jon mark

sooo, this past weekend i covered an extra service, for our associate worship pastor…it was great to be back on saturday night and see some people that i haven’t seen in at least 5 months…one couple thought i had moved away…(that’s what happens when your church has 4 services)…there were a few “set backs” as we were rehearsing for the service, some bigger than others…but i tend to get excited when that happens…that means that if things are going to come together, IT HAS TO BE GOD…

things were a little rough getting started, but they came together quickly…we had a guest speaker from Impact World Tour, named Marty Emmit…he was from new zealand…not only was it could to hear his accent, but he had a great message…his focus was on the impact it would have if the church would be the church…if we would live out the Word…and he gave the statistics on the impact if we don’t…OUCH!!!

we ended the night with “i am free” by ross parsley and really worshiped with that song…

then i was up bright and early for another service in the Source…again there were some minor set backs, but God came through with one of the best sets we have done in the last six months…i definitely felt the Holy Spirit moving…if nothing else the Spirit was moving because i actually remembered all of the lyrics and charts…i had nine songs roaming around in my head from the two services, and i was struggling to keep them straight!!! though it was exhausting, it was awesome to be a part of what God is doing and to see Him at work…

last night was GPS and we had a couple staff members share about service and outreach opportunities…we learned about angel food ministries…it’s a great way for churches to reach out to their community with affordable food…our church had over 100 families from outside the church come and pick up food last month alone!!!

kasey rocked as always…she had a little extra alone time with molly this weekend and even covered in the nursery for a sick friend of ours…she’s an amazing servant who loves to just care for and encourage people…i am blessed to have her as a wife!!!

so there you have it…that’s my…

monday morning recap…

what did you see God do this weekend??? what’s a ministry opportunity that you are excited about right now…personally or as a church???

sooo, there has been a theme in the news this week, and especially in the last two days…people saying or doing things that were not exactly appropriate…then they had to come up with reasoning of why it occurred, or why it was actually “ok” when it did occur…

well, those pictures were taken before i was placed in my current position…and you weren’t supposed to see them…?

or

well, i didn’t know my microphone was on and you were recording…?

i am specifically drawn to the second of the two…i can’t count how many times i’ve said things and as they were leaving my mouth i was reaching to grab the words and put them back in…only to be fanning the hot air of course…so i can attest to the feeling that being experienced by the reverend jackson this week…some what…

but the thing that has stuck out to me is how morality is being treated like the microphone he was wearing…it can be turned on and off…there are times when saying things or doing things is perfectly ok, if no one knows or is able to find out…

and there is a problem…God doesn’t need us to be wearing any microphone…there isn’t anything He isn’t going to hear us say or see us do…His word is not something that is only good in certain situations…living the Christian life isn’t something that we do, only when it’s convenient…we can’t be asking…

is this thing on???

IT’S ON!!! IT’S ALWAYS ON!!!

i need to do my best, with the grace of God, to live life knowing that it’s on…

do you live life like it’s on??? or are you asking…

is this thing on???

sooo, it’s just one of those days…when satan keeps reminding me of my past and failures that have occurred in my life…things that i have chosen to do, instead of choosing to do God’s will…in my life this is a HUGE tool that satan uses from time to time, to distract me and keep me from doing what God has for me to do today…

so i was studying this morning and reminded of philippians 3:13, “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.” (NLT)

the author is the apostle paul and he has just finished listing out his personal credentials…he’s laid down a great foundation for them to realize who he is and where he comes from…according to human standards, he’s at the top! but then he explains that it’s all “worthless” in comparison to knowing Christ.

for paul, knowing Christ meant a lot…he had not always been at the top…he had once made a point of having Christ followers beaten and killed…there was a past there that he had to move on from or he would not be able to do what God had for him to do…and he was fully aware of how Christ could turn a life around and what His grace could do…

i’m thankful for what God has done in my life and for what He is continuing to do even today…but i really wish that the whole forgetting thing came a lot easier for me…i know that it’s good for me to be able to look back and see where God has brought me from and what He has brought me through…

but i wish i could…

forget it…

so what about you…what helps you…

forget it…

sooo, we had an insanely busy weekend just packed with cookouts, a 5K race, golfing, church, cookouts, golfing and trying to find some rest in between if time would allow…did i say we went golfing??? anyways, we had a good time hanging out with family and friends and just enjoying the beautiful weekend weather…

the most memorable thing we did was purchase molly her first pool…kiddie pool that is…it’s in the shape of a star and has three levels to blow up on the outer edge…along with a padded bottom that gets inflated…it was on clearance and just awesome…so we get home and the little kid in me just has to get this thing out and get it blown up right away!!! problem is the air compressor that we had…didn’t work!

so i decided that i will blow up the padded bottom with my lungs…almost, but didn’t pass out, that was good…and then, after a long search, we found the attachment to the bike pump and away we went…pumping away on the pool until it was to the point where it resembled a pool and would hold water…not to mention the fact that arms were going to fall of from pumping…

after her nap, mommy took molly out to the pool…she wanted NOTHING to do with it!!! everyone gave their best efforts to get her in the pool, but to no avail…so the pool was emptied of water and put out in the shed…

yesterday we gave it one more try…and what do you know…she was lovin life!!! laughing and splashing all over the place, it was awesome…

not only that mommy and daddy got in the pool with her…THAT WAS A SIGHT TO SEE!!! we live right next to an entrance into our church parking lot…as people pulled in (after all services were over, in the mid-afternoon) they would see mommy and daddy sitting in the kiddie pool…of course molly is sitting in the pool too and splashing like crazy, but can’t be seen…so…THAT WAS A SIGHT TO SEE!!! we just laughed and had a good old time as a family…being a parent just ROCKS!!!

and we were…

rockin the kiddie pool!!!