Sterling Griggs

I knocked on the apartment door as the young boy beside me shuffled nervously, clutching a few hand-drawn pieces of art. The door opened and there he stood - Randolph Childress, star of the Wake Forest basketball program and mythic figure of the 1995 ACC basketball tournament where his 107 points in three games still stands as a record. My young friend Jimmy absolutely idolized Randolph, and when I told his parents that I knew where he lived off-campus, he was in awe that he might actually get to meet his hero. For the occasion Jimmy, who was gifted with a sketch pad, painstakingly drew a couple of pictures for Randolph depicting him in action on the court. As we walked to Randolph's door I assured Jimmy that there was nothing to worry about. He would be flattered to meet you, I told him, and be even more impressed with your artwork. As we waited for the door to open, I noticed that Jimmy had basically stopped breathing. When he saw Randolph in the open doorway, I can almost assu...

My son has recently grasped what it means to be a sports fan. He basically had no choice but to be a follower of Wake Forest sports (although, it has been extremely difficult of late) and he has also learned the finer nuances of despising everything Duke. I'm finding that I have to reign him in from time to time, especially when I hear him telling the neighborhood kids that "Duke is puke!" As a committed sports fan myself, I've often mused of the loyalty that a game invokes in those who follow their teams. If you take just a few moments to do a self analysis, you will discover that you, too, are a follower of somebody or even something. We all are. Whether it's following a politician in hopes of the delivery of life-changing promises, scooting around the country to attend dozens of shows performed by your favorite band, or scheduling your life around college football games, we are all followers in various degrees. If you are a Christian, then you will most lik...

This is not a political blog. Never has been, never will. I don't care to dive into the divisiveness that is politics that serves to stir ill-will on pretty much all sides. I've swaggered into political forums before, only to retreat licking wounds caused by my own ignorance. It's just not worth my time. That doesn't mean that I don't have opinions. I do, and I vote based upon how my life in Christ compels me. But what is a believer supposed to do when politics and faith collide? As a follower of Christ I must stand on what I believe is His truth as outlined in the Bible. It doesn't take long to discover that many if not most of the laws on the books in America have their basis in biblical principle and teaching. That's not because the Christian faith has being forced upon anyone, but rather because so many of the teachings outlined in Scripture are good and worthy of following, regardless of one's religious belief system. We recognize a universal st...

As much as I like to think that I know a lot of things, it doesn't take much to make me realize that I don't really know a whole lot. This morning I wanted to roast a new batch of coffee but I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't going to happen. My roaster, which I've had for many years and has served me well through hundreds if not thousands of pounds of coffee, decided that it no longer wanted to rotate the beans, which means that there was no way to evenly roast them. The beans sitting at the bottom of the roasting cage would get scorched while the beans on top would stay raw since they had no exposure to the heating source. Since I am literal "whiz" with fixing things (sarcasm), I began to investigate why my roaster no longer would work. It took me about 2 minutes to realize that there were some serious internal mechanical issues going on that I had not the faintest clue how to resolve. There are some things I do know how to do - things like change th...

This past weekend I sat in on a message from Daniel 1. The pastor was preaching on the subject of conviction, focusing on the part where Daniel "purposed in his heart" to no longer eat the king's food and drink that was set before him (Daniel 1:8). Daniel basically said that enough was enough, and based upon his conviction he was taking a stand against something that he believed would unduly influence his life away from the path that God had for him. As a result of that example, the pastor challenged all of us to "unplug" from an area in our lives that exhibited great influence in our lives. Specifically, we were challenged to unplug from technology for the span of an entire day. No internet, no email, no television, no texting. A hiatus from Facebook, Twitter, online chats, and borderline addictions to our phones and computers. I took this challenge to heart, knowing that I'm one of those guys that invests a lot of my time on social media sites and chec...

Today, my two youngest kids are sick. Let me correct that. They've been sick for a couple of days now. Laying on the couch, running high fever, occasional vomit sick. It's fascinating to observe how sickness affects them so differently. My youngest daughter simply drops where her body fails her. I've found her draped across the steps asleep (hardwood floor steps, mind you) and she is consumed by this persistent fog. On the other hand, my son is much more vocal about his maladies. He doesn't embrace being sick very well and can't understand why he can't go outside or attend preschool when his temperature cracks the 102 mark. He's always ready to roll, until he collapses and succumbs to a more than necessary nap. It's a battle of extremes. I spent a few years as a paramedic, surrounded by some pretty sick people. I'm not sure exactly how it worked, but when I was enclosed in a metal box mounted on wheels, surrounded by hacking and leaking and spewing ...