Growin' Up Gregory

I'm late on posting these but the pictures are the right dates.  And yes, it's Christmas Eve but my wife and son are asleep and HoHo is up ready to start playing but I have to be quiet.   And now for 5 months!   The personality this little boy is developing is truly awesome.  I am looking forward to celebrating our first Christmas together as a family of 3.  I hope that we always continue our new traditions of reading the Christmas story, from Luke 2, before opening gifts and attending the candlelight service tonight at church. 

I have thought about this and I'm actually to the point now that it personally offends me when someone tells me Happy Holidays during the Christmas season.  I understand that different people have different beliefs.  But Christmas is a time when Christians celebrate God sending his son Jesus to earth to live as man setting an example for us, and to die on the cross for our salvation.  If you want to tell me Happy Holidays during Christmas, then I expect you to say it on New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Valentine's Day, President's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Halloween, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving.  I wonder why groups like Freedom From Religion Foundation only attack Christmas and not the other holidays? You see, that's just how silly the atheists "belief" really is.  They don't even believe it!  Their words claim that God is not real.  But their actions show something total...

I'm sure that most everyone remembers the words to Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  The lyrics from that song remind me of when I was a kid at Christmas and my parents used it to persuade me to behave to make sure I landed on the nice list instead of the naughty.  But I couldn't help almost hearing that song in my head this morning as I was reading in Galations, Chapter 5. You better watch out You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town He's making a list And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who's naughty and nice Santa Claus is coming to town He sees you when you're sleeping He knows when you're awake He knows if you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake! O! You better watch out! You better not cry Better not pout I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town "So I say live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.  For the sinful nature...

My first ever #TransformationTuesday post. "For you formed my inward parts; you covered me in my mothers womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well." - Psalm 139:13-14 It's almost crazy to think back to last Thanksgiving when we only had a little speck on a screen to now having a babbling laughing 4 month old little boy. God and all His creations are so amazing.

Day 6: A physical ability you are thankful for and a compliment you will give someone. I am thankful than I can climb a rope...and do most of the other things involved in the Spartan Race that we have done. The Lord has blessed me with the physical ability to participate in different activities that may seem a little crazy but are fun and the sense of accomplishment at the finish line is indescribable until you do one for yourse lf. I'm not the best complimenter in the world so please choose form one below lol! I'm not great at just walking up to people and telling them something sweet/nice so thank goodness for texts and social media nowadays. So just shoot someone a text or tag them in a ‪#‎ compliment‬ photo and make someone's day. ‪#‎ ucspark‬ ‪#‎ thanks‬ ‪#‎ giving‬ ‪#‎ ThanksAndGivingChallenge‬

Day 5:  A material thing you are thankful for and an opportunity to recognize and fulfill a need. I am thankful for my home...especially during Christmas time.  I am actually kind of proud that I didn't have too many pictures of material things on my phone.  I guess that my values are finally getting where they need to be in that "stuff" really doesn't matter.  My phone was full of pics of fun things I've done and now of Thomas just doing anything. The simplest thing to do for someone in need is to pray for them.  There are numerous things in the world today that I don't have solutions to, the president doesn't have solutions to, nor police have solutions to.  Right now our entire county needs prayer.  The situation in Missouri is absolutely scary regardless of who you feel is right, wrong, or whatever.  So before I go off on a tangent about that, just pray for anyone you know who is hurting, or anyone who could just use some encouragemen...

Day 4:  A friend you are thankful for and a canned food item you plan to donate. I am thankful for my best friend.  We fuss and fight sometimes, but at the end of the day we kiss and make up.  For all the times I've fussed about her not putting something up or not washing the dishes the right way, she has done something productive, or come thru for me when I really needed it, and just listened to me vent.  And when it comes to being a mother I am amazed every single day at how much she loves our son and the strength and perseverance that she shows in raising him and being an absolutely amazing mom. And I don't have a whole lot of canned food so we'll go get something to donate to the food pantry. #ucspark #thanks #giving #ThanksAndGivingChallenge

Day 3: A quote or scripture you are thankful for and a quote or scripture you will share with someone. John 3:17 is an amazing promise to us to remind us that Jesus was not sent here to have us bound into a life of sin, but that he was sent here as the light and as the way out of sin. Thru Him we are saved from our sins. Not just me and you, but the whole world! ‪#‎ ucspark‬ ‪#‎ thanks‬ ‪#‎ giving‬ ‪#‎ ThanksAndGivingChallengee  

Day 2: A place you are thankful for & a place you will pay it forward I am thankful for my happy place, Lake Murray! We haven't been in a month or so babies will do that to you. I look forward to them growing up though and getting pulled behind boats in the next few years. I will pay it forward and serve at Tabernacle Baptist Church. ‪#‎ ucspark‬ ‪#‎ thanks‬ ‪#‎ giving  

Day 1: A family member you are thankful for & an item you will give away to charity. I cannot even begin to describe how thankful I am for my son. He is a healthy, funny, and happy 4 month old and really brings joy to my life. After a stressful day, holding him is just a reminder of what really matters in life. And I just happened to clean my closet out this weekend with clothes I don't need or don't fit (some still with tags, sorry ... mom) so those are going to charity. Join me in this 7 Day Thanks & Giving Challenge. ‪#‎ UCSpark‬ ‪#‎ Thanks‬ &Giving  

Question: "What does the Bible say about illegal immigration?" Answer: Note: We wholeheartedly believe that Christians are called to be compassionate and merciful towards immigrants ( Exodus 25:35 ; Leviticus 19:33-34 ; Matthew 25:35 ). We also believe that the United States should have a more compassionate and merciful immigration policy. However, that is not the question at hand. The question at hand is whether it is wrong to violate a nation's borders and transgress its immigration laws. Romans 13:1-7 makes it abundantly clear that God expects us to obey the laws of the government. The only exception to this is when a law of the government forces you to disobey a command of God ( Acts 5:29 ). Illegal immigration is the breaking of a governmental law. There is nothing in Scripture that contradicts a nation having immigration laws. Therefore, it is a sin, rebellion against God, to illegally enter another country. Illegal immigration is definitely a controversial iss...

"Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." - Hebrews 5:13-14 I've learned a lot over the last 4 months with Thomas being born and becoming a father.  One thing I still think is crazy is how he is able to grow and survive on milk (and a little formula) alone.  But until his teeth start coming in, he's only mature enough to eat and digest milk.  But in just a few short days Brittnee plans to start easing some rice cereal into his milk and letting him try some mashed vegetable baby food. As he gets older, I know that his appetite will grow.  I hope that by the time he's a teenager we will be able to afford enough groceries to keep him full.  I remember in my high school days being able to go to J Jrs. and eat a whole order of cheese fries and my whole meal by myself.  Our ...

Where is the Freedom From Religion Foundation in Houston?  The mayor of Houston has issued a subpoena for sermons from pastors demanding that they turn in sermons relating to homosexuality, gender identity, and the current mayor (who happens to be homosexual).  This is the same group that attacked Clemson earlier this year accusing them of exposing athletes to Christianity and saying that was illegal since Clemson is a state supported college.  Well if y'all want a separation of the church from the state then keep the state out of the church! Our world and country may change over the next few years and it has begun to do so.  But I revert back to Acts 5:29 - Peter and the other apostles replied: "We must obey God rather than men!"  Manmade laws will not determine what is right and wrong, only legal and illegal.  It seems that we will all eventually face a choice between standing up for our faith, or conforming to what the world says is right.  I pray...

We spend the bulk of our lives working and trying to get ahead, chasing the almighty dollar.  I'm as guilty of it as anyone because I'll try to work late, go in early, skip lunches, or do side jobs to make money if possible.  But typically I notice that no matter how much money I have, there are always more places for it to go...besides in my pocket.  In Matthew 19:16-26 Jesus talks with a rich young man.  This man wanted to know what it would take to obtain eternal life and be "good"?  Jesus named off several of the commandments and the young man replied that he had followed all those rules and wanted to know what he still lacked.  Then it got real for the young man, Jesus went where we don't like anyone going with us, after our pocketbooks.  Verse 21 says "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me".  That did it for the young man, he could not giv...

These last 2 months with Thomas have flown by!  So much so that I'm a week late in posting this but the pictures were taken on the 18th so at least they're on time. We had a doctor visit on the 19th to check him out and let him get his first round of shots.  He's put on some weight coming in at 11lbs 1 oz.  And he's grown several inches to 22 1/4.  The coolest thing is being able to watch his personality develop.  He is clearly a morning person...wonder who he got that from lol.  And he's awesome at smiling back at you when you smile at him or tickle him.  His 2 month b-day was his first day to go stay at Grrrandpapa and Gigi's house too.  We are blessed to have grandparents who can watch him.  And needless to say, that first morning I pulled up guess who was waiting on the front porch for her little one.   There is no way that I would have made it thru 2 months with a baby if it wasn't for ...

I thought it had already been scientifically proven, which today's world always believes makes something official, that sexual promiscuity and sleeping around was how you got STDs? So how does the writer of this article even think to say that Phil offended the LGBT community? He just stated the facts and mentioned sexual immorality...if you're offended, maybe it's because you know you're in the wrong.  Then this is the VOD: "Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." - Galations 6:8 I hope the video link works... If not I found it on MSN or I'm sure you can search Phil Robertson http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=888328&ocid=ansent11

Evangelism Evangelism is simply communicating the gospel.   I’m willing to bet that there are some people in here who feel confident that they are obeying the Lord in their Bible intake, prayer lives, their giving, and their service.   But I wonder if any of us are fully confident that we are being as evangelical as we possibly can.   Why is evangelism expected of us?   Well because Jesus Christ himself commanded us to: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.   And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20                   Mark 16:15 – “Go into all the world and preach the good news”                 John 20:21 – “As th...

Worship I read a story about a boy who was super excited about his 10 th birthday party.   His mom got the invitations together and sent them out.   The day of the party, all the boys played football and basketball outside until it was too dark to see.   Then, his dad grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and they even had cake and ice cream.   Each of the boys brought him a thoughtful present, and the grand finale of the evening was going to the high school basketball game.   The little 10 year old boy was so excited.   He couldn’t wait to sit in the middle of all his friends, eat popcorn and candy, punch each other, and cheer on their high school heroes.   But as soon as they went into the basketball gym, his vision of the perfect game ended.   All of his friends scattered and went and sat elsewhere, he never saw them the rest of the game, they didn’t even say goodbye before running off.   Is that sometimes how we treat God in worship? ...

Prayer The second most important spiritual discipline is prayer.   It can be argued that there are anywhere from 9, 12, or even more spiritual disciplines but Carl Lundquist stated that “Whatever varying religious exercises we may practice, without the two basic ones of prayer and Bible reading the others are empty and powerless.   We are expected to pray.                   Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray…”                 Matthew 6:6 “But when you pray…”                 Matthew 6:7 “And when you pray…”                 Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray…” Colossians 4:2 tells us to devote ourselves to prayer.   We are all devoted to somethi...

Football season is right around the corner and very soon we’ll be seeing all the Friday night football highlights.   And then we’ll see nothing but football on ESPN when college and NFL teams kick off in a few weeks.   It’s the most exciting and often game changing plays that make the highlight reels, and there are only a few of those plays each game.   The only thing is that when the ball is snapped, we don’t know which play is going to be the game changer.   So how do we make sure that we’ve done our part when that game changing opportunity comes up?   By making sure that we do all the small things each and every play.   God may call you do something big, something great, but in order to be ready to answer that call we must be obedient in the small things.   The QB who made the perfect pass has thrown 100s of passes at practice, the WR who got open for the touchdown has run 100s of routes and done speed drills, and the lineman who blocked his man s...

It's hard to believe how fast the past month has gone by.  It seems like just this past weekend we were at the hospital welcoming "Baby Thomas", as Wilson would say, into the world.  He's starting to notice us more, or at least seems to any way.  According to doctors, he's doing well and is healthy.   Not sure what he's doing here but I like the pose lol  And just in case you were wondering if he cries any     This month has flown by and been one of the most joyous and toughest of my life.  I'm thankful for the amount of help and support we have received from friends and family because without them there is no way we could make it.  I also have a tremendous amount of respect for single parents because it seems darn near impossible sometimes for Brittnee and me to be able to get everything done.  In Thomas's first month he has made a couple lake trips, a church trip, and a work trip. I'm thankful for t...

I know I haven't posted much in a while but I've been kind of busy the last 2 1/2 weeks.  Brittnee and I have been going thru the ultimate on the job training...becoming parents!  Friday July 18th started out like every other day for me.  I got up, did my daily Bible reading, and went to the gym.  But after my workout that day was anything but ordinary.  We had a C-section scheduled for 10:30 since our son was breeched.  We rushed up to the hospital, actually on time for once and got there at 8:30.  They put us in one of the triage rooms to wait a little while....which turned into a long while.  Any one who knows me even sort of good knows that patience is not one of my strong suits but I got some practice that day.  We FINALLY were told that we were up next after what seems to be a very chaotic day in the labor and delivery area at the hospital.  I was told that mom started throwing food away (her and Kat were eating) and said "W...

It has taken us a lot of time, effort, and money to get the nursery from a partially furnished bedroom into the brand new looking room designed with love for our new baby.   I think we are finally ready to bring Thomas home.  Now just to get him into the world this Friday.

I read this devotion this morning and thought it was a pretty good one. Have you ever tried getting a deep stain out of a crisp white business shirt?  You can try loading it into a washer and dumping some detergent into the water.  Then you just hope that when you take out the shirt following the spin cycle, PRESTO the stain is gone. Only in commercials does that happen. Fact is, with most stains, you have to confront the stain head-on with concentrated cleaning solution applied directly to the soiled spot.  Same with confession.  You can't just throw a blanket "sorry for anything I might have done wrong this year God" into the general list of requests of the Almighty Father.  If you really are sorry for the stain you put on your relationship with God, you've got to get specific.  Localize.  Focus on what you did wrong, 'fess up, and ask for mercy in the name of Jesus Christ. And then brandish your new, spotless relationship. "If we confess...

"Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done." - 1 Chronicles 16:8 With today being July 1st, I wanted to pause for a minute to thank the Lord for all the blessing He has given me over the first half of 2014.  My family, friends, and I have been so blessed this year from engagements, healthy pregnancies, new pregnancies, vacations, anniversaries, birthdays, and good health.  It's hard to be too specific without leaving something out but as good as the first half has been knowing that our son is due in the 2nd half I cannot imagine how much better it's going to be! What was really cool was as I was looking for a verse of thankfulness this one came up as the VOD.  We take so much for granted that we should give God praise for, and always give him the glory (Galations 6:14) and proclaim his mighty and powerful name.  There really is no one more powerful than Him. And if He's done so many wonderful things for us wh...