kinds of mistakes and blunders. And when we come together on Sunday, there’s a whole house full of messed up people.

We could try to fake it (…and most do!!) and act like we don’t have a problem one,……but that would be “Virtual Reality”, almost real. Or…..we could see it, and live it out, as it really is. You can always look around the room (in church) and find somebody more ‘messed up’ than you. Although most of the time when I do that….I can’t seem to find anyone that fits the bill! But you know what?? It’s REALITY!!

Next time you go to church (hopefully that’ll be soon) and look around and everything appears wonderful, meticulous with everything just ‘oozing’ perfection, “Heads up!!” …….you’re experiencing “Virtual Reality”. If, on the other hand, everyone is obviously far from perfect and both you and them have problems that look like they’re too big to overcome……

Congratulations!! You have found the “REAL THING’!!

If You See God “Wrongly”…….You’ll Never See Yourself “Rightly”!nzzz

October 2, 2015April 28, 2024 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

There aren’t many discussions any more important than this one; Who is God? Big question, to say the least. And my fear is that God has been grossly ‘misrepresented’ in our world. Mainly by those who know ‘about’ Him…..but don’t really actually ‘know’ Him! It’s a huge problem if you ask me….and it needs to be fixed ASAP!…..not only for each of us as individuals….but for the whole world in general!

There are a hundred good reasons to connect with the Father relationally. It’s really what our lives should be all about. It’s the answer for everything that ‘s wrong. It’s the ‘cure for mankind’. When you ‘connect’ relationally with the Father you begin to find out “Who” He really is! But if we never do connect in that way we’ll always have a ‘secondhand’ perception of Him.

If you only see God as “Judge” you’ll always be somewhat ‘fearful’ of Him. You’ll always be mindful of your failures and all the things you’ve done to ‘let Him down’. And you’ll be scared about what He might say to you on that ‘final’ day! I have plenty of conversations with people who have made this their reality. They see themselves as not really ‘measuring up’. It’s a ‘wrong’ perception!! It’s not a little wrong, ……it’s a long way from the actual Truth! You see your self ‘wrongly’ ……because you are seeing God ‘wrongly’!

The only way we’ll ever see ourselves ‘rightly’ is when we start to see God for Who He really Is……and that is as a Father. The next step, then, is to begin to interact with Him at that level……as a son or a daughter. Now listen….it really does have to go beyond acknowledging Him as Father; it must be relational or we’ve totally missed the point. Don’t make it hard!! It’s the easiest thing there is for a child ………to naturally relate to his/her Dad.

When you see God for Who He is, you’ll start to see yourself just like He sees you!

You’ll see yourself ‘rightly’!!

You’re gonna like what you see!

I guarantee it!

A “You Can Do It” Atmosphere

October 1, 2015October 1, 2021 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Its a great place to be…..that’s anyplace where there’s a “You Can Do It” atmosphere! I’ve seen it a lot of times down through the years. I first saw it in our home growing up. My Mom and Dad did as perfect a job as could have been done for my brother Monty and myself. They believed in us and they taught us to believe in ourselves, too. ….And somehow I think it gave us a big ‘leg up’ in believing in other people as well. I have found that that one thing can be the ‘difference maker’ in the lives of other people……just to have someone who really believes in them.

I was so impressed a month ago when I went to the Beckham County Drug Court. (That’s when I came up with the title to this blog) It was amazing from my perspective. The Drug Court Team with two of ‘our own’, Lorna Pennington, Drug Court Coordinator and Eric Easter, part of the Drug Court Team and even Judge Michelle Roper had such a “You Can Do It’ atmosphere that the 50 or 60 people in Drug Court felt like they were going to make it. I left there that day feeling like they’re going to make it too! There’s just something about that ‘atmosphere’ that exudes, “you’re going to make it”!!!

It’s an atmosphere that we ought to work to create anywhere that we’re going to be. In fact, you may be the only one in your office or on your team, or in your restaurant that believes it….but if you’ll ‘represent’, it’ll be contagious and the productivity will automatically go up! Something just happens when you believe the best in people. Contrast that with an atmosphere where your best is ‘never good enough’ and see what you come up with. The difference will be remarkable.

The Bible says emphatically that we’re ‘overcomers’, and ‘more than conquerors’! If that ain’t a “You Can Do It’ atmosphere I’ve never seen one! When you cooperate with the Holy Spirit just about any kind of odds can be overturned. The results might be nothing short of miraculous!

Represent!! You Can Do It!

If you like this blog post….you’ll surely like these too!

*(Click on highlighted link to read)

“It Feels God to be Believed In!”

“Drug Court””

“I Keep A Close Watch On This Heart Of Mine”

September 30, 2015March 7, 2020 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

You probably recognize that line….it’s the first line in Johnny Cash’s song, “I Walk The Line”. (Click on the link to see Johnny sing it ‘LIVE’ in San Quentin) I found it really interesting that Johnny wrote that song in just 20 minutes, backstage, before a show in Gladewater, Texas, in 1956. The song went on to be a #1 hit….and remained #1 for 6 weeks. You’ll still hear “I Walk The Line” regularly on Classic Country stations nationwide……..60 years later!

But that first line has some profound ‘spiritual’ implications if you’ll think about it. Solomon, regarded by many as one of the wisest persons of all time, said it this way, “Guard your heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.”. There’s no doubt about it, one of the greatest challenges of our entire life, is to maintain a ‘pure heart’. Even Cash’s song eluded to that very fact. Everything we do and say, and every thing we ‘are’, for that matter, is directly governed by our heart. Not the body part that’s beating in your chest right now…..but the soul and spirit part of us. That part of us that makes us ‘who we are’!

Guarding our heart starts with a raw, unadulterated honesty with our own selves. That seems to be the hardest thing for some people….but it’s needed for all of us if we’re to get an accurate ‘read’ on our heart with our motives and intentions. You can be sure that everything imaginable in the world is working against us to pollute our heart. The Bible talks extensively about our ‘being conformed into the image of Jesus’. If you’ll stop and think about it….God doesn’t care if we look like Jesus; He doesn’t care if our voice sounds like His. But He does care that our heart responds to the events…..and people in our lives like He did. It’s our ‘heart’ that the Father is determined to conform to be like Jesus’.

Where do we start? We can only start by being honest with ourselves. Then we should ask the Holy Spirit to reveal our thoughts, attitudes and behavior that needs to be adjusted. Nothing to get frustrated about…it’s a lifelong endeavor. But we can ease the discomfort some by cooperating with the Lord. You can do it……so “Keep a Close Watch on That Heart of Yours!”

“Opportunism” Is Not a Good Thing – But Have You Thought About It From This Perspective??

September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

Opportunism is not a positive word; not a positive thing. Wikipedia’s definition: the conscious policy and practice of taking selfish advantage of circumstances – with little regard for principles, or with what the consequences are for others. Therefore, an opportunist is someone who takes advantage of someone else’s misfortune….and for their own gain. That’s not nice!

But I have another perspective to think about. In fact, we’ve been practicing it to some degree for 20+ years. An ‘opportunist’ sees someone going through a bad time and they lurk around to see how they can personally capitalize, benefit or profit from their calamity. But what if we were to take a more positive position?? What if, when we see someone going through a bad time, we were to reach out to those people and, rather than take advantage of them, do whatever we could do to help them in their dilemma?

At one time we actually had a person at Trinity on a part-time salary to do just that. He was very good at it too. His name was James Daniels, or JD as we all called him. He had an uncanny knack for noticing people who were going through trials in their lives. He could quickly discern what their actual needs were and did whatever he could, whenever he could, , with whatever resources we had, to help. (JD passed away a few years ago) Instead of just waiting around for people to come our way for help we were actually being aggressive in searching those people/families out. It seems like just something that the church should naturally do!

Of course, it was a huge ‘difference maker’ in the lives of the affected families.….but more than that it gave them a ‘good taste’ of church and even more important, the kingdom of God. Oh, and we’d supply the help that we could with absolutely no strings attached. We think that’s how Jesus would do it.

Imagine how different the world would look if we would all think that way!! And maybe, just maybe the world would change how they think about the church….and it’s people!

I say, “Let’s all be opportunists”.…..but from a kingdom perspective!

8378 Zulu ….. and the Flight That Was Almost the Last One!

September 16, 2015September 16, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 4 Comments

8378Z; That was the ‘call letters’ on my dad’s airplane. It was a great plane, Cessna 205, 6-seats, long-range tanks, STOL Kit (equipped for ‘short takeoffs and landings’), and a real ‘workhorse’ of a plane. By that I mean that you could load it down with weight and fly a long ways. That comes in handy when you’re traveling from rodeo to rodeo in the summertime with several guys and all their gear, and going to two rodeos a day (one in the afternoon/one at night). *(Over the 4th of July we went to 3 rodeos in one day! Cody, Wyoming, Red Lodge and Livingston, Montana)

The year was 1981. I was on track to make the NFR (National Finals Rodeo where the Top 15 in the World compete) in Oklahoma City. I had caught a ride with PRCA World All-Around Champ, Paul Tierney. Paul had leased a twin-engine plane and hired a pilot for the rigorous rodeo run through July and August. We flew to Custer and Aberdeen, South Dakota where I’d won the bull riding at both places. I had left our plane in Sturgis, South Dakota. I’d be back to Sturgis late that night where I’d meet my traveling partners, Gary Toole and Ricky Bolin. We’d leave there about noon-ish the next day for Hill City, Kansas.

The day before one of my main instruments had stopped working in our plane. The ‘attitude gyro’ just quit working. The ‘attitude’ instrument tells you if you’re climbing…or descending, or turning left or right. It’s an extremely important instrument. I had asked the pilot of Paul Tierney’s plane about it. He told me that, as an alternative, I should watch the compass….and that anytime the compass was moving…I was turning. I did not have an instrument rating but was fairly proficient in using my instruments in flying.

I was a good, safe pilot…..unless you ask Julie! Earlier in the year Julie and I, and Denny Flynn were flying to Del Rio, Texas to the Super Bull, the George Paul Memorial Bull Riding…which was the largest, highest paying Bull Riding event in those days. In making my landing approach I came in ‘a little hot’, had to make a fly around and then made a perfect landing. Julie tried every way in the world to get another ride home from Del Rio…but to no avail….she was forced to ride back home with me in the plane. We made it home fine but she was pretty hard to get loaded up in the plane after that!

I made it back to Sturgis sometime after midnight. The next morning the weather around Sturgis and Rapid City was overcast with some thunderstorms and low cloud covering. We were ready to head out for Hill City but I wasn’t going to ‘chance it’ with the marginal weather…and the faulty instrument. The weather reports were telling us that the clouds were moving out and we should be able to fly ‘clear skies’ all the way to Kansas. As soon as we got the good report we were taking off and headed for Hill City.

Only about 15-20 minutes into the flight the weather changed dramatically……for the worse! Heavy, dark clouds moved in and the ‘ceiling’ was only 300 ft. We stayed below the cloud covering, which is pretty dangerous considering that there are communications towers taller that that! The clouds appeared to be about 50 ft thick. We’d see huge gaps in the clouds of blue sky. The clouds were dropping even lower and I knew I had to try to go above the clouds. I told Gary, who was flying the right-hand seat, to keep an eye on the ground and I’d try to take it up through one of those patches of blue sky. Almost immediately we were encased in clouds….couldn’t see up, couldn’t see down. It sounds crazy but when you’re in the clouds like that you can be flying upside down and can’t tell it. It’s like being inside a paper bag.

I remember my flight instructor teaching me that you can just turn an airplane loose and it’ll fly by itself. That’s great if you’re several thousand feet up, but we’re 300 ft above the ground. That wouldn’t work! I looked at the compass and it was moving (which meant we were turning). I turned the yoke (the wheel) loose and the compass turned even faster. Not good! We were all in panic mode when Gary grabbed the yoke and pulled it straight into his chest. A No-No in most conditions…..and if the plane happened to be upside down…it’d fly us right into the ground!

Well, that didn’t happen; within a few seconds we cleared the clouds and our wings were vertical to the ground and we were climbing. I grabbed the yoke and brought it back to a horizontal, straight and level position. We were all exhausted from the stress of those few minutes. In 5 more minutes we were flying south with nothing but blue skies ahead.

I look back at that day often and it seems obvious to me now that the Lord had everything to do with preserving us that day…..and saving our lives.

8378 Zulu made it safely into Hill City, Kansas!

There’s Just So Much of This Stuff in Life We’re Gonna Have to Learn the ‘Hard Way’!

September 15, 2015September 15, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

It seems like it’s just a universal trait of humanity; this learning stuff the hard way. I was re-reminded of this a few days ago when my littlest grandson, Maverick, got his most recent knot on the head. He’s a year and a half old and the cutest little guy you’ve ever seen. (a little partiality here, but you understand!) He had two wrecks in the span of about 4 days that put two good-sized nicks in the ‘ol noggin’! The first one happened when he tried climbing up on a big heavy chair made from a old style tractor seat. You can imagine how heavy that was. Well, he got up about one step and the chair tipped over backwards with him and the edge of the heavy seat caught him right under the left eye. Miraculously, it missed his eye or it could’ve been really bad. Off to the ER they went to get him tended to. We were out of town when it happened but I “Face-Timed” Cole & Kelly (his dad & mom) later and got to talk to Maverick, himself. It was just an hour or so after they got home from the hospital. His eye was swelled shut but he was already in a good mood.

The other wreck happened as he was playing with the front yard gate at his house. It’s just a little 4′ gate made out of inch and a half square tubing. He was just having fun pushing it all the way around one way….then all the way around the other way. He built up a little confidence and got a pretty good run at it pushing it around. Well, you know, every swinging gate has a ‘stopping place’…..and Maverick found it…with his little forehead! I saw it coming from 30′ away but no way to get there before it happened. Immediate tears and a fifty cent piece size knot on his forehead reminded me again of how our lives go sometimes. Five minutes later he was running and playing again!

As much as we try and help our kids and grandkids avoid those kinds of things…it just seems like a fact of life that quite a few of our lessons are going to be learned that way. We could only wish those kinds of hard lessons ended with our childhood….but not to be true. It even seems that as adults we’re determined to defy logic, intuition and common sense, sometimes, to learn those lessons.

The good news is that “experience is a great teacher”!! Nothing like a hard lesson to help us not to do it again! And, you know, the Lord will let us just run past the wisdom, foresight and instruction of the Holy Spirit if we’re determined to. I’m trying to do better. I’ve had all the “lessons learned the hard way” that I really want. I think I’ll spend more time trying to listen to the Lord….and pay attention to what He’s saying to me!

**Disclaimer: Being a ‘Taylor’ might make one have to learn more than their fair share of ‘hard lessons’!!

Zombie Update – Day 12

September 10, 2015September 10, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 6 Comments

If you didn’t read my blog day before yesterday…..this one won’t make much sense. I’ve been dealing with an eye problem for, now, twelve days. Hence the blog title…..I look like a Zombie!! It came on, totally out of the blue, first in my right eye then in a few days….both eyes. I’ve never in all my years had anything quite like it. Started on antibiotic drops early on but it just kept getting worse. Then started taking an oral antibiotic…..still kept getting worse. No way to go to the doc through the weekend….then Labor Day. So the earliest I could get to the doc was on Tuesday. Met with my regular doc Tuesday morning and then with an eye specialist later that day.

The eye specialist identified it immediately as a virus (no idea where/how I got it). She said she hadn’t seen one like this in a long time….and this was one of the worst she’d ever seen. She said the virus had ‘set up camp’ in my eyes and under my upper eyelids. It had developed a ‘membrane’, kinda like a film over my entire eyeball and under my eyelids, as well. She put some deadening drops in my eyes, cut the membrane on one side and peeled it off like you’d peel a sheet back off a bed. It was a little painful but I was ready for anything to get a little relief. I could immediately see better. I could only see with a great deal of blurriness for the few days before.

This past Sunday was the most miserable day that I can remember. There was just no way to get away from the discomfort. I could only sleep when my need for it rose above the uncomfortable factor. I really do appreciate the prayers! I know it helped. My eyes are still red and somewhat swollen but I think I’m on the mend. Still lookin’ a little Zombie-like but I’m sure a lot better than I was a day or two ago. Thanks again!

Here’s a pic from Sunday…..my worst day!