Check out Mark's Beautiful Photography Work

A Photo today of our sweet,sweet Ashley. This was taken by Mark Short. Please give him business for photography if you live in our area--he and his wife, April and their adorable two sons are expecting a new sibling from Ethiopia -- any day now!!!!! Mark has a photography business called, seven lights photography. He and April provided a wonderful photo shoot day for our family--must have been a challenge with our bunch!!--and we received SO many wonderful shots. I have addresses to their blog and business below--check it out and provide them support --you'll love his work!!

http://shortstoriestn.blogspot.com

http://sevenlightsphotography.com

Blessings today!

Mark captured our littles personalities for sure!!

Princess Ava with an Attitude and Silly Bruiky





Whatcha thinkin' about, Anderson? and a photo of his tender side that melts our hearts...





Naughty? ....Nice?...When you are 6....you could get either at ANY time!!!
We adore our Jackie-- Jack!!!






He cracked a smile out of our 13 year old Graham ;)



And some of his best work included images that we are not able to show of our newest family members--but know he takes a wonderful family photo!!

Thank you for your GREAT work, Mark!









Gillian

Transitioning Support

Photos from the earlier days of our Fellowship Group (Ester and Ava playing here) and some of Sallee's first Poppy Dips! :)






The other day I ached for a weary mom who cried as she asked, "why didn't anyone ever TELL us"...she was referring to the post adoption seasons and what they can bring to a family. Amidst the nesting and the adorable photos, there is a reality for some--especially those of us bringing home multiple children, toddlers, some older children that is not brought up very often. I have wondered over this. In many adoption circles there is little said about the challenges that adoption brings. I think this may be because people are afraid of scaring off potential adoptive families. NO WAY!!:) Have you ever SEEN the glow and determination of the adoptive heart? Much like two lovebirds in love,it is UNSTOPPABLE!! And rightly so--cause it is a consuming love straight from the heart of God. We are even told that before our bridegroom, Christ's return, that God will turn the "hearts of the fathers to the children." And our hearts just swell as we see this prophecy coming to be among so many precious hearts that we see and know in His family.
Love truly, as the Bible says is stronger than death!! I do not believe good information will divert people from adoption, in fact it may just strengthen mercy's call and may make it FAR more effective. Below this post, I have copied two announcements from our local area that are opportunities to get prepared for the realities of adoption. The Bethany training is supposed to be rich with information.

One of the sweetest parts of being adoptive parents is our encouragement of prospective and post-adoptive families. The bonds that are created in the adoptive community are precious.When we adopted Bruik and Ava almost 3 years ago--we were the pilot family for AWAA for Ethiopia. AKA, the guinea pig family :). This was a GREAT privilege and joy and the adoption process was smooth --just wonderful.

--As we transitioned, we knew a handful of other families who were adoptive families--They were GOLD to us as we walked into typical transition issues, not -so -typical bringing home Hep.A from Africa and transitioning with 5 VERY sick children,dealing with what to do about the "twining" of two of our youngest children and the issues this created,asking about sleep issues, night terrors,eating behaviors,even the questions of how to "do" parenting a large, adoptive family--all amidst the TRUE miracle and joy of becoming a new family. Ally, Beth, Rachel Ward, and Amanda L.--God placed you in our path!--we needed you!! Two years later, we would meet our precious adoptive fellowship group and I think in one of the first meetings with perspective parents and a couple of experienced families I just cried--hard. I was such a drippy mess that night. I WAS that weary mom!! I was RIGHT in the midst of some harder issues and had been for two years. And I was embarrassed to be the "experienced" one in the room and to just sit in a puddle of tears. Honestly, I was embarrassed and really should not have been at all... It was difficult that night to hear of the romantic, true story of the WHY of adoption from new families and yet to be walking in the a "laying it all down" season--just as precious but very hard. Thank you, Sallee,Rachel, and Tracy, and Sonja for loving me well when all I could do was cry!

Now the families from that little fellowship group night--the Johnsons, the Mihnovich's, the Putty's,and many more are ALL a rock not only in our lives but in HUNDREDS of other family's lives!! Now our adoptive fellowship group has swelled to TENS of precious Ethioipian children and their families. These parents have SUCH resource at their fingertips--much more than we ever had--they have EACH OTHER. If you are one of these families, never be afraid to ask if something in your experience is normal or if other people may be experiencing the same "weird" thing in their adoptive experience. Never be afraid to reach out--even if you can only manage an email--to ask for some relief or some support--adoption can bring us to strange lands that we do not have a map for--now with our eight, I daily am humbled. It is like this type of parenting has no "blueprint"--it requires continued courage--it definitely keeps us dependant on prayer and other brothers and sisters around us.




And I must say, there may not be an END to issues--don't we each and all have them anyway? ;) But our family is so enjoying the great peace that God promised to our family as we flew to Ethiopia and I read in Isaiah,..."and great will be your children's peace..." I want any family who may be fearing the transition period that it is just a valley to be walked THROUGH with our precious shepherd--not a destination. In Psalm 23 it speaks of the Valley of the shadow of death--it is only a SHADOW --in our trials we will "fear no evil" for "you are with me" and it is here that we REALLY learn that our shepherd is RIGHT next to us with His rod of protection and His staff of comfort that He uses to draw us closer to Him. Even in these times there is a "table before me". Provision set before us--our Shepherd beside us, and His precious,incredible flock (who I love so much!) all around us.



If you are considering adoption please do not overlook the wonderful resources that are out there for having an informed perspective to go along with your burning heart. If it turns out to not be needed by your family--you surely will use it to encourage another family at some point.

And one more thing, precious family considering adoption...Rest as you Nest. Your world IS about to change. Even more importantly than preparing your mind for this experience is preparing your state of heart before the Lord. Build up your fellowship with Him as much as possible NOW--you are about to go on quite a journey together and He is your best travel guide, counselor, helper, and companion. He made the children you are adopting and is the only one with the "manual"!! :) I have observed this aspect of our lives--the most important one-- can easily get lost in the busyness of nesting--the preadoptive stage certainly demands alot but you really need to know that the stage to come will bring ten times more intensity and you will need to draw upon those streams of living water that bubble up from within you. The Joy of the Lord truly is our literal strength. Like the story of Mary and Martha--make it your AMBITION to carve out quiet at Jesus's feet--He declared this better than the "many things" Martha was about.

Here are those links...
Blessings!
Gillian

Bethany Christian Services Post-Adoption Seminar - Tues. 2/23 6pm-8pm
After your child comes home, you may face unexpected challenges; these could include night terrors, poor sleep cycles, attachment difficulties, hoarding, issues around food/formula, and more. Anticipating these challenges and having access to information is the best preparation possible. Join us on Tuesday, February 23rd to learn about support and resources which are available to your family after your child is home. This is open to families in the adoption process or who have already adopted, as well as those wanting to learn how they can support families in their community who have adopted domestically and internationally. Child care will be provided with RSVP only. Please RSVP to cwhitford@bethany.org
or 615.242.0909 to save your seat for the seminar and childcare. They will be serving dinner and appreciate knowing how many to expect

Orphan Alliance Conference - Saturday 2/27 12:30-2:30pm
Please join the Middle Tennessee Orphan Alliance for a FREE informational meeting on Saturday, February 27 from 12:30 - 2:30 pm at Brentwood Baptist Church. There will be an update on Haiti, adoption, mission/aid trips, and other ways for you to answer the call to serve the orphan locally and worldwide and where you can learn and ask questions about next steps. Childcare will not be offered but children are certainly welcome. PLEASE Register by sending an email with number of adults and children who will be attending to midtnorphanalliance@gmail.com so we can plan materials accordingly. Brentwood Baptist Church is located at 7777 Concord Road in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Directions can be found at http://www.brentwoodbaptist.com/brentwood/times_and_directions.html.

MADE 4 LOVE

Now THIS is a way to spend an evening!! These college kids truly "get it"!!



Made in Love,
by the One who IS Love,
so that our Lives of Love,
will draw others to know,
The ONE who is Love,
Has made them for Himself.
That they,
That we,
ARE
Made for Love.



Happy Valentine's Day!!
Love, Gillian

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

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

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

:) 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