Why “MB4384?”

November 18, 2022November 19, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Our home WIFI was upgraded the other day, receiving a new gateway. “MB4384” was the name of our old network name, but for a specific reason, we could no longer use it. As I was getting all of our devices reconnected to the WIFI via the gateway’s default name and password, I told April we needed to come up with a network name and password. Of course, something easy to remember.

We discussed many options for both. We finally settled on “KUYA_MARK,” Tagalog for “Brother Mark.” We assumed no one in the neighborhood was using that for a network name. Then we came up with a password we could recall without having to look it up. Again, I reconnected all of our devices to the new network. That’s almost worst than having to turn all of your clocks backward.

“MB4384” became my company user name 17 years ago after SBC purchased AT&T. It took some time to get used to it. I had no idea how in the world they came up with that pattern of letters and numbers, but now I do. God had his hand in it!

Being extraordinarily vulnerable and transparent, getting married again after 24 some years of being single hasn’t been easy. There have been times I have wondered if I did the right thing. I know there were several events and moments of confirmation, but nothing beats what I am about to tell you.

As we were discussing possible names, April disclosed that she thought I changed my WIFI network name to “MB4384” after I met her. She didn’t know it was my AT&T user ID. I was confused, but I told her I used that name when I moved into the house five years ago. Thirteen months before I ever met April. Then I asked her, “Why did you think I changed it after meeting you?” She replied, are you ready for this? “Because that is my birthday.”

Yeah, that’s right. April was born on April 3, 1984, or 04/03/84 or 4384.

I teared up. Then I laughed as I thought about how funny God is. He knew 17 years ago (well, honestly forever) I would need another confirmation that no matter how hard getting used to being married again is for me, it is worth it because God ordained it. When you see that kind of love in action, it’s almost impossible not to trust that God knows what He is doing and that He has to have a purpose for us.

Thank you, God, for loving me.

I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. Jer. 29:11 (MSG)

Irreconcilable Differences

May 24, 2022May 23, 2022 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

Being in a relationship can be challenging at times for a variety of reasons. When married couples find that changing, or compromising is harder than they think it is worth it they many times end up in divorce court claiming, “Irreconcilable Differences”.

I had to look up what those two words mean.

Definition of Irreconcilable Differences

Noun

Differences of opinion or will that cannot be brought into harmony, or cannot be brought into an agreement through compromise.
A relationship that has become relentlessly hostile.

One could make the case that God and Satan declared, “Irreconcilable Differences”! That God and Satan have a relationship that has become relentlessly hostile! Although there is one definite distinction; God had the final say-so when it came to the final judgment of their case. When Satan insisted on being a “god”, in his own eyes, and having the angels worship him God said, “No way! There is only one true God and it is me, and He was not about to compromise.

To this day Satan is working day and night trying hard to appeal God’s final judgment. He is even trying to use people to win his case. He tells them lies, half-truths that convince them of things like there is no God, there is no punishment for sin, or that there is no eternity. In other words, as he told Eve in the Garden of Eden, “You will not surely die.” (Genesis 3:4) People believe him when he tells them, “There is more to life than what you currently have now, and you deserve more. You’ve earned it.”

It’s sad when they buy into his deception. If they are not set free with the Truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ then they will stand before God when they die and He will declare with them as well, “Irreconcilable Differences” and they will be forever divorced, separated from the presence of God, and that is called, “hell”!

Please, accept Jesus Christ into your life before it is too late. Ask for forgiveness of your sins, and wrongdoing. Read God’s word, “The Bible”. Learn about the love of God and come into harmony with Him. When all truth is revealed, and it will be, you will be glad you did.

A New Chapter

January 22, 2021January 21, 2021 / Mark Brady / 3 Comments

America. She changed today. Maybe the reality is, she changed a long time ago from the innocent days I once knew, but this truth is obvious today. I grew up in Oklahoma, in a middle class family that somehow, always seem to have enough and then some. I watched as my parents made good decisions and choices who worked hard for what they wanted. “The American Dream”. I believed in this dream and I too sought it out. I wanted to own my own house, well after paying 30 years of payments. I desired a good job, a loving wife, 2.5 kids, one of each sex, and to be a happy family.

The truth is, it took me 35 years to buy the house that will be mine in 26 and 1/2 years. I have two kids, one of each sex, who don’t talk to me, and, their mother divorced me after she made a huge mistake, but convinced everyone our marriage failed solely due to me. As a result, my biological family doesn’t want to have anything to do with me, so you could say I don’t have the happy family I desired. Many Christmas days have been spent filling the empty stocking with tears.

After years of checking the “Divorced” box on forms I met and then married a Filipino woman. I thought perhaps now I would get the happy family I desired. You know what? There are cynical, greedy, lying family members in all cultures, but the woman I married is the exception to a few members of her own family. I have written about it a few times; my wife lives out God’s definition of love.

After our wedding, I was with her for seven months in the Philippines, until I needed a medical procedure, so I left her there thinking immigration wouldn’t take that long and she would come to America on my heels. There was some delay in the process, but as we were reaching the finish line Covid hit. Another year without her, another moist Christmas day. A lot of crying out to God, and asking, “Why?” The big three set in: Discouragement, Disappointment and yes, even Depression. As I crawled through those dark days way down, deep inside me, was a mustard seed of faith that was whispering, “God knows what He is doing.” In full disclosure, my mind was asking, “Are you sure?”

January 7^th, we received an email stating my wife has her long awaited interview with the U.S. embassy in Manila. LIGHT pierced our darkness. I wanted to wait to share this until she was actually here, but someone needs to read these words now. We are hoping we will be together by Valentine’s Day. What a time to reunite our love for each other and for our God who loves us beyond belief.

When my wife is in our home in Oklahoma a new chapter of our lives together will begin. Unfortunately, she will never know the “America” I grew up in. Today, those with money want more, and those who “think” they have power want total control. I sense days may be coming that perhaps will not be comfortable. Standing up for what is true, for what is right could prove to be difficult. There will most likely be a separation of those who have a solid relationship with God from those who were pretending, because in the America I grew up in, it was popular to say you were a “Christian”, but not anymore.

Yes a new chapter will be starting soon in my life, but also a new chapter in the life of America. Our country’s slogan, printed on our currency, may no longer be, “In God We Trust”. Sometimes I wonder who is really holding the pen, writing each chapter. As for my life, I want God to, because whether I understand his ways or not, He does know what He is doing!

Isaiah 55:8-11(MSG)

^8-11“I don’t think the way you think.
    The way you work isn’t the way I work.”
        God’s Decree.
“For as the sky soars high above earth,
    so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
    and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Just as rain and snow descend from the skies
    and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth,
Doing their work of making things grow and blossom,
    producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry,
So will the words that come out of my mouth
    not come back empty-handed.
They’ll do the work I sent them to do,
    they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.

Good, But Best

May 29, 2020May 29, 2020 / Mark Brady / Leave a comment

good, better and best word written by 3d hand “The greatest enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but good choices which are not quite good enough.” (Oswald Chambers – My Utmost for His Highest – May 25)

Confused? Let me explain.

We can be confident, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity or cowardice or fear, but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of sound judgment and personal discipline [abilities that result in a calm, well-balanced mind and self-control]”. 2 Tim. 1:7 (AMP)

Therefore, with our free will, we should be able to make good, sound, decisions for our own lives. I felt like I had done that. I retired from AT&T, at the age of 55, and instead of buying an RV and traveling, I decided to move back to my home town to take care of my father, to write, and occasionally speak publically. I was happy with these good, sound decisions.

Not my will, but thine be done.

Life was, and would have remained good, but I always yield my choices and decisions to God. Before my father passed, not long after I had moved back, we had some great moments fishing again. (Not to tell a fish story, but we managed to “keep” 167 fish in only 3 outings.) I bought a house I really enjoyed living in. I was getting used to my new, good life, but God wanted “his best life for me”. (Kind of sounds like something Joel Osteen would say.)

You see, I had been divorced for 24 years. I kind of wanted to be married again, but was content being single. Looking back, I see all the people God had put in front of me to work on my heart toward marriage. One Friday I found myself filling out a profile on a dating website. I submitted it and there she was. From all of the women presented, the one, who would later become my wife, stood out. I could see the love of God radiating from her postage stamp size photo.

To make a long story short, I contacted her, we texted, then talked, and then video chatted via Messenger. I went to the Philippines to visit her and the family. One month after returning home from the trip, I put everything in storage, rented my house out, and moved there to marry her. It has not been a “cake walk”, but we always had love to build on.

While waiting for her immigration process to be completed, we have grown together, and lately started dreaming about our future. There are several things beginning to open up, and reveal to us the will of God, for us, as a couple. I love it!

You see, I could have continued to be single and have a good life, but because I surrendered my will to God, I am now living the best life I could ever have. I thank God for loving me so much. And ya know what? He loves you too, just as much!

Now What?

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020 / Mark Brady / 2 Comments

Charlie 011520 1 You finally drop off to sleep, and when you wake up the next morning you have a few seconds of peace before the pain of your current life situation comes crashing back into your mind like a tsunami. You lay there and say to yourself, “Oh yeah”. You force yourself to get out of bed, but if it wasn’t for having to go to the bathroom you would more likely pull the covers over your head and try to go back to sleep.

If this is you, what do you do? You may feel your only options are; runaway, become a hermit, seek revenge on those that have hurt you, drown your sorrow in alcohol, over eat, pop pills, or even worse bring physical harm to yourself. For those who have a relationship with God, the only thing you can do is lean into him even more. Anything else is of the flesh, and it will not ease the pain like God can. It may take all you have left inside you to even ask him to help you trust him more, but He will. If you don’t have a relationship with God, now is the perfect time to ask for him to forgive you and come into your life.

The words of old hymns can be comforting, reminders of God’s reality, which is more true than our own. Read the words of the song below. Let the melodic words soak into your soul. Be encouraged with the truth of knowing that this too will pass. May God bless you, and comfort you. Jesus is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He will never leave you, nor forsake you.

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