Growin' Up Gregory

Tonight, after a long, busy, hectic week, we all went to bed out of routine and a little later than normal.  Britt put Aubree down and Thomas was watching a cartoon until it went off.  Then he joined me in the recliner while I was watching some crime show.  That's when something special happened. I put Thomas to bed each night and we lay down and fall asleep together.  But tonight, for the first time in I don't know how long, he fell asleep laying in my arms.  I wasn't sure if he was totally out or not until I got up because he just went to sleep so calmly, so relaxed, and so peaceful.  As I made my way to bed, my mind was flooded with thoughts. I began to wonder, when was the last time I took a nap in my parents' arms?  Did either of us know that would be the last time?  How happy were each of us in that moment?  What would we have done differently if we knew?  As parents, we yearn to see our children grow up, be successful, be happy, and be good people.  And as par

1.  Adam came before Eve.  My dad has called December 23rd Christmas Adam for as long as I can remember. 2.  As kids, were allowed to open one present on Christmas Adam.  Yes, that was early and maybe not fair.  But a lot of times I think it was a setup so Mom could have us wear our new clothes for Christmas and count it as a gift.  (I'm learning your tricks as I parent lol) Since becoming an adult, I have missed opening that present early.  Don't get me wrong, I love watching Thomas rip into his (and whoever else will let him) gifts and the excitement on his face.  And I love giving a heartfelt gift to someone and seeing their happiness.  But there is something special about opening your own gift that someone felt like you needed.  And I was blessed to open a gift of perspective and joy yesterday. Yesterday Afternoon I had to go to Walmart (I almost asked for prayer requests but refrained). While chit chatting with the cashier I told her I hope she has a Merry Christma

It's not our anniversary, her birthday, or Mother's Day.  And no, I'm not in the doghouse...for anything that I know of anyway.  I know that there are a lot of good wives and mothers out there, and that this is a sort of random day in December to share this, but I just had to share my thoughts and feelings of the past few weeks. My wife is utterly amazing.  If I were a more intelligent man and knew more words I could come up with a better description of her awesomeness but I have a somewhat limited vocabulary.  She may not do dishes, fold laundry, handle money, or be as organized as I would like for my life partner to be all the time.  But she knows and does what is MOST important. She loves me with all my flaws, supports my passions, and reels me in when I begin to allow myself to get carried away and unfocused.  She has a balance of support that is uncanny.  She knows that at times you just have to let me dream without squashing it right then (like when I told her I w

The goal of every singe for-profit business in the world is to generate more income than it has expenses.  This is true for all business structures, be it a sole-proprietor who generates $20,000 or less in gross revenue, a multi-billion dollar corporation with locations all other the world, or anything in between.  The simple rule of business is to make more than you spend.  Period. The United States Government is an extremely large business with a budget that is incomprehensible to many of us.  And yet, given all the revenue sources, power, and influence that it has, it still is not operating profitably.  Why? One reason is income taxes.  In my opinion, the federal income tax system is greatly flawed.  My understanding of the original intent of an income tax refund is basically that you get your "change" from paying in more than you owed at year end.  It should work just like going to the grocery store, spending $30, handing the cashier $40 and getting your $10 back.  Ho

What kind of t-shirts do Christians wear? What kinds of foods do Christians eat? What kind of cars do Christians drive? What kinds of haircuts do Christians get? What kind of tattoos do Christians get? (okay I made that one up and added it in) "While the Bible speaks to these issues to come degree...we are all tempted to say more than the Bible does on certain issues, to impose rules on others based on our personal preferences about how others should act or behave." This was actually a major issue in the early church.  Yes, even before anyone with a computer or smartphone could put their 'words of wisdom' out there for the whole world to read with social media.  The church at Antioch around A.D. 49 had a group of Judaizers basically claiming that recent Gentile converts to Christ would have to become Jewish in all practical ways in order to truly be saved.  This became a cause of strife in the church and led to a meeting in Acts 15 of the church apostles and e

Often times we only see what people do because we aren't patient enough to hear or find out the reason why they did it.  We see it when politicians vote a certain way, when families make difficult choices that seem 'wrong' to us, and when people make life altering decisions that we just don't get.  But sometimes the "what" is actually less important than the "why." You may have a family member who moves away from you and takes their immediate family with them.  You are now placed at a great distance from your brother, sister, nieces, nephews, or whoever moved away.  The WHAT of that hurts.  But we must be patient to hear the WHY.  Maybe they feared losing a job, or found a better one.  Maybe a child was being bullied, or they moved for an educational or some other purpose.  The WHY matters a great deal before you get upset simply over the WHAT. In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas were preaching in Iconium when they learned of a plot against them to be

I often hear older people talk about the "good old days" or "back in my day" and they wish that things would go back to the way they were back then. That will never happen. And sadly, many of us in the millennial generation may even make the same statements one day, if we haven't already.  A.W. Tozer said this, " Regardless of where you look these days, change is inevitable. Things are not what they once were. I am not one that bemoans the past for the simple reason that the past was not as good as we remember." People, technology, industry, work, laws, morals, relationships, social media, privacy and so many other things will always be changing. If you want to survive the storms of change in your life you must have some constant that holds you on course.  There is only one things that never changes, that has never had to change because He has always been good and perfect - God.  Malachi 3:6 reads, "For I the Lord do not change...&quo

I read something about a month ago that for really ticked me off.  The comment upset me for multiple reasons: - Because of who said it - someone I was previously close to - Because of who they said it about - a group of people I associate with - Because of what they said - a not so polite comment - Because of how they said it - semi-anonymously online After reading it I must admit that I became pretty angry and wanted to call them out on the comment.  But I also knew that was not the right thing to do.  So I took the comment as a challenge, a challenge to become anything but what they predicted.  Anger is one of many emotions that we can experience in life.  If we're not careful, our emotions can take control of us.  Fear can cause us avoid opportunities and potential future successes.  Sadness can often times lead to depression.  But not all emotions are bad.  Joy leads us to happiness, peace, and fulfillment in life.  Anticipation is the hope that keeps us going through d