Number Nineteen! :) ~ a dance to remember~

Yesterday we celebrated Anniversary Number 19 with my Honey Yesterday On The 19th of June :)!!

  AND on Father's Day!!

  It was quite a day!! :)

  After 11 months of expectant waiting, Richard is wrapping up his job in Nashville this next week and heading out to Kansas City to join us here  in our call to be intercessory missionaries~ WAHOO!!!!!!~

We will have much to share soon about our continued journey for God is downloading even more in our lives and hearts  as the time arrives for Richard to join us here.



So love my pastoring, compassionate, missionary-hearted man.~

Our hearts are full as we look back on this past year ~ it has been so full of the Father's heart.

We had an amazing treat yesterday ~ straight from the heart of Abba God. After spending the day as a family, at church,at lunch, at a local park...swimming...we next had an impromptu visit from two amazing young missionaries to Israel and Finland...the conversation and love around the table was full of power as they opened up a Hebrew bible and gathered up my children like a flock around them ....instructing them in Hebraic style questions...

Next, the young men put in a Dvd that was about one of the friend's, Michael's recent wedding in Israel...

So very rich and glorious to see the glowing lights of Jerusalem just beyond the white wedding canopy...

Then the young men led us all in Israeli  circle dancing as we worshiped Yeshua, Messiah, Jesus ...

Brown hands...tiny feet...massive peach hands...boy feet...girl feet...man arms raised...women waist bowing...Dancing with my earthly husband of 19 years...in a circle full of our quiver of children...some from the nations...joyfully singing with these brothers...It stepped past the immediate now and brought heaven to earth...images of the coming kingdom and the joy to come circled in my heart as we went around the living room last night...

Wonder's overflow... thanksgiving for this man, my earthly Adam, the one I have to reach my neck to smile up to :)...

this one

that God has chosen for me to journey with...

the one who whispers courage in my ear and reflects who God has purposed me to be...

Father to so many...

some our birthed children, some brought from the nations,some still being brought to our door...

and the many to come...

  the gift of marriage...God's wondrous gift  for man and woman in every step as we traverse  home to Him...

full heart for the inheritance of Godly children...

kissed up, raised up as a gift for Jesus...

AWARENESS

...of Holy wind and fire...

a real heart that beats...

pursuing us...

... the tension between joy that transports our heart to the Father
 as well as the ache and burst in our heart for Jesus' remaking of everything to new...

at the arrival of  His coming!!!!!!...

to His waiting...made-ready bride...

And on that day...in that time... His REAL hands and LITERAL feet dancing the wedding dancing with me...His bride...with US, His children!...and we will look and grin and smile over the sea of multi-colored children's heads...dancing ribbons of every color...swirling gifts from the nations to Him...as we laugh with Joy and spin in the lights of Jerusalem...

(the song we danced to last night...)




O Lord bless me and keep me cause Your face to shine on me
Lord be gracious lift the light of Your countenance give me peace

I live only to see your face so shine on me

let the light of Your face shine down on my heart and let me feel it


Blessings and Love,

Gillian

The love story..For HIM...For them...and For me

This BEAUTIFUL post is from my friend, Sara. She is an intercessory missionary here at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City and a beautiful adoptive mom who has adopted 2 adorable preschool children from Ethiopia and now is in the process of adopting 2 elementary- aged girls from Uganda.

I love her heart--

It first burns in love for Jesus

Then flows out to others...

Kingdom love...Kingdom journey...

A fellow traveler on the road that leads into the arms of our Father...

That will end up

taking us

  HOME...

This post is a reflection of where our hearts are these days as God is marrying in Richard and my heart,
adoration for Christ

and deliverance,

or as Sara would say,

"rescue"


 into the broken places of the world...

bringing the "HOME" of God's heart to the world.

(I have highlighted this pitch-perfect section of her post in bold letters today)


Look up Sara's blog at:



Enjoy!!


The Rescue

Posted by Sara on Thursday, June 2, 2011 · 14 Comments

“I don’t want to grow up before my mom gets me.” She said the words my heart felt.

At eight, she isn’t waiting on a mystery. Adoption has been explained to her and though family is a new concept for her orphan-mind, she is being indoctrinated into the very thing I am, an ocean away. Waiting on a promise.

Adoption is never easy. What sits deep in the eye of the Father is a target for His enemy. The layers of testimony being built around the rescue of the vulnerable ones don’t go unopposed. Simultaneous to the glorious accounts we’ve received from friends who have visited with Hope and Lily has been the news that our story has hit some paperwork-related hurdles.

And Lily knows about those. The same little girl who kisses my picture on her wall knows that the path to her promise will have to be paved by Jesus.

“At least I have a mom,” she says in response to news of the potential delays. The child, whose daily comings and goings have never been under a mother’s watchful eye (though now under kind caregivers), finds peace in the whispers of me as if they were my arms wrapped around her. Something is better than nothing for the child who’s grown accustomed to nothing.

Hope still seems oblivious to the radical life change around her corner. She loved her pink nail polish, Molly’s treat. And bore smile after smile for a camera that would deliver gold to my inbox just hours later. Carefree and full of the delight that an outdoor playground solicits, the disconnect between this message bearer and those who sent her, obvious.

She appeared to brush away tears when she watched a video we sent, enamored with the kisses we blew across miles. Is it possible for a five year-old to feel the pain of waiting?

Three years between she and Lily seem like eons which have potential to wash away the innocence of youth. Young and fresh, malleable turned molded — needing re-molding. But for both of them, every day they are not under my roof is a day I’ve lost. A day I will one day have to ask back of the God who restores the years locusts eat.

There is something innate in a woman, created to protect her young at all costs, which adoption stirs up. I find myself explaining our adoption process to people as if I’m explaining the mortgage application process. Dry description, dry process because I lack words to explain the torrent going on within me.

I have daughters living minutes I don’t get to shape. The little-girl moments mothers are made to ponder are ones I only dream about.

++++++

Eden scoots into my lap, eyes on the floor and lower lip quivering. She lets down. “I’m sad Mommy,” she says as a precursor to the conversation we’ve had many times. My five year-old mourns the early years when she “didn’t get to be with Mommy and Daddy” and I can’t help but think of the two others on another continent whose time-cards reflect immeasurably more of those minutes which will one day need healing. Our home, soon to be a hospital for these type of heart-casualties.

Injustice spans the gap between where I live my days and where they grow more inches. And the horizon is pregnant with more waiting.

All of this can make a mother crazy.

And crazed I have been. Allured by the dark side of promise. It’s a faint fume which has set like a damper over my spirit, telling me that rest will come with the promise and that my stomach was meant to be in knots — and my heart awry — until the answer comes. Subtle alluring, couched in mission. Seeking the promise, instead of the promise giver, slowly becomes my goal. And I get heartsick.

Until the One who allures appears.

Adoption is not about a child. It’s about a Man. A God-Man who could end injustice in an instant and who does not look on the fatherless with hands tied behind His back. Instead, He works every angle for the greatest love story of all time to unfold.

The love story for Lily. For Hope. And for me.

He’s rescuing my heart and teaching me a trust that isn’t dependent upon human constructs. He’s alluring me to love which, when I melt weak at its feet, does not allow me to leave that place unchanged. He’s awakening me to an encounter that infuses peace in a valley of darkness.

He calls us to justice not because He needs our acts of justice, but because — in doing so — we find Him. We learn Him. We brush up against a love that does not leave us with a little bit of Jesus to add to our already-formed mission but leaves us hungering for a Man that will change every dusty corner of our lives.

Adoption reveals His relentlessness. For them. And for me.

Whether a month from now or six months from now or a year from now, when I get to hold Lily for the first time and my lips grace Hope’s forehead as if they’d been there a thousand times before, there is one thing I’m desperate to have found.

More of this Man Jesus. More of this One who keeps calling me to walk across a tight-rope and promises I’ll find Him safe in every step.

The end is a Man. Not exclusive to adoption, the end of every promise who’s seen the sweat of waiting, is this Man.

My inbox has been flooded lately with questions about adoption (if I haven’t yet responded to you, I haven’t forgotten you — it usually takes me a few days to respond) and I’ve been tempted to craft an auto-reply that says:

Adoption is for the hungry. If you want to know more of Jesus and are willing to get a little undone in the meantime, sign up. You can’t pursue a child without being consumed by His pursuit of you.

Delivering the Orphans...Will Begin With my Own Heart...

Sid Roth - It's Supernatural Messianic Vision: Leif Hetland - Healing the Orphan Spirit

Mothering ....in the Rains....

We have had a DOWNPOUR of rain this morning.  In
the midst of it we gathered to the living room window to check on our nesting robin bird out in the peach tree next to the window.

And as we did...I was given an early Mother's Day present ~ one of the sweetest I have ever received ~

Anderson leaned across the sofa and leaned his forehead onto the cool window pane.

"AW!  She's getting wet in the rain!!"


Aggressive Sheets of rain blanketed our precious little lady, hunkered down deep in her nest with her wing over her face...Only bits of tail feather and nest running with water were visible from my children and I in our toasty dry room...

Jackson dissappeared... with a faint "I'll be back"....

Anderson thumped his head on the glass--gently as to not frighten our friend...

"Man....She's SO wet..."

He leaned back,

"Mom, she's SACRIFICING herself for the eggs."

(Oh, my baby...The glory weight upon that sentence.)

"They are such good parents."

(my heart sinks and feels tens of things...none of which related to pride or pleasure...)

I am out done

Undone

By a feathery friend in the rain...

Then I get my gift

Like all the best gifts it is a gift of

Simple Grace.

"Mommy, you're like a robin bird!"

He leans back to the window petting the glass--reaching toward her in protection...

"You're like sisters."


And from the corner windows at the other edge of our room...

We hear a splash,splooosh,wack,brushy.splash!!!


And look out to see Jack...dressed in his winter coat,  and under a pink umbrella

Bare feet splashing in puddles

Riding in to bring a lady a "brella" in the rain.

We run interference but laugh with the adorable compassion :)

And,...My eyes see wings

Over me

Over ~ Parenting,Mothering, ~ all

Kept

in a Nest

In the Palm of HIS hands...


And when the rains come...

Sheltered....


Under the Shadow of HIS wings....

Love, Gillian


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now...

 A precious gift to you today....

From my full nest to yours...

My heart so resonated with this message today, that as Mothers we do not have to "BE" the Hallmark card...

...there is grace...

for

"He gently leads those with young"

Isaiah 40:11

Please click on the sentence below to go to Ann Voscamp's blog for a treat

A Holy Experience -- For the Mother who Fears Failure...

Gotta Love it!! :)

Don't you LOVE it when the children learn how to write? :)

another pic of Joyful Jack :)...taken by Anderson...
in a "snowstorm"...in the rec room...

:)...just noticed the dude scaling our bookshelf...

Yep.

After all the  hours stuck inside due to several snow storms....MAMA was itching to climb some bookshelves!!

BUT,
The Sledding was the BESTest!!

A long winter made us so thankful for ~

Leafy trees to climb again ..
   for finding big sis up there reading in the big ole maple in the    back !!...
       for runnin' around and
           for "just hangin' out"
              on bright blue playground slides warmed by friendly sunshine...

AHhhhhh....so nice!
Happy Springtime everyone!

Love, G

Child of Wonder....Child of God....Oh, my Boys...

Cute Little Boys!!


Three of the Tucker brothers share a room.

10,7,and 6 year olds

And last night they made me laugh!!

We were going through the evening routine when the subject of marriage came up.  :)


Jack, all business announces, "Marriage, yeah..."He saunters over to his lower bunk and swings himself in... "I've got that ALL figured out."

 "Oh, really?"  I laugh :)

"YEAH!" Bruik peeks out of his covers, Big almond eyes shining with excitement,

"ME TOO!"...He exhales....I'm going to be

RICH.

(oh,NO, I'm thinking....we've got alot of training to do here!!)

But he stands up on his covers and declares,

"Yeah, I'm gonna be RICH cause I'm going to marry my wife and we are going to take care of hundreds of babies"

"Yep,...me too"  Jack still so matter of fact..."gonna adopt alot of kids and take care of them."

Bigger bother chimes in from the top bunk...

"Well, I'm making a list...I may not know her YET...but maybe I MIGHT..."  He stuffs his head into his pillow while his brothers explode with OHHHHHhhhhhh noises and reved up laughter

...bigger brother turns a shade of light red....

He stuffs his head in the pillow to not reveal any more sound of heartstrings playing...and we hear "Well, I am making a list."

They all calm for a second in the midst of some hyper giggles to each give sweet lists of who they pray God will pick for them in their future wife...

And I am thankful, honored to be sitting a bottom bunk in the midst of lego creations,army men, books, and paper airplanes...suddenly not so rushed to keep to the schedule...we dream of courting and dates, and beautiful ladies who are kind and generous, who love Jesus with all their hearts, and who love my boys...

 And I am thankful I get to be their girl first...

They listen to sappy stories...about how Daddy and I first met ....and how we "knew"

They grin ...my junior knights...

How blessed three fair maidens will be one day...

The moment is mist  --in just a moment laughing returns

and body noises replace deep heart sharing...:)

Yep, time to get these guys tucked in...

But to go off to pray and wonder over precious destinies of the boys I get to steward...

The weight of the day has all fallen off in the past minutes...what glory can surprise us in our every day moments!!

Blessings to the boys in your camp!!

Treasure Em :)

Take it from a mama who now buys shaving cream for her oldest son

It "all" is over...in just

Moments...

Treasure them

Love, Gillian




Remember me
In a Bible cracked and faded by the years
Remember me
In a santuary filled with silent prayers

CHORUS:
And age to age
And heart to heart
Bound by grace and peace
Child of wonder, Child of God
I'll remember you
Remember Me

Remember me
When the color of the sunset fills the sky
Remember me
When you pray and the tears of joy
fall from your eyes

CHORUS

Remember me
When the children leave
their Sunday school with smiles
Remember me
When they're old enough to teach
Old enough to preach
Old enough to leave

CHORUS

Age to age and heart to heart
Child of wonder child of God

Remember me

Age to age and heart to heart
Child of wonder child of God

A GREAT Idea for a Super Summer

For all you moms out there who LOVE all things organized and ....for those of you who may be "organizationally challenged" like (ahem) myself :). (I'm really more of a "go with the flow" girlie)....  Here's a great program to get us ready for Summer with our Kiddos!!

The other morning I was praying through this upcoming season.   When I got to school, a lovely mom, Laura C., Anderson's bible teacher, handed me this book, The Super Summer Challenge, written by her sister-in-law, Linda H. Wicks.

You can find it at www.supersummerchallenge.com

Linda came up with a wonderful idea to challenge our kids to accomplish Goals in multiple levels--Spiritual,Physical,Mental, Caring/Sharing  etc...

There are points for each area to be worked toward --short term and long term goals and a family reward for the end of the summer.

I love that the whole family is working together as they grow!!

I know that the kids will LOVE this idea because my mom used to do challenges like this with my younger brother, David, and I over our summer breaks.  The first day of the summer she would reveal a wonderland of projects, and interesting activities in our garage and lists of ideas for activities for the summer that kept us growing,learning, and loving all summer long.  I do believe our summers turned us into readers,  taught us how to organize our time, brought out our creative streaks, made us into good friends--first with one another and with our neighbors.  We were given opportunities to make lunches and snacks that taught us how to love cooking and creating in the kitchen. Other activities turned us into lovers of the outdoors and made us contemplative and great observers-- I still love taking a hike and knowing how to identify wildlife along the route.  We also developed practical chore skills,  worked  ahead--even though we did not know it at the time in school skills...I spent hours singing and making up songs...David learned several instruments...Most treasured, were the times we grew in the Lord when we would visit nursing homes and sing together or bake cookies with a neighbor or memorize scripture together or read through awesome books that grew our hearts such as the Patricia St. James series....SOoooomany memories...of our dog Taffy running after the family on bike rides, of playing tag with neighbor kids AND my mom and dad into the night,of catching fireflies, laying in the grass and imagining and looking up at clouds, making a doll house out of cardboard and all the furnishings too, dressing up the dog and the cat in my baby clothes and taking them on stroller rides (oh, they were so embarrassed!), selling lemonade,making card towers......cheering and swimming at swim team matches....digging a humongous hole in the back yard and lighting campfires in it....

My own kids later would tell similar stories of long days streatched  out in to glorious wonder...

AHHhhhh.... Summer!!!!  It does NOT have to dreaded   ;)
I grew up not allowed to say the word, "bored".  Don't think I understood the word!
How was this in a world with no T.V.,computer,or video games?
Ahh....perhaps the LACK of these was the blessing!!!

These days are more challenging. Entertainments seem to push in from every angle.  Draining our kids of imagination and good ole pure learning, fun,play,growth.  And I find my most challenging times with patience and love between siblings and for growth in my home is when the things with electric cords start to push out the REAL life in my home.  I'm putting a mark on this Summer--taking back the land!!--Anyone want to join me?  Last night our Wii found a new home--the inside of my closet...and you know what?  Instead of upheaval, my ten year old son woke up this morning and after heading out to weed the garden with me and have a breakfast smoothie at the picnic table he smiled at me and said, "You know what, mom?  Just knowing the Wii is put away for a while makes me feel really new inside.  I feel...kinda...clean."  ....

".something new is growing up, can you not perceive it?"

We played and at a park today began our goal lists--eventually they will be written on poster board and revealed the first day of summer--there is a system for recording points and setting goals...but for now we have  a lot of anticipation for growth this summer--not just from me but from the kids.  I love that they will own their own challenge.

So far the boys have come up with so many cute and interesting and really useful ideas.  I loved, read a book to my brother and learn how to make a meal for the family one night a week and look up a dictionary word and teach it to the family at dinner...learn how to do a cartwheel....play chess...clean up toys without being asked...make a creation out of recycled items...play legos for 45 min....  One even suggested to memorize Matthew 5 and to "write a letter to God" during his days....

Below, another mom has put together a sample chart of the activities and points for her family's summer challenge.  I hope it is helpful to take a look at it--and the link above to Linda's book is a gem as well.

I encourage you to redeem the time this summer.  Our days are so fleeting and our children's destiny so precious.



Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  (Psalm 90:2)


 Love, Gillian

Luke 10:27 Way Of Life Planning Sheet

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Start Date:	Katie (Age 10)		Hollie (Age 8)
End Date:	Point Value	Points Earned	Point Value	Points Earned	Item(s) Needed
Tasks that Focus on Loving God
Heart (Pursuing Interests & Passions)
1.      Make a bracelet	1		1		Bracelet Kit
2.      Complete a sewing project	3		3		Sewing Kit
3.      Cook something new	2		2		List of simple recipes kids can make http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/kids
4.      Write and illustrate a story	3		3
5.      Write a poem	2		2
6.      Perform a song in front of 1 or more people			3
7.      Write a script and act out 1 scene	3
Soul (Spiritual Growth)
8.      Memorize books of the bible	5		5		Print an Old and New Testament test kids can take when they are ready to show what they’ve learned.
9.      Memorize a bible verse from ones provided	1		1		Print verses from http://www.diggingouttogether.com/ organizing_tips/images/200710_Verses_To_Heed.pdf
10.  Complete a daily devotion	2		2		Purchase an age-appropriate devotional
11.  Read the bible for 20 minutes	1		1		Age-appropriate bible
12.  Apply a bible verse to a current situation	3		3

	Katie (Age 10)		Hollie (Age 8)
	Point Value	Points Earned	Point Value	Points Earned	Item(s) Needed
Strength (Physical Dvlpt & Forming Good Habits)
13.  Brush your teeth five days in a row without being told	1		1
14.  Clear the table after a meal without being asked	1		1
15.  Eat 3 servings of fruit and/or vegetables every day	1		1
16.  Try a new food (1 point per bite up to five)	1-5		1-5
17.  Jump rope without stopping (Katie: 125 times, Hollie: 65 times)	2		2		Jump Rope
18.  Pick up brick from 10 foot			3
19.  Swim 1 lap at YMCA	1		3
20.  Attend Saturday morning yoga class	2		2
21.  Pick up sticks in the yard	1		1
22.  Complete a parent-approved chore that is not normally your responsibility (1 point for every 15 minutes worked)	1		1
23.  Organize a drawer, shelf or area of a room (before and after photo required)	1		1		List of areas in the home to organize (craft closet, desk drawers, etc.)

	Katie (Age 10)		Hollie (Age 8)
	Point Value	Points Earned	Point Value	Points Earned	Item(s) Needed
Mind (Academic Growth)
24.  Play an educational online game for 15 minutes	1		1
25.  Read a nonfiction chptr book	3		3
26.  Create a Power Point presentation	5
27.  Learn how to type			5
28.  Practice cursive for 15 min.			1
29.  Create your own stationary	1		1
30.  Create a scrapbook page	3		3
Tasks that Focus on Loving Your Neighbor
31.  Write a one-page letter to a friend or family member	2		2		Stationary
32.  Serve at a homeless shelter	1		1
33.  Visit a nursing home	2		2
34.  Take food to a neighbor	1		1
35.  Babysit a neighbor’s child (1 point per fifteen minutes)	1		1
36.  Send a thoughtful e-mail to a friend or family member	1		1

--