Fountains in the Thirsty Places

Such sweet cousin love. Ava's about as big as M. but was carted around all over the place. :)



Site of the very first airplane flight--was a wonderful learning/appreciating experience!




The GIANT sand dunes of Nags Head, NC--amazing!! Brought back many memories--this is the beach I vacationed with each year growing up with my family.





How GOOD to belong to Him. It was such an incredible blessing to be among these Godly families--to see God creating an inheritance for Himself in yet ANOTHER generation who is turning their hearts to him. He truly blesses through the generations--how precious to belong to Him!!

Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants



Allllmost there....! These dunes are SO high that people hand glide off of them--a real adventure.



...Made me think of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years...and with so many children in tow...being led by a REAL cloud of the Spirit by day and His firey protection and warmth at night...a wonder...some of the cousins and I talked as we pushed our feet into the sand mountains about how PRECIOUS God's gift of water would have been--in the middle of the desert land...

No stainless steel water bottles clanking on these mama's backs
No beach swim to look forward to later in the day

BUT

Fountains out of DRY rock!

And bread blanketing the ground each morning...

So God provides for me

For us

In the midst of every season--dry or lush...

He carries us

He makes life flow when all we see before us is sand or a big Rock in our way.





Christ IS our LIVING stream in the desert...

He says:

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:38)


Jesus, thank you for the places you walk with us that make us so thirsty for you.




"And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. (Isaiah 58:11)

Love to you all!
Gillian

Wherever you go--There you are ... :)

Hey, everyone! We just returned home last night from a trip to Outer Banks, NC (Nags Head) for a beach trip reunion with Richard's family. We'll post some photos of the beachy love this week--12 kiddos and 8 adults all shared an ocean front home this week--the kids were in cousin heaven!!


But first a smile--you know that ole quotation, "Wherever you go, there you are" ? Well, we had a FUN time with this with our Graham as we road through Graham North Carolina to and fro the beach. The "Mayor" of Graham had a fun time "surveying" his town :)!!--Next we'll need to plan a trip to "Jackson" Miss. and Perhaps to "Anderson" In.--perhaps an Ashley destination...SUGGESTIONS, anyone???...it was so much fun taking these photos--even for those of us with more unusual names!! :)



SWEET!!



The Water Tower that "called Graham's name" from the highway :)




Just Chillin' at Graham's Soda Shop








Graham, "the thinker" :)





Sweet kid--really sweet southern town--lots of fun ;)


Just a funny today--love to you all!
Blessings,
Gillian

The Cry of the Radical Heart

In my circles there has been alot of speech about the word, "radical"--this song speaks well about the working out of this word/theme.

What a RADICAL thing--to be captivated and personally known by the living God.

What would this mean to your life personally?
What if Jesus WAS the lens that you saw all of life out of?

Living Waters that would flow from you--

no striving to serve.

For the river of love straight from the living God would flow to the hearts of whoever we are around--

SPLASH!!

We would bring that awesome river with us wherever we go...

... to splash on whoever is in front of us.

No one would have to convince us with statistics or pain stories to go forth and love for love would simply be in residence in us and would lead us to what Christ's heart burned for.


Fire that no water could ever quench--no ministry burnout here--for the lovesick heart does not wear out by work--

"a lover will out- last a worker every time!!"


No offense toward "others who just don't 'get it' "

for as we are filled with love --

We realise that the strong love we have for the helpless/the hurting is overflow --

NOT from the production of our hearts and desires and will

but overflow

from God's heart

bursting out from inside of us.

We would realise that the SAME love that Christ gives to us,

He has for these same people--who may not as yet

"get it"

FOR

"OH HOW He LOVES the world"--

and this includes

the selfish,

the cynical,

the greedy--

the VERY unsaved ones--"those" ones--

you know...

the one whos picture just came up in your mind--

THAT one--

Oh how He loves--

THAT one

And how great a love they will have for Christ as they are forgiven much

For he who is forgiven much loves much!!

YES, with melting, passionate, self-sacreficing love Jesus would woo them to Himself as well...

JUST like He wooed me...

We EACH and ALL are targets for His love!

We would realise that the point of and definition of the gospel is not only US--not even only others or service to others or the labors of our hands but all about the GLORY of this incredible one,

--JESUS--

who fills all of eternity,

who's glory fills the Earth,

who is coming to reign soon,

yet who's love fills and lives in MY heart.

"How can it be? That you, Oh God should die for me?"
And yet He calls us His BELOVED...

Ah to be captivated by His beauty and glory--

It is what we are made for.

Our eyes are meant to behold HIm.
Our hands were made to bring glory back to Him.
Our relationships to bring glory to Him.
Adoption and other ministries to bring His glory back to Him through these precious lives.

HIM, HIM, HIM...

Jesus is worthy of all the focus, all the strength, all the drive of our lives---HE is what we were made for!


Everything else flows from this...--including the 2nd commandment--to love others as we love ourselves. Only after being captivated by our glorious Jesus personally could we ever love or serve well or have ANY purpose to "lay it all down" or "obey those harder sayings" --until we get this first glimpse and filling of Christs' love in our sight and our hearts.

And this takes action.
But action that brings life and direction.


Plunge into Him--He's waiting for you--like that Lovesick Dad waiting at the end of that dusty path--waiting for His beloved child to return home. To run into His arms is our first requirement--and everything else flows from this--it REALLY does!

Be Blessed be captivated by Glorious Jesus!!
Love, Gillian