Testimony

This blog is quite personal, but I am posting it for the benefit of my 3 older daughters, who were not able to be with us in church yesterday.

When Pastor Bob asked me to share my testimony with you this morning, I hesitated and almost said no, because I knew how far this is out of my comfort zone. I then recalled the many, many times I have encouraged our daughters to participate and to take advantage of opportunities.

I Peter 3:15 says - But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you, to give the reason for the hope that you have.

I grew up in a large family, with Christian parents and attended church every Sunday. At a young age, I made a personal decision at a Christian camp to accept Jesus as my Saviour. The truth of what the Bible claimed became clear to me and I knew then that I wasn't just following and accepting what my parents believed but this decision was mine. The years have passed very quickly since I made that decision and I would like to stand here and tell you that my Christian walk since then has been exemplary, but I can't. So far, it has been a journey with a lot of highs and naturally some lows.

In 1980, I married Andrew, the best guy on the planet, and we began our life together. In that same year, Andrew's Dad lost his battle with cancer. Six years into our marriage, Andrew was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer. Through this time my faith was challenged like it had never been before. I could not understand how a loving God would disrupt my life plans and have me face the possibility of losing my husband, leaving me with 2 small girls to raise. Where I couldn't see beyond each day, God was seeing the larger picture. With a very gifted doctor, the amazing support of this church and a small group that cared deeply about us, we stumbled through that valley. That was 23 years ago and as we have journeyed together, we realize that if we did not have God to bring us through the tough times and sustain us with the hope only He can provide, I would probably not be standing here today.

Andrew's Dad and Mom - summer of 1980, Toronto, Ontario

Twelve years ago my mom went ahead of us to meet her Saviour with a clear mind after her struggle with Alzheimers and seven years ago Andrew's mom greeted Jesus after her painful battle with bone cancer. I believe that somehow through all of this God was preparing me for what was yet to come and consistently revealing to me that His arms were always open for me to fall into.

My mom with baby Anna - she was a wonderful mom to 9 children and Grammie to 26.

Dad and Mom at Wendy's graduation from Acadia University.

Four years ago, my baby sister Wendy, was diagnosed with bone cancer. I am sure that many of you here this morning know the pain and distress of cancer - maybe not personally but certainly with loved ones. Wendy was a healthy 35 year old woman, she had a great career in teaching, she was newly married for 6 months and as a family we were shocked and completely unprepared for the heartache and pain that we experienced for her remaining 40 days on earth. It just seemed that at this time my life was good, my oldest daughter was married that same summer and everyone was happy and healthy. I certainly blamed God for this interruption and confusion in our lives and I was very angry. In fact, I came to a crossroads during that time where I was tempted to abandon everything I had been taught, everything I believed in, but God would not let me go. I really struggled to understand why Wendy, why now, why cancer? I still do not have all the answers to those questions, but what I do have is the confidence of knowing the One who does have the answers, and loves me and allows me to rest in Him and let Him carry the load when it is too much to carry on my own.

My beautiful sister, Wendy.

It was an extremely difficult time as I very inadequately tried to explain what was happening to each of our daughters. All I knew was that I had to trust that God was in control and that He would not leave us alone. On the day Wendy left us to be welcomed into her eternal home and her Saviour's presence, our pastors and small group gathered with us. We are very blessed to know the level of care and support we have here at this church and I realize how important it is to build and maintain our relationships.

So, thank you God for not letting me go, thank you church, thank you pastors and thank you to the many small groups that we have been a part of over the years. Your love continues to impress me and gives me the courage to carry on.

Romans 5:3-4

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.

New Starts

Sarah Jacquelyn ~ Grade 10

Anna Laurel ~ Grade 8

                                                                  

I have been meaning to get the first day of school shots up, but until now haven't really had time. It's back to work, managing children's schedules, sports games and life in general. Our two beautiful girls who are still home sure keep us on our toes (and possibly young??) are busy with all the things that a new school year brings. 

Yesterday, I decided I would try my hand at apple jelly making again. Andrew's Gram tried to teach me the old fashioned way to make it many years ago and she always ended up with perfect jelly. Needless to say, I do not have Gram's technique and therefore cannot come up with the same end product. So, I decided to go to Scotian Gold and pick up some of their crabapples (prepackaged with just the right amount of apples with a recipe attached). The result was really good - not quite jelled as much as Gram's, but really good flavor and color. 

This morning I wanted to get some more apple pies in the freezer for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so Andrew willingly cut the apples for me and they are at this moment in the oven filling the house with that wonderful aroma of apple pies - yum. Cleaning is next and then off to do a little shopping with the girls. Andrew is taking advantage of the beautiful weather today and has headed to Cape Split with a couple of guys, so we will have a 'girl' day and do some things we want to do.

For some reason, it's this time of year I miss family the most, those who have passed away. I'm not sure whether it's because of fond memories of activities that were part of my growing up years or just because I am more keenly aware of how quickly time goes by and how important it is to make the most of every day. 

Well, off to my day and wondering what exciting things it will hold.  

Labour Day Weekend Fun

Well, here we are in September. Back to school and work. It was a busy weekend - on Saturday Andrew decided to refinish the top of our oak kitchen table. It turned out beautiful and hopefully we can keep it looking that way for awhile.

On Labour Day, Andrew and I set off for Amethyst Cove. The last time we were there was in our courting days back in the late 70's. We parked at the Cape Split trailhead and began the trail.  The Amethyst Cove trail diverges from the Cape Split trail by taking a right turn and backtracking towards Blomidon a short distance, then turning 90 degrees left and climbing up to the spine of the mountain until a warning sign indicates the beginning of the descent.  

No worries at this point.

A few worries now!

Perhaps a good time to turn around, but Andrew encourages me onward and downward. (He went first!)

Fortunately ropes are provided and we brought some gloves to improve our grip.

I had just completed the scariest section.

The beach was all ours!

After a rest (Andrew was apparently having difficulty standing straight) and an unsuccessful attempt to find a geocache, we started back up.

During the climb, we stopped several times to wait for our heartbeats to settle down.

Enjoy the video - this is coming back up - I was sweating and hurting at this point!  Actually, it was less scary coming up than going down.

We celebrated the achievement with lunch at Rosie's then bought a bag of Gravensteins to make some delicious apple pies. All in all an excellent excursion and an enjoyable weekend, but will I be able to walk tomorrow?

Summer Vacation 2009

We had a great vacation the first 2 weeks of August and the weather was perfect - warm, sunny days at the lake with beautiful sunsets in the evenings. It was a much needed break for Andrew after a busy berry season. But, we are now back, preparing mentally for the fall activities to begin. Sarah has started working part time at a local drugstore and will soon have the extra cash to spend. I am trying to get her to understand the importance of setting a percentage of her earnings aside, but I think money management skills are beyond a 15 year old brain. Anna is away at Malagash Bible Camp this week and we are missing her. She really loves this camp and would like to someday lifeguard here.

One of the many beautiful sunsets on Harvey Lake, NB.

... and another.

Two very special girls, sharing some quality time together at the lake. A prime opportunity to build and strengthen that sister bond.

New Brunswick Day fireworks in Fredericton. We enjoyed quite an impressive display.

Grammie and Charlotte looking intently at something!

This is our beautiful granddaughter, Charlotte Wendy, taken at our cottage.

We have had some very hot weather here lately and it is making sleep very elusive. Therefore, I am blogging, of all things. I have just started reading a book by Dr. Paul Brand entitled "The Forever Feast" - Letting God Satisfy Your Deepest Hunger. I will post a bit more on this as I get further into the book.

Tidal Impact 2009

This is our team with the Hillcrest team from Saint John with the food we collected on our food drive. There was a total of 25,000 lbs. of food gathered in Saint John and Moncton.

There is something empowering about being with youth for a week and running on their energy and enthusiasm. Being part of the Tidal Impact team that set off for a short term mission in Saint John, NB was not part of my plans for the summer. However, I believe God had other plans for me for this week and with much uncertainty I stepped into this unknown territory. The only experience I have ever had in working with youth was raising my own children and I knew this trip would be completely out of my comfort zone. There are some observations that I made during the week and I will share some of that here.

For our youth, I would encourage you in your journey - stay true to God and yourselves. You are an amazing group and God will use you in ways you never thought possible. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of seeing you in action- giving your time and abilities freely in the different outreaches that we were a part of.

For our youth leaders, what can I say, but I really admire your stamina to guide and build relationships with these kids week after week. What a reward it must be to watch these youth grow and mature into young adults serving God.

Last, but not least, to our NMBC congregation, thank-you for your prayers this past week. We were challenged and stretched. Continue to support and encourage our youth. You are the largest cheering squad they have. Also, if any of you are given the opportunity to step outside your comfort zone and into 'new' ministry, try it, you may just enjoy yourself!

Youth 101

Hi everyone!

I can't believe that it has been 2 weeks since I have blogged anything. We arrived in Saint John around 5 pm on Saturday and had pizza at the church and then an ice breaker with the Hillcrest youth. We actually had a fairly quiet van load of girls and Laura and I got to know one another a bit better. It has been interesting to say the least, so far. We ended up sleeping on the floor in the basement of the church on Saturday night and we transported van loads of kids to several homes nearby for their showers before church on Sunday - that was really interesting. We ended up having several discussions about billets on Sunday and found out from their youth pastor that there were some folks in church on Sunday that offered their homes up for billets. We had enough for the girls to go and have a bed for the remainder of the week and the guys were content to stay at the church. Initially Laura and I were hesitant to take this on, but after a long day, it was a go. Sunday was church in the am, delivering flyers to homes in the neighborhood informing them of the major food drive that we were doing. Last night was the kick-off rally for Tidal Impact which was held at the arena in Sussex. The worship band was very good and I can't remember the name. Rob Nylen spoke and was very clear in his message and using the gifts that we have been given. It was a great evening. We arrived back around 9:30 pm and proceeded to pack up the girls things for our unknown destination. I had Jessica and Caitlyn C., Anna and Sharayah with me and I think we were all pleasantly surprised. Our hosts were very welcoming and I got my OWN room (PTL)!!!

Monday (I can't believe it is only Monday!) we started our week of ministry with our host church - they have what they call Park Day every morning and our youth are helping out with that (games, crafts, etc. similar to VBC but held in the park). In the afternoon we went and collected the food from the homes that we were in contact with on Sunday. It was very successful and we then delivered it to the local food bank. We then had supper at the church and headed off for our first rally with all of the Saint John crew (about 400) to Quispamsis. The rally was at the Wesleyan church and the kids seemed to enjoy it all. I will try and post some pictures tomorrow. 

Being stretched and losing sleep!!! Coveting your prayers.  

Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

Here we are at the beginning of July and hopefully 2 months (or more!) of sunshine. It 

sure isn't starting out very well with the amount of rain that we've had. Strawberries are full on and I am about halfway through making our jam for the year.

I am venturing into unknown territory in about a week and a half. I will be transporting youth to Saint John for a short term mission adventure called 'Tidal Impact' which is run through our Atlantic Baptist Convention. I have very mixed feelings about this and I think mainly because it is something that I have never done before. So, not much new news on the home front. I will hopefully be able to do some blogging when I'm away. We are looking forward to a couple of weeks at our camp on Harvey Lake in NB in August and visiting with our oldest daughter and her family and some extended family.