Many of us over the last several days have "Entered His gates with Thanksgiving" in our hearts and around our tables...First, the thanking...next comes the Praising and the knowing of the Presence... and...NOW enters the time for the WELCOMING of " God With US", Emmanuel...
Here's a GIFT from the Tucker Family today to WELCOME the Celebration of Jesus our Precious Savior's COMING into the World...Into our Lives...FOR EVER...
And may this SWEET Telling perhaps jumpstart your..."Entering His Courts with Praise" this Christmas season...
We LOVE YOU, Jesus!! We LOVE you, Friends!!
Hugs!
....now where did I PUT that box of Christmas dress-ups....Hmmnnn.... ;)
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His
we are His people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
and His courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Thanksful Testimony!!!
God brought a miracle into my life this past week. :) I had been wrestling with 40ish eyesight. For the first time in my life I was dealing with having to bring literature up REALLY close to my eyes to make out the words...not great for a girl who LOVES reading and is teaching a couple to read at home right now...and helps out at school in the library--not to mention ALL the other inconveniences this was creating...
Last Sunday at church, a young woman testified to God dramatically healing her eyesight after she asked to for her sight to be cleared so that she would not have to wear her corrective lenses anymore. Soon after this, there was an opportunity to receive prayer for healing in the name of Jesus right there in our seats. As I raised my hand, asking God for healing for my eyes among other health inquiries, I felt the real presence of the Holy Spirit as several people laid hands on me and prayed. It was a simple prayer time...they prayed silently...I may never know who each of them was...all I knew was that the heavy presence of God pressed on me with such nearness as they prayed for me...
In a moment, as I opened my eyes, I could read the bulletin's fine print..AND the Bible that lay in my lap WITHOUT picking it UP ..AND I could clearly see people's faces ACROSS the room!! All week long I have been thanking Jesus for healing my eyes. I was especially thankful as my mom and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner that I could clearly SEE handwritten recipe cards and the small print on the can labels...I was again blessed to read little notes from the kiddos to one another ~ and my Favorite blessing was being able to read my Bible in bed again before sleep in the SOFT light of the lamp nearby!!
What particularly struck my heart this week was that no healing desire is insignificant in God's eyes. And, that we do not have to just resign ourselves to "all" the little " problems" that "just come" with the "territory" of the"aging process". I have NOThING against aging!! ~ but desire to be a Caleb that walks into the promised land with a spring in my step at a very old and green age. :) I hope you feel free to ask our loving Father for the desires of your heart that could be related to healing needs. He loves to heal and He LOVES you so!
"And He healed them ALL..."
(Mt. 12:15,Mt. 4:23,Mt 12:22,Mt. 9:35)
Last Sunday at church, a young woman testified to God dramatically healing her eyesight after she asked to for her sight to be cleared so that she would not have to wear her corrective lenses anymore. Soon after this, there was an opportunity to receive prayer for healing in the name of Jesus right there in our seats. As I raised my hand, asking God for healing for my eyes among other health inquiries, I felt the real presence of the Holy Spirit as several people laid hands on me and prayed. It was a simple prayer time...they prayed silently...I may never know who each of them was...all I knew was that the heavy presence of God pressed on me with such nearness as they prayed for me...
In a moment, as I opened my eyes, I could read the bulletin's fine print..AND the Bible that lay in my lap WITHOUT picking it UP ..AND I could clearly see people's faces ACROSS the room!! All week long I have been thanking Jesus for healing my eyes. I was especially thankful as my mom and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner that I could clearly SEE handwritten recipe cards and the small print on the can labels...I was again blessed to read little notes from the kiddos to one another ~ and my Favorite blessing was being able to read my Bible in bed again before sleep in the SOFT light of the lamp nearby!!
What particularly struck my heart this week was that no healing desire is insignificant in God's eyes. And, that we do not have to just resign ourselves to "all" the little " problems" that "just come" with the "territory" of the"aging process". I have NOThING against aging!! ~ but desire to be a Caleb that walks into the promised land with a spring in my step at a very old and green age. :) I hope you feel free to ask our loving Father for the desires of your heart that could be related to healing needs. He loves to heal and He LOVES you so!
"And He healed them ALL..."
(Mt. 12:15,Mt. 4:23,Mt 12:22,Mt. 9:35)
Monday, November 14, 2011
Arrows in a Mighty Hand ~ "Do you Want in on This?"
You gotta see this one!!
This is from Orphan Sunday here at our church and ministry here in Kansas City.
The Bolender family is a beloved adoptive family here who are being greatly used by God to highlight adoption as a solution to the abortion crisis as well as the founders of The Zoe Foundation, a non-profit adoption agency for Christ-centered adoption. Plus they are are so loveable, witty, and just really funny. :)
I love how our children ~ ALL of them ~ are referred to in this talk as ARROWS in the hand of the Lord. I deeply believe this and it permeates my understanding about "why adoption
And HOW I LOVE This quote!!
"We adopted to expand the Kingdom of God in a real way and to buy Jesus an Inheritance from among the nations...and we are full of joy to do this."
The Zoe Foundation
http://thezoefoundation.com/
Let love reign!
Love, Gillian
Isaiah 58:5-8
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?
“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?
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?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousnessa will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
This is from Orphan Sunday here at our church and ministry here in Kansas City.
The Bolender family is a beloved adoptive family here who are being greatly used by God to highlight adoption as a solution to the abortion crisis as well as the founders of The Zoe Foundation, a non-profit adoption agency for Christ-centered adoption. Plus they are are so loveable, witty, and just really funny. :)
I love how our children ~ ALL of them ~ are referred to in this talk as ARROWS in the hand of the Lord. I deeply believe this and it permeates my understanding about "why adoption
And HOW I LOVE This quote!!
"We adopted to expand the Kingdom of God in a real way and to buy Jesus an Inheritance from among the nations...and we are full of joy to do this."
The Zoe Foundation
http://thezoefoundation.com/
Let love reign!
Love, Gillian
Isaiah 58:5-8
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?
“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?
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?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousnessa will go before you,
and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
A Priestly Project !
But you are a chosen race who serve as Priests for The Kingdom, a holy people, a redeemed assembly; you should proclaim the praises of him who called you from darkness into his excellent light. (IPeter 2:9)
We made "priestly breastplates" for our time in prayer for others this week. We listened today to a pastor speak of Aaron's breastplate and how it was a reminder of how each of the tribes of Israel, symbolized by 12 gem stones set into the breastplate and laid over the pure white linen priestly garments, were carried into the tabernacle as the priest would intercede for them...In this way, the priest was truly carrying EACH person of Israel in before God's Presence...Later Christ would carry 12 disciples and then after dying for us and raising in resurrection, He would LIVE in intercession for us...
We suddenly got what we call around here, "a suddenly".
Since Jesus as our high priest has knighted us priests and kings of His Kingdom, why not make a breastplate to use in our times of intercession!! We too could "carry" 12 people before God every day.
The photo above shows the simplicity of our idea--12 circles on paper.
3 for family members--
We chose this time those family members who need salvation or healing. The kids loved choosing various people in our family. A couple even chose siblings but the prayer request had to be for something specific like a spirit of love/unity for that brother--something along gifted and kind lines!! We wrote the names in the circles and for the non-readers drew a little picture -- something that would remind them of that person, for example perhaps a cookie for a Grandma.
3 for friends--
I was amazed at how the children carefully thought through these choices. We had some choices for friends who need prayer for salvation, some who are sad, some who have special needs, some who need healing
3 for neighbors--
This was fun!! We now live on a busy street and have not gotten to know all of our neighbors--I think this prayer project will prompt this! Ava is praying for the family in the yellow house, the elderly lady in the blue house, and the couple in the brick house across the street--she can see every one of these houses from our living room window. Can't you picture her cute little face peeking out that window every day to check on her "gems"? I bet she will both fall in love with these precious people, thus we will have reason to meet them, and I know God will listen to a little girl's earnest prayers.
3 for strangers--
This was a harder concept for my littles. One wrote down policeman,fireman, cashier. Jack wrote, "lost people". Won't we have to make some friends now?!! The suggestions for the next children were to hold on this category until we could see some strangers and write them down this week as we go about our week OR think of some strangers we see every day and write them down. We asked God to bring some to mind...
And He did! Bruik, suddenly animated shouted out that he was praying for Africans. Ava is now praying for the mailwoman, and for two friendly muslim women who visited our lemonade stand this summer...she has now talked of them all night...they are already on the heart...
I love this category for faces become so much more precious ~YES, GEMSTONES ~ to our hearts as we pray for them. Who knows what God will do with this?!!
We lightly colored in over the names--they were already so excited!!
You could go so much more fancy with this with different foils and materials...perhaps faux gemstones...I could see the breastplate being made out of a paper plate (although they were rectangular) or hanging from a chain or yarn around the neck...I think the idea is WELL suited for adults too--Can't we all think immediately of people in each of these categories we could pray for every day?
Then we prayed over the names.
Sacred Beauty...from something SO simple..
But doesn't most beauty in this life come to us in containers such as this?
This is my happy "pray-er, Bruik.
He wanted to fold up the Breastplate, stick it in his pocket, and use it everywhere we go today--he told me!
Praying in a harvest...
We then hung the "breastplates" up in our stairwell on a clothesline of sorts..
The children have stopped by them to touch the circles and pray for people already as they pass them today--we will take them down for corporate prayer as a family. My teens and Richard and I will make some too and join in!!
This project was very dear to my heart for I am the product of a "harvest" more than 3 decades ago...In 1975 a sweet young woman, wife and mom of 2 looked out her window and saw my family playing outside...sweet Linda Wade, then in her twenties, I believe, committed to pray daily for our family's salvation. Within a year, my Dad became a Christian at a Bill Gotherd seminar, My mom got to know Linda and came to know Christ in a bible study Linda arranged to have at OUR house with other neighbor ladies...months later, after seeing sweet transformation and the joy of the Lord fill my parents, little 5 year old Gillian would place her trust and faith in Jesus...Boom!! All from one faithful woman's prayers. What if Linda had been too distracted or busy to pray, and then, what if she had been too shy to befriend and invite herself into my family's life? After all, there were many jokes about "those Jesus People" out there... Oh, I'm EVER thankful for one woman's obedience and discipline to bring me before Father God every day...Think of all the people who will NOT spend eternity in Hell and will spend it before the riches of Christ all because of simple actions and prayers and neighborly friendships...by the homemaker, the mom, the Grandma, the working man, the child peering out our living room window and across the street...
Peek out YOUR windows,your car windshield, your vantage from the checkout line, your view from the dropping kids off place, your place on the sports field,your work area room tonight...tomorrow...this week... and fill up the breastplate of prayer. Then PRAY!! Heaven will celebrate. Your Neighbors will thank you with eternal thank yous!!
Love, Gillian
We made "priestly breastplates" for our time in prayer for others this week. We listened today to a pastor speak of Aaron's breastplate and how it was a reminder of how each of the tribes of Israel, symbolized by 12 gem stones set into the breastplate and laid over the pure white linen priestly garments, were carried into the tabernacle as the priest would intercede for them...In this way, the priest was truly carrying EACH person of Israel in before God's Presence...Later Christ would carry 12 disciples and then after dying for us and raising in resurrection, He would LIVE in intercession for us...
We suddenly got what we call around here, "a suddenly".
Since Jesus as our high priest has knighted us priests and kings of His Kingdom, why not make a breastplate to use in our times of intercession!! We too could "carry" 12 people before God every day.
The photo above shows the simplicity of our idea--12 circles on paper.
3 for family members--
We chose this time those family members who need salvation or healing. The kids loved choosing various people in our family. A couple even chose siblings but the prayer request had to be for something specific like a spirit of love/unity for that brother--something along gifted and kind lines!! We wrote the names in the circles and for the non-readers drew a little picture -- something that would remind them of that person, for example perhaps a cookie for a Grandma.
3 for friends--
I was amazed at how the children carefully thought through these choices. We had some choices for friends who need prayer for salvation, some who are sad, some who have special needs, some who need healing
3 for neighbors--
This was fun!! We now live on a busy street and have not gotten to know all of our neighbors--I think this prayer project will prompt this! Ava is praying for the family in the yellow house, the elderly lady in the blue house, and the couple in the brick house across the street--she can see every one of these houses from our living room window. Can't you picture her cute little face peeking out that window every day to check on her "gems"? I bet she will both fall in love with these precious people, thus we will have reason to meet them, and I know God will listen to a little girl's earnest prayers.
3 for strangers--
This was a harder concept for my littles. One wrote down policeman,fireman, cashier. Jack wrote, "lost people". Won't we have to make some friends now?!! The suggestions for the next children were to hold on this category until we could see some strangers and write them down this week as we go about our week OR think of some strangers we see every day and write them down. We asked God to bring some to mind...
And He did! Bruik, suddenly animated shouted out that he was praying for Africans. Ava is now praying for the mailwoman, and for two friendly muslim women who visited our lemonade stand this summer...she has now talked of them all night...they are already on the heart...
I love this category for faces become so much more precious ~YES, GEMSTONES ~ to our hearts as we pray for them. Who knows what God will do with this?!!
We lightly colored in over the names--they were already so excited!!
You could go so much more fancy with this with different foils and materials...perhaps faux gemstones...I could see the breastplate being made out of a paper plate (although they were rectangular) or hanging from a chain or yarn around the neck...I think the idea is WELL suited for adults too--Can't we all think immediately of people in each of these categories we could pray for every day?
Then we prayed over the names.
Sacred Beauty...from something SO simple..
But doesn't most beauty in this life come to us in containers such as this?
This is my happy "pray-er, Bruik.
He wanted to fold up the Breastplate, stick it in his pocket, and use it everywhere we go today--he told me!
Praying in a harvest...
We then hung the "breastplates" up in our stairwell on a clothesline of sorts..
The children have stopped by them to touch the circles and pray for people already as they pass them today--we will take them down for corporate prayer as a family. My teens and Richard and I will make some too and join in!!
This project was very dear to my heart for I am the product of a "harvest" more than 3 decades ago...In 1975 a sweet young woman, wife and mom of 2 looked out her window and saw my family playing outside...sweet Linda Wade, then in her twenties, I believe, committed to pray daily for our family's salvation. Within a year, my Dad became a Christian at a Bill Gotherd seminar, My mom got to know Linda and came to know Christ in a bible study Linda arranged to have at OUR house with other neighbor ladies...months later, after seeing sweet transformation and the joy of the Lord fill my parents, little 5 year old Gillian would place her trust and faith in Jesus...Boom!! All from one faithful woman's prayers. What if Linda had been too distracted or busy to pray, and then, what if she had been too shy to befriend and invite herself into my family's life? After all, there were many jokes about "those Jesus People" out there... Oh, I'm EVER thankful for one woman's obedience and discipline to bring me before Father God every day...Think of all the people who will NOT spend eternity in Hell and will spend it before the riches of Christ all because of simple actions and prayers and neighborly friendships...by the homemaker, the mom, the Grandma, the working man, the child peering out our living room window and across the street...
Peek out YOUR windows,your car windshield, your vantage from the checkout line, your view from the dropping kids off place, your place on the sports field,your work area room tonight...tomorrow...this week... and fill up the breastplate of prayer. Then PRAY!! Heaven will celebrate. Your Neighbors will thank you with eternal thank yous!!
Love, Gillian
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Nothing Else Will Do
We'll be there--you can be too!! :) Our church has the honor of hosting the event " Orphan Sunday Live from Kansas City" PLEASE join us for ONE HOUR live or over the web in intercession prayer and worship for the orphans of Father God's World. This will be a global event, we are so excited!!
This is the type of intercession we do for the orphans of the world during prayer sets here at the International House of Prayer. It is powerful and tenderizes my heart for God and His love for His children every time. Knowing that prayer is the finest effectual action we can take for it moves the heart of the GOD who holds this world in His hand never ceases to AMAZE me!! What a privilege and a partnership prayer becomes!!
Register for free tickets to this event live or webstreaming
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And he came unto the disciples, and found them asleep, and said unto Peter, What, could you not watch with me one hour? Matthew 26:40
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You know what I am considering tonight as I type and worship and listen to all the little voices floating upstairs from a dress-up extravaganza?...
That adoption can be summed up in several words but here is the one that is striking my heart as I consider love tonight...
Jealousy...
Have you ever considered HOW MUCH God loves you? I mean, HOW MUCH He loves?
The other morning He woke me up...with the thought/prayer..."you need to consider LOVE...and how much I love you...my perfect love casts away fear...it redeems and frees...it is for you not against you...how much will you consider my love, Gillian?"...
and I have this week...as I have washed dishes and stroked faces ...and wiped away the tears of a child who was hurt by another...and wondered about the gathering of souls here...that God purposed ...for us to encounter what ...
LOVE IS...
He is JEALOUS...
That we would not have another...
Or another thing...
He is JEALOUS for each of our souls to only belong to him...
To know this love...To know HOW MUCH...OH HOW Much HE (not me, not families, not movements) but HE loves....HE Loves....How much HE wants to love...to save.. to know..to show HOW MUCH ...He IS Love...
Adoption's not only about filling tummies or one more bed to make...
Adoption's about a "buy back"...It's about a God who is so
JEALOUS
for LOVE
So glorious in beauty and holiness and forever love
That He will have NOTHING BUT
US
That He would EMPTY HIMSELF of EVERYTHING
but LOVE
That He would consider the cost
And come live HERE
In a place like the places we visit on missions trips.
That He chose to be a poor baby...loved by a Mommy and Adopted by an astounded Daddy
That He would live sinless,
love wholehearted and fierce,
That He would step away from the majestic temple to walk the dusty streets,
LOOKING for LOVE.
Searching for the one...
Dying for All
ALL of us ...from any home...in every culture...in every time...
For ALL of us.
Not just some would do...
He was Jealous to rescue and buy us back from an enemy who oppressed, hated, used us and orphaned our hearts from Him.
But He had a quest to buy us back with blood,
Purify us for Presence and ready us for a great big family...
For LOVE
He would NOT have us in the arms of another lover
Or under the foot of an oppressor...
And...He is jealous...Jealous for those little ones tucked upstairs in bed
and the mommy at the sink
for the ones who run barefoot in the grass outside under the sprinkler
as well as for the one who shivers under a thin blanket under drips in a shanty
He wants them ALL
At His banquet table
Well fed, Set apart for a joyous forever family, Holy unto HImself, dressed in white and feasting in His Presence.
And so,
If I am to consider how I am to move in Him,
I will Go
I will LOVE
I will SEEK
Those we can bring home to Him as gifts to HIM...
And its a life-long treasure hunt for the King who
Will stop at nothing less than loving all...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...and here comes little Ava, our Ethiopian daughter...she's spontaneously singing this song tonight:
Blessings and Love,
Gillian
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