Growin' Up Gregory

As we near the halfway point of 2020, I think we would all agree that this year hasn't gone quite as we had planned on New Year's Day.  Maybe you've been fortunate and had some major success this year despite the pandemic and turmoil taking place in our world right now.  But maybe you're the 28-3 Patriots and need to be staging a major comeback as the second half of this year begins.  I'm taking some time this morning to reflect on some of the goals I set for myself at the end of 2019 and see where I'm winning, where I'm losing, and where I just need a completely new gameplan. I had a goal of reading 15 or more books for 2020.  I actually had finished 8 by March.  Then, if you recall, mortgage rates dropped, PPP loans took over, and I had to go into survival mode for work and family and neglected much personal mental development.  I didn't finish reading my next book until June!  But, I'm back on track there with reading (working on #11 now) and sho...

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...

There's been a change of plans. Ah, just hearing that makes most of us cringe. But why do we hate change so much? There's a story of a king who had been living in a time of peace, fortifying the city walls. But one day, an army of one million came to attack his army of 580,000. Seems like a pretty bad change right. But the smaller army actually decided to leave the safety and comfort of their home to go out and attack the larger army. They won an astounding victory and even conquered more cities and brought home tons of loot to their country. What would have happened if nothing had changed? They would have stayed right where they were with exactly what they had. Instead, they took a chance, and trusted God, and wound up with a victory and more livestock, goods, and land to improve their own lives. No one seems to like change anymore. But we've got to remember that without change, there can be no improvement.  What can change in your life if you trust Go...