Category: Brad’s Thoughts

The other day I was driving down the road with my wife and as usual some woodland creatures were scurrying along in front of our vehicle.  This time it was a bird and with the menacing approach (as menacing as a 1999 Toyota Rav4 can be) this little chap started from a slow gait to a bobbing furry of little feet.  My wife screamed out to the bird (since he can obviously hear from the air tight cabin confines over the muscular roar of a the four cylinder engine) that he should get out of the way.  At some point a neuron or two must have connected with a synapse or two and the bird stopped running and thought “oh wait, I have wings and can fly” which he did rapidly out of the precarious position of becoming a Rav4 hood ornament.  We laughed quite a bit about that little bird and how he had simply forgotten his natural inclination of flight to instead attempt to run out of harms way.

The aviary world can actually teach us quite a bit on things of life.  I believe that God created the heavens and the Earth, and all the creatures so sometimes studying how they work is beneficial for our own lives.  Consider Solomon as he observed the simple ant:

Proverbs 6:6-9 – New International Version (NIV)

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?

This morning we sat eating and my wife observed a bird out on a branch.  I spied the bird’s mate nearby.  The males are more brightly colored than the females by design.  They take the role of distractor if the female is threatened.  The females are able to blend in with their environment a bit better.  I can only imagine what kind of courage it takes a little bird to flutter and fiercely defend it’s nest, it’s offspring and it’s mate against predators of far greater size and with larger appetites.   A bird was designed to do what birds do, which seems pretty simple to say but thinking of us humans we have way more opportunities to mess that up.

My wife shared a story a particular bird that makes it’s nest in the side of hills.  The two birds make the nest together and then the female is sealed up inside the hillside dwelling alone with just a small hole that the male comes to feed her and the subsequent offspring through.  Each of those birds and their example is very powerful in it’s own right.  That started my own synapses to fire and thing about how we live out our lives on a day to day basis.  Where do we walk instead of run?  Where do we run when we can actually fly?  How do we defend and serve our families?

Let me challenge you men today to ask your wife about what would make her feel secure.  Chances are it will not be the bass boat, the house, or the figure in your bank account.  Knowing you are there for her and your children will (I’m guessing here) be her deepest concern.  If it’s not that then you might need to dig a little bit further because there might be something terribly amiss already in your relationship.  I can speak boldly on that topic because I know how I have missed those important points.   I was easily distracted by the title attached to my name and the number of dollars on my pay check.  I consider a blessing and a curse at times to be in technology as in the world of development that can mean today’s bleeding knowledge is tomorrow’s forgotten obsolescence.  I’ve worked for many companies that are no longer in business, but I have a family that suffered silently for them.   Relationships matter much more than stock offerings in vaporware.

If you take that challenge today, know that I have already prayed that your wife will be honest with you and that you can accept what she offers you.   It could be a very sobering conversation.  It could be that conversation brings you or her to the close to the final straw, or it could be that one that finally opens a door that really needed opening before it gets that far.  Our wives don’t need  what Oprah says, or what some commercial says they are lacking.   They need us to be fully present and willing to listen to their hearts of what they need.  You might think that you’ll be getting by a little easier but chances are there are a lot of things that you might need to give up to fulfill that calling.  Just like God gave birds wings to fly, he gave men the tools to protect and nurture a family.  Sometimes we are too busy running along the ground pursuing other things thinking that is the ultimate goal.   If this hits home for you today, contact me privately or share your feelings below.

Devotion . . . I love the Bike Chair.

via What Is Love? – YouTube.

If you have these two sinners who by nature are self sovereigns who have little interest in doing anything in life, but building their own kingdom…And if they’re now living in a relationship of real unity, real love, willing self sacrifice, you’re seeing the Kingdom come. 

What is Unique about Marriage that Makes it a Forum for Ministry? – Paul Tripp | Verge Network.

How a dad can model repentance | Mars Hill Church.

Felt very convicted this morning . . . need two things . . . first, pray for Peggy and I, Christopher Masters and Nichole Masters, and Glory Ross as we head back up to South Dakota (Canton, SD) this weekend to host an Art of Marriage weekend at a church there.   Continue reading “Prayer for Art of Marriage”

http://theresurgence.com/2011/09/06/the-truth-about-marital-compatibility

On the surface it sounds so easy – there are several songs with lyrics about being salt and light, Bible studies are available, and sermons have been preached.  On a certain level it is almost one of those pat Christian phrases, so I challenged myself to look deeper.  What does it really mean to me to be salt and light? Continue reading “Salt and Light”

Forgive my horrible Adobe Illustrator skills . . . I’m just learning and this is what I could come up with during my lunch break: Continue reading “Marriage Seesaw”