A Story of Being Set Free

One of my goals for 2016 is to share testimonies with you!  These will be personal accounts from my friends & family of how Christ saved them and what He is doing in their lives today!  You can read my salvation story here.  I share a little more here, and you can also click here to read all my posts about faith. 

Today I'm sharing the testimony of my big brother!  Well, he's my only brother, actually ;)  He is eight years older than I, and he's a typical older brother - a pest! Ha!  I'm sure he'd say the same of me! :D  But I've always looked up to him, and now that we're both adults, I consider him my friend.

My brother, Vic, and his wife, Renee, have been married for 18 years and have one child, my precious, awesome niece, Acacia, who recently turned 11.  Adoption is very near & dear to their hearts, as Renee and her brother were both adopted, and Acacia joined the family through adoption as well.  She was born in China and Vic & Renee brought her home when she was almost 2.  I cannot imagine my life without any of them!

Vic shares on his blog What Path?  Go visit! :)  As well as having a passion for sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, Vic enjoys being outdoors in God's creation, and spending time with his wife & daughter.

Here is his testimony:

My Desperate Search For Truth

Hi, my name is Victor Reimer, and I would like to share with you how I came to find the truth. The truth that set me free!

My beliefs started to form at a very young age, perhaps being as little as five years old. My parents attended a typical Mennonite church and of course I attended their Sunday School. I still remember that one Sunday when they brought together all the classes and showed us a film. I don't have any recollection of what the film was about, but I do remember someone going up front after and saying that we needed to “invite Jesus into our hearts” if we wanted to go to Heaven. It never occurred to me to talk about this to anyone. I simply went home and naively did as I had been instructed! It wouldn't be until I was thirteen years of age that I was asked about my spiritual condition. When asked if I was a Christian, I simply responded, “yes,” and that was the end of that conversation.

I remember, too, that my sister had done something wrong one day, and I told her that she would go to Hell. My Dad quickly responded, saying, “That is not how it works.” Yet, I don't remember hearing anything beyond that -- though I recollect that every night before falling asleep, I would confess all my sins to God. Later in life, my dad would instruct us kids that we should also be reading our Bibles.

Growing up, church attendance was a pretty big deal, though Dad eventually let me skip out on Sunday School, because all they did is talk about sports! Going away on fishing trips, or any such thing, was also good grounds to skip out on church!

However, things did not sit well with me. I had a whole “other side” to me. I had a life of sin. I was in bondage to all kinds of sins! I would faithfully confess these to God every night and then turn right around and do them again! Clearly, I was a slave to sin. This caused me to begin a desperate search for the truth.

I had begun to see that I was not in control of these sinful things in my life – I was a slave to it, and I wanted my freedom! Yet, I hadn't much a clue as to how. I wrote letters to different ministries, but nothing availed. I would try inviting Jesus into my heart many times over, but again, to no use whatsoever! I tried saying different prayers, but still there was no change. Whatever was I to do?! I needed help! I knew that within the Word of God was the answer, but it seemed as if I was blind! I couldn't understand that which I read.

By this time I was in my early twenties, and still I was not free. I still hadn't heard the gospel. It was around this time that a fellow by the name of John Cross came by my parents' place. It was shortly after this time that I read this gentleman's book, “The Stranger on The Road to Emmaus.” I would come to see a very simple, but tremendously freeing, truth. That truth, quite simply, was that Jesus Christ had taken the full punishment on the cross for all my sin! I came to see that I had been looking to myself for freedom. That I thought that I needed to somehow do or say the right thing to get saved! I was so wrong. Jesus had done it all for me! That is why He cried from the cross in victory, “It is finished”! (John 19:30) My very own sin-debt had been paid-in-full by Jesus Christ! Wow! I was free at last! Jesus won the victory for me! Hallelujah! “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”! (Ephesians 2:8)

Verses like the following now made a whole lot more sense to me: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) Well, if the Lord had already “laid on him” my iniquity, what was I to worry about? If Jesus was already punished for all my sin, why should I be anxious about being punished for it? All that was required was that I accept “The free gift of God” which “is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Wow! Here I had been trying to make it so complicated. Yet, it was so simple! Not that it was simple for Jesus, but for me it sure was! All I needed was to trust Him as my own Saviour, and I was free! No more slavery to sin! As Romans 8:1 says, “No [more] condemnation”! Jesus had already been judged for my sin. There was no judgement left for me!

After all these years have eclipsed, I'm only increasingly more amazed at the love, mercy, and grace the Lord has bestowed upon – even me! I in no wise deserved to be forgiven of my sin – to be pardoned. Yet He did, at the expense of His Son, Jesus Christ. I should have gone to Hell forever, but Jesus took the “Hell” for me upon the cross! So amazing it is, that the search is finally over, and that I now know that I have eternal life. For John 3:16 says, “...whoever believes should not perish but have eternal life.” Then too, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” (1John 5:13) How can I “know”? I can "know" because Jesus already died as punishment for all my sin! There's nothing left for God to punish me for. Praise God!

Still today, I enjoy the Lord Jesus more than ever before! Oh, how I long to look upon the face of Him who was willing to leave Heaven's glory to die for me upon that shameful cross! I know soon He will return and take me to be with Him! How I long for this to come about! To be freed from this world of corruption and sin. Then I will have rest for all eternity without end. Amen!

What about you? What's your story? Do you “know” that God will let you into His holy Heaven? Make sure that you “know” before it is to late. He is risen from among the dead and His judgement is coming very soon. Don't put it off! Know that you are forgiven!

Victor J. Reimer

***** 

Thank-you for reading!  Feel free to comment here or pop on over to Vic's blog, What Path?, to comment there. 

Summing up 2015...Looking Forward to 2016

2015

My 2015 was a year of highs and lows, big changes and not much change at all.  Here's a recap highlighting my ups and downs of the past year.

1. In mid-January, due to a seizure I had last year in September (I hadn't had any in almost 6 years), we started thinking about not adopting at all.  This was so painful it is almost impossible for me to describe.  The indecision, prayer, talking, and crying went on for months. 
2. In mid-March our agency let us know it was time to do our annual update.  
3. In mid-March we put our condo up for sale again (had tried to sell it the previous year as well).  We loved the renovations we had done but wanted a place with more privacy in the backyard. 
4. At the end of March I had a seizure. 
5. In mid-April, we celebrated our TENTH anniversary!!

   

   My husband and I on our anniversary before going out on a date to Red Lobster.

6. Despite the seizure and our continued consideration of not adopting, we went forward with updating our profile and went for our physicals in April. 
7. At the end of April, we went to our agency for our update meeting, and told them we are putting our adoption on hold.  We decided we needed to get my seizures under control before continuing with adopting.  It hurt but at the same time I was okay with it.
8. TWO DAYS after putting our adoption on hold I had another seizure!  Decided to go up on my medication which I did the following day.
9. In May we went on a 17-day long road trip to celebrate our tenth anniversary!  Leading up to it life was very stressful, what with seizures, putting our adoption on hold, and our condo up for sale.  But it was a good trip.  You can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here.
10. THREE DAYS after arriving home from our trip, we got an offer on our condo which we accepted that day.
11. In early June we started looking at houses, and a couple weeks later made an offer on one which was accepted within an hour.
12. In late June my husband and my niece both got baptized!
13. On the last day of June the sale of our condo and the purchase of our new home were completed!
14. In early July, we got the news that my husband's mom has been diagnosed with colon cancer.
15. We took posession of our new home, a 1970's 3-bedroom condo, on the last day of July, and started renos right away.
16. We moved in early August and started talking about going active with our agency again, as my seizures seem to be under control!   
17. My mother-in-law had radiation for the last week of August, and in early September had surgery.
18. In September we let our agency know we wanted to go active again which they made happen the next day!  I'm excited and hopeful, but have more of a peace than a desperation like I did before.
19. We went away to a cabin for a weekend with my family like we have done every fall for as long as I can remember, but this year it was our last year.  The 3-bedroom/7-bed cabin has gotten too small for our family of 12!
20. On Thanksgiving Day (October 11) my grandma passed away.  She was 91.  This was the grandparent that I, and everyone in my family, was closest to.  We were next-door neighbours my whole growing-up years.  The funeral was five days later, on my husband's birthday.

    

    My grandma and I at her 90th birthday party almost exactly one year before she passed away.

21. Our country voted for a new prime minister in October and in my opinion made a very big mistake.  (Yes, I'm one of those rare people who actually cares about politics, lol!)
22. In November my mother-in-law started chemo.  She is doing really well. 
23. As of December 1st I quit selling Regal.  
24. On Christmas Day my uncle (my aunt's husband) was in a snowmobile accident.  Three days later, after being taken off life support, he passed away.  It feels completely unreal.  The funeral will be in January.    

So that was my 2015!!  How was your year??  Of course I can't predict 2016, but here are my hopes and expectations:

1. There will be a couple big birthdays in my family.  My sister turning 40 and my other sister's husband turning 45.  Of course my niece that is turning 13 counts that as a VERY big birthday, lol! Cute :)
2. We'll be doing lots and lots of renovations on our house.
3. Of course I really, really hope we'll be chosen to adopt!

To my readers and followers, thank-you for coming by to read my blog, thank-you for sharing my ups and downs with me.  To those of you who also have blogs, I enjoy reading and commenting on yours as well, and sharing in your ups and downs!  See you in 2016 and may you have a happy new year!    

Life

I knew when I started this blog that I wouldn't be a frequent poster, but lately I feel like I've really dropped the ball! Since I've started this blog, I've posted at least once every month, but I even missed a whole month (May - granted, we were gone for 1/2 of it) recently. Sorry about that and thank you to those who keep checking back! (I do try to keep updating our timeline even when I'm not blogging, if you want to check that.)

I haven't been posting much for a couple reasons. Mainly because there's things I could say, but don't want to, so rather than say something, I've said nothing. Also, we've been busy!

March and April were both difficult months. We were gone for 17 days in May, celebrating our 10th  anniversary with a road trip to Alberta and BC. Pretty much the moment we came back, our condo sold and we went house-hunting, and then bought one in June. Hubby's mom got diagnosed with colon cancer in July. We move in August, at which time the renos start. Also, summertime is when Hubby works 11-13 hour days. Whew! I feel worn out just re-reading that list.

Life has been stressful, but I don't feel right complaining. There's been a lot of good, too. It's summertime! Hard times are always easier to handle when I can go outside and enjoy the flowers and heat (I am in my hammock right now - I can hear a baby, which makes me feel sorta happy/sad, and birds, and smell freshly mown lawn, and see my marigolds and apple tree). Hubby & I both have family that loves us and that we love, and they almost all live nearby. Most importantly, Jesus loves me and I love Him. I'm so thankful that He died instead of me and paid for my sin so that I don't have to. He is such a wonderful God and I am so thankful for Him! When everything else goes "wrong", or I have no idea what my purpose is and feel useless and lonely, I can always rely on Him to never change, to never leave me, and to always love me. He is so good!

How has life been going for you lately? Has your summer been relaxing?

Summing up 2014...Looking Forward to 2015

To read my summing up 2012 post, click here.
To read my hopes for 2013, click here.
To read my summing up 2013 post, as well as my hopes for 2014, click here.

2014 did not have as many things happen in it as 2012 and 2013.  The biggest things that happened in our lives in 2014 were:

1. We put our condo up for sale in March.   We looked at a few houses and made an offer on one which wasn't accepted.  Our condo was shown about 13 times with no offers.  We took our condo off the market at the end of June as it didn't seem like the right timing for us.  
2. We reached one year of waiting.  We had not been shown at all.  We updated our adoption profile.
3. We celebrated some big birthdays - my oldest niece's 15th, my mother-in-law's 55th, my mom's 65th, my brother's 40th, and my husband's 30th!
4. I had a booth at a local fair getting word out about my business, Regal Gifts.
5. Hubby & I went on an amazing camping trip from July 3-6.  Very relaxing and very beautiful scenery.
6. I had a seizure, my seventh one but the last time I'd had one was almost 6 years ago; also my first one alone.  Caused us to rethink having children which was a very difficult time.  We prayed a lot, talked a lot, and cried a lot. We put in place some plans for babysitting in the early mornings and solidified a number of ways to keep Baby safe.  Having the seizure alone ended up showing me that it is possible to be alone during one and be okay.
7. Hubby had 5 dentist appointments from Oct-Dec with another one coming up this month.  Ouch!
8. We found out we had been shown 3 times in the six months since updating our profile in Spring!
9. I had a booth at a local Christmas craft & trade show for Regal.  This one did a lot better, and it was indoors so we didn't get rained out like last time!
10. And, Hubby's brother found and met members of his birth family! 

So, now it is 2015, which I find hard to believe!  How the time flies.  And yet how it drags, too!  Of course it's impossible to predict what will happen in 2015.  Perhaps Christ will come back and take His people home -- who knows!  But here is what I'm looking forward to in 2015 if it is His will:

1. Celebrating more big birthdays in our families - my youngest niece just turned 10 three days ago, my oldest niece will be turning 16 soon and getting her driver's (!!!!), my sister-in-law will be having her 40th soon, and at the end of the year Hubby's brother will be having his 25th!
2. Hubby & I will be celebrating our 10th anniversary!!
3. We'll hit the 2-year mark of waiting and update our profile again, assuming we aren't parents by then. 
4. We are planning for and hope to go away on a vacation for our anniversary :)  Unless we're parents by then, that is.
5. We're planning on going back to the same wonderful campground as last year, this time with Hubby's extended family.
6. We may or may not put our condo up for sale again.
7. I haven't really thought beyond that!  I hope to stay seizure-free, of course, and beat my record of 5 years + 9 months.  I'm aiming for forever ;)  I hope that God answers our prayers for all the people we pray for.  I am excited to see what He will do in 2015!  His plans are always best!    

I hope you had a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Incomplete Family at Christmastime

Christmas is not necessarily a happy time for all of us.  I am not saying the whole season is terrible for me.  I definitely enjoy the majority of it!  But as we go through this waiting-to-adopt time, and as God grows a sensitivity in me toward others and their individual situations, I am starting to see that there is pain involved in holidays, too.

As I go Christmas shopping and to all the gatherings and parties, and just in general interact with more people than I usually do, this year I am going to try to be more sensitive with my "Merry Christmas!"es.  I would encourage you to do the same; think and pray carefully before writing the same greeting in each Christmas card.

I also think there is some validity in what I heard somewhere recently:  it's more painful to have your painful situation ignored than acknowledged.  So maybe instead of writing "May you and your family have a happy Christmas!", write "This Christmas must be tough for you.  You're in my thoughts & prayers."  (I haven't lost any loved ones very close to me, so if you have other thoughts on this topic, please feel free to leave a comment.)

There are such a wide variety of painful or confusing situations that people may be going through this Christmas, including but not limited to:  (Please forgive me if in anyway I have not worded these sensitively.)

• having lost a loved one, including miscarriage or stillbirth
• divorce, separation, marriage difficulties
• infertility
• loved one working/living far away and can't come home for Christmas
• empty arms while waiting to adopt
• loved one hospitalized, or you yourself hospitalized
• single
• you or loved one has cancer or other disease
• family tensions and unforgiveness
• financial problems
• spiritual struggles; trying to figure out what you believe
• trying to find your birth family or have recently reconnected with them  
• job issues

As my mother-in-law once told me, you never know what someone's going through.  That is so true.  Behind people's tough demeanor, or calm face, or cheery attitude, everybody has a story.  We don't necessarily need to know what that story is, but I think everyone does deserve our sensitivity.  Especially during the holidays when emotions can be so fragile.

It's been interesting this Christmas season for me as this topic has been on my mind and heart.  The other day I was in a grocery store and I saw a lady busily shopping whose husband had passed away a year or two ago.  Another lady who knew her and her situation came up to her, put a hand on her shoulder, and kindly said "Merry Christmas.  Have a good one."  The first lady turned to continue her shopping and I saw that her face now looked bewildered.  I was left wondering how she felt -- hurt that she was told to have a good Christmas even though her husband was gone?  -- or blessed that the lady didn't cheerfully smile a "Merry Christmas!!" as if everything was fine?  I don't know.  Maybe she didn't even know herself.

For me personally, I find that I appreciate acknowledgement of the pain we feel, in not being parents yet.  Don't get me wrong, no one wants to be felt sorry for!  But thought (like not giving us the card that says "from our family to yours!"), kindness, and acknowledgment is always nice.  Keep your words genuine, gentle - and brief.  No one wants to cry at a gathering after all, lol!

At the same grocery store, same day, we were stopped by a lady we know and asked how things were progressing with our adoption.  I always appreciate it when people ask because it shows they care.  But I was rather surprised at how down I felt afterward.  And it is because of the Christmas season.  It is another Christmas without our baby.  Christmas is a time of family.  And lots of people feel their families are incomplete -- they are still single, or a family member has passed away, or their womb is empty, or their arms are empty, or they are separated from their spouse, or they don't live near their family, or fights have separated them from their parents, or a parent has lost their memory, or they have placed their child for adoption, etc -- and at Christmastime this incomplete feeling is often very much amplified.

I don't have much of a conclusion.  Perhaps, I hope you come away from reading this with a new awareness of what others might be going through, and a new sensitivity towards others when you interact with them this holiday season.  I also hope you feel your personal pain has been acknowledged.  Christmas is tough.  And I honestly think that's okay sometimes.  Not that it's okay to feel sorry for yourself, but neither do you need to be tough and ignore the pain and put on a false cheeriness.  If someone is kind enough to say to you "This Christmas must be tough for you" there is nothing wrong with simply saying "Thank-you, yes it is.  I appreciate your thinking of me."

I also hope that whether we are the comforter or the one in pain, or most likely both, that we deliberately take the time to be thankful for -- to use a cliche -- the Reason for the season.  Have you ever stopped to think about it that Jesus' earthly father was not His birth father?  And that when Jesus was crucified, His Father rejected Him?  (He rejected Him because all our sin was on Him.  The wages of sin is death and Jesus paid for our sin so we would not have to.)  Jesus understands pain.

He is also our comforter.  When nobody else understands how I feel, He does.  And that is already a big comfort to me just by itself.  

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4    

Birthdays

Lots of pictures coming up... :)

My birthday was August 12th; I turned 32. 

To celebrate, we had my husband's parents over for a barbeque on Aug. 10th for supper.  We cooked a feast for them and my FIL sang "Happy Birthday" loudly for all the neighbours to hear (thanks, Dad).  They gave me a hammock that I have been wanting for a while and I enjoyed it over the remainder of the summer.

On the 12th, my actual birthday, I had a bit of a crummy day, but in the evening my husband and I went out to a local cafe that we both like.  It was super-busy and loud inside, so we sat outside, which ended up being really nice.  We had hot chocolates which we both decided were the best we'd ever had.

On the 16th we went to the zoo.  I think this was part of my birthday celebrations...but it may have just been because we wanted to; I can't remember!  Regardless, the weather was hot, and we got to see the new polar bear exhibit where you can see the bears swimming over you while you are standing in a clear tunnel, so it was a good time.

On the 17th, we had my side of the family down for the evening.  We had snacks (chips and Rhubarb Upside-down Cake) and here we are playing Probe.

On October 7th my Grandma, on my dad's side, turned 90.  NINETY.  My aunt put together a really nice evening at the care home my Grandma lives at.  She made a meal that was exactly like one my grandma would've cooked years ago.  She decorated the place nicely, there were pictures of my grandma when she was younger, a chalkboard that listed what grocery items cost back in 1924, treats that my grandma used to give to us grandkids, etc.  We took a lot of pictures; my grandma has always liked doing family photos but I think she was a little confused and overwhelmed.  I'm glad we celebrated her, though.  I gave her flowers from my flowerbed; she has always appreciated pretty things.

On the 16th was my husband's birthday; he turned the big 3-0.  We started off the birthday celebrations for him by going out to eat at Red Lobster with his parents and brother on the 13th.  His brother was out visiting for Thanksgiving weekend (from the 10th-13th; we had gatherings on the 11th and 12th).  Hubby really wanted his brother to be part of his birthday celebration, so we tagged along to the airport when Hubby's parents were bringing Hubby's brother there, and went out to supper first.

On the 16th, his actual birthday, he wanted to do the same thing we did for my birthday - go out to the cafe for hot chocolates :)  So we did.  This time it was very un-busy, so we got a couch/armchair corner inside which was nice as they're not always easy to get.  He was pretty tired, as it was a weekday evening, but it was still nice.

On the 17th we had my family over in the evening for snacks - chips & pop, Skor Trifle (his favourite), and spinach dip (definitely not his favourite).  It was a good evening.

On the 18th the two of us went to the aviation museum.  It had been many years since he'd been there and I'd never been there.  Unfortunately the displays were not all in the best condition and the descriptions needed some serious updating, and there was a wedding going on which pretty much forced us out of there, but otherwise it was good for the most part and I'm glad we went.

So those were the big birthday celebrations in August and October!  In September my side of the family went to a cabin for a weekend; something we do every Fall and it was gorgeous weather and a good time.  One of my sisters & her husband celebrated their 10th anniversary in October by going to Yellowstone; there is a number of anniversaries in my family in Fall.  And of course (for us Canadians) there was Thanksgiving in October as well, so with that came 3 family gatherings.  The next big thing is Christmas, oh my!  Not sure if I'm prepared for that yet... :)