Sterling Griggs

Watching kids play games together can be pretty comical. Somebody always has to be "in charge" and that means that he pretty much makes up the rules as he goes. Many of the domestic disturbances that I am called in to officiate between my own children can be traced back to a flexible rules system that is always slanted to the advantage of the one in charge of score keeping. Extra swings of the bat, "short cuts" while playing Chutes-and-Ladders, establishing "base" at the nearest tree before someone tags you out - whatever it takes to make sure that things go your way. This is nothing new. In fact, man has been trying to bend the rules in his favor for centuries. It's not that we are necessarily Lance Armstrong level cheaters; we just don't like to lose. So we tweak a word here, change a sentence there, until the narrative matches more clearly with the story in our heads. There's nothing wrong with that, is there? What if I told you that if...

Although I love to write and record my thoughts and observations, I'm not exactly the reading enthusiast that I want to be. Picking up a book is thrilling at first, but unless it just wows me beyond measure I often struggle to trudge through to the end. I've never been diagnosed with ADD or anything like that, but I do believe that my attention span is severely hampered by my overactive brain and imagination. I know some guys who spend what seems like hours each day reading blogs. Theological blogs, political blogs, social-commentary blogs, whatever they can get their hands on. As a blog writer myself, one would think that I would take great pleasure in perusing the blog landscape that is so vast and dynamic. But I don't. I rarely read blog posts. Yet everyone once in awhile when a controversy arises and I see all of the related blog entries linked on social media sites, I will take a detour to enlighten myself with the opinions of man. It seems to me that the more con...

I'm a people watcher. When I observe the actions of others and hear their words, I try to discern their true intent, if that's possible. My wife has what is known as a "woman's intuition" but, as a man, I wasn't exactly blessed with that gift. So I observe and take mental notes. Now before you accuse me of being some creepy guy that stalks people at the local mall, let me explain. When I say that I observe others, I do what most of you do as well. As I live my daily life I encounter people who do and say all sorts of things, sometimes to me but usually directed at others. And it is to these things that I pay attention. As a father of four kids, I am around kids a lot. I go to the schools in an effort to stay engaged in their educational life and I am around their friends when they are at my home. As a pastor, each week I interact with hundreds of people who cover the spectrum of emotional and mental stability. When I grocery shop, there is a whole other l...