Growin' Up Gregory

As we are smack dab in the middle of cold and flu season, let me ask a question if I may - what do you find most comforting when you're sick? For many it's chicken or noodle soup, or some variation.  It may be some over-the-counter medicine to help clear you up.  For me, I had it made when my wife worked at the doctor's office because I could get samples.  And others still swear by some home remedy of parent or grandparent which may or may not be legal to consume if you're under the age of 21 😂. But every child knows that ultimately, there's nothing like having your mom or dad (or someone who loves you no matter what) there with you when you're sick.  When we're hurting, there's nothing like having the presence of someone else there to make us feel better. What is comfort? We've been studying in Sunday school about pain and suffering for several weeks.  And while reading about the 'hows' and 'whys' may offer some comfort, when...

There's an old saying that you're either in a storm, going into a storm, or coming out of a storm.  Depending on which phase you're in changes your perspective of things.  Our Sunday school lessons over the past few weeks have focused on suffering and attempting to understand it from a godly perspective. One of the most difficult moments of my life made no sense at the time.  However, as time has passed, my perspective has changed and I can better understand how God really was at work in a challenging time. Sunday, June 5, 2011 started out like many other Sundays before it.  However, it's a day that would change our family forever.  That morning, I got up and went to church like I did most Sundays.  Near the start of preaching, I was asked to go check on Mama (my grandma) since she was supposed to pick a friend up for church and hadn't shown up and didn't answer her phone.  Old people are slow and if you didn't let the phone ring 15 times, she may ...

I had no idea how the events of this week would unfold when this question was posed Sunday night at church - "What do we look for in our leaders?" Now granted, we were at church so we quickly got all the 'churchy' answers; faith, honesty, integrity, etc.  These are certainly important but there are other qualities and characteristics that should not be ignored. I responded to the group with one of the less religious answers but one I believe to be true - charisma.  We tend to gravitate toward leaders who have a certain charm that attracts and inspires us.  The 44th and 45th POTUS are perfect examples.  No matter how staunch of a republican you are, you cannot argue that Obama is an amazingly skilled orator.  And regardless of how decisively democrat you are, it's difficult to argue that Trump has a certain charisma about him as well.  Yes, they both attract people from different sides, but they both attract and inspire people - that's charisma. I'm c...