jon mark music

so things in the mckanna house are extremely busy right now and the light at the end of the tunnel is very dim at this point. hence i haven’t really posted anything of great depth for a while now. but today i’m trying to fit blogging into the madness of life…

since my last “blog” entry on the father’s heart, molly has slowed down a little on the teething end of things. but changing and growing is a whole different story. she can now do a modified army crawl… she stands up holding on to furniture (if you stand her up)… she can make just about any face imaginable… she can tell you how BIG molly is… and last but definitely not least is this little temper issue. see she likes to get her hands on things like the telephone or a laptop. and then when mom or dad take them away… WATCH OUT! she throws that head back and stiffens up like a board. that’s not to mention the short screaming fit that accompanies it. even though it can be frustrating, it’s quite humorous!

kasey tried a little trick the other night. when molly rolled over and grabbed the phone, kasey took it, but replaced it with a remote control that we let her play with. this remote is to an old dvd player that we threw out and it’s just her size. it kind of worked, ok so maybe it didn’t, but it reminded me of something that i had been reading in ephesians. (to which some of you begin to wonder how my twisted mind works…)

in ephesians 4:17-32 there is another idea of replacement. check it out…

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. 25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil. 28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. 30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. (NLT)

paul is addressing gentile believers… not jews. and he is implying that there have been some who were either living according to their old ways or maybe had been in the recent past? and he describes what that looks like. then he goes into specific examples of what replacements need to be made… lies vs. truth… stealing vs. hard work and giving… foul/abusive language vs. good/helpful/encouraging words… check out how many times the word “instead” shows up. each time there is some type of former way of life mentioned, there is a replacement given.

why is that?

to show my mind is even more twisted… i thought of the word replacement. what is the most common way you see or hear that word used? Hormone Replacement Therapy… HRT. so i did a quick google search and looked at some info on wikipedia… there is a lot more info available than what i needed or wanted for that matter. but the basic concept is that when a certain hormone is lacking there are some negative side effects, problems arise. but when that hormone is replaced it “may prevent discomfort and health problems.” if it’s not replaced… the problems will persist. (i’m not a doctor so pardon my lack of knowledge on this subject and the lack of details given.)

the point is, when there is sin in our lives and we allow our former way to creep in, there are going to be some negative side effects and problems that arise. we are not going to be in right standing with God. we are not going to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. the way i look at it is, if we don’t replace the former way with something new… there is room for the former to fit back in. but if we replace it there is no room for it to return. we need some replacement to take place.

practical examples… when i feel myself becoming negative or judgmental, i start to see people and situations in a very negative way. INSTEAD i need to replace that with looking for the positive side of things. this person was created by God in His image and needs to see His love in me… or maybe it’s gossip? i’m feeling the “need” to tell this juicy story about sister so and so… INSTEAD i need to pray and ask God to work in sister so and so’s life and see if there is some way that i can share His love with her…

so look for the INSTEAD. look for the areas where replacement needs to take place. don’t leave room for the former way to return.

just as with molly, it may not work perfect the very first time… but keep at it and don’t allow the former way to take residence again!!!

so last night i got home from work and there were three packages for me…i hit the jackpot this week with free replacements for damaged goods…but the third package just happened to be a t-shirt. i double checked to make sure that it was addressed to me and then opened it up. low and behold there are people who read my blog!!! i received a large t-shirt that reads “teething bites!” so either this sunday or next, as i’m leading worship, i will be sure to wear my new duds!!! molly and i might even have to wear matching shirts to church…

so this week i was reading through the blogs i read each day…this lead me to a site that i had not seen before and a ministry that i had not heard of… toms shoes

for every purchase of clothing or shoes from this site, they will donate a pair of their shoes to a child in need. for every feed bag that you purchase, they will supply one school year worth of food to a child as well…

check it out for yourself, i’m looking at the pink camo toms for molly!!! could be a great teaching tool for kids and how we should reach out to those who are in need!!! check out the picture above in actual size, from their site!!! it’s pic #31…

so i gave you my sob story about teething and we looked at how our Father feels when we are hurting. (for those who are wondering…molly is back to normal and doing great…she loves to grind those teeth!!!) but today i want to take a look at the Father’s heart from another angle.

it’s been awesome to see molly grow, eat new things, learn new things, become more mobile…you get the picture. she has been rolling all over the living room in the last couple of weeks. she is getting quite good at getting her skinny body to head in the direction she wants to go… and she occasionally takes a little break and raises up on her hands to make sure she is progressing towards the desired destination, making the needed adjustments… but in the last week she has developed the ability to roll where she wants to go and then sit up all on her own. the first time i saw her do it, it kind of threw me off a little and then she did it again… i was so excited! i ran back to the bedroom and told kasey what she had done. for the first couple days, i would cheer her on each time she tried to sit up… like that was going to help in some way? now she does it all the time like it’s no big deal, and we yell “yeah molly.” to which she claps for herself with a big smile… new teeth, drool, the whole bit!

this was a major accomplishment for my nine month old daughter! and i’m not ashamed to say that i was pumped for her! she had worked so hard, fallen a couple of times and knocked her head on the furniture…but it was all part of the task that she has now mastered.

so i sat there and thought about the Father’s heart…

there are so many things that i have tried to accomplish in life… i’ve fallen down and knocked more than my head… it’s taken me more than a couple weeks to get the hang of it… but finally i have gotten to the point in my life where i have gotten a hold on things in my life. is God just as pumped about that, as i was about molly sitting up? why wouldn’t He be? He’s my Father!

i really look at my prayer life and the many times that i’ve tried to improve it… i’ve tried different tools to help me out, like prayer models in Scripture or reading through things… and finally it seems that i have a handle on it. i have a set time each day that i do my prayer time… i have a journal to write out my prayers… and a prayer card that reminds me of who or what i need to pray for each day. my conversation with my Father has become a priority in my life and is something i look forward to each day. it’s an encouragement to me, to be able to e-mail friends and let them know that i have prayed for them and that i care about them.

don’t get me wrong… i have not arrived by any stretch… but i definitely feel that this has been a great achievement for me… and at the same time i can’t help but thing that God is in heaven and pumped when one of His children get a grasp on something like prayer…

maybe it’s not prayer… maybe it getting over an addiction… maybe it reading God’s Word every day… maybe it’s not stretching the truth or gossiping… maybe it’s reaching out to a friend that doesn’t know God… i don’t know, but when we are able to overcome or achieve things in life, i have to think that God is pumped and yelling “YEAH …” from heaven.

the reason i think this… luke 15… and specifically vs. 3-10

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away! 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” (NLT)

i know that when i decided to turn my life over to God and to accept Christ as my personal Savior… my Father was pumped.

it brought great joy to the Father’s heart!!!

i am confident that He has that same reaction each time we take a new step in our faith…

it brings great joy to the Father’s heart!!!

so the past couple of days have been quite the adventure. wednesday night/thursday morning molly was having a real tough time sleeping and was just crying. it ends up that this whole process of getting your teeth to come in…HURTS!!! so there wasn’t a whole lot of sleeping going on. and dad got to stay home with molly on thursday because she had a pretty good fever as well.

but thursday night mom had to drive to indy in all the snow and sleet for a course this weekend. not so much fun…for anyone. she didn’t really care to be leaving when molly was down and out. and i didn’t care for her to be leaving either, not to mention having to drive in the weather that we were getting. but $$$$ talks and she had to go because we’ve already forked out the $$$$.

thursday night was a night that i will not soon forget. molly was up every half hour, or hour at the most. she was fevered, crying, and i had no clue what to do for her. everything that i would try, worked for a matter of seconds and then she would go back to exercising her lungs (good lungs for singing!!!) then from about three o’clock in the morning til about four o’clock…non stop lung exercises along with some kick boxing of sorts thrown in there as well.

here i was with a nine month old daughter, knowing that she was hurting and longing to comfort her. it was as if i was hurting just like she was. but she was having nothing to do with me trying to help her. she was just mad at the world and going to do her own thing. (problem is, she didn’t really know what that was)…i was at my end and had no clue what to do…which = melt down at four 0′clock in the baby isle!!!

as odd as i am…i got to thinking about how God looks at His children. there are so many times that i have headed down the wrong path in life and have done things that brought great pain upon myself and others. God was broken over my pain and was longing to help me. but sad to say i usually didn’t want anything to do with that and i wanted to do things my way…but i didn’t really know what that was more often than not. He gave me His word to read and brothers and sisters in Christ to support and encourage me…yet nothing seemed to get through.

i can’t imagine what that did do my Father’s heart!

i know what my heart felt like as i watched molly lying there in pain and not being able to help her. and that was all over a couple teeth trying to come in. it was not a life altering decision or mistake that she was choosing make…

so if anyone finds and adult sized t-shirt that says “teething bites” snag me a large please. but in the mean time think about how the our Father is effected by the decisions we make, even the small ones that aren’t life altering.

imagine what it’s going to do to the Father’s heart!