Growin' Up Gregory

I've been thinking a lot lately about rebranding my blog (or creating a new one) and working on more video sharing and possibly creating a YouTube channel, podcast, or using more videos via Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. to find ways to share and add value to others.  But one of the first questions they ask when you're starting a blog or channel is what do you want to name it or what will your topic be.  So I began asking myself these questions: What do I like to talk about?   What do I like to take pictures of?   What do I want to share with people?  How can I help or inspire people? What could I teach someone? Basically, what do I like and what am I good at? It was these simple questions that led me deeper to who is John Gregory? Sometimes we discover who we are by marking off the things we're not.  I'm not a highly educated man with a Masters, PhD or MBA.  I'm not filthy rich.  I'm not a politician.  I'm no...

This week in our Sunday school class, I asked the question:  "What's a name you associate with greatness?"  Instantly, one young guy responds, LeBron!  You can tell he's younger because even my much younger (brownie points!) wife spoke up and said that when she thinks of 23, she thinks of Michael Jordan.  We stopped the debate there in the interest of getting into the lesson as well as not starting an argument in church. While we all likely have different names that we associate with greatness, we all recognize the importance of having an honorable name.  "Without question, one name above all others deserves honor:  the name of God.  Jesus taught us to honor the name of God when we pray." The Point:  Our prayers are driven by the desire to honor God. This week's primary verse was Matthew 6:9b, "Hallowed be your name," as well as Psalm 96:1-9. Part 1 - Praise thru Proclamation In the Model Prayer, Jesus directs us to place praise at t...

Before you put a business on blast on social media, please be sure that you have asked at least one employee (preferably a manager or supervisor) to assist you with whatever the issue is. Maybe your waitress forgot to give you a fork, or missed that you needed a refill.  She could have miscounted or someone may have been away from the table when she passed them out.  Or perhaps she's dealing with a personal issue and doing her best to not let it interfere with work which we all know happens at times. Maybe a company left you sitting in the waiting room too long.  Did you tell anyone you were there?  Or better yet, call ahead to see if the person you're coming to see is available?  The staff may be swamped or short-handed that day, or they may have checked the room just prior to your entry.  So call ahead or say, "Hello" and let someone know you're present. This method of resolving an issue or conflict is not a new idea, and is even...

We've all seen the State of the Union, State of the State, and various other updates by political leaders.  But what if we take a moment and look at the State of Politics in our country right now.  I'm not in politics and am not a professional political researcher so this is just an ordinary guy's view of several issues going on in the political arena right now and my thoughts on them. TERM LIMITS Some people are for term limits, some people are against them.  Honestly, I can see it both ways.  While the term, "career politician," has almost become derogatory, some people really are good lawmakers and use their influence to accomplish a lot of good.  But on the other hand, some people abuse that power and allow themselves to become corrupt and get out of touch with the real world and the very people they were elected to represent.  So what should we do? What if we did what churches have done with deacons and many non-profits do with their boards?...