Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Between a Rock and A Hard Place

As I walked a familiar path last week, I noticed something new.  There was a wall made of stones, not so special I suppose; but what intrigued me was that in these stones, beautiful flowers grew.  Not from the ground, but up on the wall; not from dirt, but out of the stone.

How is that possible?  I don't know, but as I took a moment to stop and marvel at its beauty, I chucked inside and thought, "Isn't that just like God?  To grow something beautiful between a rock and a hard place?"

Have you ever noticed this truth?  Have you experienced it? The number of times this has been proven true in my walk with the Lord is beyond counting.

I don't like being in the hard places of life.  I'm not fond of hardships nor of having a stoney heart.  Times when financial pressures weigh heavily tend to overwhelm me.  Times when loss hurts beyond expression shatter my heart into a million tiny pieces.

I don't think anyone likes pain.  I doubt any of us wake in the morning and cry out, "Dear God, please bring on the suffering."

And yet, I have found that during the darkest moments  in my life - the hardest places I have been - somehow in the sovereignty of the Almighty, I have found something beautiful and unusual, like a flower growing in a wall of rock.

I'm not sure I can name it with words, but it is the beauty of a deeper trust in my Saviour.  It is the comfort of a friend who throws His arms around me and lets me cry on His shoulder...tears that burn and sobs of anguish, anger, guilt, blame, and everything that comes with real pain.

And this friend just listens and loves.  And even more, He understands and waits to heal my broken heart.  He just wants my honesty, not my religious duty.  He sees all my human ugliness and just seems to say, "I know, you're going to be OK. I will bring you through this.  I will carry you." And all along He knows that He is going to take all of this awfulness and birth something beautiful.  He thinks, "Just hang in there, watch and see.  I can't wait to show you.  You can trust Me."

I am reminded of Peter in Matthew 16.

13Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rockb I will build my church, and the gates of hellc shall not prevail against it.19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosedd in heaven.”

Jesus said that flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  Then He says upon this rock, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  The "rock" was not Peter himself.  The rock was the revelation that Peter had of who Jesus really was.  When we truly get a revelation of who He really is, no power of hell will be able to overcome us, no matter how difficult a situation we face.

For me, and I'd say it's true for most, if not all believers, the greatest revelations of who Jesus really is does not generally come in the green, grassy meadows where it is tranquil and the provision is lush (though it can sometimes.)  Nor does it often come on the mountaintop where we are on top of the world (though it may.) I humbly suggest from my own experience, that most often, my greatest revelations of who God is have come in the moments where life was its hardest and its darkest.  The big revelations of who Jesus is have come when my back was against the wall and there was nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to except Jesus.

And in those moments, He holds us, and He loves us.  He accepts us where we are, no matter what we've done or not done. No matter how far we have fallen away.  He is there, and He cares.

In Matthew 7, Jesus said that the wise man should build His house upon the rock.

24“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.25And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

To me, this means building on those revelations of who He is, those truths revealed to me during the hard times.  Those are the truths that no rain can wash away, no flood can overcome, and no wind can ever blow away.  They are steadfast and immovable.  I will not build on shifting sands or things I think I know, or things I've just heard from others.  I will build upon the revelations that I have learned between the rock and the hard places in my life...the loss of loved ones, miscarriages, bankruptcy, failures, sicknesses, family struggles, the list of opportunities for God to reveal Himself are too many to name.

Don't misunderstand, God can and does reveal Himself in the good times.  I do think, however, that there is something tried, tested, and true...something deep and profound, that only comes in the heat of the fire, only in the hardest of moments.

This I know for sure, in every difficult place we find ourselves, if we allow Him, God is going to give us something beautiful.  Not an easy fix, nor money to relieve our debt, or a miraculous healing (though He sometimes does this and it's wonderful!)  What He ALWAYS desires is to give us is the revelation of Himself, of who He really is to us, even during the most difficult moments of our lives.  This is the rock He wants us to build our house on.  Somethings steadfast and immovable.  Something beautiful and unique that defies the sensible and natural way of the world.

I pray that you and I will have the courage and patience to trust and learn in the hard places of life.  May we allow God to make beauty from ashes.  May we allow Him to reveal Himself and His beauty in unexpected ways, even in the rockiest of places.

Anything

April 28, 2012

Last night as I was reading, I came across a blog linked to a book called Anything by Jennie Allen.  The basic thought is that if we believe in a God who freely gave His everything for us, then how can we hold "anything" back from Him.  I haven't read the book, but the concept from what I read on the site is to simply pray the one word prayer to God, "anything."

Lord, I'll give you anything.  I'll do anything.

What a challenge.  There is a website link for the book (www.whatisyouranything.com) that asks for people to post what their "anything" is.  I read a few stories ranging from people who struggle with comparisons, are praying for a spouse,  needing direction, or facing physical moves away from home; to people who have lost a child or a loved one and struggle to let go and continue to believe God is good.  I cried as I read the story of one pregnant mom who had previously had a miscarriage and was struggling with fear and worry that this might happen to the baby she now carries.  I too have felt that pain.  It is not easy to give that to Jesus.

What is it that you have trouble giving to Him?  What might happen if you truly released your "anything" and gave it to God?  What would the result be?

So I was convicted, by the concept, and by reading the testimonies of these people who were daring to pray this prayer and give God their all.

I took a deep breath, and I asked the Lord, "What is my anything?  Is there anything in my heart that I have not given to You?  Am I withholding anything?  What is my "anything?" What do you want from me?"

There are times in my life where I've truly felt totally surrendered, withholding nothing.  Honestly, when I first prayed, I felt the answer from heaven would be nothing.  I thought, "I'm good here."

But, it was only minutes later when I felt the gentle thumbprint of the Lord pressing firmly down upon my heart, and I knew what my "anything" was.

Failure, more specifically, the fear of failure.

I can't say this is something new for me.  My fear of failure goes back longer than I can remember.  I can think of no reason or cause for it.  No sad story from childhood or bad event in life to blame it on.  It's just sort of always been around.

It drove me to achieve, even over-achieve (I won't bother to list the ways, though I could.)  It drove me to be the best I could be.  Wait, I hear you say.  Those are good things, right?

Achievements are great.  They  make us feel successful and good about ourselves.  We can gain a sense of value, even an identity from them, so what's the problem with that?

Here's the rub.  God never meant for our sense of value or identity or even our success to be measured by what we have (or have not) achieved.

He means for our value, identity, sense of achievement, and our success to be tied up in one thing alone...Knowing Him.

In fact, Paul writes to us about this in Philippians.

Philippians 3:8-10 (ESV)

Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of KNOWING CHRIST JESUS my Lord.   For His sake, I have suffered the loss of ALL THINGS and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law [what I've done or not done]but that which comes from faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith-that I may KNOW HIM and the power of His ressurection.

Paul tells us to count everything as loss for the worth of knowing Christ.  For Him we are to suffer the loss of ALL THINGS and count them as rubbish to gain Him.

Which brings me back to my anything, that fear of failure.

This fear permeates so many areas of my life, but none so much as my fear of failing to be a good mother to my children.  Motherhood is full of loads of successes and failures, not just over the lives of our children, but in a single day, sometimes in a single hour!  At the end of the day, I just find myself hoping the victories outweigh the defeats; but, I don't think that God is in heaven watching my day and hoping that I measure up to some standard He has set for me to attain.

He just wants me to KNOW HIM. To TRUST HIM. To know and to trust that He is big enough to cover my failures with His precious blood poured out on the cross to cover all my sin and failures.  To trust Him to cover my children and lead them to a relationship with Him.

The truth is that in the chasm of my failures, God's grace fills in the hole.  He makes up for my weaknesses and deficits.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (ESV)

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamaties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 11:30 (ESV)

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

So I guess like Paul, let me boast in my weakness!  Because when I feel like the biggest failure, when I am at my weakest moments, God's grace is filling the void, and His strength bares the weight that I cannot bear alone.

My achievements (or lack thereof) do not give me my value or identity.  God showed my worth and value when He sent His son to die for me.  Jesus gave His all, His very life for my sins, weaknesses, and yes, even my failures.

He freely gave His all, how can I hold back anything?

Fear of failure, as a mom, a wife, a missionary, a Christian, the list goes on and on (And I'm sure you have your own areas in which you struggle,) I think it's time for you to go.

1 John 4:18 (ESV)

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

Dear God,

Please let your perfect love cast away this fear of failure in our lives.  Your love is unchanging and constant (Micah 7:18, Lamentations 3:22.) Let our identity and value be in You and what You did on the cross and not on our own achievements.  Our achievements don't make us great or worthy (or horrible or unworthy!) You stoop down to make us great!(2 Samuel 22:36, Psalm 18:35.)

Thank you that Your grace fills in the holes left by our failures.  You cover us fully (Psalm 139:5.)  You are strong when we are weak.  In our weakest moments, may we remember Your strength is there for us, and takes over when we fail. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Lord, may we give these things to You.  Count them all as rubbish, in order to gain Christ and to KNOW HIM.

And now, may we press on to make You our own. (Philippians 3:12-13) Let us forget the fears and failures that lie behind and strain forward to what lies ahead...Your perfect love, Your all sufficient grace that is perfected in our every weakness.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Paul says in Philippians 3:15, "Let those who are mature think this way and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to You."

Perhaps in reading this, God may reveal to you that there is an "anything" in Your life that you have yet to give Him.  

May I challenge you to give it to Him now.  Pray, ask Him to reveal your "anything." Then pray for Him to give you the strength to let it go.  

I know it may seem impossible. It may seem too big.  I've been there. But, if you will make this step of faith, I know He will heal, deliver, and restore You.  He will touch You.  I know it because I KNOW HIM, and He wants YOU to KNOW HIM too.  He will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)  His promises are true. (2 Corinthians 1:20) Even when we are faithless, He is faithful, He cannot deny Himself. (2 Timothy 2:13)

Beloved, You are HIS.  He will take what you are holding and transform it into something beautiful.

Will you take the risk?  Will you give Him your "anything?"

Post-thought....

I would love to pray for you if this message is touching something in your life. You can share your "anything" in a comment below or send me a private message if you would like.  You can be specific if you, but that is not necessary.  

Pray for me too.  We are all in this race together and surely can all benefit from prayer!

Renea

The View from the Top

I wrote this on 28 September 2011 after climbing up to the top of the Salisbury Crags, part of Holyrood Park near Arthur's Seat.

I've spent the last 30 minutes climbing atop the Salisbury Crags.  My intent this morning was to just go a bit up and sit, relax, and enjoy the sun and the view.  Yet I found, at each place I could stop, I just looked up and saw a higher spot and thought, "Surely the view from there will be a bit better," and so I climbed on.  Reaching that spot, I thought, "well maybe just a bit more.  I can surely get a better perspective from there." And on and on I went until I found I just couldn't stop. I had to reach the top, the highest point I could get to or I would not be satisfied.  After all, I had come this far already.  

Sure I could call it quits and just go back, but I would always wonder about the view from the top.  What might I have seen, felt, heard?  What kind of knowledge might I have gained?  What fresh revelation might have awaited me should I have endured the journey?  And so I trekked on for curiosity's sake, sheer determination, or perhaps lack of common sense...

At any rate, I now sit at the highest point I can find, and I feel good about myself.  I have a feeling of accomplishment, and I'm proud that I endured the climb and the breathlessness, for the breathtaking view was totally worth it.  

I suppose, however, that the spiritual lesson for me is much more meaningful...

Amazing how this physical journey today very much mirrors the spiritual journey that I find myself facing.  I feel like I am scaling a mountain, much higher than Arthur's Seat, though not as high as the Everest that some people find themselves facing.  But, I would imagine that what keeps us all climbing onward is the hope that at the top, the view will be beautiful, the sense of achievement profound, the perspective insightful.  That we would have a sense of pride and accomplishment that comes from conquering hindreances along the way and overcoming the desire to quit, go back, or even worse, to settle for something less than God's best.

I find myself often wanting to quit, turn back, or settle, but I hear the voice of the Lord continually calling me higher.  Telling me not to give up because at the top of this mountain, He has something better for me.  Something I've never seen, heard, or even thought about, and better than I could ever ask, think, or imagine.  

And so I press on to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me.  I won't turn back, surrender, or succomb to the pressure to settle and be satisfied.  I want more!  I want to go higher, to feel the winds of His Spirit blowing over my life.  To feel the warmth of the Son, to see the view from the mountaintop, to sense the closeness of His presence, and the accomplishment that comes from following His lead regardless of the cost.

Lord, help me to never be satisfied, to never quit or settle for less than the highest ground.  I don't want to miss the beauty of chasing after You!

Was the climb today worth the time and effort?  Absolutely.   And I'm quite sure that at the top of the spiritual mountain God has me climbing, the view that I'm looking at now will pale in comparison.

Don't quit, it's worth the journey.  Don't settle and forever wonder what it would have been like had you reached the top.  Keep journeying onward with Him, and don't stop until you conquer and reach the top!  

When Overcome by Chaos and Clutter

August 13, 2011

Reading this really blessed me this morning....I'm sure many of you can relate!

Meditation on Psalm 57 by Pamela J. Kennedy from the book Songs from a Mother's Heart

Have mercy on me, O God,

   have mercy on me,

      for in You I am safe and protected.

I need to get away to a quiet place,

   to find some moments of solitude.

I feel like I am singking in a sea of needs,

   overwhelmed by the demands on my time.

Crying babies, messy rooms

   runny noses and dirty diapers

      meals and dishes and dust

         fill my minutes, hours, and days.

Somewhere in the middle of it all,

   I think I lost myself.

      I can't escape all the demands,

         but I can't meet them either.

Could you show me Yourself in the midst of my mess, Jesus?

Would you illuminate me with Your love and faithfulness?

I know You are higher than the piles of laundry,

   deeper than the ground-in dirt.

Your song is louder than a baby's cry,

   and Your love more insistent than a whining child.

I just feel trapped right now, caught

   in mind and body of motherhood's unbreakable nets.

Fix my heart on You, my Lord.

Open my ears to the music of Your Spirit within me.

Strengthen my grip on Your vision for my life

   so I can see the mundane

      through the lens of eternity.

This hectic time will pass

      and children will too soon be gone,

   and quiet, peacefull days will fill my weeks.

I will thank You even in the chaos of my world today

   and sing Your praises louder than the din around me.

Your love cannot be covered up with clutter, God,

   for You are greater than whatever hems me in.

Change my focus to Your focus

   and set my  mind on finding joy in little things.

Help me search for times when You and I can talk

   even if it's over sinks of dirty pans.

Tune My Heart

July 21, 2011

I've been hearing the words "Tune my heart to sing Thy praise" from the song Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing for quite a few days.  They have resonated in my spirit.  As I have prayed and thought about it, God has been revealing something to me about how he tunes our hearts.

On a guitar, tuning is all about the stretching and relaxing of the strings. (Also true for all stringed instruments including violins, cellos, and I even believe pianos as well.)  Here are a few nuggets I have gleaned from heaven about the process of tuning that God is always doing to help his children sound their best.

1. Some strings are too lose and need to be tightened.  When a string is lose, there is really very little sound that comes from it or the sound that does come is just flat and sounds awful. Some strings even get so lose they are useless at making music; they are falling off the instrument making it incapable of producing any kind of sound that might bring God glory.  God needs to tighten up some areas of our lives; but take caution, if the string is tightened too much, the string will snap.  Fear not though, the Bible assures us that God will not snap us into.  A bruised reed God will never break. You can't just tighten yourself up, you have to go to God and allow the master tuner to do the work.

2. Some strings are already wound so tight they are about to snap.  These strings are sharp.  Ever met someone who is like a sharp string about to snap.  Perhaps one of these strings has snapped at you?  This sound too is very unpleasant to the ear.  It just throws off what could be a beautiful sound and a beautiful testimony played from a wonderfully created instrument.  Some of us need to loosen up and relax.  Allow God to unwind us.  He is after all the master tuner, right?

3. Some strings can be perfectly in tune while others are completely out of tune.  There are always areas God is working on and fine tuning, but be aware when one string or part of your life is out of tune, the sound that comes forth from your life can become a cacophony, an unpleasant noise.  Even a string slightly out of tune makes the sound of the instrument muddy and distorted.  Some people (who are probably a little out of tune themselves,) might say oh it sounds fine.  Don't be fooled!  When something is just a bit off, there are many around who hear it, and they don't like the sound of the tune you are playing.  Thankfully, as you allow God to tune in all parts of your life, it's a beautiful blend of harmony and melody that reflects and represents the glory of God.  I want the tune that comes from my life to be pleasing to God's ear and pleasing and pleasant to the ears of all those around me.  God please tune my heart!

4. Sometimes the strings break...it's ok because God can give us new ones.  We all make mistakes and get too lose or too tight.  Let God replace your broken stings.  He is the one that can give beauty for ashes, new strings for broken ones.

5. Sometimes the strings just go dead over time, and they need an all out replacement.  A new set of strings brings new life to an instrument.  The sound becomes crisp and clear.  You can of course continue playing on old, dead strings, but it just doesn't sound as good.  Maybe God needs to completely restring some of us, so that we can feel the freshness of his presence as he gently writes and plays his music upon our hearts.  It's not an easy process.  There is winding and spinning, pushing, pulling, and threading.  But my it is so worth it because the sound that comes forth when the strings are in place and in tune is beautiful.  Would you be open to allowing God to restring and replace the old dead strings in your life?

6. Sometimes the tuning is gentle and easy, but sometimes it's stretching to the max and you feel sure that the string is going to snap. Be assured, Jesus knows just how much torque and pressure you need.  He will be as gentle as a lamb or as aggressive as a lion hunting prey according to what you need, so trust Him to tune you just right.  He is after all the one who designed and created you.  I really think he is the one who knows how to make your life sound amazing.

7. All strings fall out of tune and need a regular tune up.  This is why it's so important to spend time in God's word and in prayer and worship.  Not just on a Sunday morning, but each day.  If I only tuned my guitar once a week, it might sound ok, but it won't sound it's best. When was the last time you allowed God to tune your heart?

8. A sudden knock or change in temperature will knock the strings out of tune and require lots of time and twisting to return to the right place.  Sometimes life hits us hard.  I know I've had my share of that, and I'm sure you have too.  Circumstances heat up and we feel we are in the fire or getting shaken or beaten.  Have you ever been here?  These are times when God; if we will allow him, spends more time adjusting, tightening, loosening, or even completely changing out our strings, so that the message that people hear after we are restored is precise, effective, and clear.  After we are restored, we will sound our best.  And just maybe, another instrument that has received a hard knock can listen and receive hope and realize that God restores the brokenhearted and can redeem all things for His glory.

One thing is certain, the only way to be completely in tune is to allow Jesus to tune you.  He has perfect pitch.  Sure we have instrumental tuners, like the Bible, and pastors, and other believers to help us get there on our own, but there is nothing like being tuned by the one who made the instrument, the one who knows exactly how it has been created to sound, the one who knows its exact purpose and fullest potential.  

Why not let Jesus come right now and begin to tune your heart?

No matter how much time and effort you spend trying to tune yourself and make your life sound so wonderful, your life will never sound as great as it could until you let your Maker come in and tune it just right--tune you into your destiny--into peace--into victory--into holiness--into His image.  What better sound can we offer to the world than the very sound of whom God has made us to be.

And as we all stand in the world, perfectly tuned by our maker, what a grand symphony all our instruments make together as we reflect and reveal our maker's Magnum Opus to the world around us.  Oh to be part of that glorious sound as all the pieces come together in one purpose and design to reveal and reflect His glory.  

Don't you want to be part of this grand composition?  A part of His masterpiece?  I sure do.  Dear God in heaven, please tune our hearts to sing Your praise!

Resting in His Arms

June 18, 2011 

My favourite time with my 7 month old son is the last feed of the night.  You see my daughter was a big cuddly baby and was happy to snuggle with me all the time, but Eli is just a different story.  He is an absolute joy and loves to laugh, but cuddling is just not his thing.  So I find myself treasuring the small moments when he just rests in my arms and lets his head fall upon my shoulder.  It's honestly the best feeling in the world.  To hold something so precious and priceless, well there's just no real words to describe it.

The last feeding of the night is the one where I wake him up, feed him, and he quickly goes right back to sleep (well hopefully and usually anyhow.)  So after he is fed, he is just a big cuddle bug and places his wee head right down on my shoulder.  This is the one time in my day when I just get to hold him close and treasure the fleeting moments that are all too quickly passing by as he grows.  He doesn't need anything.  He makes no demands.  He just rests his head on my shoulder in the quiet confidence that Mommy is going to take care of him.  He is not worried or anxious. No wiggling and squirming...he is just still,  and I just get to be with him.

And you know what, as a parent, this blesses me beyond words because there is very little time in my day when someone isn't needing or wanting something from me.  Life with young children can be stressful because they are always demanding something more.  As a parent, you give and give and give.  You try to make the moments memorable and to bless your children.  And sometimes it's just downright frustrating because the moments when they are just thankful and content and at rest can sometimes seem few and far between.

And tonight as I was holding my baby boy in my arms.  I just remembered how blessed I am to have Him.  I was blessed in his resting in my arms, no demands, no worries.  He was just at peace.

And I began to thank God for my little boy and the blessing He is and the blessing he will be to not only me but to the world.

And I felt God's gentle voice nudging me and saying, "You know, it blesses me when you just rest in me. When you come to me with no demands, no anxieties, no squirming and wiggling. You just trust that Daddy is going to take care of you. You are even more priceless and precious to me, and I love it when I just get to be with you."

And I remembered how many times today I prayed, Lord could you just....please....help.....I just need....And I realized the times that I have just been thankful and content and at rest have been few and far between.  Father forgive me....

Don't get me wrong, God is concerned with our needs, and He knows them and has already worked a way to meet them.  But how much could we bless His heart if we could just lay them down and trust that He is in control.  If we could just rest and be at peace.  In doing that, not only does it give us peace, but I truly believe that it blesses God's heart even more than my evening snuggle with my little man.

So right now, if only for a moment, can you just rest in Him.  Lay down your worries and stop demanding anything of God and rest your tired head on the Father's strong shoulders and find peace and contentment in His arms.  I promise it will bless His heart, and you'll be blessed too.

Psalm 46:10 -Be still, and know that I am God.

Inappropriate McDonalds Toy

May 6, 2011

Dear McDonalds,

I am writing concerning the toy my 3 year old received with her happy meal today.  It is a small music box with a recorded song by Chipmunk.

After bringing it home and listening to it and looking up the lyrics, I am absolutely appalled that a company as large and international as McDonalds would include such a thing as a "toy" inside a happy meal.  I would think you would be able to find a better suited toy for children!

Have you seen the lyrics?  I will include them below if I have space.  The song Oopsy Daisy is inappropriate for young children.  The content of love and relationships is well beyond their understanding.  And are you aware that the song has a profane word *shit* in it.  I'm not sure if it's on the recording b/c I didn't listen all the way through because I looked up the lyrics first.  The lyrics for the song say why led a bird shit on me.  Do you really think that's ok for my 3 year old to hear.  Even if the word is beeped out of the song, it's still just PLAIN WRONG.

I am deeply offended and now have to explain to my 3 year old daughter why I'm throwing her toy in the rubbish bin.

I would hope in the future you would put more consideration into your happy meal toys.  Otherwise we will not be eating in your chain in the future. There is a Burger King just around the corner after all.

Song Lyrics....

http://www.metrolyrics.com/oopsy-daisy-lyrics-chipmunk.html

I would love to hear your response to this concern and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Renea Gill