Brendan

Here is my older brother Brendan. He is married and has two kids. He has a daughter, Rhianna, who is sitting in his lap here and also a son, Noah. When we were younger we used to fight so much. It is sad to look back on all the hateful thoughts that I thought towards him. To be honest, in those days, I often wondered whether we would ever be friends when we got older. Thankfully, by God's grace, we are now and those earlier days seem so far in the past. God has done a huge work in both our lives to draw us closer to Himself.
Brendan was radically saved while he was in college through a huge revival at his school. It would take forever to tell the full story (he would have to tell it). It is enough to say though that at certain points when things were at their worst, if someone had showed me the picture above as a picture of him in the future, I would have had a lot of questions to ask. That is nothing against him either. He would agree when I say his testimony is the same as all of our testimonies. We were running towards hell and God completely and graciously saved us. It truly is wonderful in all our lives to consider where we would be if we had not been saved. It is a beautiful thing in Brendan's life to think of this and then to see him with his wife and daughter and son. It not only makes me smile but it makes my heart well up in awe because before me I have living, walking, smiling proof that all point to God's glory.
I realize at this point that I haven't said much about Brendan's hobbies or anything. I think what I have talked about is evidence of what is most important in his life. I'm pretty sure he likes to eat but I get the feeling his wife, Jamie, keeps him on a diet. :) Him and his wife also like playing Nintendo together. The other husbands at church joke with him about how lucky he is to have a wife who likes video games! Mostly though, Brendan loves serving his Savior by loving his family and serving passionately in his church in New York City.
Brendan, God truly has blessed me with you as a brother. It was wonderful to see you coming home from college overflowing with love for God. It definitely spilled over into my life and encouraged me in a ways that I never would have been encouraged. It is also wonderful to see you now with your family and be able to genuinely have you as a friend. Keep stepping out in faith and pouring yourself out for God! He will keep filling you up!!