OCP Blog Challenge - August 12th

Let's do the bible passage that speaks to you the most right now and why.

Right now, the bible passage that speaks to me the most has to be Psalm 23:

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

It speaks to me right now because it was my father-in-law's favorite verse, and he's gone to be with Jesus in Heaven and I can't wait to join him there (hopefully not for a LONG time yet).

I hope you enjoyed reading, until next time.

God Bless You,
Jackie

Dear God

I am very late on this one, as it was mentioned back at the beginning of this month. I am doing it now though :)

Dear God,
I'm sorry I haven't been very loyal lately, but I'm trying to change that. We have decided to stay at our current church, everyone has been SO supportive all these years and I just can't us leaving now. Also, Justin's dad always wanted us to stay at MFC so we are going to do that for him as well. I want to give every day my VERY best and live each day like it's my last, so that I can meet you up in Heaven, and see Justin's dad again too. I need your help in this, and I KNOW you will be there for me to see me through. I thank you for everything you've given me and will give me in the future. Please take care of Justin's mom and help her to realize she NEEDS to be here for her family and she has to take care of herself in order to do that. In your name, Amen.

I hope you enjoyed reading, until next time.

God Bless You,
Jackie

God Whispers

Often God will speak so profoundly to us through circumstances, and even just out of the blue ~ like in the shower. Share one of those "God Whispers" with us!

I don't believe that I've had a lot of these moments, but I know there have been a few. I will talk about the most recent one.

I have been struggling with my Christianity for some time now. It was like the Devil was getting a foothold on me. I was sitting on the couch in the living room and thinking about how it's been lately. I felt the urge to pray about it, so I did. Literally, seconds later something came to my mind, something that I don't think I've even heard before. Just then, I KNEW it HAD to have come from God.

the Lord and the Devil are playing tug-o-war and I am the rope. Where we stand now, the Devil is winning. So, I need to lean on God and help him pull in order to move closer to Him so that he can win the war.

Thank you for reading, God Bless!!

Jackie

Love letter to God

Dear God,
I love you Lord and want a close and personal relationship with you. You have given me SO much to be thankful for and I find myself taking advantage of that, A LOT!! Lord, help me to change for the better for my family and for myself. You are my God and I KNOW you can help me through the dark times and I can praise you through the happy times. Lord, hold me up when I feel like I am going to fall and help me to stay on the ground. I love you Lord with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind. Amen.

It's not very good but I believe it came from the heart :)

God Bless,
Jackie

Favorite Childhood Summer Memories

It's been awhile since I've done one of these. I'm not online very much anymore, so I'll try to do one at least once a week from now on.

Favorite Childhood Summer Memories

I don't remember much about my childhood because I have a BAD memory, can't even remember much about last week lol. So, here are the few that I do remember.

My dad's side of the family always goes camping at the beach during the August long weekend. When I was a kid, we used to go every year. I remember sitting in a camper during a downpour, with my cousins and we were playing Yahtzee. I also remember playing on a big tube at the campsite and we were playing something. We called out our pretend dogs name and somebody said something and scared us lol. Those are the only two times I really remember. Now, we go for the big dinner the last day but that's about it, Justin HATES camping.

Man, I had another one but it totally slipped my mind LOL. Oh well, I guess that's it lol.

God Bless,
Jackie

Summertime Fun (OCP Blog Challenge #12)

Let us write about our plans for this summer.

We don't do too much during the summer months. Justin doesn't like camping, so that never happens. The park and the pool are less than a block away, so we spend some time there. More time at the park then at the pool, because when I'm alone with 3 kids it's hard to get to the pool and watch them by myself, so we wait until daddy gets home for that. The park we will probably go to at least once a day (of course if it's nice outside). We will spend lots of time just playing outside, jumping on the trampoline, playing on the swingset and slide, doing yardwork and just running around and playing together.

July 10th is Justin's birthday, so we'll probably do something special that day. I'm not sure what that is yet lol. A friend of his, her daughter turns 2 on July 12th I believe, so we'll be going to Tinkertown for that. August 20th is Isaac's birthday, so we'll be doing something for that (not sue what yet either).

This summer is Trinity's first year of swimming lessons (she was supposed to start last year but it was cancelled because they were working on the pool). She goes from July 21st to August 1st from 11:15 - 11:45am. While she's doing that, the other 2 kids and I will probably either watch or play at the park.

Here in town, they have the Stampede and for about 4 days they have rides and one of the days they have a parade, so we'll more than likely be going to that.

Also, August long weekend my dad's side of the family go camping. The last day, they have a dinner and invite the whole family (even the ones that aren't camping), so we'll be going to that. There, we'll probably do some swimming at the beach, so that should be fun!

That's about all. Everything else will be last minute things lol.

God Bless,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #11

This week, let's talk about somebody we look up to. It could be a parent, a relative, a pastor, or a friend, anyone.

Most of this is going to be what I've heard, because I haven't known this person my whole life, only 8 1/2 years (for now). This person is, my Father-in-law, Ron E.

Let's see, when him and MIL first got married, they had LOTS of problems. Neither of them were Christians, he was into drinking and smoking, she had a young child from a previous relationship whom he ended up adopting, he was a bit abusive (mental and physical) towards her. I'm sure there is more, but this is all I can remember. I believe at one point he was in jail (they told me why but I can't remember). At another point, their 3 children were put into foster care. I believe her mother had custody of the oldest, Shaun and the other 2 went to live with a family (that happened to live in the same town as me, but I didn't know them), eventually they got their children back (I believe MIL called herself to get them out of their house and put into foster care, which I think was really brave of her).

Eventually, they had enough and started attending church and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, and they became Christians. Ever since then, things have gotten WAYY better. Ron has got to be one of the BEST Christians that I know. He is so faithful to the Lord, he reads his Bible every morning (at least 1 chapter a day), he attends church both Saturday night (just during the summer months) and Sunday morning, he was the Sunday School Superintendant (until he got sick back in June of 2007).

Even after he got sick, he was so faithful to the Lord and trusted in Him. He has had an impact on a BUNCH of people's lives. Since getting sick, people from church and neighbours have done lots to help him. Last Summer, after he got sick a bunch of neighbours helped him with his farmwork, this year they are helping him get his farm equipment ready for their auction sale.

He is just an AMAZING man and I love him to peices :)

I hope you enjoyed reading about my HERO :)

God Bless,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #10

Let's blog about our favorite Bible story and why we like it. It could be the one you liked growing up, or if you weren't raised a Christian, the first one you heard that you really liked, anything.

There are a few bible stories that I really enjoyed. It's hard to decided which one I would choose as my favorite though.

I really liked the story about David and Goliath!! It's just amazing how all these soldiers (or whatever you wanna call them) were too afraid to fight Goliath, so this little boy stepped up to the plate and did it for them. It took a lot of courage on David's part to do such a thing. I love how God just took over and helped David complete the task he had ahead of him!!

I don't really know what else to say!! So, I will just leave it at that then.

God Bless,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #9

Choose one of your all time favorite Praise & Worship songs or Hymns and tell us what the lyrics mean to you. You can choose the whole song or just one of the verses or the chorus (if you do that, please bold the verse or chorus you are referring to, just so everybody knows what you are talking about lol).

After a lot of thought, and looking through praise and worship songs online I found the one. I saw this name and I LOVE this song, so it's the one that I chose!! It also has a special place in my heart. A few years ago, a young man that I've known since he was a baby, committed suicide. At his funeral, they sang this song and it was his favorite. So, I'm going to dedicate this to him....Michael!

Refiner's Fire

Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Chorus:
Refiner's fire
My heart's one desire
Is to be holy
Set apart for You Lord
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You my master
Ready to do your will.

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within and make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin deep within

Chorus
Chorus


I think we all, every now and then, want to be holy (I know I sure do)! So, we pray to God and ask him to forgive us our sins and "cleanse me from within and make me holy". The beauty of it all is....God listens and he forgives your sins and makes you "holy" once again.

I thought I would have more to say, but I really dont know what else to say about it. So, I am just going to leave it at that and bid you farewell *giggle*.

God Bless You,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #8

My favorite Bible Verse

I have a few favorites (3 to be exact, well 3 that I know by heart) but I am going to post the one that's been with me the longest and that is:
John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

It's my favorite because just knowing somebody loves a sinner like me (and a whole lot more sinners) THAT much, that he would sacrifice his ONLY son so that we could "live forever", it's just AMAZING!! Knowing that no matter what happened in our pasts, just believing in Him and following Him, guarantees us a place in Heaven.

I dont know what else to say!! No amount of words can describe how AMAZING that is!!!

God Bless You,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #6

Topic: Spring Break Fun

As so many schools are going into their Spring Break this week, or coming off, why not have a blog challenge dedicated to just that! Share with us your Spring Break, and all that happened! I pray that if you are a working Mom, that you too were able to enjoy your kids Spring Break. If you do not have children and/or do not have a SPRING BREAK.. then share memories of your most treasured Spring break as a kid! Please, share photos, as us photo hounds LOVE to see your families in action!

Trinity just started Kindergarten this year, so hasn't had a spring break yet. Meaning, so far we have no special plans. However, I believe it's going to be a wonderful spring break. Justin has also taken a week off during her spring break, so all 5 of us will be home. There will be a lot of time spent together, and of course some time spent separately. Not sure what we'll be doing. I'm not sure, but maybe Trin will spend a few days at grandma and papa's house (this hasn't been decided yet). Hopefully it will be nice, so we can spend time outside, playing or taking walks.

When I was a kid, we didn't do anything special during Spring Break either. I don't remember much, so I'm guessing it wasn't very special. Spring break was a good thing, it meant NO SCHOOL, which for me was GREAT (since I didn't have many friends and got teased a lot).

Well, that's about it. I don't have any pictures to share since we haven't had a spring break yet, but maybe I can share some at a later date. Thanks for reading.

God Bless You,

Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #5

Okay, just to warn you ahead of time, this isn't going to be poetic or sound very nice or anything lol. I'm not that talented hehe.

Topic: Springtime Revelations

Spring is the time of year where "new life" begins to show it's beauty after a time of resting. Share what feelings that Spring brings to you ~ whether it be smells, what you see, w hat you feel. Let us experience your version of Spring through your blog.

The snow melts and you can see the grass again, the trees get their leaves back, the flowers bloom and instead of snow, you get rain. I love the smell of the air after it has rained, so fresh. I don't like the bugs but what would spring/summer be without them, ya know.

I love taking walks and just looking at all the beauty around me.

I don't know what else to say. I love spring!!

God Bless You,

Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #4

Once again, here's my weekly blog challenge...

Topic: Encouragment
As Christian women/men we often find ourselves discouraged because we have lack of support or even understanding on things we face. Society as a whole doesn't always see things the way we do. So, when you are down or just need a pick me up, WHO or WHERE can you go where you know that you will ALWAYS find the encouragment you need?

The first person I go to is God. I know He will be there for me always, no matter what the situation is.

Justin is there for me as well when I need him. He's always around to give me encouragement and whatnot and I know he always will. I trust in that :)

I don't have any friends in real life so I go to my online friends (either OCP or my other forum Mothers Unite) for encouragement and whatever else I need (be it prayer, encouragement, just a listening ear, etc).

With that said, I would like to thank all of my online friends for being there for me. I consider you all family in every sence of the word :) I love you all and wish you all the best in life.

Yours in Christ,
Jackie

Who I am (OCP Blog Challenge #1)

I have decided that it is time I do the 2 challenges that i missed, starting with the first one.

Who are you TODAY! Who you are a home, in Christ, and who you would like to become in the next year.

To tell you the truth, I'm not really sure who I REALLY am right now. I know I am a mother of 3, a wife and a mediocre Christian. I try to do my absolute best in everything I do, but lately it seems that my best just isnt good enough (at least in my head). I know I can do more, I know I can do better. I have been struggling with this for some time now. I used to look back at my past and that is NOT who I am, that's for sure. All I seemed to remember in my past is what I'd done wrong but I have moved passed that. We can't change what happened in the past, we can just move forward and better ourselves. I keep wondering "what is my purpose?" and I think I can give you one thing. Part of my purpose is to raise our children in a good, solid Christian home. Now, before I go off topic (unless I already have), on to the next part.

Who am I in Christ? This is something I have been struggling with as well. I call myself a Christian, though not a very good one (I think I used mediocre before). I mean, I pray occasionally, I read my Bible sometimes, I go to church most Sundays and I attend Bible Study (haven't missed one yet). The only thing I believe is missing is that close and personal relationship with Christ. Which I believe I need to have in order to be a great wife, a great mother and a great (not mediocre) Christian.

Who would I like to become in the next year? Well, that is something I can answer fairly easily.

At home: I want to focus on my relationship with my family. I mean, it's good now but can definately improve. I want to improve as a wife, as a mother and as a "maid". I want to be someone my family can be proud of, and someone my children want to be like when they grow up. I want to be someone that I can be proud of. I would also like to work on building up my self-esteem.

In Christ: I want to acheive (if that's the right word) that close and personal relationship with Him. I want to learn how to pray throughout the day (about anything). I would like to go from a mediocre Christian to at least a good one.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I hope this has helped you to know me a bit better.

Until next time

Yours in Christ,
Jackie

OCP Blog Challenge #3 *WARNING: Long*

My Christian board (OCP - Online Christian Parents) is doing weekly blog challenges. I haven't done the first two because I had trouble answering them (but may end up doing them eventually). Here is what this one is about:

Share one thing/event/ time in your life that God has taken to make and mold a part of who you are today

When growing up, God wasn't really mentioned in our house. Church was very rarely attended, except for a few times here and there (weddings or holidays). I was baptized at a young age (I think a few years old), took catechism in school, did first communion and confirmation. At one point, I was in the church choir for a few years (mostly for Christmas or other holidays). I believed in God but never had a relationship with him.

My parents fought a lot throughout my childhood. I remember crying in my room (can't remember how old I was) thinking that my parents were going to divorce. They hadn't for a long time after that either. It wasn't until August of 1999 that they decided to end their marriage (before that, they were staying together for the kids, as I've been told - not sure if it's true or not but it seemed like it). Anyways, they were never there for me as much as they should have been, so it didn't seem to really bother me (or at least I didnt show it).

Rewind back to when I was about 16 years old (maybe 17). I started hanging out with the wrong people (well, it was actually one person in the beginning). I started drinking alcohol (even though I was under age), skipping school, meeting guys on the internet, staying out late on school nights without even telling my parents, sneaking out of the house in the middle of the night, taking my dad's car without permission and joyriding (without a lisence), and tried drugs a few times. I was doing alright in school, probably not as good as I could have been, but I graduated on time.

I met Justin online in August of 1999 (we were both seeing someone) and in person on Halloween of that same year (we were both single). We were in an on and off relationship for almost a year. Although, during this time, I attended church and Youth Group with him, I was still confused about Christianity. Like our relationship, I was on and off about all of that. I guess I thought what I was doing was fun (because it was what I was used to) and that Christianity was boring (because I didnt know all about it and how fun it can be).

At the end of the summer of 2000, I stopped hanging around with my friends. I moved in with my grandparents, trying to get my life back together (I was going to go to college out there but that didn't happen). While living there, I started listening to Christian music (Justin made me a few tapes), praying, reading my Bible, as well as going to church and Youth Group. I also attended "Impact" with the youth group one year (that was VERY fun).

We got engaged in November of 2000. Before we got married, Justin wanted me to be baptized. So, about a week or 2 before our wedding, I did just that.

I found out I was pregnant with Trinity about a month after we got married. We fought all throughout the pregnancy and up to a year afterwards. Justin and I separated in May of 2003 (my decision). During our separation my in-law's got temporary guardianship of Trinity (I got her on weekends and them during the week). I reverted back to some of my old ways (I started hanging around my old friends, started drinking again and staying out late). After about 2 months of doing that, I really missed my family and wasn't happy doing what I was doing so I came back. Since then, we've still had our share of problems, but we've gotten through them together.

Fastforward to now, 6 1/2 years after getting baptized. I am still seeking that close relationship with God (I feel I am closer than I was to Him a few months ago, so we're getting somewhere). I believe that everything in the past has contributed to me being how I am today. I want my children to have a better childhood than I did (although mine wasn't THAT bad). I want them to grow up loving the Lord and following Him. There will be challenges along the way, but I believe that Justin and I together and with God, we can get through anything that comes our way.

I hope you enjoyed reading and that I didn't bore you lol.