Onword and Upwords by Dennis Brady

Be Encouraged

  • No Traffic On the Extra Mile

    That’s what Gina, my massage therapist, told me. I was complimenting her on her diligent attention to detail. For example, In a recent session, I mentioned how I love the group, Mandolin Orange and particularly their album, This Side of… Continue reading

  • He Will Thank Me Later

    He really will. My son, Will, cut our front yard yesterday for the first time. It’s a big deal. I’m very particular about the front yard. The 3/4 acre in back, not so much. So when he came inside after… Continue reading

  • You Know You Have A Great Friend When…

    You know you have a great friend when…you call and say, “hey, I need a favor on Saturday. I need to pick up 32 boxes of hardwood flooring from the store and take it to my mom’s house. Can I… Continue reading

  • No Longer Slaves

    I recently wrote about albums that have marked me. Every now and then one song will speak directly into my soul like it was injected intravenously. I can listen to it on repeat for an hour or more. It doesn’t… Continue reading

  • Take Possession 

    Deuteronomy is repetitive with God’s promises to the wilderness wandering Israelites. If they would obey His commands then He would make them strong so that they can go and take possession of the land He promised them. Land flowing with… Continue reading

  • Time Flies

    A friend today congratulated me on my 25th wedding anniversary. He has known me all of those years and more and commented, “Time Flies”. That made me pause. Yes, 25 years has flown by, but not without some turbulence. We… Continue reading

  • My Dad

    The following are the words I spoke at my Dad’s funeral last Saturday.  I struggled whether or not to post this, but ultimately I think he’d want me to as it tells his story and gives glory to God. Thank… Continue reading

  • Broken, But Valuable 

    I had one of those proud moments yesterday that fathers often enjoy. Will and I were repairing a couple of outdoor lounge chairs. The straps that held together the material to the frame had deteriorated and broken. We were tying… Continue reading

  • Intangibles 

    There are life tangibles. Set in stone. Your height, your intelligence, your mama and dad, these are things you can’t change. But then there are the intangibles. You may be taller than me, but that doesn’t mean your heart is… Continue reading

  • The Blind Squirrels 

    We lost the first game in our end of the season little league double header and really, we weren’t surprised. Maybe we had won a single game all year. Maybe. So we went home that Friday night with plans to… Continue reading

  • Saturday

    It’s Easter Sunday and I am surely thankful for the Resurrection. But I’m thinking about Saturday. It takes a lot faith to get through Saturday. On the Friday that Jesus was murdered there were probably lots of cheers, jeers and… Continue reading

  • Rest

    Poor Toby can’t get any rest when I’m home. He’s the one on the left. I feel sorry for the little fella. Whenever I get up to move around in the house he feels compelled to stir himself out of… Continue reading

  • What Are You Smiling About?

    Dude, what are you smiling about? I just flipped on the TV on the elliptical machine at Anytime Fitness when the local midday news displayed a picture of a man arrested for something. I don’t know what. I wasn’t listening.… Continue reading

  • Believing

    Will and I were practicing baseball in the backyard and I said, “Son, we’re gonna make a baseball player out of you.” He corrected me. “I am a baseball player.” Right, ok. Let me rephrase. “Well, you’re going to be… Continue reading

  • Toby

    I’m learning a lot about relationship building from Toby. We may never be best friends, but I’m committed to our relationship. Toby is a 2 and 1/2 year old French Bulldog/Pug mix that we adopted from a rescue agency in… Continue reading

  • Mistakes

    He will never let me forget. Will’s baseball practice had just ended and we walked the long 40 year journey through the wilderness back to the car. “Will, where is your glove?” He responded with big, questioning eyes. “Will, you… Continue reading

  • Invalid Words

    I love the game Wordfeud. It’s like Scrabble except if you play a crazy word, your opponent can’t challenge it. You just get the message shown above, “Invalid Word” and you remove it and keep trying til you play a… Continue reading

  • We Can

    Sometimes we can but choose not to. My son, Will, asked his oldest sister to make his other sister some chocolate pancakes. She responded, “I can’t”. So he tried a more direct method. “Will you make me some chocolate pancakes?”… Continue reading

  • Look For The Signs

    Ask God for guidance and He will direct your path. Psalm 25:12 says,“Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.” He will often give us signs. We were looking for… Continue reading

  • Move On To Dessert

    I’m not the most consistent guy in the world, but I have learned that I can stick with things long enough to matter. In my younger days of naïveté, I would start things and attempt to stick with them. Diets,… Continue reading

  • Smarter

    My mom asked me the other day if she could bring her car to my house to wash it. My concrete driveway and long garden hose are more conducive to car washing. I’m not sure, but I think she set… Continue reading

  • Baby Keely Is 16 Today!

    Sixteen years ago today was the culmination of 6 months of solid praying and believing God for a miracle. It was a journey filled with many miracle sightings along the way. We learned to expect them. As Israel Houghton said,… Continue reading

  • Soft Yet Strong

    “Soft yet strong.” Will read this on a package of toilet paper. He asked, “How can something be soft and strong?” Hmmm… Why did we teach him to read? I fumbled around with some words and it occurred to me… Continue reading

  • Press On and Praise Him

    Press on and praise Him when the door opens all the way, Press on and praise Him when it slams in your face. Press on and praise Him when a yes becomes a no, Press on and praise Him when… Continue reading

  • Tell A Lie

    Tell a lie sometimes. Really. We don’t always want to hear the truth from you. Yes, your bones and muscles may ache EVERYDAY, but you don’t need to tell us every time that we ask how you’re doing. Tell a… Continue reading

  • Process

    Process We use this word a lot at my company. We refer to it as the “P” word. It’s not a bad word, but it is a necessary one. I have learned in my 3 years on the job that… Continue reading

  • Audio

    I love listening to podcasts of good preaching. I’ve even learned to appreciate audio books. And it’s not just preaching. I like business and sports podcasts as well, especially since fantasy football is right around the corner. But preaching is… Continue reading