Beach or Mountains ??? which do you prefer ….?→~≈↔^/’…❓
Both places preach.. one with waves.. one with wind.. I’ve always been an outdoor sportsman.. at least I used to be.. These days work and ministry keep me busy.. but that part of me is still alive somewhere in there..
I lived in Florida for twelve years.. and I got used to the salt life.. I had a kayak.. and I’d fish the hidden corners of Tampa Bay.. mostly alone.. but sometimes with my friend Jimmy.. Bishop Harbor was my favorite.. I’d take whole weekends and just disappear.. camp on those tiny islands.. fish day and night.. no clock.. no noise.. just water and sky.. a kind of backwater solitude I still miss..
I also did a lot of freshwater bass fishing down there.. I’d bounce back and forth between saltwater and fresh.. Florida gave me both flavors.. and I never got tired of either one..
For a few years I even lived in a beach house on Anna Maria Island.. At high tide the waves from the Gulf broke about fifty feet from my back porch.. When I wasn’t working or fishing or swimming.. I’d sit out there.. play my guitar.. sing into the night.. and just watch the water drift through its moods.. In the dark I’d lay in bed and listen to the waves crash.. a steady sound that felt like the world breathing.. It was a sacred season in my life.. My roommate Nathan was there too.. a good friend.. He died of an overdose a few years later.. Good times.. memories I still smile about.. and I miss him..
But I also love the mountains.. I grew up fishing and exploring the North Georgia mountains.. Every summer.. me and my friends.. sometimes my dad or my uncle or both.. would drive 15 miles off the main road on a gravel trail to get to our camping spot on the Tallulah River.. It was quiet.. beautiful.. hidden away from everything.. We pitched tents.. built fires.. fished.. talked.. laughed.. and mostly fished haha.. And yes.. I catch fish 😁🎣 Even when you don’t catch anything.. it’s still great.. but I always catch them.. I fish for people now …..t`
Up there we always ate what we caught.. trout for breakfast.. lunch.. and dinner haha.. By the end I didn’t want any more fish for a while.. but I always looked forward to going back.. year after year.. from a kid into an adult.. those mountain memories run deep in me..
So therefore I can’t choose.. I’m part tides.. part timber.. Both preach.. Both shape me.. It’d be like choosing between your mother and your father haha…
In 2012.. I was running on spiritual fumes.. living and working down in Florida.. driving an 18-wheeler and hauling orange juice concentrate.. Most days I’d head down to the seaports.. wait for the massive container ships from Brazil.. then hook to a bulk tank and run it to one of the orange juice factories scattered across the state..
One day.. I was rolling down a long.. deserted.. country road in the middle of nowhere when something big.. black.. and winged shot across my path and smacked the front of my truck with violent force..
It happened so fast I couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was.. I just prayed it wasn’t a bald eagle—there were plenty of them in that area.. Whatever it was.. I knew it had to be dead.. No way anything could survive the hit I felt.. My anxiety climbed as I pulled over and walked to the front of the truck.. preparing myself for the worst..
But when I looked down.. lodged in an open section near the bottom of the grille.. was a huge black vulture—one of the largest I’d ever seen.. And it was still alive..
For a few moments.. I just stood there.. trying to process what I was seeing.. The bird was incredibly calm and strangely quiet.. It looked right at me with an expression I can only describe as.. “Please help me…”
There was no way I was going to grab this thing bare-handed.. I was certain it would lash out with its beak.. So I found a big stick on the side of the road and tried to pry it loose.. No luck.. The bird was wedged tight.. and part of it was pressed against the radiator—which was extremely hot.. I knew time wasn’t on its side..
I kept trying with one hand on the stick and one on a wing.. but it wasn’t working.. I was starting to make it worse..
Eventually.. I realized the truth.. I was going to have to pick this thing up with both hands..
Fear hit me hard… But I also knew I didn’t have a choice..
So I took a breath.. Said a small prayer.. Had myself a quiet ellipsis moment haha.. Then reached in..
I put both hands on the bird.. To my surprise.. it stayed gentle—completely calm.. completely trusting.. Its eyes were locked on me.. almost talking.. It knew I was trying to help.. As my fear faded.. a strange confidence grew.. I grabbed all over its body.. trying to find the angle to free it.. At one point.. I even had my hands around its neck and head.. carefully working it loose..
Finally.. with one good pull.. the vulture came free..
I lifted it high in my hands.. expecting it to explode into flight—but it didn’t.. It simply rested there…
It had just survived something that should have killed it.. and it needed a moment to breathe.. The amazing thing was… it wasn’t even injured.. not a broken wing.. not even a wobble.. nothing…
We stood there together for about a minute—me holding it.. it staring at me.. No fear on either side.. Just this strange wild peace…
Then it looked at me one last time.. as if to say thank you.. turned.. and flew…
I climbed back into my truck and drove on.. replaying the moment in my mind.. I still can’t believe it survived the impact.. Not only survived it—walked away completely fine…
And then the old saying hit me.. “Tough as an old buzzard…”
Now I understand where that phrase came from… those birds are built like tanks.. And on that day.. something wild trusted me — enough to rest in my hands… an indelible memory…
Wow… i just googled ‘tough as an old buzzard.’ to see how it came about.. I knew none of this…
(Where it comes from) The phrase “tough as an old buzzard” grew out of american frontier language in the 1800s.. early 1900s.. People on ranches.. homesteads.. and in desert regions watched buzzards (vultures) survive things almost nothing else could survive.. blistering heat.. drought.. storms.. rotten food.. injuries.. and just plain rough living.. Why a buzzard specifically? Because vultures/buzzards are famously hard to kill………… Cowboys and farmers noticed that even old.. beat-up buzzards still lived incredibly long and stayed sharp.. Their survival was legendary…
It all makes sense to me now 😁
And I relate……….. I’m also famously hard to kill 😁.. but that’s another story for another day… 😎`
If you could meet a historical figure, who would it be and why?
So there are so many historical figures I’d love to meet.. I’ve already met Jesus — I know Him personally.. better than I know anyone else — so let’s scratch Him off the list…
George Washington is one that fascinates me.. Most people don’t know the hidden pieces of his story.. It was like he couldn’t be killed in battle — as if something.. or someone.. was watching over him.. I believe that someone was my friend Jesus..
Native warriors supposedly had a name for him that meant “the man who couldn’t be killed by a bullet.” Maybe that part became legend over time… but the testimonies are wild.. After the 1755 Battle of the Monongahela.. one unnamed warrior said..
“Washington was never born to be killed by a bullet! I had seventeen fair fires at him… and.. after all.. could not bring him to the ground.”
And there were more stories like that — one after another — people watching him walk through battles untouched..
But as interesting as all that is… I think I’d rather meet my own family members — the ones who lived and died long before I was born..
About five years ago.. I started digging into my family history.. and there are so many I wish I could sit down with.. Some of my great-great grandparents had incredible stories.. One grandmother even had the same birthday as me.. Another ancestor lived a remarkable life.. I’d love to hear in his own voice.. and one grandmother died just before I was born — she was excited to meet me.. but she never got her chance..
I have famous relatives too — Richard Nixon.. William Penn.. John Penn — and ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.. I even discovered relatives who were directly involved in the Salem Witch Trials..
So yeah… as great as the heroes of history are.. I think the people I’d most want to meet are the ones whose blood runs through my veins… the ones who helped shape my story before I ever breathed..
So music means so much to me.. as you’re probably starting to see.. so I heard this song earlier.. and it brought back memories.. i once walked in on my mother.. she was alone and crying.. listening to this song.. turns out this one is special to her.. because it reminds her of me.. it’s the one song she has attached to me.. and I just noticed today.. that it was released the year I was born.. 1973.. something I’ve never noticed… all these years…
Two times in my life.. I’ve caught my mother crying to music.. here are both those songs…
When I was fourteen.. my best friend was killed in a dirt-bike accident.. I can’t begin to tell you what it did to me… Crushed is the only word I have right now.. and even that feels too small..
We were closer than brothers..
After the funeral.. I fell into my bedroom. That room became my world — my home inside my home.. I shut down.. Closed myself off.. No access allowed..
Everyone was worried about me..
It felt like I was on a camping trip in the wilderness alone.. And I stayed there for a whole year..
I needed something… but I didn’t know what..
I started borrowing CDs and cassette tapes from my uncle..
I found an old tape in a forgotten box in the attic — Bob Dylan’s Another Side of Bob Dylan… and I disappeared into it.
rock… country… blues… folk… old… new…
Hank Williams Jr… And the only Christian song I even knew back then.. Amazing Grace..
I didn’t just listen — I drank it.. And the more I drank.. the thirstier I got.. So I went swimming in it.. Something I still do..
Meanwhile.. God was walking the edges of me…
One night.. I awoke from a dream that wouldn’t let go… and there in the corner of my room was a silhouette.. shaped like a guitar..
my mother was so worried about me she didn’t know what else to do.. So she got me an acoustic guitar.. And one night.. while I was sleeping… she placed it right where I would see it.. the moment I opened my eyes..
and so I took it
I played it… and I played it… and I played it…
until my fingers bled
until it started playing me..
I learned it — taught myself — until it learned me back..
Song after song.. Day after day.. night after night… Month after month.. From the fall of 1988 into the winter of 1989..
I played it…..
until it became my heartbeat..
And finally…
after a year in the wilderness…
I emerged from my room..
ready to face my giants…
…
of the 90’s…
…
…
…
First song i ever learned on guitar 👇
I had many songs embedded in this story.. but it was causing it to load super slow.. so I deleted most of them…
My Friend Joey’Me`
Psalm 34:18 (NKJV)
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted.. and saves those who are crushed in spirit…”
For most of my life.. I’ve been strong and healthy.. Then about a year and a half ago.. my health crashed hard.. This past year has been rough… sickness.. weakness.. doctors searching for answers — but lately I’ve been getting stronger day by day..
Six months ago.. things hit the worst point..
I was deathly sick and went to the ER.. They ran tests.. Two doctors walked in with that look on their faces — the look that says everything before a word is spoken..
“We think it’s cancer.”
They told me there were spots on my pancreas… liver… kidneys… and when something shows up on multiple organs.. red flags go up immediately.. doctors assume the worst.. To them.. it looked like cancer that had already spread..
But me? I was calm..
Not because I’m fearless — but because I had a promise from above that I’d live a long life.. I knew it wasn’t my time.. And I also knew they can’t call anything “cancer” until a biopsy confirms it.. honestly.. even if it were cancer.. I’d still react calmly.. because I’m ready to go home whenever…
I was admitted to the hospital.. and while I waited for results.. everyone — doctors.. nurses.. all treated me like it was cancer.. even my patient chart said it’s cancer.. cancer.. cancer.. cancer… everywhere cancer… One nurse introduced me to another by saying….
“This is Bryan… he has pancreatic cancer.”
I looked up and said.. “No ma’am.. I don’t have cancer.. And the tests results aren’t even back yet…”
Everybody around me braced for the worst.. I held on to faith… I wasn’t signing my name on something that didn’t belong to me…
Not today. Not ever.
“Don’t put that evil on me.. Ricky Bobby..” I joked……….. (They tried to curse me — I wasn’t having it 😄…)
And then the results came in..
Everything was benign… No cancer… Doctors scratching their heads because they were almost certain… Me smiling.. because I already knew..
God kept His word to me. And I’m still here — living.. growing.. healing.. getting stronger every day..
If you’re facing something scary.. remember this.. Doctors have knowledge.. God has the final say……
And He’s not done with me yet.
Also… if you’re reading this….. He’s not done with you either…..
I want to take a moment to explain what I’m doing here on this blog…
First and above all… I love Jesus — 110%… But I also used to be lost.. and I never want to forget that.. My past lets me relate to anyone who shows up here.. Everything I’ve walked through — the struggles.. the mistakes.. the victories.. the faith — it all shaped who I am today…
And I’ve decided I’m not hiding any of it..
This blog is going to show all of me..
who I was…
who I am now…
and who I’m becoming…
I’m going to pour it out and not hold back..
My ministry is BryanForChrist.. and it reaches far beyond one place.. It includes..
my YouTube channel…
my Grow account…
my WhatsApp ministry…
my mission work in the Philippines.. Singapore.. Argentina.. and now Uganda..
and my ongoing connections with churches and ministries across Florida..
And now here also…
There’s a lot happening — but it all comes down to one mission… reaching people who need hope… listening to them… talking to them… loving them… all of them…
I’m going to do that by being myself… My secular side.. my life side.. my faith side.. my Christian heart — it all lives here together…..
So this blog is different.. than my other things going on.. I feel this is my angle of approach.. unique to here…
And trust me…
it’s going to work… I hope 😄… nah just kidding… it will be fine… 😁… regardless though… It will be me… 😎…..,t`¡-<³… ☝️
What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?
…….~\_/<<∆>>\_/~’
I was fishing an old farm pond once… I just happened to look down… and there it was… at my feet… a flawless… white indian arrowhead… about the length of a pinky finger… such a cool find… I’ve never found another… and I don’t have it anymore… it got lost while moving…
It was Tuesday.. June 6.. 2o06.. around 9 pm.. eastern time.. in the small town of Locust Grove.. Georgia.. USA.. at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac.. a good neighborhood to grow up.. in a beautiful.. yellow..💥 southern home.. out of a magazine.. with white shudders and trim.. and an old style front porch.. that almost ran the length of the house.. lined with antique wooden💥 rocking chairs.. full with gorgeous flowers and potted plants of various kinds and colors.. my mother’s precious castle… her Kindom.. where she reigned… and I just happened to be there… sitting.. rocking.. playing my guitar and singing.. trying to write my song…..💥
I had been struggling with addiction.. somehow.. I decided in my mind.. that the drugs made me more creative.. I felt it made me a better musician.. a better💥 singer… I thought i could write better… I swallowed the lie wholly… one thing was for sure.. I enjoyed myself and my music much more while under the influence… this was the reason I used drugs… it💥 wasn’t to sit around and get high and act💥stupid and practice meaningless💥nonsense of no importance… I would make magic.. I was creating the world inside my head… singing and strumming the strings of my life.. the only way I knew how at the time…💥
I was high that night.. like the sky.. I was sitting at my computer.. I had been💥 performing live all day in an online music festival concert… I was a part of a group of💥worldwide musicians known as “The Pond”… and we were putting on a show that day… so i’d perform a song about every two hours… and in between that.. other acts would play…..💥
As I was waiting my turn… something came over me… a thought… a desire to be famous… a desire to be heard.. to be known.. to be felt the world over…💥to be loved by many… to be a rockstar… and then it happened… I began to speak to him… to the evil one.. the devil.. satan.. Lucifer.. whatever you want to call him.. he has many names… I told him that if he were to make me famous… and take me and my music to the top… take me to the highest level… that I would💥serve him… what happened next.. I wasn’t expecting and has been hard to forget……….💥
As I ended my words with him… something happened… I had his attention.. I felt his presence close.. I felt him💥listening.. I felt him speaking.. as if he was saying…. “”ok… it’s all yours.. what you ask.. what you seek.. what you desire… it’s all yours””… I finished the concert that night and went to bed.. exhausted and uneasy…..💥
Morning came… I awoke.. and immediately.. I remembered… oh no.. what have I done?.. I was sober now… I jumped out of bed… I was scared… I was a mess emotionally… I made coffee… I tried to think of my next move… I went to the garage… and I spoke these words out loud… I told him to forget💥 everything I asked for… that I didn’t mean it… that I didn’t want it… that I could never commit to him… because I belong to💥CHRIST JESUS💥… that I would be following HIM and HIM only moving forward… HIM only will I serve… I💥recanted… I took it all back… I felt💥relieved… alive… delivered… forgiven… restored… renewed… what happened next has given me a few bad dreams over the years…..💥
As I finished telling the devil.. my new future plan… an evil presence rushed at me from across the room… it was angry and fast… I could hear the wind and💥motion as it approached me… it got right up close in my face… nose to nose… staring me down… it was the most💥intense… most intimidating… purest form of evil… it didn’t feel like a demon… it felt like the source… the one behind it all… the one that fell… the accuser of the brethren… the father of lies… the devil himself…💥 Lucifer… and he was in my garage… in my face… trying to start a fight…💥 or finish one…💥… that I started……💥
I was frozen in place… nose to nose… face to face… I had to do something… I started talking to GOD..silently… calling on HIM… HE showed up… I filled up on strength… I started rebuking the evil… commanding it with authority… it remained in front of me… something had to give… I couldn’t stand any longer in the presence of it… I ran in the house… and it was over… but it wasn’t over……💥
So since this experience… throughout the years… evil has tried many times to take my life… evil has made several attempts.. .. but GOD… rich in love and mercy… has kept me safe… HE has miraculously💥delivered me on occasions… when I call on HIM… HE comes after me… riding the wind… HE has been with me through it all… my strength–my source… it’s because of my GOD…💥that I write to you this night… and tell you of HIS goodness… and I only say this to you… HE loves you as much as HE loves me… and HE’S there… HE’S real… nose to nose… face to face… waiting for you…💥
Many people don’t believe….. I can’t help but to….. because of what I’ve been💥 through… I know the truth with certainty… I know we all only have two choices… and limited time to choose…..💥
‘O THANK YOU JESUS 💥💯
I leave you with these scriptures.. look them up.. it is my life verse given to me by the LORD…💥
Psalm 143: 9-12…. (143 is the numeric code for the phrase “I love you” 9-12 is my💥birthday… and the words inside… my life…… my story…….my GOD……💥`-!1~`-4/3_<9*,;:12’^”>t’…,,”…,’…,t’/_`-!’,-^-💥
…
“….I awoke last night to the sound of thunder… how far off… I sat💥and wondered… started humming a song from 1962… aint it funny how the night moves… when you just don’t seem to have as much to lose… strange how the night moves…💥with Autumn closing in….”…..,t’ `~-.i’!^_/
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I’ll never forget the summer of 2o06…
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“…oh the night has been won… and I shall overcome… yet not i.. but through CHRIST In me…”💥…………………………………………`☆
…….✧†✧…….<3†…….†🌑✨…….↓¤☠†’
…….^†^≈…….<^†>~’…….v↓†↓v’…….~°~†~°~’
…….↷→†→↶’…….→†→’…….|=†=|…….__†__’🏳
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if your unfamiliar with the girl singing in the video?… that’s Jen Ledger… the drummer from the band SKILLET… I’m in love with her 😍😅.. she’s my honey…😁..💥
I just posted another short video of her playing drums… hard to believe that’s the same.. innocent.. precious.. sweet little thing singing in the other vid 😅… she’s a beast on those drums!………..💥
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“” you can take my heart… you can take my breath… when you pry it… from my cold dead chest…”” ☝️💯
Heart of Loia `'.,°~ 