Sterling Griggs

This past weekend we took our first trip back home from the coast and had a chance to visit with friends and family that we haven't seen in a few weeks since our move. So far we have been very happy with our new surroundings and are adjusting very well to beach life, thank you. That being said, even though we have met some pretty awesome people so far, we still are seeking to make many more important connections with others in our community. Being back in worship with those who have walked beside of us the past few years was nothing short of refreshing, even it has only been a few weeks since we last saw them. These are the people who we have built community and real relationships with, those who have shared life with us and have allowed us in turn to invest in them. Just being back with them for a short period of time reminded me of a very important truth. We need to connect with others.  Words like "community" and "connect" have become common catch phrase...

"If only all of my bills were paid and my debt was gone, then my life would be so much better." I have heard this and similar phrases like this said many times, and I've said it my fair share of times too. There is no doubt that being debt free is an important and faithful goal to achieve, with financial hardship shackling so many people. Debt relief agencies run commercials nonstop, there are numerous financial counseling programs (both Christian and non-Christian) offering help, people are borrowing more money to pay off other debts that they owe, and the housing market continues to struggle as people can no longer afford to maintain a standard of living that once seemed so easy. How hard should you try to be debt free? In order to answer that question adequately, you must first determine where you are seeking this relief in the first place. Many will point to the evil circumstances that lead us into debt, this desire to want more than we can afford which inevitably...

The number 7575 appeared small at first on the screen at the side of the auditorium.  Somewhere in the room were parents with a sticker bearing that same number, those digits representing a precious little life that they had dropped off in childcare who now was having no part of this Sunday morning atmosphere.  Parents of child 7575 needed to get to their child and settle him or her down. As a bearer of four such stickers, my wife and I checked our numbers to see if this could be any of our little angels and were relieved that it was someone else's kid.  After a minute or so the number faded from the screen and my attention was now diverted back to the worship service at hand.  However, before the words to the next worship song came back on, the side screen went black again and 7575 came up again but this time in huge numbers, 7575 as if to scream to the parents in the room, "Child number 7575 needs you to come, RIGHT NOW!" Apparently mom and dad missed the fi...

The final seconds were ticking away as the quarterback changed the play call at the line of scrimmage.  He saw something in the way the defenders were lining up and knew that the original play discussed in the huddle wouldn't work.  Once the ball is snapped, the slot receiver, having gotten his cue from a quick glance from the quarterback, cuts sharply across the middle of the field into an exploited gap and hauls in a quick pass.  With room to spare, he needs to outrun only one defender for the touchdown.  Dropping to one knee and pointing to the heavens, the receiver has only seconds before he's engulfed in a wild celebration in the end zone. In the locker room, microphones are shoved in the face of the quarterback.  The whole sports world wants to know about that final play.  Who called it?  What did the quarterback see in the defense that caused him to call an audible?  Was this a play they work on in practice? Before he comments on the pl...

Ask my wife and she'll tell you that what convinced her I was the one she would spend the rest of her life with was when I told her that I wanted a house with a wrap around porch.  In our almost 13 years of marital euphoria we have yet to live in that kind of a house, but the one we just moved into does have an upstairs and downstairs front porch (see picture above). I absolutely love a front porch!  More than just a place to sit and watch life go by, front porches represent a lot about our culture.  The front porch is a symbol of community, a way of telling all who walk nearby that it's okay to stop and talk and sit awhile.  When someone is one their front porch that means that they are willing to share life with you.  I know that may seem like a stretch for some to believe, but when people put themselves out there in front of other people it represents an open invitation for you to come and be a part of their lives. If you look at most newly constructed h...

This morning I did something that I'm sure most parents in my situation would do with perhaps a slight sense of dread and apprehension.  I dropped my two oldest daughters off for their first day in a new school right in the middle of the school year in a town they have lived in for only a few days.  They are so new to the community that they have made no real friends yet (except for a few neighborhood kids, but they are boys so they don't really count). It was hard watching them walk into those classrooms as the other students turned to look at the "new kids" and hoping that the teachers I was introduced to were going to love my children and guide them like the teachers did from their old school.  The school receives great reviews and has a lot to offer the students there, and my hope and prayer is that they meet new friends, excel in this new learning environment, and that my phone doesn't ring today with a call from a guidance counselor who is consoling a cryi...