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)

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.

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

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

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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

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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...


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...and here comes little Ava, our Ethiopian daughter...she's spontaneously singing this song tonight:

Blessings and Love,

Gillian

What's in Your Brownies?? ~ Take Back the Date!!

...from our archives...we love to repost this on this date...







A modern day parable...

Hey, kids!! You're home! Hey, come on back to the kitchen--we're making brownies today! You get the mix out...O.K. let's see ...what do we need next...
a little sugar {yum, sugar! who doesn't love it?!!}
some eggs {watch out! They are fragile--they might break!}
salt {make sure its the salty kind--we can't use it if it loses its flavor--taste it, test it to make sure--is it salty? a little goes such a long way! great!! you kids are GREAT bakers!!}
What else do we need...Oh, yes!! OIL {It holds EVERYTHING in the recipe together} Let's pour in the oil and mix it ALL through our recipe

Hmmmmn, kids you know what? These brownies are going to taste terrific? Can't wait to eat em huh? Let me JUST slip in ONE more thing before we bake and eat them up--I saw alot of my friends putting this into their brownies recently. Yeah, it doesn't smell so great but...it's brown isn't it? Yes, it looks kinda gross but we're just putting in SUCH a LITTLE bit and maybe JUST this week we will add in this extra ingredient and then we'll go back to making our brownies the way we usually do. O.K. Let's mix this in--this is going to be FUN--does everyone want a turn stirring? Good JOB. Hey, I know, let's share some of these brownies with the neighborhood kids too--so that we all can try em. GREAT! This is fun--now let's pop them in the oven...setting the timer...

Hey, hand me that bowl over there--wow, it really is stinky, huh? But I sure wouldn't want our friends to not like us if we didn't make brownies like this, this week. We might miss out on some great fellowship--I heard they are even bringing brownies like this to church fellowship groups and celebrations this week in addition to all the brownie parties in the neighborhoods and schools this week. You, know if its being brought to church--it MUST be O.K., right?

DING, DING, DING--Oh, that's the oven buzzer let's take out our treat. Who wants a glass of milk with our brownies today? YUM!! FUN!! Oh, you're welcome!! :)
Yummy, soooo good! Should we pack some up and hand them out now? Great?--Yes, honey, what did you say?--Oh, what was the special ingredient? Is that what you asked? Well I just added in what everyone is adding into baked goods this week...

Dog Poop...

Oh, don't look so horrified!:)

...it was only a little bit...
Now...who wants some more?

A little break down of our recipe and why I'm telling this story this week:

Brownie Recipe is what we are pouring into our children's lives and hearts.
Mix is God's best, His Truth for them, the foundation of God's Word

Sugar--the pleasure this world has to offer can be a gift from God and also a distraction for our hearts

Egg--a reminder that their hearts are fragile. As parents we are the guardians of our children's hearts--our wellspring of Life flows up from well-tended hearts.

Salt--Our value to the Lord and our influence for His Kingdom in our World. Just a little of our influence shines SUCH a long way.

Oil--The abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in us. We are to stay in step with Him. Choosing ways that are not of Him actually brings grief to Him. Every bit of us should be "mixed" with God's holiness--His presence--His anointing--His anointing is light and cannot mix with darkness.

And the mystery ingredient? GROSS!! you say! Yes!! Totally Gross!! But a picture of what so many believers in Christ do every Halloween week. Taking just LITTLE bits from a demonic celebration and ingesting them--mixing them into their lives--feeding these elements to their children with much festivity!!

You may have not heard, and if not, you need to know that Halloween is not just about candy, good times, costumes, and acting. NO, the origins of Halloween are downright creepy. As my kids would tell you, I'm sure there are no Halloween celebrations going on in heaven this week and so there will be none at our home either!
Halloween has pagan origins. There is much more history that would be helpful to know but simply, the people worshiped dark spirits and were afraid of the undead who walked on the earth once a year on this night. They would leave treats outside of their door so that demons would not carry them off to Hell--some "trick"!--and the costumes were to hide from the evil spirits as well. Even without knowing this, there are obvious signs that this celebration glorifies death, fear, and witchcraft--

-all things that Christ died on the cross to get VICTORY over!!

There just is NO fellowship light with darkness.
In fact--when light appears--the dark must run away!

Many, many cool and nice people--really likable people that I know celebrate Halloween--some only in measure. But PLEASE remember the brownies--even a little bit -- is dangerous. If I am now not "likeable" for writing this post to you, that's really o.k. with me for although I like you very much, I love you so much more and needed to share truth with you today.

"This is the message, we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in Spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that His word has no place in our hearts." I John 1:5-10 "And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever." I John 2:17

"Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living...clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ..." Romans 13:11-14

Children of Light--don't eat the brownies!!

Love, Gillian

He saw all of us...and yes...He loved us

Ashley speaks on Comrades :)

Now it's Ashley's turn!

Here is a video about forming David/Johnathon type friendships in our children. School does not have to be a lonely or scary for any children in our midst when Christ-filled children learn how to reach out with God's love to draw in other kids around them. The bond children are capable of creating is incredible and can last for a lifetime.

We call this, "marvelous comaraderie"--its simple, but carries so much impact for children. If you have ever lived through a season in which it was your child who was the one who was left out (or that is a tender memory) you know how weighty relationships are in a child's life. We are watching the fruit of real "comaraderie"--where children are truly for one another--not perfect, but definitely joy-filled and welcoming-- in our family and at school. Makes such a difference in the school experience for the whole family!! The whole video is sweet but if you are short on time, friends, and have not seen Ashley in a while, her part of the video starts around minute 6.26.



Blessings!!

Ashley and our other children would love to pray for any kids that might be lonely or having a rough time with relationships in school or for any other request. The kids will be taking questions as well for how to create a more peaceful/joy-filled environment for friends at school. Feel free to contact them for prayer at tuckergillian@gmail.com or in the comments section below.

"I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)