Baby Gill's Name

 October 12, 2010

We thought we'd entertain you with our top 10 list of names that we will not be naming our son.  This is a recap from Chris's status updates from those of you who missed out.

10. Guppie Gill - When I was pregnant with Samantha, I ran this by my mom as a possibility.  She said, "oh, that's nice."  So polite mom, but yes it was a joke!

9. Dilbert Gill

8. Ichabod Gill-Some people still use that name.  Can you believe that?

7. Finley Gill or "Fin" for short...A fine Scottish name, but a little too fishy when paired with our last name.

6. Gilbert Gill

5. Gilligan Gill (that doesn't mean we've disqualified him from being named Skipper or Mr. Howell)

4. Zaccheaus Gill....sorry Samantha.  I know he'll be a wee little man and all.  She also thinks Mouse is a good name.

3. Apple Mac Gill - though that might change if we get a letter from Apple saying we can get a new laptop every 3 years for the rest of our lives if we give our son this name.  However, Renea thinks it sounds like a McDonalds special burger.  Along with this we considered Mac Gill---very Scottish sounding, eh?

2. Bill/Will/Jill/Phil/Lil/Neil/Seal/Teal/ or even Zeal!  Not that any of those are bad.  Of course nothing wrong with Bill except that when you add the surname it sounds like a Quentin Taratino movie.

And the number 1 name we won't name our son...

1. BB Q. Gill

Thanks to everyone for playing.

And alas, what is Baby Gill's name?

Eli Timothy Gill....Eli means highest, Timothy means God's honour.  We truly believe that having a child is God's highest honour, and we pray that He will grow strong in the Lord and the power of His might.

Samantha has named him Eli Timothy Gill Mouse.  It was quite complex figuring out what exactly that meant.  Finally while reading her Dumbo book we realized that the Mouse's name is Timothy Mouse.  So whenever Samantha says his name, she adds the mouse.  What a nickname for the wee guy.  Sorry bub...welcome to being a little brother!

7 more weeks until his due date.  We can hardly wait!

Big Girl Beds and Baby Kicks

June 13, 2010


Hey everyone,

We spend years listening to people say, "They grow up too fast," but not until you are a parent do you really understand it. Last night I tucked our wee lassie into her very first big girl bed. The crib has been dismantled, and in it's place is this strange, wonderful, new bed. Samantha is absolutely thrilled to have her own bed. We've had it for over a week and every day she's been asking for Daddy to put it together. So in his first moment of time off, Chris got out the tools and made the switch. I was out for the morning and came back and my baby girl showed me that she's not so much a baby anymore.

She took her nap there yesterday and never once jumped out on me. Last night she went right on to bed as if it were no big deal. Of course, she did roll out three times during the night. Don't worry after the first fiasco we put the crib mattress down beside the bed to cushion her fall. The bed is supposed to have a rail, but I think it was missing an attachment, so we couldn't put it up. (We got the bed for free, so we're not complaining!)

I have to admit as I knelt beside that wee bed to say our nighttime prayers, I found myself quite misty eyed at how much this precious one has grown. The moments really fly by. I'm just so honored that God has given her to us. What an honor to have her in our lives. 

I have posted some photos on my page, so you can all be a part of this special moment.

In other news, yesterday we watched England play the USA in the world cup. The game was good, but that's not the most interesting part. Apparently Baby Bump got quite inspired from watching the match because he/she decided to have his/her own World Cup (that's soccer by the way) in my belly last night. I've thought I have felt the baby a few times, but thought it could be indigestion. But last night there was no doubt about it. Baby was in full effect and judging from the level of activity, we will surely have our hands full very soon. Samantha was always a big kicker too, but this was pretty amazing. Baby kicked so much even Dad felt it which is very rare this early. It was really amazing to once again be a part of one of God's special miracles! How thankful we are to be chosen as parents!

I hope you enjoyed the little tales from this side of the pond. We love you all and think of you loads and loads. We miss you dearly and hope this letter finds you healthy and happy.

Much love,
Renea
                                  Samantha in her new bed!

Happy Mother's Day

May 7, 2010


As Mother's Day is this weekend in the US, I wanted to pass this along. I don't always post forwarded mail...in fact I rarely read it at all, but this one had me in tears, so I chose to share it here. God Bless and help all of us moms.

No author was available to post...

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'It's okay honey, Mommy's here'.

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T. 

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. 

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football , hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year. And then read it again. 'Just one more time.'

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away. 

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them. 

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely. 

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...

And mature mothers learning to let go. 

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without.

This is for you all. For all of us.

Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray. 

Please pass along to all the Moms in your life. 

'Home is what catches you when you fall. - and we all fall.' 

Please pass this to a wonderful mother you know.

Holy Desperation

 March 5, 2010


Holy Desperation-

Lord that is my prayer for me and Your people. God give us a holy desperation. So many of us are desperate for a job or a mate or a revelation of Your plan for our life. But tonight, I pray You would release in us a Holy Desperation for You and for the things of God. But mostly, just for You.

Make us desperate for You, desperate to see You move in our lives, the lives of our friends, and the lives of people in this city. In the lives of the lost who do not know You.

God I am desperate for a move of Your Spirit. Desperate people sometimes do crazy things. They cry, they scream, they shout. They don't care what other people think because their desperation is all consuming, it is all they can think about. It is their obsession. Lord, may we be obsessed with You. Consumed by You. May we fix and lock our gaze upon the object of our obsession. May we meet face to face with You, the one we are desperate for. May we let You consume us with Your love.

God in the light of Your presence, all of the other things we are desperate for fade to nothing, and we can realize that You use those things as a tool in Your hand to draw us to a deeper place in You. If we will stop focusing all of our efforts into the things we have been desperate for, and focus them upon You, You will take care of all the other things that have consumed our thoughts, worries, and time.

Lord, I believe You have been using the hardships and circumstances of our lives to release a holy desperation in our hearts for You. You want to be our All Consuming Fire. You want to be the one that consumes our thoughts. You want our thoughts to be consumed with You and Your love for us.

God help us walk this out. Help us walk in holy desperation for You. Completely dependent upon Your speaking to us and moving in our lives. I know the fire has been hard and the circumstances tough, but if it can really produce a true deeper sense of longing and desperation for You, and it will help us draw near to You and know You more intimately, then Lord it is worth it because there is nothing more important in our lives than knowing You. Make us desperate for You. So much that we don't care what others think or say. Whatever emotions we experience or however it may makes us look, we don't care because we just want You!

I pray this not just for me, but also for my friends whom I sense You also bringing to a place of desperation. Lord use the desperate situations in our natural lives to produce a holy desperation in our spiritual lives. And let the spiritual desperation produce fruit in the natural world, and let us begin to see some of the naturally desperate situations begin to be resolved because of Your goodness and lovingkindness towards Your kids whom You love with a holy desperation that is far beyond our wildest imaginations. 

Make us desperately Yours, In Jesus Name! Amen

Reflection on Psalm 121

February 24, 2010


This is where Psalm 121:1 took me yesterday...I hope you are challenged and enjoy this journey.

Ps121:1 - I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and Earth. 

I remember a friend sending me this scripture in a text a while ago. I read a note from a friend that quoted a guy who wrote about this verse and said "David found the help he was seeking in the Lord, his Creator, not in the protection of the hills, nor in man's power and wisdom."

It was new for me to think of this verse in the context of the hills of Jerusalem. I remembered a while ago I was studying the scritpture...

Ps 125:2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.

When I read it months ago, I decided to look up some info on the mountains surrounding Jerusalem as a way of understanding how it is exactly that God surrounds us. What I remember finding was that the mountains were pretty, but also a source of provision,and they provided protection from the attack of enemies. I remember because it was 3 P's.

So thinking of the verse about lifting my eyes to the hills where my help comes from, I found it neat to consider the verse in the context of the hills of Jerusalem. They were a source of protection and provision in the natural for the people. But the protection needed in this situation could not be found in the hills or people, but only in God.

So for me, I need to know that God is my provider and protector. I need my eyes to be off myself and off of anything in the hills (i.e. the world, circumstances, and people) and placed upon Him alone.

Then my mind thought of Elisha and his servant in 2 Kings 6:15-17. There was an army surrounding them ready to take Elisha's life. The servant didn't know what to do. And Elisha tells him "Do not fear for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then, he prays for his servants eyes to be open that he may see. Then the Lord opens his eyes and he saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

Sometimes the enemy is attacking and I want to close my eyes in fear. But if I know my help comes from God, and I will open my eyes, I will see that there is strength and power to fight this battle and win because...

1 John 4:4
You are of God, little children, and have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

And

Romans 8:37
Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Then I progressed to 

Isaiah 45:22
Look to me, and be saved, All you ends of the Earth! For I am God and there is no other.

And finally (I think...)

John 6:68
Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord to whom shall we go, You have the words of eternal life.

From there I went through a few songs in my mind... 

There is no one else for me, none but Jesus, crucified to set me free, now I live to bring Him praise.

All I need is You Lord, is You Lord, all I need is You.

And All of You is more than enough for, all of me, for every thirst and every need. You satisfy me with Your love, and all I have in You is more than enough. (Which ironically I had been playing and singing last week and it just had me in tears....)

When it comes back to the starting point Ps 121:1 - I lift my eyes to the hills from whence comes my help. My help comes from the Lord. Where else can I look? What else will protect me, provide for me, and show me such wonderful beauty. It is God alone, there is no other. He surrounds me with songs of deliverance. 

Ps 32:7 - You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Deliverance will not come from the natural (like the mountains that protected Jerusalem.) It will come through God's supernatural power working in our lives to change us from the inside out. But first, we have to lift up our eyes off ourselves and our circumstances and place them upon the only one who can bring us the protection, provision, and freedom that we need. He is the one with the words of life. 

So where are you looking for your help? Are you looking at the natural protection and provision of the world and people or are you looking at the supernatural deliverance, protection, provision, and freedom that can only be found in Christ alone? Where does your help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and Earth.

Love Letter From God

February 11, 2010


I do not know who put this together, but wanted to share it b/c it's beautiful....

My Child,

I know everything about you, even if you may not know me.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God