Too Aware to Play Along

Describe something you learned in high school.

There are a lot of people I know
who say high school was a waste of time…

—and I get it.

For some…
especially artists and musicians…
it never felt like a place
that knew what to do
with a fire inside—

more about obedience…
than imagination…

But for me—
it was different.

Those four years gave me something real…

I had free chorus… music classes…
adding even more
to the years I already lived in—

that’s where it happened—
I discovered my love
for writing…
for literature.

English—
that was probably my favorite…

History came close—
science right behind it…

Math…?

I could do it… sure—
but I never felt it.

I understood it—
just never connected to it.

Sports gave me another kind of education—
one built on sweat…
pressure…
timing…
and skill you had to prove…

The social side though…
I could’ve done without that.

It was the usual divide…
the cool kids…
then everyone else…

—and me…

somewhere in between…
too aware to play along—

But the teachers—
they mattered.

I had real connections there…

My building construction teacher…
he was one of the guys…

Sometimes we’d sneak behind the shed—
smoke a cigarette…
talk about life…

Other days—
we’d all jump him…
wrestle him to the ground…
leave him covered in dirt…
shirt torn up…

He’d walk into the teacher’s lounge
looking like he survived a tornado…

trying to explain what happened…

Man… we loved that guy.

But my English teacher—

she changed everything.

She introduced me to Julius Caesar…
my first taste of Shakespeare…

Lighting a path to more great literature…

And then there was music class—

where I learned something
I still tote today…

The power… of the rest.

Silence—

In music…
what isn’t played…
can speak louder
than what is.

Same with writing… 😎

So yeah…

I gained a lot from that place.

Funny thing—

earlier today…
before I even saw this prompt…

I was listening to the John Mayer Trio…
reading interviews with John…

—and in one of them he said…

“I knew school never did anything for me…
it never made sense…
I knew at 13 what I wanted—
to be a musician.”

And yeah…
I get that too.

But thinking about it…

school did do something for him.

it showed him
what he refused to let go of.

And that’s the lesson— 😎

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines.

But something’s better
On the other side.

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

One Pull Away…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

The 90’s for me…
were just… were just… hmm…
still lookin’ for the word(s)…

For now…
fire and ice.

The middle of the decade—
Burned hottest…
Froze bone…

I was dealin’ with heartbreak…
tryin’ to fix it with drugs… alcohol…
music.

I was strugglin’

So this memory came back to me today…
I just sat there like—
geeees man… what was I thinkin’?

Apparently… I wasn’t.

Back then… I had a few handguns…
used to go to the firin’ range pretty often…
had a couple of 9mm’s…

and this one…

a small .22 revolver—
pearl handle…
looked almost harmless in the hand.

But I noticed somethin’ about it…

You could load just one round…
and if you looked closely—
you could barely see it sittin’ there in the chamber.

So… as you pulled the trigger…
if you paid attention…
you could track it… tell when it was one pull away.

And yeah…

I’d mess with my buddies sometimes…

I would play Russian Roulette with it.

Even though I knew I was “safe”…
keepin’ an eye on the bullet…

it was still—
an unreal feelin’.

hard to explain it.

I never let anyone else handle the gun loaded…
and I absolutely would not let anyone else participate…
and I never shared my secret.

I can’t believe I did it.

My friends thought I was somethin’ else…
and yeah…
I built quite a reputation off that.

But lookin’ back now…

ugg…

what a thing to do.

So grateful God never let go…

*** DO NOT TRY THIS YOURSELF ***

Job 33:18
“He keeps them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.”

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

What My Mornings Look Like…

What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?

— the first hour, and then some

So… once my dreams let go
and morning rolls around…

I open my eyes—
and I’m instantly happy.

I’m glad a new day has begun for me.

I thank God…
tell Him I love Him…
just chill for a moment—
embracing His love for me.

Then I usually lay there for maybe ten minutes…
eyes open… just thinking.

Then I reach over—grab my phone…
reply to my girlfriend’s texts…

They’re always there waiting on me.

She’ll send a photo she took…
or a piece of her art…
a scripture she picked out just for me…
along with her words…

So Supergood to wake up to this…

After hygiene stuff—
I head to the kitchen… get my coffee…
make my way to the couch…

Start my morning devotions…

Two different ones I read…

“Streams in the Desert” — by Lettie Cowman
“My Utmost for His Highest” — by Oswald Chambers

Both from the 1920s…
both deep…
in different ways.

One poetic…
one piercing.

I read…
sit with it.

Think about it.

Then I pray…

I talk to God for a while—
real talk.

Then…

I shut my mouth.

I listen.

To what He has to say…

After that—
headphones on…

I open up YouTube Music
Choose something… then just let it go…

A mix of Christian and secular

Then comes one of my favorite parts—

I grab my guitar.

I try and learn one new song a week, sometimes more

Right now I’ve been learning…

“Infra-Red” — by Three Days Grace
Next up… “Fine Again” — by Seether

Most times…
I don’t use tabs…
don’t look up chords…

I just listen…
play what I hear.

Learning the lyrics are the main thing…
the guitar part I make my own…
in my own style…
usually…

I’ll jam for a while…
have some fun with it…

then it’s back for more coffee ☕️

Headphones back on…

Then I check in—

My ministry platforms…
my YouTube…
my blog…

I respond to people…
read what others are sharing…

I’m not a big commenter—
but I show up lol

Then later I think on…
pray on…
whatever I want to write or post…

or if it’s time for one of my weekly series posts—
I’ll do that…

post on my other Christian platforms…
make a YouTube short sometimes.

Then I hit my workout.

Every day—
except Wednesday and Sunday.

After that—
protein shake…
something to eat…

And yeah…

That’s been my mornings lately.

I’ve been on leave from work for about a month now…

So right now—

My job?

Is just having awesome days 😎

Also… at night… I read the Bible and whatever other book I’m reading… right now it’s Hemingway’s memoir “A Moveable Feast”

After I read… I listen to more music… then I spend a good amount of time praying for others… then I sleep…

Lettie Cowman
Oswald Chambers

Lamentations 3:22–23 (ESV)

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases…
His mercies never come to an end…
they are new every morning…
great is Your faithfulness.”

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson (bryanforchrist). All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Gee Wiz…

When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I don’t want to grow up… I’m a Toys R Us kid… they got the best… for so much less… you’ll really flip your lid… from bikes to trains to video games… it’s the greatest toy store there is… gee wiz… I don’t want to grow up… cuz baby… if did? I wouldn’t be a Toys R Us kid… 🤷‍♂️

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~

Miles, Music, and a Few Tricks Along the Way

What’s a secret skill or ability you have or wish you had…?

I’ve done a lot… I love a lot.

Sports… fishing… music… writing…
working out pretty religiously these days…
and I’ve always loved driving… oh… I’m a people and animal whisperer too…

I drove 18-wheelers all across the U.S. for 17 years… professionally.
Spent time training student drivers with FedEx Ground…
that part stayed with me… something about watching it click.

Same thing with teaching guitar and music back in the day…
there’s something about passing things on.

But if we’re talking secret skills…

I can juggle.

Learned it as a teenager from a guy at a pool hall…
with billiard balls.

And this one’s a little ridiculous but true…

I can throw grapes so high they disappear…
wait… track them back down out of the sky…
and catch them in my mouth.

Oh… and I can juggle grapes and eat them at the same time…

Yeah… I know… lol…

Nothing special… just a fun way to feed your face.

Not today though… too much other stuff to juggle…

˙uoıʇɔǝlɟuı ɥʇıʍ ƃuıs I sɐ ƃuol oS
…ʎɐs I ʇɐɥʍ ɹǝʇʇɐɯ ʇ,usǝop ʇI

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson

`’.,°~

Advertise Your Blog… On My Head

I offer a service kind of like Blaze… but way hella better.
The cost is similar, but I will work with you.
If you have coin struggle… you can pay in many other ways.
It’s not about money… never was… never will be…

because you see…

I can help you customize stuff…

you know what I mean right?

So you only pay for what you need. 🤷‍♂️ 🦤

© 2026 Bryan Loia Hudson | All rights reserved

`’.,°~

bryanforchrist on you tube

Kim Walker Smith 🎶 Throne Room

https://youtube.com/shorts/oNU4UjVjMak?si=F0ThSImCTheDBkl8 👈

Click on thumbnail inside short for full song

Check out my channel.. and if you like.. subscribe… I pray for my viewers and subscribers nightly while laying in bed before I do my 💤 stuff…

“HOLY… HOLY… HOLY… is the LORD Almighty… the whole earth is full of His glory…” — Isaiah 6:3

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~                         …t

Shakespeare & Me & Florida Georgia Line (Week 14)

A Midsummer Night’s Dream…

Willy `•.

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is wing’d Cupid painted blind.”

FGL ¡¡`’.-

“my love is…
never gonna run dry, never gonna come up empty… now until the day I die,
unconditionally…
You know I’m always gonna be here for ya
No one’s ever gonna love you more than
God, your mama, and me…”

Me `’.,°~

Paint my heart to stay-
the pyro kind…
burning red and flame…

Song of Solomon 8:6–7

“Set me as a seal upon your heart…
for love is strong as death…
Many waters cannot quench love…
neither can floods drown it…”

Ecclesiastes 4:12

“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken…”

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~                        …t

Almost

Two Lottery Stories

What would you do if you won the lottery?

I’ve got two lottery stories. Here’s the first—one that’s stuck with me for years.

Back when I used to work delivering top-grade fruits and vegetables to restaurants all over Atlanta, one of the guys I worked with told me this story about his aunt and uncle up in Michigan. They were the kind of folks who played the lottery religiously—same numbers every week, knew them by heart. His uncle worked construction, his aunt stayed home.

One day, the uncle was on the job, radio on in the background, when the lottery numbers came up. One by one, he heard them read off… and they were his numbers. Every single one. He stood there frozen, trying to grasp it—he was a millionaire, just like that. He felt like Jed Clampett, like George Jefferson—about to “move on up,” as they say. He couldn’t believe it—after all that time, the numbers finally hit.

Trembling, he grabbed his phone and called home. His wife answered. He could barely get the words out—“Honey, we won. We won!” You can imagine that rush of joy, disbelief, tears, laughter—the whole spectrum of emotions hitting at once.

When they finally calmed down, he asked her, “Where’s the ticket?”

Silence.

She didn’t know. Couldn’t remember. They searched every corner of that house—you name it: drawers, kitchen counters, coat pockets, even the trash—but the ticket was gone.

Never turned up.

It was a multimillion jackpot—ten million or more, my coworker said. They never recovered from it. They ended up divorcing. He drank himself into an early grave; she lost her mind and eventually wound up in a mental hospital.

I’ll never forget that story. They were just one missing ticket away from a whole new life. Makes you realize how thin the line is between winning big and losing everything…

The second story’s a little different—it’s about the strange brush I had with the lottery once.

I don’t normally play. Honestly, it had probably been ten years since the last time I bought a ticket. But one day, these numbers just popped into my head out of nowhere. They felt… random, but not really. So I scribbled them down and thought, why not? Maybe I’m supposed to play these.

That evening, I bought a ticket for the Fantasy Five drawing. Later that night, I sat down in front of the TV, ticket in hand, heart doing that nervous little dance while I waited for the numbers to roll out.

The first one—bam. I had it.
The second—got it.
The third—hit again.
The fourth—yes! Four in a row.

Now it all came down to the last number. If it hit, I’d be holding a ticket worth half a million dollars. I was right there on the edge of my seat, waiting… the winning number flashed on the screen—29.

I looked down. Mine said 30.

Missed it by one digit. Just one.

Still, four out of five wasn’t bad—I got a hundred bucks out of it. Not life-changing, but it sure made for a good story.

Funny how luck works, isn’t it? One number can mean the difference between a payday and just another story before bed…

So I guess if there’s any moral here, it’s this—don’t store your hopes and dreams in things that can be lost…
store them where they’re eternal —
that’s where the true jackpot is waiting…

As for me… I don’t believe in luck or chance.

…….🚫💰🏃‍♂️🌍…⏳🕯️…👋🪦🚫🧳…🚘⚰️🚫🧳🧺…✅💎⬆️☁️✝️…♾️✨…….—/—$→🌍…⏳…→∅…⚰→∅…→↑†…∞’…….🚫$→🌍…⏳…⚰️→🚫🧳…“no hearse w/ luggage rack”.🤷‍♂️..↑†☁️…💎→♾️’…….—/—$→🌍…⏳🕯️…⚰️→∅…↑†☁️…💎♾️…….<3†’

Matthew 13:44 (NIV)
“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field…”

© 2026 bryanforchrist. All rights reserved.

`’.,°~                          …..t

Hidden Gems From The B-Side.. Life Side (Week 10)

Tonic 🎶 Future Says Run 🎶 Sugar…

Sup my people…
I’m sticking with Tonic this week… just too many great songs to leave behind…
Thought I’d let you experience them on a deeper level…
They’ve always been such an underrated deal…
except for those of us who know…

So I’ve got two more for you…

🎵 Future Says Run
Album… Sugar
Release year… 1998

🎵 Sugar
Album… Sugar
Release year… 1998

I hope yall enjoy…
So press play…
and let’s go over this midweek hump together…

…….⏳<3→👀→✅…💬”im right”…🙏<3…🚫⏸️…🌙⚡<3’…….<3~⏳~→?→=…”:;=;”…<3→/→!→…~NOW~’…….<3~⏳~…👁…”:;right?;”…<3…~no fear~…🌙’

© Bryan H. 2026 — All Rights Reserved

`’.,°~