Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Lean before Jumping
Sending you an incredible blog written by Courtney, an adoptive mom of 10. I enjoy her painting of a large adoptive family--she could be writing about the Tucker Ten here!! I especially resonate and closely identify with the picture she paints of the TREASURE of following God's Heart wherever He leads you. A natural outflow of this PRESSING IN is a journey that will blow you away--really!!
--"Come unto me and I will answer you and show you GREAT and MIGHTY things that YOU DO NOT KNOW OF YET"
Adoption/love for the orphan is a natural reflection and outflow of heart toward God. Please do make the distinction in your spirit and mind and heart though, that Adoption's not the ONLY journey--or a journey unto itself--but a PRECIOUS part of the CONTINUAL PRESSING into God's heart and ways--
I boldly request for you to NOT jump into action FOR God BEFORE you have spent time in the secret place before God. Don't waste God's time. WAIT to hear His direction. He WILL speak to you. He is waiting to pour Himself out to you there. Do not put action before the waiting--allow action to ever be an overflow from time spent in His presence. We find this to be more and more true--I could not mother so many children without hours before Him each week--without His Word--without fasting and deep intercession--that's the fuel--its the rutter that keeps us in step with His Spirit. Its the JOY that brings us a bubbling fountain of strength here.
Moses told the Lord that He would not go forward if God's glory was not with Him--Amen! What are your "marching orders"? Have you been spending enough time before the King to clearly know? Are you aware of His glory all around you as you walk forth? Yes? Wow!! Its incredible, right?....
--No real awareness of the glory of God?...
--Dive back in to His Presence...
Delight in Him and He WILL share His will with you --as you yearn for Him, He will give you the Holy Desires of your heart. He's put them there!!
from Courtney's blog:
"Love is an ACTION word
I am going to be bold for a moment. Some of you may not like what I am going to say. That's okay. I am getting used to being unliked. There are just so many things on my heart these days and I feel like they need to be said. They keep me awake at night. And since the earthquake in Haiti and the death of Derek Loux, I have been moved to my very core. Bare with me while I try and put all of my swirling thoughts into some semblance of order.
Love is an action word.
Love doesn't sit idle.
Love doesn't stay where it is comfortable.
Love doesn't wait until there is enough money.
Or until all it's ducks are in a row.
Love doesn't need permission or approval from anyone.
Love doesn't worry about reputations.
Love doesn't weigh the cost or avoid sacrifice.
Love doesn't hunker down on the couch with remote in hand, feeling sorry for what it has just witnessed, but never doing a thing about it.
Love doesn't shrugs it's shoulders and let someone else do the work.
Love doesn't turn a blind eye because the problems are too deep and too wide to ever make a difference.
Love doesn't say "I'm not called".
Love is an action word.
Most people assume we are rich. They say things like "Oh you guys are just like Angelina and Brad". Um - yeah. Minus the 10 nannies, the private jets, the 7 mansions, the maids, cooks,the super model good looks, personal trainers..... oh and the MILLIONS upon MILLIONS of dollars. Yeah, we are just like them.
The honest truth is, we are usually broke. We live mostly paycheck to paycheck. We give away what is left. We rely on God to meet our needs. We have a nice life. Nothing extravagant. We have everything we could ever need. Our home is small. We wear hand me downs. And most of the world would consider us very rich. There are people who think we shouldn't be adopting. The fact is this. Whatever we can offer an orphan is going to be a million times better than what they would have had. Like a Mother and Father for example. Like a family.
We have went into every adoption with two pennies to rub together. We never had it ahead of time. And we have watched God provide it every single time. Some people don't agree with that either. They think if you don't have the money upfront, you shouldn't be adopting. It is baffling to me honestly. It is completely acceptable to raise money for breast cancer research. Or for the Humane Society. Yet raising money to give a child a family is not. There is nothing wrong with giving to those things, but you will never have the joy of seeing the direct outcome of where your money went. Each time we give to an adoption, we have the honor of seeing the child come home, united with their family. We get to see the joy in their eyes. We get to be apart of changing a life forever.
Love is an action word.
If you are an American and you are reading this on your own computer, you are far more privileged than most of the world. You are rich. Just think about it for a moment. You could have been born anywhere in the world. You could have been born in Haiti currently living in a tent. You could have been born in Africa, the 8th child to an HIV positive women who is dying and cannot feed you. You could have been born anywhere. But, you were born here. Have you ever asked yourself why?
I don't think it was so you could live in American suburbia your whole life, work to make yourself as comfortable as possible, retire in a lovely golf community in Florida , and then die. You were put here for a purpose. It is not an accident you were born into comfort and safety. It was not an accident you have more than most of the world.
When you come to the end of your life you will not regret what you did as much as you will regret what you didn't do.
Our lives weren't meant for comfort and safety. Jesus didn't come and buy a nice house in the suburbs, raise a family, and then die. He didn't sit back and wait for someone else to do something. He didn't shrug his shoulders while the rest of world was dying around him. He gave all that He had. He revolutionized this world. He forever changed religion. His life was marked with suffering and pain. He didn't seek comfort. He acted. He loved.
I am one woman. You are one person. Together we can put love into action. We can put our comfort aside and bury the American dream. Sure it may be hard. You might get hurt. You might not always be safe. You might lose everything. But, you will never regret it. Your life will never be boring. You will find the greatest joy you can ever imagine.
"faith without works is dead." James 2:20
Love is an action word.
Last night I stayed up watching Derek Loux's Memorial service. If you want to be inspired, I highly recommend watching it. What a life he led. I was so incredibly moved by how many lives he touched. He had an enormous heart for the orphan. In fact all over the room were photos of children that he directly helped to be adopted. No one mentioned what degree he held or how much money he made. No one said anything about how successful he was in his career. But over and over again, person after person, spoke of how he loved. I want my life to be like Derek's.
Before the earthquake there were 143 million orphans. That number has greatly risen in the past two weeks. Most of us, if we look around at our lives have the room and the resources for one more child. We can all fit one more. Even me. I can fit one more. I can feed, clothe, and love one more. And I already have ten.
People think adoption has become popular, fashionable even. That could not be further from the truth. I believe it is the product of an outcry of prayers from those of us who desire to see every orphan have a home. It is a movement in the body of Christ sparked by a spiritual awakening. It is so much more than saving a child's life. It is evangelism in it's very simplest form. Think about it. A child is taken into your home. He once lived in a place where the gospel was not preached. He lived in darkness and oppression. In your home he comes to understand salvation. Think of all of the lives that will be changed from his testimony. It is so much more than saving a life.
Supporting orphanages is not a solution. While orphanages serve a purpose, they do not solve the problem. God's best for a child is a family. A mother and a father. Not growing up in an orphanage. Most orphanages are over crowded. They turn away children because they cannot meet the need. And don't get me started on the foster care system. That is most certainly not a solution. Children need families. God's best for a child is not foster care or an orphanage. It is a family.
More now than ever before we need to come forward. We need to take action. We cannot stay silent and turn a blind eye. In the coming weeks, more and more Haitian orphans are going to need families. But, they aren't just in Haiti. They are in Russia, Africa, and right here in your city. They are all over the world. You can make room for one more. I am sure of it. If I can, you can too. This isn't about waiting until you have all of your ducks in a row. This is about taking action.
Love is an action word."
Well-put, Courtney!!
And an encouragement to your heart as you seek after what is best and first today...
Love, Gillian
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Unshakable Love
This is a must-see.
Thank you to Rachel, my precious sister-in-law, who sent this to me today. Look at how the parents gaze at their children--this is how God looks at you--how He loves, oh, my...
Get those home studies done. Or redone/updated...Contact a Christian lawyer or adoption agency and just get started with that---it will cost financially and will take several weeks to get it totally done--if this is God's will for you--the funding will flow in for it. There is going to be a great need to have Christian families in place to receive children of crisis--Haitian and of other nations--we need to be prepared. And NOW's the time while governments are getting policy into place for our country to be a safe place for children of crisis. It's time to embrace the magnitude of the work and fellowship in our Father's house. Believers are commanded to give the homeless shelter and to care for God's children. It's time to get on our knees and to ask how God is going to use us to help His children.
He will answer you--believe me!! Isaiah 58.
AND TO MY TN FRIENDS, WOULD YOU PLEASE CONSIDER THIS?
I AM FORWARDING IT TO YOU TODAY VIA OUR CHURCH'S ORPHAN
MINISTRY. PLEASE DO CONSIDER FILLING OUT THE SURVEY!!
Hi everyone, undoubtedly you have wondered how you might get involved more in the tragedy of Haiti, particularly as it relates to orphans. The situation is very fluid at the moment and there is a chance that a number of these orphans will need to come to the United States for temporary or permanent care. Organizations such as Lydia Home in Chicago area (Where Safe Families has originated) and 4Kids in South Florida are two of the organizations who have been asked to help. But the numbers would be overwhelming for either of these organizations and they will need massive help.
To be proactive, the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance (MTOA) is trying to be proactive by building a database of willing families who also have been through some of the process in either the area of foster care, adoption home studies, or safe families.
This is only a first step and is only meant to be building an information database of willing families to work through in the Body of Christ. IF CALLED UPON in MiddleTN, the appropriate agencies will be in touch with more information and to get more information from you. Please feel free to forward this to contacts you have at other churches in the area.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in being on this list, please complete the following brief survey.
http://tinyurl.com/MTOAforHaiti
Thanks so much.
Greg
Greg Buzek
President - IHL Group
Donor Trustee - Retail Orphan Initiative
615-400-7319
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Love to you, Gillian
Thank you to Rachel, my precious sister-in-law, who sent this to me today. Look at how the parents gaze at their children--this is how God looks at you--how He loves, oh, my...
Get those home studies done. Or redone/updated...Contact a Christian lawyer or adoption agency and just get started with that---it will cost financially and will take several weeks to get it totally done--if this is God's will for you--the funding will flow in for it. There is going to be a great need to have Christian families in place to receive children of crisis--Haitian and of other nations--we need to be prepared. And NOW's the time while governments are getting policy into place for our country to be a safe place for children of crisis. It's time to embrace the magnitude of the work and fellowship in our Father's house. Believers are commanded to give the homeless shelter and to care for God's children. It's time to get on our knees and to ask how God is going to use us to help His children.
He will answer you--believe me!! Isaiah 58.
AND TO MY TN FRIENDS, WOULD YOU PLEASE CONSIDER THIS?
I AM FORWARDING IT TO YOU TODAY VIA OUR CHURCH'S ORPHAN
MINISTRY. PLEASE DO CONSIDER FILLING OUT THE SURVEY!!
Hi everyone, undoubtedly you have wondered how you might get involved more in the tragedy of Haiti, particularly as it relates to orphans. The situation is very fluid at the moment and there is a chance that a number of these orphans will need to come to the United States for temporary or permanent care. Organizations such as Lydia Home in Chicago area (Where Safe Families has originated) and 4Kids in South Florida are two of the organizations who have been asked to help. But the numbers would be overwhelming for either of these organizations and they will need massive help.
To be proactive, the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance (MTOA) is trying to be proactive by building a database of willing families who also have been through some of the process in either the area of foster care, adoption home studies, or safe families.
This is only a first step and is only meant to be building an information database of willing families to work through in the Body of Christ. IF CALLED UPON in MiddleTN, the appropriate agencies will be in touch with more information and to get more information from you. Please feel free to forward this to contacts you have at other churches in the area.
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED in being on this list, please complete the following brief survey.
http://tinyurl.com/MTOAforHaiti
Thanks so much.
Greg
Greg Buzek
President - IHL Group
Donor Trustee - Retail Orphan Initiative
615-400-7319
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.
Love to you, Gillian
Friday, January 15, 2010
Haiti Cries
Haiti -- Our brothers and sisters are crying out.
I am in travail for Haiti--my financial donation is just not enough. Oh, Lord, we cry out for Haiti. It is our children who lie beneath the rubble--it is our mother, it is our father--it is our dear friend--
This is the shaking that is promise/prophecied to come on the Earth--the great shaking before the Great and Terrible day that Christ comes back. This is just the beginning. Jesus says that when we see such events--they are labor pangs."such things must happen and then the end will come...There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of the birth pangs" He predicted these events more than 2,000 years ago. Read Matthew 24.
The devestation goes so much deeper than the horrible images on our T.V.s
What of the souls of those who's dusty feet we see poking out of death shroud blankets? If they did not desire to accept Jesus while here in thier lives on Earth, it is now too late --and the final destination for unbelievers is much more terrifying than even the state of Haiti today--there's not a drop of water anywhere in Hell--there is no warmth or light or love--there are tortures that await the soul--forever.
So
in the midst of the horrifying reports
We must cry out for souls--the cup of living water awaits now, today--our prayers can bring it more quickly than helicopter drops.
We have power to launch angelic helps and miracles when we pray in the name of Jesus. His authority through our prayers releases angels to make war against demonic strangleholds over geographical locations on the Earth.
Use His powerful name in your requests for Haiti.
Pray the Lord will show up and encounter people--that they might have incredible revelations of Him--that He might encounter and save them--body,soul,and spirit--that He might heal thier land and purify thier water.
There was a christian village in the Figi islands who cried out to God in fasting and prayer recently and God answered and saved thier entire village. His name became the highest name in this area. Not only was it a miracle that God saved an entire village but He also, in His tender justice healed thier land. A river flows through thier village--to the North of thier home the river is polluted--to the South of thier land it is polluted--in thier section it is completely PURE!! They even called in scientists to prove it--I have heard from people who went there to see the pure river for themselves! This is the type of powerful requesting we can do for our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ and for any people on the Earth--including ourselves--that God would encounter and save thier fellow nationals AND show signs and wonders of His justice that prove His love and presence on the Earth.
We need to cry out in fasting and prayer for Jesus to make wrong things right in Haiti--this is true justice. The end time Church will lead the greatest hope and justice movement in history. In Jesus, we have a hope that is far superior to all humanistic movements. True believers in Christ are the greatest hope-bringers in history. They will be filled with love, purity, and humility as they engage in works of justice and compassion while GIVING A CLEAR WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF JESUS CHRIST.
What is this TRUTH? That there is only one way to Salvation and that is through Christ---do not partner with organizations that refuse to love people by telling them the truth about Jesus--this is a false application of tolerance. Be careful and discerning who you partner with in any way in these days. Just because an organization uses the words, peace, love, compassion, justice does not mean they are of Christ--much oppression will flow from such places. (Jer. 23:16-22) "They have seduced My people saying, "Peace!" when there is no peace..."(Ezek.13:10) The conflict in the end times will center upon defining who Jesus is (2Thes. 2:10) and how we love Him. We will have oppurtunity after oppurtunity to practice this
--the Bible calls this "standing firm".
We must love God on His terms.
Its not enough to just give bread that lasts for one day--when we must ALSO offer
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Love for God is loyalty to His truth, as seen in Jesus.
Truths about Jesus that offend humanists include His deity and, thus, His right to establish absolute standards of living. Although we give great honor to people's great dignity before God and religious liberties, we must tell them of
Jesus
the living water
as we pass out the water bottles. We are deluded unless we hold to the standard that states that Jesus is the only way of salvation and that He has a right to juge sin, now and in eternity. He is the spring of living water--the only Hope and True Light to a shaking world that He passionately wants to restore--He WILL make all things new--He has begun this work already on the Earth--He will continue this until the day of His return.
Please be wise in your donations to help in Haiti. Please make sure you are giving to organizations that are not only humanitarian--but who will bring the light of Christ and His Truth to that area--
On the side of this post I have a link to Life Today. They are a reputable Christian Organization who cares for people's souls as well as caring for justice for all people. They are a highly effective ministry. They already had missionaries in place in Haiti for they had been taking care of people there in the name and the love of Jesus--applying His love to bring healing and wholeness to people's lives in . They are in place and awaiting donations to give out to the hurting there--no middle men--no waste of funds...
Blessings,
Gillian
I am in travail for Haiti--my financial donation is just not enough. Oh, Lord, we cry out for Haiti. It is our children who lie beneath the rubble--it is our mother, it is our father--it is our dear friend--
This is the shaking that is promise/prophecied to come on the Earth--the great shaking before the Great and Terrible day that Christ comes back. This is just the beginning. Jesus says that when we see such events--they are labor pangs."such things must happen and then the end will come...There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of the birth pangs" He predicted these events more than 2,000 years ago. Read Matthew 24.
The devestation goes so much deeper than the horrible images on our T.V.s
What of the souls of those who's dusty feet we see poking out of death shroud blankets? If they did not desire to accept Jesus while here in thier lives on Earth, it is now too late --and the final destination for unbelievers is much more terrifying than even the state of Haiti today--there's not a drop of water anywhere in Hell--there is no warmth or light or love--there are tortures that await the soul--forever.
So
in the midst of the horrifying reports
We must cry out for souls--the cup of living water awaits now, today--our prayers can bring it more quickly than helicopter drops.
We have power to launch angelic helps and miracles when we pray in the name of Jesus. His authority through our prayers releases angels to make war against demonic strangleholds over geographical locations on the Earth.
Use His powerful name in your requests for Haiti.
Pray the Lord will show up and encounter people--that they might have incredible revelations of Him--that He might encounter and save them--body,soul,and spirit--that He might heal thier land and purify thier water.
There was a christian village in the Figi islands who cried out to God in fasting and prayer recently and God answered and saved thier entire village. His name became the highest name in this area. Not only was it a miracle that God saved an entire village but He also, in His tender justice healed thier land. A river flows through thier village--to the North of thier home the river is polluted--to the South of thier land it is polluted--in thier section it is completely PURE!! They even called in scientists to prove it--I have heard from people who went there to see the pure river for themselves! This is the type of powerful requesting we can do for our Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ and for any people on the Earth--including ourselves--that God would encounter and save thier fellow nationals AND show signs and wonders of His justice that prove His love and presence on the Earth.
We need to cry out in fasting and prayer for Jesus to make wrong things right in Haiti--this is true justice. The end time Church will lead the greatest hope and justice movement in history. In Jesus, we have a hope that is far superior to all humanistic movements. True believers in Christ are the greatest hope-bringers in history. They will be filled with love, purity, and humility as they engage in works of justice and compassion while GIVING A CLEAR WITNESS OF THE TRUTH OF JESUS CHRIST.
What is this TRUTH? That there is only one way to Salvation and that is through Christ---do not partner with organizations that refuse to love people by telling them the truth about Jesus--this is a false application of tolerance. Be careful and discerning who you partner with in any way in these days. Just because an organization uses the words, peace, love, compassion, justice does not mean they are of Christ--much oppression will flow from such places. (Jer. 23:16-22) "They have seduced My people saying, "Peace!" when there is no peace..."(Ezek.13:10) The conflict in the end times will center upon defining who Jesus is (2Thes. 2:10) and how we love Him. We will have oppurtunity after oppurtunity to practice this
--the Bible calls this "standing firm".
We must love God on His terms.
Its not enough to just give bread that lasts for one day--when we must ALSO offer
Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life.
Love for God is loyalty to His truth, as seen in Jesus.
Truths about Jesus that offend humanists include His deity and, thus, His right to establish absolute standards of living. Although we give great honor to people's great dignity before God and religious liberties, we must tell them of
Jesus
the living water
as we pass out the water bottles. We are deluded unless we hold to the standard that states that Jesus is the only way of salvation and that He has a right to juge sin, now and in eternity. He is the spring of living water--the only Hope and True Light to a shaking world that He passionately wants to restore--He WILL make all things new--He has begun this work already on the Earth--He will continue this until the day of His return.
Please be wise in your donations to help in Haiti. Please make sure you are giving to organizations that are not only humanitarian--but who will bring the light of Christ and His Truth to that area--
On the side of this post I have a link to Life Today. They are a reputable Christian Organization who cares for people's souls as well as caring for justice for all people. They are a highly effective ministry. They already had missionaries in place in Haiti for they had been taking care of people there in the name and the love of Jesus--applying His love to bring healing and wholeness to people's lives in . They are in place and awaiting donations to give out to the hurting there--no middle men--no waste of funds...
Blessings,
Gillian
Thursday, January 14, 2010
:) Born to LIVE!!
...praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:47...
On Saturday we witnessed another "home birth" in the Tucker home!! "Midwifery" in the Lord is my most pleasant "job" as a Christian mother :)!!
Celebrate with the angels in heaven and with us--another soul (our 12 year old foster son) saved to ETERNAL LIFE in Christ!! Hallelujah!! We already witness a radiance, settledness, peace, and direction in God's ways upon this child. Searched out, drawn, found--Wow!! To watch this young man "take a knee" and humble himself before God after seeing a Christian Football movie that touched his heart... He said, "Mommy Gillian, that man --God answered all his prayers. Every time he prayed, God answered his prayer." The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, "Now's the time, ask him." I turned to M. "M.,would you like to have God answer you when you pray? Would you like to ask Him to come into your heart right now?"
... Its been a long wrestling match between M. and God--pretty fierce at times--there have been times as we brought out the Bible M. would literally run out of the room. A glaze and physical restlessness would come on him at the mention of the name of Christ... And yet little by little we have seen him "peeking out" of the door of his heart--leaving the door cracked so he could hear what was going on outside---we could see a greater thirst and hunger to know God. We kept telling him God was knocking... And here he was at the door--hand on the knob... "YES!! I want God in me. YES!! that's what I want." We called into the next room for all the children to join us --each one delighting in the news-- M. invited all the children of the family to gather around him in a circle and to hold hands and to pray with him...
--to hear him pray for the very FIRST time (until this point we had only heard 'God is Good and thanks for the food")to hear Him call God, "my king" and then to hear Him speak in love for God and call him his leader and then to top this off
--to hear this child
--a new son of God call God,
"Daddy"
--oh, my.
He bear hugged Richard that night and told him that it was hard to let Jesus in
--but then he grinned,
"I'm SO GLAD He opened the door."
We are now disciplining both brother and sister at night so that as they grow together. The first night for this was on Sunday night--we are using this simple devotional about life in Christ--on the first night the end part of the devotion was an activity that brought them to a mirror and to stand in front of it declaring several times, "I am a child of God"--picture watching that reflection!!What power!!Praise God!!
... Sister saved, Brother saved and now we are continuing to believe a promise that God has given us from Isaiah 58 that their family line will be saved --that they will be restorers of broken walls and dwellers in safe places--that God Himself will come and dwell with them--that many more are to come to salvation through their lives. A new destiny--an assured path lies before them now--so much greater than what we could ever plan or carve out for them in our work with and for them these days--Oh, thank you, Lord!! Please pray that we would rightly be preparing/disciplining these kids for whatever wonderful plans God has in store for them--a hope and a future for sure.
And I encourage you--just ask--perhaps there are other fish out there -- so ready to "jump into the boat"...it just might suprise you--with Joy!!
Blessings,
Gillian
On Saturday we witnessed another "home birth" in the Tucker home!! "Midwifery" in the Lord is my most pleasant "job" as a Christian mother :)!!
Celebrate with the angels in heaven and with us--another soul (our 12 year old foster son) saved to ETERNAL LIFE in Christ!! Hallelujah!! We already witness a radiance, settledness, peace, and direction in God's ways upon this child. Searched out, drawn, found--Wow!! To watch this young man "take a knee" and humble himself before God after seeing a Christian Football movie that touched his heart... He said, "Mommy Gillian, that man --God answered all his prayers. Every time he prayed, God answered his prayer." The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart, "Now's the time, ask him." I turned to M. "M.,would you like to have God answer you when you pray? Would you like to ask Him to come into your heart right now?"
... Its been a long wrestling match between M. and God--pretty fierce at times--there have been times as we brought out the Bible M. would literally run out of the room. A glaze and physical restlessness would come on him at the mention of the name of Christ... And yet little by little we have seen him "peeking out" of the door of his heart--leaving the door cracked so he could hear what was going on outside---we could see a greater thirst and hunger to know God. We kept telling him God was knocking... And here he was at the door--hand on the knob... "YES!! I want God in me. YES!! that's what I want." We called into the next room for all the children to join us --each one delighting in the news-- M. invited all the children of the family to gather around him in a circle and to hold hands and to pray with him...
--to hear him pray for the very FIRST time (until this point we had only heard 'God is Good and thanks for the food")to hear Him call God, "my king" and then to hear Him speak in love for God and call him his leader and then to top this off
--to hear this child
--a new son of God call God,
"Daddy"
--oh, my.
He bear hugged Richard that night and told him that it was hard to let Jesus in
--but then he grinned,
"I'm SO GLAD He opened the door."
We are now disciplining both brother and sister at night so that as they grow together. The first night for this was on Sunday night--we are using this simple devotional about life in Christ--on the first night the end part of the devotion was an activity that brought them to a mirror and to stand in front of it declaring several times, "I am a child of God"--picture watching that reflection!!What power!!Praise God!!
... Sister saved, Brother saved and now we are continuing to believe a promise that God has given us from Isaiah 58 that their family line will be saved --that they will be restorers of broken walls and dwellers in safe places--that God Himself will come and dwell with them--that many more are to come to salvation through their lives. A new destiny--an assured path lies before them now--so much greater than what we could ever plan or carve out for them in our work with and for them these days--Oh, thank you, Lord!! Please pray that we would rightly be preparing/disciplining these kids for whatever wonderful plans God has in store for them--a hope and a future for sure.
And I encourage you--just ask--perhaps there are other fish out there -- so ready to "jump into the boat"...it just might suprise you--with Joy!!
Blessings,
Gillian
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Grace Times Five :)
Yes, this only lasted one night, until we had to separate them--but how cute are they?!
Sorry Graham, someone in the family has to bunk on the palate on the floor--it will make for a great family story someday though, right? Thanks for the sacrefice!
Not enough space for all? Jack was in heaven to get to bunk in with Mom and Dad for 4 whole nights--snuggle monster that he is!
Ashley and Anderson snuggling late one night
BRRRRR. it was COLD in Kansas City but we had packed a tub of cold stuff!! The kiddos got to have lots of snowball fights and got to do some AWESOME sledding too!!
Hello, friends!----The end of 09 and the beginning of 10---- or do you say, twenty ten? ----we have not received a clear answer on what to call this new decade!----but regardless the past few weeks have been very special in the Tucker family~~as we hope it was for you as well~~
We had another time of miracles among our family here just a few days ago. Richard and I had been led to go to Kansas City to be part of a worship/prayer/equipping conference there, called One Thing. It was put on by the International House of Prayer in KC. I just want to share an excerpt I recently wrote to a leader of that ministry...
"Recently we were prompted to head up to the One Thing conference in thankful response to all God has been doing via IHOP's ministry here. As we backed out of the driveway--packed to the gills in our Suburban with 6 of our 8 children, the check engine light went on! After a disappointing diagnostic hours later, we were told that it would take 555 dollars to fix our car. We got very quiet and before Richard and I discussed what to do next we each went to a different nook of the shop--me behind a pile of Firestone tires and Richard staring out of the advertisements on the glass front window of the Firestone store. The Lord's message to us was different than the mechanic. He spoke something else, "Go anyway" individually to each of our hearts, and , "I'm up to something big in your lives with this trip--you could miss out on it if you do not go". Next, he told Richard to lay hands on the car and then to drive 55 miles an hour up 550 miles to KC. (do you notice all the 5's?--this is God's # of grace) We obeyed--with much joy and anticipation--and had a very SCENIC trip on our slow drive up to KC. Not too long into our obedience, God turned off the check engine light--we did not see it for the remainder of the trip!
We have been living a missionary lifestyle of service and intercession here in Franklin and as we arrived in KC, we tried to purchase an item and found out that our TN bank account was completely depleted several large payments at home had hit our account early and all at once --now, at the beginning of the trip-- we only had enough for our hotel and no money to get back home.--We thanked God for a Breckfast bar at the Hampton hotel that provided what we call-"Breckfast and breckfast and breckfast" for each of our meals in KC! :) HEE!! (And for His grace on our children who did not complain once about sausage egg biscuits and muffins for dinner)! Next, as only God can do, He provided provision miracle after provision miracle,caused answers to prayers that have been prayed for 18 years, quite beautifully and right along with His timing of how He has so been on the move for our hearts and His power in our lives lately commissioned us for service as intercessionary missionaries, and spoke prophetic Word into us in the prayer room--the trip became a pilgrimage of sorts--it definitely was the trip of our lives!!"
God's miracles in our family were not just financial and protection over us physically and over our car (alot of miracles involving that car recently, huh?). The movement from the Lord that caused us great thankfulness and awe was being encountered powerfully by His loving,burning heart. Also, watching Him encounter our children. One special morning we asked for prayer from some intercessory missionaries who serve in the healing/prayer room at the International House of Prayer's Mission base--three incredibly dear people laid hands on our family and on Richard and I and then on our children as individuals--we heard MUCH encouragement and prophecy over each person in this time but most incredibly were the moments as they prayed over our little Ava. As they laid hands gently on her and quietly prayed for her the WEIGHTY presence of the Lord entered the room--I can't describe it well-- but we strongly experienced the presence of the Lord--it was peace and overwhelm at once. Ava's little body began shaking under the presence of the Lord--His Spirit was manifesting His glory on our little girl!!--this was happening while prophecy about her journey before the Lord, her giftings and callings were being prayed over her and pulled forth out of her as well --those minutes of prayer could have been days or years for we got lost in the Joy of His presence...as He danced openly over our little songbird
--we were all overcome with the JOY of the Lord and laughter bubbled up as well as many tears--it was an utterly beautiful experience among MANY others over the course of our trip and related to His movement in our family lately--We had seen other adults come under the influence of the Holy Spirit but to watch Him awaken our little girl was a blessing beyond measure. She is so pure before Him that her open heart was easy and accessible for Him to pour into--I want Ava to be my model before the Lord--to be so childlike and simple and receiving before Him that He can mightily move in and through my frame--to pour in at Will whenever He so desires. And this is how I will be pushing in to His presence in this new year. God is REAL--His Spirit walks among us and wants to encounter us--just as He did in the past in the OT. and more--just like He did through the apostles and in Acts--He's as fresh and willing to move in us and through us and with us in power today as in any other time in history--time and time again this week we realized and experience His love among us. Among wonderful praise, encountering prayer, we also witnessed college age students, 20,000 of them reaching toward the pursuit of God. They were precious "kids"--full of the Spirit of Christ--engaging others, bibles were out instead of blackberries--there was hardly a text message in sight--a generation unplugged from the world's draw and charged up with the love for Christ and taking that love in vast acts of justice to His world. We did not hear a cross word among this large crowd for 4 days and joyed in overhearing young people's conversations in which they spoke of WHO they wanted to be in God (first commandment) and how that fueled their love for His Word and His world. We witnessed people taking off their glasses and taking off their casts to reveal healed arms, several crooked backs were made straight and several legs even GREW several inches to even out bodies--Christ loves to make us whole--that's why He went to the cross for us--and His power from the cross's payment for us was so powerfully moving among a receiving worshiping people WOW...I believe this is what Christ's body should appropriately look like and how it should operate. And I will be encouraging His body to take place before Him in these ways in the upcoming seasons of my life--you included, with much tenderness and love to you, my bloggy friends!!
Stay tuned for other movement of our family in Him and please keep us and calling in Him in your prayers.
Blessings in these first days of 2010!
Love, Gillian
Sorry Graham, someone in the family has to bunk on the palate on the floor--it will make for a great family story someday though, right? Thanks for the sacrefice!
Not enough space for all? Jack was in heaven to get to bunk in with Mom and Dad for 4 whole nights--snuggle monster that he is!
Ashley and Anderson snuggling late one night
BRRRRR. it was COLD in Kansas City but we had packed a tub of cold stuff!! The kiddos got to have lots of snowball fights and got to do some AWESOME sledding too!!
Hello, friends!----The end of 09 and the beginning of 10---- or do you say, twenty ten? ----we have not received a clear answer on what to call this new decade!----but regardless the past few weeks have been very special in the Tucker family~~as we hope it was for you as well~~
We had another time of miracles among our family here just a few days ago. Richard and I had been led to go to Kansas City to be part of a worship/prayer/equipping conference there, called One Thing. It was put on by the International House of Prayer in KC. I just want to share an excerpt I recently wrote to a leader of that ministry...
"Recently we were prompted to head up to the One Thing conference in thankful response to all God has been doing via IHOP's ministry here. As we backed out of the driveway--packed to the gills in our Suburban with 6 of our 8 children, the check engine light went on! After a disappointing diagnostic hours later, we were told that it would take 555 dollars to fix our car. We got very quiet and before Richard and I discussed what to do next we each went to a different nook of the shop--me behind a pile of Firestone tires and Richard staring out of the advertisements on the glass front window of the Firestone store. The Lord's message to us was different than the mechanic. He spoke something else, "Go anyway" individually to each of our hearts, and , "I'm up to something big in your lives with this trip--you could miss out on it if you do not go". Next, he told Richard to lay hands on the car and then to drive 55 miles an hour up 550 miles to KC. (do you notice all the 5's?--this is God's # of grace) We obeyed--with much joy and anticipation--and had a very SCENIC trip on our slow drive up to KC. Not too long into our obedience, God turned off the check engine light--we did not see it for the remainder of the trip!
We have been living a missionary lifestyle of service and intercession here in Franklin and as we arrived in KC, we tried to purchase an item and found out that our TN bank account was completely depleted several large payments at home had hit our account early and all at once --now, at the beginning of the trip-- we only had enough for our hotel and no money to get back home.--We thanked God for a Breckfast bar at the Hampton hotel that provided what we call-"Breckfast and breckfast and breckfast" for each of our meals in KC! :) HEE!! (And for His grace on our children who did not complain once about sausage egg biscuits and muffins for dinner)! Next, as only God can do, He provided provision miracle after provision miracle,caused answers to prayers that have been prayed for 18 years, quite beautifully and right along with His timing of how He has so been on the move for our hearts and His power in our lives lately commissioned us for service as intercessionary missionaries, and spoke prophetic Word into us in the prayer room--the trip became a pilgrimage of sorts--it definitely was the trip of our lives!!"
God's miracles in our family were not just financial and protection over us physically and over our car (alot of miracles involving that car recently, huh?). The movement from the Lord that caused us great thankfulness and awe was being encountered powerfully by His loving,burning heart. Also, watching Him encounter our children. One special morning we asked for prayer from some intercessory missionaries who serve in the healing/prayer room at the International House of Prayer's Mission base--three incredibly dear people laid hands on our family and on Richard and I and then on our children as individuals--we heard MUCH encouragement and prophecy over each person in this time but most incredibly were the moments as they prayed over our little Ava. As they laid hands gently on her and quietly prayed for her the WEIGHTY presence of the Lord entered the room--I can't describe it well-- but we strongly experienced the presence of the Lord--it was peace and overwhelm at once. Ava's little body began shaking under the presence of the Lord--His Spirit was manifesting His glory on our little girl!!--this was happening while prophecy about her journey before the Lord, her giftings and callings were being prayed over her and pulled forth out of her as well --those minutes of prayer could have been days or years for we got lost in the Joy of His presence...as He danced openly over our little songbird
--we were all overcome with the JOY of the Lord and laughter bubbled up as well as many tears--it was an utterly beautiful experience among MANY others over the course of our trip and related to His movement in our family lately--We had seen other adults come under the influence of the Holy Spirit but to watch Him awaken our little girl was a blessing beyond measure. She is so pure before Him that her open heart was easy and accessible for Him to pour into--I want Ava to be my model before the Lord--to be so childlike and simple and receiving before Him that He can mightily move in and through my frame--to pour in at Will whenever He so desires. And this is how I will be pushing in to His presence in this new year. God is REAL--His Spirit walks among us and wants to encounter us--just as He did in the past in the OT. and more--just like He did through the apostles and in Acts--He's as fresh and willing to move in us and through us and with us in power today as in any other time in history--time and time again this week we realized and experience His love among us. Among wonderful praise, encountering prayer, we also witnessed college age students, 20,000 of them reaching toward the pursuit of God. They were precious "kids"--full of the Spirit of Christ--engaging others, bibles were out instead of blackberries--there was hardly a text message in sight--a generation unplugged from the world's draw and charged up with the love for Christ and taking that love in vast acts of justice to His world. We did not hear a cross word among this large crowd for 4 days and joyed in overhearing young people's conversations in which they spoke of WHO they wanted to be in God (first commandment) and how that fueled their love for His Word and His world. We witnessed people taking off their glasses and taking off their casts to reveal healed arms, several crooked backs were made straight and several legs even GREW several inches to even out bodies--Christ loves to make us whole--that's why He went to the cross for us--and His power from the cross's payment for us was so powerfully moving among a receiving worshiping people WOW...I believe this is what Christ's body should appropriately look like and how it should operate. And I will be encouraging His body to take place before Him in these ways in the upcoming seasons of my life--you included, with much tenderness and love to you, my bloggy friends!!
Stay tuned for other movement of our family in Him and please keep us and calling in Him in your prayers.
Blessings in these first days of 2010!
Love, Gillian
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