Growin' Up Gregory

I'm sure most of us have used the phrase that something is "just like riding a bike" to describe activities that come natural or seem really easy to do.  But do you remember learning how to ride a bike?  Or have you had to kiss 'boo-boos' and put band-aids on cuts and scrapes while teaching your kids to ride?  It turns out that learning to ride a bike is not just like riding a bike.  It takes time, effort, and consistent practice with some bumps and bruises along the way. I have been listening to a number of talks lately that focus on mastery - the absolute mastering of your skill or trade to become one of the best in the world.  How do you do that?  The plan is simple, but not easy. Think back to riding a bike, throwing a football, or catching a pop fly.  Anyone who's ever played sports would consider these activities second nature.  But the first time you did, it was probably a train wreck.  When our son throws a football, it looks mo...

Sunday night at our church Bible study, we pondered questions surrounding "original sin."  I'm not smart enough to fully elaborate but I'll share a couple points I took away and how they apply to our lives today. 1.  Why did Adam & Eve succumb to Satan's temptation?  If we're honest, I think it's for the same reason many of us take foolish or unnecessary risks - we think the grass is greener on the other side.  Eve knew that God had plainly instructed them NOT to eat from this tree.  But when presented with the notion that they could be better, or more like God, she bit, literally and figuratively. I remember when we had horses and my dad would always fed them all from the same green bucket.  But there was one feisty little pony that always wanted the other horses feed.  If he had paid attention, he would have realized that all of it was the same and in pretty equal proportions.  But all he could see was someone else enjoying something and...

Have you ever been invited to a meeting with a vague topic and no idea of who else was going to be there?  Like, you literally are wondering to yourself the whole time if they got the right phone number or email address when you were sent the invite?  That was the case for me the other day.  I want to share a little about the meeting and discussions (hopefully that will be allowed or I may not be invited back) and more about what's really driving us. I was invited to a planning meeting for Union County.  I may have the official name wrong but that was the topic.  This was not a specific board or group.  There were people from many different fields - government, education, medical, business, faith-based, and I'm probably leaving some out.  Now you see why I was somewhat anxious about the meeting - this was not the kiddie table. The primary topics were Opportunities and Threats facing Union County - essentially the 'goods' and 'bads' that we could st...

Have you ever noticed that some of the best things in life feel a little silly the first time we try them? This has hit me in several ways. Some of my funny firsts include: Iced Coffee: The 1st time I ever tasted it, Britt gave me a sip of hers, and it was really, really good. But one day when I hit a pothole and the ice in my cup shook, Thomas asked what that sound was - and I literally began laughing at myself when I had to say that it was the ice in my coffee. I still drink it pretty much daily and tell myself that I'm getting extra-hydrated from the ice! Yoga: The 1st time I did it, I was embarrassed for myself, my yoga mat, and everybody else in the room (no, I did not wear yoga pants). But I do consistently tell people about the health benefits of yoga and stretch regularly. Selfies: As you can see from the pic, I'm still not good at them. And I don't like taking pictures of myself for the main fact that they destroy the misconception I have in my mind of wha...

Last year leading up to the NBA draft, pretty much everyone in the world knew that Zion Williamson would be the #1 overall pick. It had been a foregone conclusion since the start of the college basketball season (exploding shoe situation aside). Essentially, all he had to do was play games and stay healthy and he was a lock to become a multi-millionaire and be headed to the NBA. The only mystery left to the situation was which team would wind up with the #1 pick. Another story for a talented athlete didn't turn out so well (athletically speaking). Inky Johnson (if you haven't heard of him, look him up as soon as you finish this article) had overcome numerous obstacles in his life to become a standout defensive back at the University of Tennessee. Heading into his final season, his coaches received a letter projecting him to be a 1st round pick in the NFL. Like Zion, this would make him a professional athlete on the greatest stage and a multi-millionaire. All he had to d...

As a young child - well, really as an older kid, a teenager, a young adult, a middle-aged adult, or even a senior citizen - there are a few things like the joy of feeling that tug on the line when you're reeling in a good fish. Any time we're at the lake (or any other body of water) my son and nephews always say that they want to fish. But based on my observations, they truly aren't very interested in fishing - what they really want to do is reel fish in, that's it. But you see, there's a lot more to fishing than merely catching fish. Before you ever wet a hook, someone has to purchase the right equipment - rods, reels, hooks, bait, etc. and then do the part that no child seems to comprehend and probably the reason some grownups require adult beverages while fishing - setting up the rods and reels with the necessary equipment. Once you've got a hook tied on, now things get messy - bait! If you're using live bait, the mud and dirt from worms, cricket juice, f...