Gifted and Lifted Mark Mabry

Before my kids leave home, I sit them down for an exit interview. What did we do right? What did we do wrong? Regrets? Things we're proud of. What do you think about your brothers and sister? 
Bo is a beautiful kid and the last 18 years have been absolutely wild. Something new every day. 
Next week he'll get on a plane and fly across the country to be a missionary in the Everett Washington area. We won't see him for 2 years. It's heart wrenching, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 
I love you Bo. 

Have you ever had a "rough patch" in your marriage? For me, the functionality of my marriage is directly proportional to my ability to function anywhere else. When I'm sideways with my wife, my mind is preoccupied by it, and I cannot achieve joy or peace. No joy, no peace, if that's not hell, then I'm not sure what is.
In my opinion, a person CANNOT compartmentalize their marriage and separate it out from the rest of their life. That type of commitment is too close to our soul. Too sacred. 
I invited renowned Marriage and Family therapist, Janay McInnes to help me explore how we can life our marriage out of Hell and into Heaven... today. We talk about Sex, Safety, How to stop a fight, and how to basically change the culture of your marriage. 
Enjoy! 
Mark

I'm afraid of stagnation... especially in my relationships... more especially in my relationship with my wife. Nothing scares me more than a situation where we find that the spark is so gone that neither one of us has the energy to reignite it. So I'm preemptively giving myself self-improvement projects that pertain to her. If you're wondering, "what does this have to do with Jesus?" In my opinion, how we love our spouse is the first way that "by this shall men know, ye are my disciples." I believe in marriage into eternity. And even there, I never want it to get stale. So I surprised Tara with an interview. Really, she had no clue this was coming. Enjoy! Mark
 

How can we build unity with someone who isn't aware that a relationship even exists yet? 
First, we need to understand that a "Relation" is the basic unity of unit. 
As soon as you're aware of someone, you have formed a relation. 
Your choice to love someone, or hate someone, is YOUR CHOICE. Their choice of how they respond is their business. You can't control whether they love you or not. Hopefully they respond to how you are, but it's not a guarantee. 
This is Essentials of Unity lesson 1. 
thank you, 
 
mark
 

I was asked to speak at our church for the Mother's Day service. Honest, I've never been so nervous to speak before. There are so many heartbreaks all around Motherhood... so that's exactly what I spoke about. 
The value of heartbreak. 
This is the audio from the talk... I added a little bit scoring... because I just like music. (Makes me not sound so flat). 
Happy Mother's Day! 

This woman.
 
How was she so magnetic that she STOPPED JESUS IN HIS TRACKS?
 
Background. Just two days ago,  Jesus road in Triumphantly, like a conquering hero, turned over the money-changer tables, and told them that Caeser’s currency wasn’t God’s currency. He stayed there at the temple, surrounded by enemies, teaching and calmly answering venom with truth. Jerusalem was about to erupt.
 
Somehow, late in the day, HIS VERY LAST PUBLIC DAY, something caught His attention.
 
If this was a fairy tale, and Jesus was a knight, then this might be end of act two. Where he gets to the castle see’s the unknowing bride-to-be in the tower… and remembers why he traveled this far.
 
IT WAS HER. The pauper widow.
 
Jesus couldn’t have seen her, BUT HE SENSED SHE WAS THERE. So Jesus left the arguing men and walked up the steps alone, where He could see into “The Court of the Women”. 
 
He sat down.
 
The courtyard was exposed. There was a long, obvious walk to the trumpet shaped donation boxes. Some people liked carrying their large donations through the courtyard for all to see. But she didn’t. In fact, her gift was only two mites. The minimum legal donation.
 
He called His disciples to Himself…
 
“… this poor widow has given more than all those who have given to the treasury.”
 
She was carrying THE RIGHT CURRENCY, and so much of it that it bought the attention of God Himself…
 
My goodness, what was she carrying besides two mites?
 
A broken heart.
 
She was carrying a broken heart.
 
And why is a broken heart the currency of the God’s?
 
Because it’s the physical, mental, and spiritual sign of us HANDING OVER OUR WILL to him.
 
The loss of her husband didn’t break This Woman’s heart. It set her up. She could easily have been the bitter widow. Her poverty didn’t break her heart either, it let her double down.
 
A fallen world gave her painful chances to choose faith, it gave her precious perspective.
 
Anger distracts us from exploring what God can do.
 
Is there a prayer more powerful than this,
 
‘God, here are the pieces of my heart. I don’t know how to put them back together. But I think you do. I’m resisting anger, pride, and hopelessness. I’m turning to you.’
 
Amen.
 
 
 
 
 
Sidenote
 
This is a pretty bold take, even for me.
 
I had to ask myself, Mark, are you saying that nobody can break someone else’s heart?
 
What about getting dumped…?  yeah, it stung. But did you let your heartbreak to Jesus and change,  or did you choose jealousy and sarcasm to guard your heart.
 
What about when so and so gossiped?  Did you fire back? If so, your currency was revenge.
 
Or Did you let the gossip die with a private conversation and frank forgiveness? That’s the currency of a broken heart.
 
What about this and that failure or injustice as an adult?
Did you keep fighting long after righteous anger had expired?
 
I’m not arguing against grit. Jesus’ was more tenacious than anyone… ever.
But look at His tenacity. It came after expressing His broken heart to His Father… again and again.
 
“Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors… THY kingdom come, THY will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
 
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this purpose I came to this hour…
 
“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will , but Yours be done.”
 
That was how Jesus prayed. He was just handing over His broken heart over and over again.
 
That is what a broken heart sounds like.
 
The world will provide the weaponry that bloodies us to the point of heartbreak.
 
Let me rephrase that, the world will use weapons like depression, anxiety, injustice, dishonesty, racism, abuse, untimely death, and abandonment…  to force our hand.
 
Either Will we choose to prot