Come on over!

 We have a new website/blog that has a ton of information of our new journey to be missionaries with the IHOP ministry--please come over and see us over here... :)

http://tuckerfamilylovesjesus.blogspot.com


Blessings today, everyone,

Love,

Gillian

Strings

 A love song for Jesus...

 May our hearts cry this out in every season...

From Every Family and  Nation...




 Strings ~ By Misty Edwards

I want to play the strings of Your heart God
Come play the strings of mine
I want to sing straight to Your heart God
Come sing straight to mine

Lord You have my heart(3x)
And I am searching for yours

Lord You have my thoughts(3x)
And I am searching for Yours

Lord You have my song(3x)
And I am searching for Yours

I'm so in love with You
I'm so in love with You
I'm so in love with You Jesus


Love, Gillian

Sweet Video of Daisy ~ Aday Launch Today!! ~ This is the Day the Lord has Made! We Will Rejoice and be Glad in it!!~ Our Homemade Designs to Support Full-Time Missions and Ministry Work for Our Family

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The adventure begins...

The Beginning of our Journey to Kansas City, MO.  Richard and Graham and Annie the dog :) drove in the Budget truck.  The other 5 children, Tigger the cat, and I rode in the Suburban...

Our home....in a box...on wheels...

We have been in Kansas City for two months today.  Since we pulled out onto the rode to drive out to become intercessory prayer missionaries and to pour ourselves into evangelism and justice service here, I have been trying to get my heart into words...I haven't yet so let me just write some impressions down to share where we are today...

We are awed beyond words at HOW GOOD it is to listen to God's voice carefully and then to jump up to obey with what we call among our family "first time obedience".




Well, in the photos above you can see us leaving sweet Tennessee that has been our home for the past 16 and a half years...we are excited and joyful...and HOT...oh, so HOT --just drippy and sore and tired from packing--we are EVER grateful to the Bonner,Pedicini, Couch, and Chaney families for loaning us your strong men!! and to Maria Lee and Eliana  for packing and encouragement and ALL the Dubois family for your incredible service and love, hugs, and cookies :) THANK YOU!!!!!  YOU just made our moving experience possible!! We just were OVERWHELMED  with friends and family that literally went beyond themselves on those HOT humid August days--I don't think I've ever been warmer--it was QUITE uncomfortable weather to work with!! But the guys were incredible--they jumped into the truck and got things organized and in a couple of hours it all was packed.  Heart-sickness of a very sweet but painful variety came on me as the packing made moving off to our new calling so real and now--seeing sweet Sarah and her precious children at my picnic table on that steamy days made the tears begin to flow--a picture of precious family that Christ has made for us faithfully and lovingly in the Nashville area--and having to say goodbye to so many sisters and brothers and littles that we love so dearly--it was tough--those last hugs and blessings...seeing those beautiful ones through tear- filled eyes...And like Dorthy....(in the W of Oz) it boils down at the end to the last goodbyes...to the "tin men"," the scarecrows",and the "lions" of your life--you know who you are, my precious ones!!--no ruby slippers to "click" me back now...

...and yet this over-riding, STRONG realization --I can just feel it--almost SEE it--of the golden-paved road we are all on together as believers on that road--bringing us home to the Kings' land...we are only separated for moments in our individual journeys until that day...

All packed, clothing absolutely SOAKED with perspiration and no clothing left to change into --its all packed!! Run into the house for a final look through...and to find an odd, forgotten (dry!) shirt of Richard's to pop on--he's so tall it drops to my knees...  Hug one last dear, dear friend, sister, and neighbor in the driveway...And then pack up all the excited littles and exhausted Ashley and Graham and Richard, our cat, our dog, and I into the car and our truck...we drive over to Tracy's home to say goodbye to family friends and our compadres in the adoption world...so many more we would have wanted to hug as well if time had allowed...Tracy and Jimmy so beautiful even in jammie wear :) greet us with hugs and lay hands on our overheated backs(bless them!) --they send us off with prayer--and Tracy in her gentle, wise way speaks life over us and ends with, "This has glory all over it. I feel like you all are getting into boats and going up to Jerusalem."  At that point my heart "pops" and the tears start flowing--they are unstoppable now...

"Sweet" grief--when you are in God's pocket and willingly laying something down for the wonder that He has placed before you-- is different than the pain of other grieving I have done through the years-sweet and salty...high and low, major and minor notes combining to make melody in the heart...

We spend the night at my parents' home that night--more precious people to say final goodbyes to...the next morning we awake to a birthday breckfast  #41 at my mother's table complete with balloons, and homemade necklaces and lays from the kids--how funny!--I'm decked out with them all as we walk out to the truck...Hard to squeeze parents goodbye who have moved to a region to be with you~ who have served and loved and cheered over every stage of our life in Franklin,Tn~ to be far away again....we already know what this pain is like...

We pile into the trucks and head down the road--the trip is smooth and cheerful.  The tears come again...for about the first 500 miles, as I watch Tennessee disapear sign post by sign post and then say goodbye to the Kentucky region...God presses image after image on my heart of all that He did in our journey in this area--faces, events,more faces,promises, promises fulfilled, scripture, sweet reminders, go before my eyes...so thankful  for the growth...for the pain..for the mundane and the joys... that made us who we are today...for the place where God brought two newly married, immature man and woman and brought them up so well ...I am overwhelmed, I am thankful, I am in pain... and I cry and I cry and I cry--"Its o.k. kids, Mommy's o.k....these are thankful, joyful tears..."  and they really are...

...It is now really dark...it is 3 am in the morning...We arrive in Kansas City, Mo...now expectant...really joyful...incredibly exhausted..hungry...without clothing--in all the packing my carefully packed overnight bags have been placed and locked in the big truck...and curious with a lot of excitement...a piece of a verse of scripture runs over and over in my head as I press out the tiredness of my hands on the wheel..."Here we are, Lord, "send us...in the name of your book it is written of us...we delight to do your will..."

We get out our stapled mapquest maps and direction notes and wind- down neighborhood streets in the ultra quiet of the early morning hours.  I am very aware of how loud the truck must be to the slumbering people we are passing by...

  We have been unable to make final contact with a real estate agent who has arranged our rental home for us--we have only seen it online and was hard to aquire--not many were available and phone tag has not gone well--it actually has been a very frustrating experience with such lack of detail and no one to just walk into an office and make things happen for us. Even while stopping at rest stops we have been trying to make contacts and it just has felt like running into a high obstacle ... its weird to experience this in the middle of so much confirmation that God is calling us out to Kansas City...

We arrive at the house and fumble for keys, for lights... and try to not wake the louder of the littles who would announce our presence and awake the block--or the one who just might wander off as we are checking things out inside....ack!;)..try to keep the animals from bolting too...

At this point...exhausted and now covered in OLD sweat and grime...as we open the door to our unforseen home...we are blasted with a STRONG odor of mold...

uh oh....

Richard and I each avoid eye contact as we bring the children in one by one and check out a home that is nothing like it was represented online..

.uh oh....

becomes

OH, NO!....

it doesn't have closets...the basement is open to the garage...it is not finished...this room is not heated...this place is DIRTY...and my throat is BURNING...the children that have had allergies and Asthma in the past begin to cough...we look at the truck...and look back at the house...

OH NO.....Lord,

what...WHAT are you wanting us to DO?...

We bring in the animals--poor Tigger is SOOOoooo stressed out---he meows a loud complaining cry over and over as he stalks around on the kitchen counter --picking his paws over sticky,dusty spots on the tan linoleum...my heart is crying in the same way, Tigger...!!

We drag in blankets and try to make clean beds on the floor--the kids all lined up like sleepy dominos in little lines all over this dreary floor...Rich and I squeeze onto a bit of blanket and hold hands and attempt to look at one another...our eyes are saying the same thing...

My husband who could sleep on a coal pile in the bright light of day--he can sleep anywhere, easily at any time--lies there wide eyed...

"I'm not going to get ANY sleep tonight, Gill--this is awful."

I can only cough--by this time my eyes and lungs are REALLY burning--"I'm going to only say awful things...we better pray instead of talk..." (to confess, all I am thinking is ...my birthday has just arrived --August 7th and here we lie in the grim of something else to deal with--' Crappy Birthday to me'!!) Yep--isn't that TERRIBLE?!  ....it was a necessary thing to keep the mouth shut....and to tell the heart to be quiet too--it can be so unfaithful and such a liar--especially when the body is weak and tired...

We start to pray and feel God's Presence come gently to us, we are calmed...we are able to think clearly....we make a plan for our escape from this home AND praise God that all the details for it dropped through and did not happen so that we could be saved from having to pay rent on something that would be dangerous for our family.  We make ourselves lie down for a LOOONG two hours and then hastily gather the family up and scoot out and shush the loud questions of the kids outside... before the neighborhood wakes up and maybe wonders about this truck "camping out" at the rental house down the street...

For the next 5 days...we are living at a hotel...searching during the days for a house to rent...life is complicated on two fronts...Tigger and Annie are still with us--we can't leave them in the hot weather --Missouri is hitting 100-110 heat index this week and so it is a constant problem to find them shade and to re-aircondition the car by driving it around--plus the fact that the dog LOVES the cat but the cat hates the dog...we are dealing with a cat box in the over-packed car (yikes!) plus the aromas of wet dog food in the heat ...I also am getting sick...I have cut myself on something on moving day on my arm and my leg and both cuts are getting very red and hot and a rash that looks like poison ivy is spreading all over my leg and arm--it is swollen and gets worse in heat until the tissues ache underneath--no escape from heat right now!!...

The kiddos are hanging in there SO well but are going stir crazy in the car...We are living off of snacks and fast foods and the breckfast bar at the hotel...and all our clothing has "run out"--its all packed in the big truck...really ready to settle...

We are spending all our time searching for a place to live...By night number 4 we consider looking for house farther away from the missions' base but this seems off for God has called us here to be a part of the IHOP ministry and to be far away from it would not make sense....  The eight of us kneel down between the hotel beds and lay it all out before God who has been so very present in this whole time and talk to our loving Father about our needs.  One of the children declares that we will have our answer in the morning.

  On the 5th morning Richard awakens and goes out of the hotel room to pray.  He comes back in the room , eyes bright. "God just told me to not look for houses far away from the missions base.  We are to look one more time."  (we have looked at newspaper and Craigslist ads many times each day--there's been nothing on there that we have not looked at) He tells us he is going down to the hotel computer and will be right back.

Remember the miracle when Jesus told the tired fishermen who had been fishing all night to lower the nets AGAIN..ONE MORE TIME...and they complain BUT they OBEY?...

We Looower... the nets ....ONE more TIME..not knowing why...just obeying God's word to us...and...

  Richard returns only 15 minutes later with a twinkle in his eye and a Craigslist rental listing in his hand.  This listing was put up a week ago but did not show the whole time we have been here!  And we know this for we have scoured these sites OVER and OVER...

  It looks perfect for us--and Richard reports that as it came up on the computer screen he got a holy stomach ache--"butterflies"--and knew in that moment God was handing us our new home--

and like that net bursting full of blessing, our good gift is overflowing with what we not only need but have desired--in fact if we had a wish list for everything we would desire in a smaller home--this one would have it and it is RIGHT in the heart of all of the action of the missions' base...  We look at it within 30 minutes and LOVE it--it is cottagy and warm and full of light...it will be PERFECT for hosting college seminary interns or a variety of people who come to IHOP to receive refreshment or to go to a conference...it has a large yard for the kids and we can divide the kids easily into the bedrooms--it is CLEAN and is freshly painted in all the colors of our poccessions in our Budget rental truck...the only catch is that we are to have a phone interview with the owner who only will allow people to live in this house that could be a real asset to the International House of Prayer Ministry.   Believing this is us, we have our interview with this incredible missionary who helped to start the missions' base,who helped to get 24/7 intercessory prayer started here, and who is involved in the specific ministry to help make a HUGE dent in human trafficing that Richard's heart has been strongly drawn to...
He says he needs to pray over this for a day...by the end of the day..he calls us back with joy,

"In prayer, God laid your family very strongly on my heart--you are the family for this property--and accepting you is making me so joyful that I'm giddy--I can't stop laughing--this is going to be a wonderful thing..."

the owner of the property then shares with us that there is a prophecy on this home--several times in prayer he and his wife have received word that whoever lives in this rental home on Grandview Road is going to be part of a grand vision of God's work in His Kingdom...and will be an integral part of the missions' base here in Kansas City...its a prayed over, launching pad for missionaries,used only for ministry through the years--we've been drawn into a legacy of service for Jesus here--Praise God for all the road blocks that narrowed the road to this point!  ....

We have to wait another half week until we can move in and in this time I am alone with the kids at the hotel while Richard has to go on a business trip.  My leg and arm get hotter and more swollen--the living in the car is getting past old...we are told by the hotel staff that morning at breckfast --me alone with all the kiddos-- that the police will be called on our animals and our trucks--and we immediately  drive off to find an animal kennel -- the first one we find has availability AND we are greeted at the desk by a joyful vet who loves Jesus and treats us like family--he gives us all the skinny of the area and proclaims the sweetness and goodness of God over us and sends us on our way--this adventure is so surreal--I mean, just walking into a vets office and having God-encounters!!--surely God's hand and favor is ALL over this move even in the midst of the itchy, the hot, the uncomfortable, the frustrating...there's a clear joyful Presence of God dancing all over this!!

We move into our cheerful cottage several days later and have such full,thankful hearts. ..No time to rest...Richard has to go back to work in Nashville--we have two homes to sell and a job to continue on in until God brings work here for Richard or another kind of support as we dive into ministry...and school has started at a missionary school called, The Daniel Academy...but that's another story to be shared...

.We are blown away...the ministry -side of our adventure has truly begun ...and it is SO much bigger than what we even expected--no wonder there has been great struggle to arrive here--this is huge stuff  Kingdom-wise --for EACH of the members of our family....but we will continue that part of the story in the next post...

Blessings to you all!!

Love, Gillian

Love Stitches...

Ava Aday Getting Ready for the Holidays in Her "Christmas Cheer" Peasant-Style Long-Sleeve Dress

Introductory Price of $22.O0

Bows and Bloomie-Aday Pants Custom-made in a variety of Fabrics and Ribbon Trim

Classic Bloomers are in White and in Gingham-- Blue, Red, Green, and Yellow

Introductory pricing of $3.50 per bow and $8.00 per Bloomie-Aday pant

Imagination Time in our Cottage Kitchen


Precious Jumper-Style Dress on Ava Aday

Introductory Sale Price of $22.00


We are LOVING our new home in Kansas City,MO~ We have moved in time for the kids to get established in a missions-oriented school and we are finding such joy in new ministry at the Missions Base of International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO ~~ only one BIG hole in all of this~~ Richard has remained back in Nashville for a short season to get all of our details in order--selling our home etc...How we miss him!! My mother, Karin G. and I have recently developed a cottage fashion business, called Daisy Aday :), to enable our finances to flow a bit faster to reunite our family and to support our new ministry here.  All the ladies in our family will be offering home-spun or stitched fashion items, accessories,and clothing. :)  I've been crocheting, Ashley's been making teen/ladies clothing, and my mother, Karin G., has made all sorts of little girls' dresses in several styles 2t to 12.  We'll display many of the items soon this week so check back in with us!  Dresses will be $22.00 and most accessories in the 10-20 dollar range--I know you'll love all of these "pretties" !! ...and JUST in time for Christmas shopping too!! Love to you all today!! :) Blessings!!

Love, Gillian :)

P.S. Pre-orders being taken in the blog comments section below and purchased on our Pay Pal here on the blog. Any questions taken in the comments section or at tuckergillian@gmail.com

" 'An He Came to Me"

WHY PRAY?

A true story from our week...

Yesterday we were driving to soccer practice for our two six year old "twins", Jack and Bruik when 4 year old Ava told us this...

"Mommy, it was dark last night and I was crying in my room."

You were crying? Oh, Ava I'm sorry. Why didn't you come and get me?

"I did somethin else Mommy. I got outa my bed and I got on my knees on the floor and I cried out to God.
An I got back in bed.
An I was still crying.

An Jesus came to my room.

He came to me.
An He said, 'Ava, why are you crying?'

An He had yellow on Him.

An He held my hand and we went into your room to check on you.
An Jesus was very bright."


Praises today to the God who sees us, hears our cries, and who comes to us!!


Psalm 34a

I will extol the Lord at all times;

his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the Lord with me;

let us exalt his name together.

I sought the Lord, and he answered me;

he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;

their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,

and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the Lord is good;

blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

Come, my children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

Whoever of you loves life

and desires to see many good days,

keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking lies.

Turn from evil and do good;

seek peace and pursue it.

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their cry;

the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,

but the Lord delivers him from them all;

he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.

Evil will slay the wicked;

the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

The Lord redeems his servants;

no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.

Blessings,

Gillian

Justice Loves Babies

Home: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"
http://www.justicelovesbabies.com/Home.html




This is the next book I am reading to my children. I cried my way through it yesterday in the International House of Prayer bookstore. And I want it in every home that loves Jesus. The text is especially precious to my mama's heart.

My youngest children's mothers made life choices for them that saved not only their physical lives so that they could live and breathe and enjoy life on this Earth--but what I sense SO greatly is that their lives have been saved because Christ has a DESTINY for their lives.

Every life has a destiny

-- an original plan of Jesus for His glory and greatness and the Presence of Himself to shine on the Earth through that life.

Your children have a destiny

So do you.

I have been in awe of this thought lately.

It strikes me as I look in each of my six children's eyes, as I stroke their hair, as I hear their heart - felt prayers. It has always impacted my prayers for all my children as well.

Ava is my example of late, however. Her back story is here in the sidebar --read it if you have not before--but she was picked up from the dust of a street of Addis Ababa when she was just 9 months old. A noisy, precious, screaming baby, who the nannies named, Rakeb, "One who cries loudly." :)

More and more I see this physical saving act and our later adoption as only a shadow of a much greater purpose of the salvation of Jesus to not only come on her life but to flow out of it and to bring a multitude to Jesus through her precious life.

This has been prayed over her and God keeps pressing this on our hearts. Ava's still REALLY loud--there is constant language flowing out of this precious little girl. But what is also there is so glorious--a heart for her savior, Jesus--burning love and worship--all day!! Ava is a little songbird who God is POURING worship songs out of --we have been keeping the tape recorder close by.

And she is a worshiper.

Just the other day she was talking in her room and when she came out she said, "I've been talking to Jesus, Mommy and He told me that He is making a house for me!" She also makes up songs about biblical images that we have never taught her--this is the Holy Spirit's life just flowing through her--it is amazing.

She was singing yesterday about how the trees are "gonna clap their hands to you, Jesus, when you come back to get me an you just love the boys and the girls of the nations--cause the nations belong to you, Jesus"

This child.

She HEARS the voice of God.

We are told this will happen more and more before the return of Jesus--look in Joel 2--it is an exciting passage that says that before Jesus returns He is going to pour out His Spirit on all flesh and that we will experience dreams, encounters with Him, visions--this is not just something for those Eastern countries--those mysterious stories from "those far away places" we hear from across the world--God's voice is breaking in now. He is coming on those who worship Him with incredible Word and in power.

This little girl

who lay in the dust screaming,

now singing and proclaiming the goodness and power of the only Savior of the world.

Oh, my...

Oh, how amazing...

mysterious...

how

GOOD

our God is!!

I want to make sure to saturate myself in His Presence so that I too might enjoy Him and hear Him as my sweet Ava does.

The images in the video are reprsentative of some of our life here revolving around Jesus at a missions' base in Kansas City,Mo. The room with all the international flags is a 24 hour/7 days a week prayer room for intercession and worship.

My older children spend 4 hours a week enjoying the Lord there and the littles and I go in for shorter periods of time to worship and listen to the Lord and to dig into the Bible. Then they share their little pictures with me--"This is when God told me He likes to play tennis with me...this is God and this is me--God is giving me a hug...this is a shield--God is my sheild when the enemy speaks lies about things that are not true or good."...

The images of children in the video below praying are worshiping at our new school, The Daniel Academy, in the prayer room, and in the children's sunday school classroom. It's a little bit of Tucker show and Tell! :)

I am absolutely blown away with the POWER of children's prayers. Last week I was in a room full of about 50 children Kindergarten to 5th grade. This little girl, about 5 years old, --wiggly little girl--,having a hard time keeping still, with a lisp, got on her tiptoes to pray into a microphone in her teacher's hand. As she prayed, this little song came out, "Jesus, I love you, You really looooove us, Jesus." tiny little thing--shaky little voice--and I was literally about knocked off my feet with God's Presence that entered the room at the sound of her sweet voice--SO powerful!!

When these children pray you can feel the WEIGHT of God's Presence-- Place a child intentionally in the Presence of God and they will respond so naturally to Him--Give a child the weightier matters of Life to pray over-- and God will love to respond to their precious prayers...




A note from the author of Justice Loves Babies:


Justice Loves Babies is a precious children's story that emphasizes the worth of life and the impact of prayer. In this picture book the main character "Justice" refers to the child in his mother's womb "Destiny" as a living person. Justice eagerly waits for the birth of his sister Destiny and wants to help his father, who is a Doctor bring Destiny to life outside of the womb.


Justice is a little boy who loves babies. He is eagerly waiting for the birth of his sister, Destiny. He wants to be the first to hold her. Justice talks to Destiny every day in her mother's womb and prays that she would live and be strong.


Soon his father, who is a doctor, will help his mother bring Destiny into the world. But one night Justice has a dream about other babies who were not allowed to be born. "Not all babies get the chance to live like Destiny does," his mother tells him. "Never stop praying for the babies."


This story emphasizes the worth of life and the impact of prayer. Justice Loves Babies will change the way children treasure life by helping them understand that a life begins in the mother's womb. Like Justice, they can pray for Destinies to be born everywhere.


Help us spread this message of life!


- Darlene & Danielle Wibeto