dump

The First Eternity

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Have you ever realized that there was an eternity before what we have now on Earth? Think about this: when God placed man in the Garden of Eden, it was perfect. There was no sickness, no hurt, no pain, no Washington D.C. (um-hum), and no death. I believe God intended for life always to be that way. Walking and talking with man and woman each day.

Then, Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, and darkness entered the world, ending perfection.

Hundreds of years later, Light once again came to the world, and the hope of a perfect eternity was now obtainable by believing that Jesus is God’s Son and accepting his gift of salvation for the forgiveness of our sins.

God never intended for people to hurt or for them to deal with sickness and disease. He didn’t want them to suffer in any way, shape or form. God didn’t want anyone to feel hunger, the pain of war, or the sting of a broken family. He never wanted to comfort a parent having to bury a child. God only wanted his best for his children.

Not living with God is choosing to live in a dump! Darkness dumps on you, most likely every week, if not every day! Your Facebook posts constantly share the pain and heartache that you deal with on a regular basis. I’m not saying you shouldn’t post those things with us because it reminds me to pray for you. And I’m not saying life with God is perfect on this side of heaven, but it is definitely better than living in a dump!

Accept God. Learn to live his ways by studying the Bible, his manuscript for living life. Walk and talk with him daily. Ask lots of questions, for He is the only one who has the correct answers. You will enjoy the victories along the way until you reach the second eternity.

John 8:12 – Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Proverbs 21:21- Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.

Romains 8:28 – And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 41:10 – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Copyright © 2024 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

There is More Than This

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

How much effort does it take to “hope”?  Hoping for a life that is better than your current one.  I think most don’t say, “I hope I …” but instead, they say, “I wish I …”.

Hope definition is – to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true

Wish definition is – feel or express a strong desire for something that is not easily attainable; want something that cannot or probably will not happen.

Do you see it?  Do you see the difference between “wishing” and “hoping”?  “Hoping” comes with anticipation because it can actually happen!  This is why “hope” is so powerful.  Hope can restore a
marriage.  Hope can lead to someone getting their health back.  Hope can get you a better job.  Hope causes things to happen. 

God’s word says,
“These three remain: faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor. 13:13)  I like what “The Message,” translation says, “Trust steadily in God (that’s faith), hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.”

Hope can help you go from where you are to the kind of life God intended for you all along.  I mean, seriously, he started man and woman out living in a garden.  It’s a lie from hell to accept, “Well, this is as good as it’s ever going to get.”  NO!  You can have what God wants for you. How?  Ask for it.  Ask God to help you achieve that life.


Believe it can happen.  Start renewing the way you think today, for what you think is what you believe, and what you believe is what you say, and what you say comes to pass, for words have a lot of power.

Every time you speak, generally, you are speaking life or death.  Start listening to how you talk, and pay attention to the kind of words you use the most.  Especially those words you say to other people.  Those words matter, but also what you say to yourself in your mind.  Changing those words can change your life.

God loves you and wants you to have his best.  He doesn’t want you living in a dump but in a garden.  He wants you to live above your current situation.  He wants you looking up for something better, for there is
more than this, and when you are looking up, he can see you smile.  God wants so much love, happiness, and joy for his children, who love him, and He does work “all” things out for good for those who love him. (Rom. 8:28)

Copyright © 2023 Mark Brady.  All rights reserved.

Your Address Matters

/ Mark Brady / Leave a comment

I often see Facebook posts by someone I know personally but won’t name them here because it doesn’t matter. What does matter is, what they post. It seems that a lot of life happens to them, and I say, “Life Happens” instead of using the other word.

The other day after reading yet another one of these posts, I started thinking and asked, “Why?” It didn’t take long before I realized their address was wrong, and that’s the problem.

No, I’m not saying that it is because they are poor and can’t afford to live in one of the nicest areas of their town because those people can have “life” happen to them as well. The issue is this; they do not live in the garden!

God created a garden, made Man, and intended him to always live in that garden. But after God gave Man free will, Man decided to exercise it and choose not to live by God’s rule to stay in the garden.

God took the Man and set him down in the Garden of Eden to work the ground and keep it in order. God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.” Gen. 2:15-17 (MSG)

That’s the very problem today with people. For whatever reason, they may think they have, decided not to follow God’s commandments and live according to His Word, the Bible. Therefore their address is where trash goes, and life “dumps” upon them often, perhaps even daily!

It doesn’t have to be like that!

I will not claim that accepting Jesus into your life and making Him “Lord” of your life eliminates all of life’s problems, but it sure makes getting through them more manageable. You can be assured that you have a loving God to help you get through the trials, and being the great provider that He is famous for, you might even be surprised at how He takes care of those trials. You have to trust in Him.

So accept Jesus into your life by asking him to forgive you of your past wrongdoings and then read God’s Word and start talking to Him daily. Oh, and get some boxes and start packing because you are about to start living in a garden.

Copyright © 2022 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Dump or Garden?

/ Mark Brady / 2 Comments

CtS21ft CamH3' 35mm 0001Mankind’s first address was inside Garden Grove Estates.  God gave Adam and Eve a home there, but they wanted more.  They wanted to know what God knew, even though he told them that kind of knowledge wasn’t for them.  They disobeyed, and got evicted.

Do you live in a garden?  I don’t live in a perfect one yet, but things are growing.  And I don’t even have a green thumb either!  My neighbor one day saw me trying to plant some flowers.  She said, “You don’t know what you are doing!”  I said, “I know, but I am having a great time.”  I desire, ache to live where God intended, meaning the kind of life, but since I don’t know what I am doing I need him.  I need him to design it.  I need him to remove the weeds, remove the trash, move boulders, and dig trenches for the living waters to flow in my garden.

I look around, and I see very few people living in gardens.  Instead, they have, like Adam and Eve, believed the lies of the devil, and have paid the consequences.  They have gotten hurt, down, defeated, or have settled.  Some have given up.  They act like “hope” is a four letter word, so they accept life in a dump.  It stinks!  It’s dirty, toxic, hazardous to your health, but they accept it.  More and more broken, ugly, bent, faded, rusty things of life, gets  dumped on them day after day, and they take it.  They call it life, and just assume, it can’t get any better.

This is not the kind of life God intended for you.  It hurts him to see pile after pile of trash dumped upon you.  Guess what?  You don’t have to live there!  You can move out of the dump, and into a garden, but you will need the help of the Gardner.  The One who loves you like you can’t even imagine.  Will you accept his invitation?  Will you change your address?  Come live in the garden God wanted you to live in.  Oh, and the cost?  Free, for his Son, Jesus paid it for you.

Copyright © 2018 Mark Brady, All rights reserved