Angels are Rejoicing in Heaven over Chloe's Soul being Saved!!!

Just have to tell you that the angels are rejoicing that a soul has been saved!  During family devotions today Chloe accepted Jesus to be her Savior and forgive her of all her sin.  It was so sweet to watch Noah help her pray as she wanted to "do it right"....even though we told her it was ok to just pray and talk to God. After Noah prayed with her, Seth prayed with her, and then Daddy prayed and thanked the Lord that He saved her and revealed her need of a Savior to her!  This has been a process over many months and we haven't wanted to push her so that it truly was the Lord moving in her heart.  She is so excited to have the Holy Spirit living inside her and she can't stop smiling!  It is so precious!  A few days ago, she asked, "Mom, am I too little to be a Christian?"  I replied, "No.  Do you want to be saved right now?"  She answered, "No, maybe later....with Daddy."  I would have rather her say, "Yes, Mom, let's pray now." but the Lord had a work of faith to do in me as all I could do was wait and pray for Him to move her heart and give her the gift of  faith in His time!  

Blessings Abound this Thanksgiving....

This Thanksgiving the Gist Family has much for which to be grateful.....most of all our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the salvation we have through his death, burial, resurrection, and ascension!  Thanksgiving 2011 is blessed in another way by our Lord....Gist Baby #5 is on the way!!!  Surprise!!!

Family Photos Summer 2010

I love watching the Holy Spirit at work in my husband....Today, he preached for the first time at Grace Church, San Diego. www.gracechurchsd.org, to listen.

When I first met Mark, he had a passion for God's Word and ever since has had a desire to preach God's Word. He is so gifted at so many other things that, I think he is often torn about what to do with this desire. What a joy to see God use him from the pulpit, in spite of the fact that he has not been formally trained to preach! We'll see what God does with this man...this willing vessel.

Salvation Stories....Grace Abounds...

Seth's Story: It was a typical Tuesday, September 29th, 2009. Noah and Chloe were at preschool while I was home schooling Seth. He was having difficulty obeying and needed to be disciplined. He broke into tears and said, "I just can't obey." I told him that he was right. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in his life he could not truly obey and that He needed Jesus to be His Savior from sin. Mark and I had told this to him many, many times over the years, but never had it really clicked. Seth just peacefully stopped and looked at me. I asked if he wanted to pray and ask Jesus to be His Savior, forgive him of his sin, and fill him with the Holy Spirit so he would be able to obey. He said he did. We prayed together....he wanted help, even though he had often prayed on his own in the past...he often fears not doing things "perfectly" and we are helping him with that. Anyway, afterwards, he had a big smile and seemed so relieved! I told him angels were rejoicing for his soul in Heaven and that he would get to go to Heaven when he died! He was so happy about that, but made sure Mommy & Daddy would be going there, too. Later that day it, rained and as it stopped and the sun came out, there was a huge, beautiful rainbow that filled the sky in the front of the house. Seth spotted it out the upstairs, front window and said, "Mom, come look!!!" I reminded him of Noah and God's promise to him. Then Seth said that maybe God put it there for because of God's promise to be his Savior. I couldn't argue with that and now every time Seth shares his salvation story, he includes the rainbow that God sent that day! Each time since, when we see a rainbow, Seth remembers that special day. Noah's Story: On Sunday, October 18th, 2009, Noah was saved. It was a typical bedtime and I was tucking the boys in bed. While it was my turn to pray, Noah interrupted my prayer and said, "Mom, I REALLY want to be a Christian! Can I?" Since Mark was home, I said, "Just a minute, Honey. Let me go get Daddy." So I hurried down the hall and got Mark out of bed so he could be there when Noah was saved! Mark, led Noah in praying and when he was done, we told him that the angels were rejoicing for him in Heaven. We reminded him that now he, too, had the Holy Spirit alive inside him who would help him not sin. He knows he does still sin and will as long as he is here on earth, but what a difference it has made in his life, knowing he has the power of the Holy Spirit inside! Both Seth and Noah have continued to struggle in sin, but what a difference we as the parents have seen in the softness of their hearts and the desire to choose the right path. We continue to encourage them to rejoice in the Gospel and the grace given them by their Savior Jesus. We want them not to be discouraged by their sin, but encouraged that they can see how precious Jesus blood and sacrifice on the cross was for them as they now have the hope of eternal life with their Lord forever in Heaven!

Latest News on Gist Baby #4! :)

Hi, Praying People in our Lives!

Where do I begin????  First of all, Mark and I are absolutely blown
away (once again) at the way the body of Christ has stepped up and
overwhelmed us with kind service in the name of Jesus!!!  Your rewards
will be in Heaven and there is no earthly way we could ever hope to
repay you....  So, if you don't have time for a lengthy email, maybe
you could just listen to the attached song and let the Lord bless you
through it today.

Little did I know when Lisa (my sister) and I chose to sing "Out of
the Depths" together at Lakeside Bible Church in Montgomery, Texas on
August 2nd, that the lyrics would grow to become an even greater
comfort than they had previously. (Some of you may be aware of my
battle with depression and insomnia in 2008. The end of that battle
came exactly one year to the day (Aug. 3rd 2008) that I went forward
in church and was prayed for so specifically for all that was
tormenting my soul (w/o sharing my need). From that day forward, I was
freed on so many levels and I give God ALL the glory for that! That's
all to say, here I am with the Lord showing Himself so graciously and
being my sustanence in the depths, once again.  We all have "stuff"
that we are facing and my prayer for each one of you receiving this is
that you might be comforted in your "stuff" just as I am by my Jesus!

Here's the news as of the doc appt. yesterday:

- Cyst inside the left (and only) is HALF as big as it was on August
11th when we first saw it! :)
- If in 3 weeks, when I go for a recheck, things look the same/better,
there will be no need for surgery!!!! :)  (I must confess, many of
you, including my beloved Mark, prayed for this, but I sure did not
have the faith to pray this way.  I figured I would just be grateful
to make it to the 12 - 17 week surgery time without the cyst rupturing
and keeping itself "status quo"....THANKS FOR YOUR FAITHFUL
PRAYERS!!!)
- The tear in the placenta is completely healed!
- The extra sac of blood/fluid (doc was never quite sure what it was)
is gone!  There is only one mysterious line of blood underneath the
placenta, but he wasn't too concerned about that.
- The baby is 9 and a 1/2 weeks now and looking like a baby!  The
heartbeat is strong and "she" (at least a 1/2 dozen of you have told
me you think it's a girl so we'll go with that unless we learn
otherwise...ha! Ha! :) was even "dancing" as Dr. McNeely described
her!
- I have be "released" from complete bed rest, but if the
spotting/bleeding starts again, I have to stay flat until I have had 2
days free from it.  I am allowed to walk around "gingerly" as Dr.
McNeely put it and not lift anything too heavy.


Prayer Requests:

- Continued strength and faith for our family as we take each day in
stride, accepting help where we should.
- Pain of the cyst...still there, but not as severe. :)
- Health of baby.
- Tina to know her limits...you all know I have trouble with this.

Congrats to those of you who made it through this!  Our family is so
blessed to have you in our lives and we love you all!

Hoping in the Cross,
Tina

PS Here are the lyrics for the attached song, "Out of the Depths"!  Be
blessed!!!!

Words and music by Bob Kauflin

As recorded on Psalms

Out of the depths, O Lord, I cry to You
When I am tempted to despair
Though I might fail to trust Your promises
You never fail to hear my prayer
And if You judged my sin
I’d never stand again
But I see mercy in Your hands

So more than watchmen for the morning
I will wait for You, my God
When my fears come with no warning
In Your Word I’ll put my trust
When the harvest time is over and I still see no fruit
I will wait, I will wait for You

The secret mysteries belong to You
We only know what You reveal
And all my questions that are unresolved
Don’t change the wisdom of Your will
In every trial and loss
My hope is in the cross
Where Your compassions never fail

Our Hope is in the Lord

Dear Friends and Family, First of all, thank you so much for your faithful prayers for our family during this trying time.  We don't know how we would get through this without all of you surrounding us with love, prayer, care, meals, etc.  Truly we are so blessed to have you in our lives! Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is being honored because of your selflessness and sacrifice in His name!  Thank you!!! If you are squeamish, don't like medical details, just ate dinner, etc....just stop reading and pray! :)  Otherwise, feel free to read on Here's the update from the OB/GYN appt. today: - We are 7 weeks pregnant and saw the baby!  The heart beat is strong and for that we are praising the Lord! - There is an extra sac of blood/fluid next to the placenta and I have been spotting off and on for a week.  It also looks like there is a tear in the placenta which could mean a possible miscarriage or God could choose to heal it. (He healed my sister a little over a year ago when she had a tear at both ends of the placenta. :) - The cyst looks like is shrinking!!!*  The large amount of progesterone that it holds could be serving to sustain the baby!  Only God knows, but if He continues to shrink it, there may not be a need for surgery in 5ish weeks! :) - If the cyst doesn't shrink, then Dr. McNeely will remove it around week 12 or so.  If he does this while the uterus is fairly small, it can be done laparoscopically.  If the uterus is too big, it will be like a regular C-Section surgery. Prayer Requests: - Spotting would stop and the baby would live. - Our family would be sustained by God's grace as things look very different than "normal" around here since I have to be in bed 80-90% of the time. - God's hand would be on the cyst and continue to shrink it!  Such a blessing that it has not yet ruptured like the other one when it was this size! - Hope would fill us and faith that God's best will happen no matter what! Mostly, thank you all for your prayers and begging the Lord for mercy on our behalf.  We are so blessed and see God's grace all around us in His body who have stepped up to the challenge (once again...)!  THANK YOU!!! Psalm 42:5-6a "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God." Confident in our Hope, Tina (Mark, too :) PS Feel free to forward to any other prayer warriors! :) *There are many types of cysts, but mine is a Cystadenoma. This cyst forms within the outer lining of the ovary. This kind of cyst has a one in eight chance of being cancerous, according to Women's College Hospital in Canada, but most are not malignant before menopause. -- "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." - Psalm 94:19 -- "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul." - Psalm 94:19