Our One Year Anniversary

This August is our one year anniversary of being intercessory missionaries at the International House of Prayer Cartersville. It seems just like yesterday Gil came to me and told me what he felt like the Lord was leading us to do–to go on staff at IHOP. Little did we know how our life was going to change.

A year ago, I had never really studied the Song of Solomon in detail, Gil was still trying to work out his End Times views and the book of Revelation was hardly opened in our house. Today we have taught in three internships on both subjects (about to start our 4th time), we’ve committed to reading the book of Revelation weekly and we call each other our very own walking commentaries on both Song of Solomon and Revelation.

Ella brings so much joy and laughter into our life. She has such a fire inside of her, an intensity about everything she does. She is so aware of what is going on around her, even though she’s so loud and always going. We are glad to be raising her in a place where she can and does pick up on how to pray, worship, study and love on others.

In this past year, we learned patience to sit in the Prayer Room and pray for hours at a time. We have learned what it means to be a friend of God–to sit before Him and know His still, small voice. We’ve grown in desire to see God raise up this generation to be whole hearted lovers of God. I would say our relationships with God and each other have only grown stronger. We can’t wait to look back another year from now to see how we’ve grown in hunger for God.

We want to thank everyone who has prayed for us and supported us along the way. We couldn’t have done it without you!

For your love is better than wine

“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth– For your love is better than wine.” -Song of Solomon 1:3

I have read this scripture so many times before. I’ve even taught it, but it is becoming clearer to me what she was crying out for. She was asking for the kisses from His Word. O, that she would receive revelation from His Word.

I’ve prayed this many times,”Kiss me with the kisses of Your Word God. Reveal Yourself to me!” This past week as I’ve read my Bible it has become a reality. You may have had this happen before, I was reading something I’ve read so many times before thinking yeah, yeah I know, I’ve read this before, when all the sudden it seemed like the words were never there before. Did someone add this to my Bible when I wasn’t looking? Things that hadn’t made sense before were so easy to understand.

As I look back, I know He was kissing me with the kisses of His Word. He was enjoying showing me what these things meant. I picture Him smiling as He points & says, “See!” He loves us & delights in revealing Himself in His Word. He wants us to get it!

Even this week as you read the Bible cry out, “Kiss me with the kisses of Your Word.” He’ll be there smiling just waiting to show you. He desires to kiss us even as a groom desires to kiss his bride!

Written by Emily Millsaps

Giving Entirely

Gil and I have both been reading Entirety by Dana Candler. It has really changed the way I think. We’ve all heard “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,” (Mt. 22:37-38), but for me and maybe you it has always been something I would do one day far off in the future. I wasn’t ready for it now!

Just reading this book has encouraged me that this is something I can do today, everyday. It is not about being perfect. It is about giving in fullness–all that I got. So going about my day if I am desiring Him, being His friend and loving Him in the ordinary, I can love Him with my whole heart today, right now as I am writing you. This isn’t a ridiculous requirement of us, because He’s only asking something that He has already done. God has already loved us fully. He has given His life for us. Now, He desires we love Him back the same way. We must love Him more than this world, as He loved us more than His life. Bernard of Clairvaux said, “If we love with our whole being, nothing is lacking where everything is given.”

I encourage you to seek out what it means to love Him with your whole heart and see how you can do that in your daily routine even if it’s just asking Him what He is thinking.

If you would like to read this book, you can find it at the Forerunner Bookstore.

Millsaps July Newsletter : Orlando Trip

Hello everyone. Thanks for coming to check out our blog again. The last month has been a busy one. We were blessed with an amazing trip to Orlando, Fl at the end of June. This was the first time that Ella and Gil had been to Orlando. It was so much fun, and it was a great time for regrouping the Millsaps crew. We wanted to share what happened, with a few pictures, so everyone could share in the trip.

We were able to go to Disney World and Sea World and stayed 7 days. After going to Orlando, we stopped at Emily’s grandparents’ beach house in St. Simon’s for a few days. Emily’s parents, brother, and grandparents came too for some family bonding.

The first day there, we went to Downtown Disney and looked around at all the shops. Ella’s first reaction was “It’s Minnie’s House.” We had lots of fun shopping and ate a Planet Hollywood that night. During our dinner, it was announced that Michael Jackson had passed and a video montage was played. Was that ironic or what?

The next day we went to the Magic Kingdom. We had 2 scooters, a wheelchair, and a stroller with us. It was hard to get around, but it was a sight to see. Ella loved every moment of it! She called Disney World “Minnie’s House.” Her favorite ride was Winnie-the-Pooh. She rode it 2 times and wanted to ride it more. We were lucky to ride nearly 20 rides in one day. It was all thanks to Emily’s tight schedule to get on each ride. We finished the long day with the nightly parade and fireworks. While leaving the park, it was like they were trying to evacuate a small city. We’ve never seen so many people. It was so much fun and even better than we expected. We definitely want to go again.

The third day, we went to Epcot and celebrated Emily’s mom’s birthday. (Did you know that you can go to a Disney theme park for free on your birthday this year?) Gil convinced Emily to ride Mission to Mars which she will never ride again!

Next we went to Sea World for two days. Ella loved the penguins and got to see Elmo live! We had lots of fun seeing the shows and looking at the animals. Ella is still chanting, “Shamu, Shamu!” Our favorite part was the Arctic exhibit with beluga whales, walruses and polar bears. They would come right up to the window and look at you. They were amazing creatures.

We are getting ready now to finish up the summer and focus on the up and coming fall internship. We will both be teaching our weekly class again for the interns. This time around we are hoping to really take our class to the next level.

We wanted to give a shout out to everyone who has been supporting us and praying for us. This has been a wonderful experience for us. We are coming up on our one year anniversary as full time missionaries. This is really exciting for us because this has been our dream even since before we were married. We are charged about seeing what the next year is going to reveal.

Finally, here are a few prayer requests we are believing God to answer soon.

-We are trying to save early for the Onething Conference in Kansas City in December. Pray that we will be able to go.
-Pray for Emily’s mom as she goes to Israel July 17th-July 27th.
-Ella needs clothes for Fall/Winter.
-Pray for us as we are trying to increase our monthly supporters.
-Pray for our family to be healthy.
Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. We really appreciate your support!

Millsaps June Newsletter

Our Family

Ella is potty training quite successfully.  She is growing into a beautiful, young girl.  She loves life and remains fascinated with what might seem ordinary to the untrained eye.  Ella loves chap stick and has to carry two sticks around with her at all times (we wouldn’t want her lips to get chapped now would we?)

Gil is an avid student of the Word.  He currently is teaching an end times class for the internship.  He loves creating an environment for a good discussion.  He is passionate about raising up a generation of forerunners who are burning with an end times message.

Emily has found a passion in diving into the depths of the love of God.  She teaches a class going through the Song of Solomon verse by verse looking at the love story of Jesus, the King, and His Bride.  She has realized that the love of God for His people is a vast ocean that can be forever searched.

IHOP Cartersville

IHOP Cartersville has a heart for 24/7 worship integrated with prayer in the spirit of the tabernacle of David to be established in the city of Cartersville.  As intercessory missionary staff, we have committed to help fulfill this goal by praying and leading times of devotion, as well as, administrative helps.  IHOP Cartersville is part of a greater movement of prayer rising up in the nation.  Check out IHOP’s new website at www.ihopcartersville.com that Gil just designed in June.

We, Emily and Gil, are helping with the internship—Cultivate—at IHOP Cartersville.  Our hearts’ desire is to see a generation raised up knowing and loving God with their whole heart (Matthew 22:37, Deuteronomy 6:5) preparing them for a lifetime of following passionately after God.  Cultivate is designed as a three-month period of intense training, setting oneself apart to come into a closer relationship with the Lord.  Some interns come on staff, but many go into the marketplace after completing the three months.  We hope to make a lasting impact that will change their heart towards God forever.

Your Prayer Requests

As intercessors, we desire to pray for you—our friends and family.  Please let us know of anything we can agree with you in prayer for.  Our email is emilyandgil@gmail.com .

Support

All missionary staff at the house of prayer raises their own support.  We have unbelievably been given free housing by Emily’s parents, because we have been missionaries.  We are eternally grateful for their support in this way, but we still need provision for other necessities.  This is where you can help.  We are hoping to raise, as a family, at least $600 in monthly support to help pay for expenses: food, gas, auto insurance, necessities, etc.  Would you please prayerfully consider helping support us monthly or with a one time gift?  Thank you so much for your consideration and support in the past.  It means the world to us.  You can send tax-deductible donations to IHOP Cartersville 416 Grassdale Rd. Ste E Cartersville, GA 30121 making checks to IHOP.  Please attach a note designating it for Emily and Gil Millsaps.  For your convenience, you can also give electronically at www.ihopcartersville.com.  Click the donate button and follow the instructions.  Make sure to put our names in the message box on the form.

Thank you for your prayers and support. We love you all!