About Martha…

Welcome!

My name is Martha Brady.  Actually,

Martha Grimm Brady.

Yes, my southern mother told me from earlier than I can remember that when women marry, they drop their middle names and use their last names in the middle.

You can imagine my bewilderment at all the hyphenating and angst about names for modern women as I grew older.  It has never been an issue for me.  This has been my legal name for 43 years.  Big deal.

I am a sixty-five year old mother of three daughters, accompanying sons-in-law and grandmother of six, seven in May!

I am also a nurse who finally can enjoy collecting medicare…for myself!  2012 will bring me the “luxury” of social security.  I never thought I’d be excited about it, but that will lessen the number of hours I will need to work as a nurse.  It is hard work!

Most important, I have been married  43 years (9/21) to Ron.  He was a pastor when I met him and has been, except for our Jamaica years (7) when he taught at Jamaica Bible College and preached in many country churches for experience.  Our daughters were born there as well.

The time has flown! We have lived in Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Mandeville, Jamaica; St. Petersburg, FL; Miami, FL, Tyler, TX; and Hanna City, IL. Now we’re back in TX.  If anyone would have told me how fast my life would go, and I guess they did, I wouldn’t have believed them!

I still don’t feel like a grown-up.  Well, except if I’ve been sitting too long and have to stand up.  Then I feel OLD!

God’s grace has become more meaningful to me with time.  After a number of years of thinking about it, the truth of who I am in Christ has slowly penetrated my soul and mind.  I realize more and more what a great gift He has given…and how much I don’t deserve it.

Considering I come from the perspective of someone who is self-righteous, that is saying something.  God HAS done a work in me…for which I am grateful!  The only way I can give grace to others is when I realize how much grace was given to me and how desperately I needed it from God!  I wasn’t the sweet, darling, cute person in this world, I was LOST and needed Christ…even more than I knew…particularly as someone who was/is self-righteous!

Grace is simply defined as unmerited favor…a gift I did nothing to earn and don’t deserve.

There are two definitions for gritty.  One is being covered with grit or something like grit; coarse, rough, harsh, or unrefined.  There are plenty of days when this describes either me or my life!

The other is facing life with courage, resolve, fortitude; plucky.  I hope this is the one that describes me.

When we incorporate these definitions, we see them perfectly played out in the life of Jesus Christ in the ways He showed grace to us, but in such gritty ways.  By coming to earth from the glories of heaven, He showed His love in ways we could understand.  He lived in the middle of all the grit, yet didn’t sin.  Talk about a come-down!  Wow!

His grittiness was amazing!  When we are wimpy, there is nothing about us

that is like Christ.  He was the epitome of Gritty.

Join me as we share this adventure called gritty grace.  It is just another name for living life boldly, lovingly and with the courage to trust Christ, our Rock and Salvation, for the present and the future.

The main topics we discuss in the context of the grace of God are change, aging, relationships, gospel of grace, books, blogging and to catch the loose ends, serendipity!