life

Where Is Your Bubble?

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When I was recently remodeling our house, I would stop at different points and check to see if what I was working on was level. Doing so makes a difference in how the finished product looks. It is also important to make sure things are squared, but when starting from work that someone else did, it is not always possible. Funny, but most people don’t see when things are out of square, but they will notice if it’s not level, especially if it’s the floor. It won’t feel right.

People can be tilted or not level as well. Sometimes, we will word it like, “There’s something off about them.” If they are not level by a lot, then it can really show. Some people’s bubble doesn’t even show up! Sadly, those are the individuals who commit heinous crimes. Others may be a little out of kilter where the bubble is touching one line or the other.

I know it happens to me from time to time. I can tell something isn’t right, and it can affect April as well. That is when I must stop and go to God for help to adjust me. To straighten me out.

Keeping a level head and walking straight helps me deal with anything or anyone in life that I may encounter. If I do my part, the situation usually goes better. People are less likely to get hurt by me and my attitude.

So, I have to ask, “Where is your bubble?”

This is he who was mentioned by the prophet Isaiah when he said, The voice of one crying in the wilderness (shouting in the desert), Prepare the road for the Lord, make His highways straight (level, direct). Mat. 3:3 (AMPC)

Such a person is double-minded and unstable [unlevel] in all they do.
James. 1:8 (NIV) [Italics mine]

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

This Old Man

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The photo was generated via AI.

I ran into a woman whom I hadn’t seen in forty-five years. We went to high school together. It didn’t take long for the subject of getting old to come up. That is when she commented, “Getting old sucks!” I agreed and added, “No one told us it could be so difficult or would hurt so badly.” She laughed.

In America, we have a currently running TV commercial by Progressive where a psychiatrist tries to help individuals from becoming their parents. They’re funny, but I stop laughing when I realize they are talking about me.

Latiana J., from my eye doctor’s office, put it like this, “The check engine light came on way too early!”

I understand that getting old is a natural part of life. At least I don’t look that old. I actually got IDD at a pizza place near our house when I asked for the senior discount! I don’t have much in the way of grey hair, and I don’t dye it either. My maternal grandfather was like that.

There are some things I appreciate that have come with old age. For instance, I have learned a lot about people and how they will lie or con you to get something from you. The gift of discernment helps with that, too. I have had the time to walk with God and grow in my relationship with him. I love it! We talk all the time, and I am honest about how I feel concerning how life is going. He knows anyway, so why try to conceal it?

I like the fact that I have a greater understanding of his word, the Bible. I may not agree with everything or like some things in it, but that is God’s word—and it is the final word!

I like having grandchildren and watching the three girls grow up. They make me smile whether they see it or not.

I want to think that I am more responsible with money and have matured in wisdom and insight. I enjoy having financial resources that allow me to bless others and do a little to meet their needs. That usually opens the door for me to share about God and his love. I like those days.

So, I guess if I take it slow getting out of bed, and continue to trust God to stay with me, getting old isn’t too bad after all.

I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
    until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
    I will carry you along and save you. Is. 46:4 (NLT)

Wisdom belongs to the aged,
    and understanding to the old. Job 12:12 (NLT)

The glory of the young is their strength;
    the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old. Prov. 20:29 (NLT)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

The Tree, The Prayer, and The Green

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I wrote about the tree that God gave us in our front flowerbed a couple of years ago. A quick reminder: I wanted a tree but could not afford to buy one. While growing flowers, April and I noticed a maple tree starting to grow. I have nurtured it for three years.

This spring, the tree was getting big and growing close to the house, so I knew it was time to move it. I started digging, and it was then that I realized just how big the root system had grown in three years. I had to cut through some of the roots, but I was finally able to get the tree out. I had bought a burlap sack to put the root system in and used as much of the dirt from where the tree was initially growing as I could.

I dug a hole where the tree’s new home would be. After placing the root ball in the hole, I filled it with more dirt. Then, I poked a hole in the dirt and added lots of water. Two days later, I thought the tree had died. All of the leaves had turned brown and shriveled up. I was heartbroken, but I kept on watering it.

On the third day after the transplant, I prayed. I said, “God, you gave us this tree, and you know I wanted a tree. I was so excited when I discovered it growing in the flower garden. Please, God, don’t let this tree die.” For the next several days, I watered the tree a lot.

Then one day, while watering, I noticed some small green buds sprouting. I started to tear up with joy overflowing in my spirit. God had answered my prayer. My tree was going to make it and grow in its new home. God is so good and cares so much for us.

Maybe you have recently been transplanted, and the move or change doesn’t seem to be going well. Perhaps you feel as though you are going to die. Tell God about how you are feeling. Remind him of his promises and tell him what you need in order to make it. He’s there listening and waiting for you to invite him into your situation.

No one can see your root system. They don’t know what God put inside the burlap sack to nourish you or the people He has placed in your life to help you. To water you and to feed your soul. I know God, and I know he planned this out a long time ago for your life. He is not a so-called “Fly by the seat of his pants, God.” He is supreme and omnipotent. He knows what He is doing. Despite how things look on the outside (dead leaves), you’re going to make it. You’re going to survive, and in fact, you’re going to thrive as long as you keep trusting God.

“But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
    the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
    putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
    never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
    bearing fresh fruit every season. Jer. 17:7-8 (MSG)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

God Is Kind, but Not Soft

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Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.

You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.

You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!

If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.

If you sin without knowing what you’re doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you’re doing, that’s a different story entirely. Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.

When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences. Rom. 2:1-18 (MSG)

The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson

Crossroads

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Image generated via A.I.

When you are at a crossroads, it means you have a decision to make. Sometimes, what to do can be painful. Jesus faced such a time when he was talking to his heavenly Father about facing impending crucifixion on the cross.

He pulled away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed, “Father, remove this cup from me. But please, not what I want. What do you want?” At once an angel from heaven was at his side, strengthening him. He prayed on all the harder. Sweat, wrung from him like drops of blood, poured off his face. Luke 22:41-44 (MSG)

Since the entire Christian faith is based upon Jesus dying on the cross, I can’t imagine what we would do if he hadn’t. As a human, I can understand why he wouldn’t want to. After all, he was an innocent man. But he knew taking on all the sins of the world was the whole reason he came to Earth, to begin with.

Jesus’ Father did indeed help him face the cross and continue up the hill to do His will.

What decision are you facing? Are you going to do God’s will, or are you going to decide what you want? Your heavenly Father is waiting to help you if you will only ask. Doing what God wants may be painful and challenging, or it may not make sense to you or others, but I assure you it is the right decision and could change the lives of others for the better.

Today is “Good Friday.” The day we recognize that Jesus died on the cross. Every person on Earth comes to their own crossroad where they face the cross. They have to make a decision: are they going to accept Jesus and his forgiveness for their sins, or are they going to turn and walk away? I pray you nail your sins to the cross and begin to truly live life the way God intended, with Him and His love. Do it today, and today will be your “Good Friday!”

“Thank you, God, for giving us your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for doing the hard thing and submitting to the cross. Thank you, Holy Spirit, for raising Jesus from the dead and for rolling the stone away from his grave. I will be eternally grateful.” – Mark

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person’s failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him. John 3:16-18 (MSG)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Speeding Ticket

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I like what the author, Jane Rubietta (www.JaneRubietta.com), an excellent writer and even better speaker, wrote concerning the picture included in this post.

“The no-hurry sunrise is always on time. I love the speed limit sign and the streetlights arching over the road. Just waiting.”

The photo speaks a thousand words, but I will try to keep it to 350 or so. First, it reminds us that another day is coming. The troubles of yesterday may get us down, but God says his mercies are new every morning. I would also add his grace, strength, and comfort, amongst other things that we need.

God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God (I say it over and over).
    He’s all I’ve got left. Lam. 3:22-24 (MSG)

The photo reminds us to slow down and not speed through the day. Last week, a guy got caught doing 125 mph in a 65 mph zone! Do you think he noticed any details in life? Or the State Trooper sitting on the side of the road? We need to pause or stop and look around. Notice God. See his hand active in our lives. Pay attention to the work He is continuing in your life to form your nature to be like his. One of love in all things.

Most of us, me included, get in a hurry for God to accomplish something in our lives.

There are times when the “journey” becomes more valuable than the end result.

God is active whether we see it or not. While you are waiting, see his handiwork with nature. It is Spring here in America right now. I don’t know the names of the trees, but some have been so beautiful! I told April, “Look. Aren’t they pretty? Enjoy them today because the blooms will be gone soon.” A few days later, they were. Okay. I have reached 350 words, so I will end this post. I think the message has been said.

Blessings!

(Okay, how many of you thought this post was going to be about me getting a speeding ticket?)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Do You Really Believe I Don’t Exist?

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Image generated via A.I.

Have you ever noticed how easily people are persuaded to believe one thing over another? They hear someone who comes across as halfway intelligent, and they think they must know what they are talking about! Just because someone uses big words or overwhelms you with “so-called facts” doesn’t mean they are right! There are a lot of smart people out there, but the problem is they define “truth” their way. They will try to convince you that how “they” live is the right way to live. Then, some yell and scream to be heard over the crowd. Are they right?

“Who talked you into the pursuit of this nonsense,
    leaving me high and dry,
    forgetting you ever knew me?
Because I don’t yell and make a scene,
    do you think I don’t exist?
I’ll go over, detail by detail, all your ‘righteous’ attempts at religion,
    and expose the absurdity of it all.
Go ahead, cry for help to your collection of no-gods:
    A good wind will blow them away.
    They’re smoke, nothing but smoke.

“But anyone who runs to me for help
    will inherit the land,
    will end up owning my holy mountain!” Is. 57:11-13 (MSG)

It’s challenging to convince someone that God’s way to live
is the best way if they have never tried it!

They will often vomit their objections, and the truth is that they are sick. In fact, they are so sick they are dying. For not accepting God’s gift of salvation via his Son, Jesus is eternal death. So what do we do as those who have been enlightened? We keep praying for them, and we live our best lives with God in front of them. Almost obnoxiously so they can see how much better our life is with God than their life is without. Not that our lives are perfect, but we walk through it with God in front of us. Perhaps they will become jealous and give in. Then, they will say:

All to Jesus, I surrender
All to Him, I freely give
I will ever love and trust Him
In His presence daily live

All to Jesus, I surrender
Humbly at His feet, I bow
Worldly pleasures all forsaken
Take me, Jesus, take me now

All to Jesus, I surrender
Lord, I give myself to Thee
Fill me with Thy love and power
Let Thy blessing fall on me

I surrender all
I surrender all
All to Thee, my blessed Saviour
I surrender all

Song – “I Surrender All” by Don Moen

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

Finishing Touches

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Image generated via A.I.

Have you ever had a friend who seems to do everything right? You’re in need, and they are right there with you, and they have what you need. They seem invaluable to you and your life. In fact, at times, you can’t imagine life without them. They also seem to be the ones who champion celebrations in your life as well.

April and I know a lady who seems to have made it her mission in life to celebrate a person’s milestones, especially if it is a birthday. She does it right, too. Beautiful cakes accented with remnants or tablecloths, festive decorations, tiaras, and, of course, invited friends. She specializes in keeping the upcoming celebration a secret, as well. Recipients always feel special. I know April did when her fortieth birthday was celebrated last year.

We know another lady who is always on the spot when it comes to bringing over a meal whenever your life is going through a tough time, whether it be an illness, death in the family, or something else. Her actions show that she is aware of what you are going through and that she cares.

I have a friend who will drop whatever he is doing to come over and help you. It doesn’t matter if it is a home improvement project, lifting something, driving you somewhere, picking you up at the airport, or any other type of favor where you need a hand.

Those types of individuals seem to put the “finishing touches” on life. They demonstrate the love of God and compassion. By the way, the word “compassion” in the Greek language means seeing a need and doing whatever you can to alleviate it. They define the difference between “a friend” and “a GOOD friend!” This world could use a lot more “good friends.” I hope you will consider being one. The first thing it takes is for you to give “your” concerns to God and trust him with them. The second is it takes opening your eyes to see others and what they are facing. Third, caring enough about them to do something. Put the finishing touches on someone else’s life.

Some friendships do not last, but some friends are more loyal than brothers.
Prov. 18:24 (GNT)

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.
1 Thes. 5:11 (NET)

For if they fall, one will help his companion up, but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up. Ecc. 4:10 (NET)

Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.
Rom. 12:10 (NET)

Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes! 1 Pt. 4:7-11 (MSG)

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.

You Have Everything Drawkcab

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Image by Julius H. from Pixabay

13-14 The Master said:
“These people make a big show of saying the right thing,
    but their hearts aren’t in it.
Because they act like they’re worshiping me
    but don’t mean it,
I’m going to step in and shock them awake,
    astonish them, stand them on their ears.
The wise ones who had it all figured out
    will be exposed as fools.
The smart people who thought they knew everything
    will turn out to know nothing.”

15-16 Doom to you! You pretend to have the inside track.
    You shut God out and work behind the scenes,
Plotting the future as if you knew everything,
    acting mysterious, never showing your hand.
You have everything backward!
    You treat the potter as a lump of clay.
Does a book say to its author,
    “He didn’t write a word of me”?
Does a meal say to the woman who cooked it,
    “She had nothing to do with this”? Isa. 29:13-16 (MSG)

Don’t be someone who gets their relationship with God drawkcab (backward). Know your place. Never forget who the Master is. I have come across some who get it wrong, and the result is they hurt people! And the worst part of it is they don’t realize it or ever admit it. It really is a sad sight to behold. If you do meet one, all you can do is pray for them because experience has taught me that they won’t listen.

Copyright © 2025 Mark Brady. All rights reserved.