The Ultimate Blog After-Party!

So, I totally had more fun at the Ultimate Blog Party than I was expecting!  I didn’t really know what to expect, seeing as it was my first time participating, but I really loved getting some new visitors to my site and then visiting all of their sites.  I felt affirmed and loved by all the sweet comments and I look forward to partying again next year!

For the Ultimate Blog After-Party, I’m going to share with you some new blogs I discovered…

Awakening Purpose, Passion and Purity is a blog about rediscovering the joy of marriage in a world where marriages are continually falling apart.  This blog is written by Esther, who has another blog, A Spoonful of Sugar, which is “sweetening your day with laughter, inspiration & hope”.  Coincidentally, Esther is also the winner of the draw for the $15 Starbucks card – congratulations!!

My Freshly Brewed Life is written by Barbie,  Christian mom to four kids, who’s desire is to be “rooted and grounded in the marvelous love of God”.  I loved discovering another singer and intercessor at a house of prayer!

Joyeful is a Christian mom to 4 kids (one is still baking in the oven) and is in love with Jesus, which totally comes through in her writing.  She has two blogs as well, her personal blog, The Joyeful Journey, and a blog with conversations between her and God that we get to eavesdrop in on, called Dropping Eaves.

Lastly, I discovered the blog Impress Your Kids, which has crafts and activities to help us moms teach our kids about God and impress His Word on their hearts.  I’m really excited about this one, as they have lots of creative ideas!

Thanks for partying with me here at Echoing Him!

The Ultimate Blog Party 2010

I’m sort of late joining in, but I figured I would try to participate in this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, hosted by 5MinutesForMom.com!  Essentially, it’s just an opportunity for bloggers to promote their blogs, visit other people’s blogs, get to know new people, get new visitors to their sites, win prizes, and just have fun! 

So allow me to introduce myself…

1. My name is Jacquie and I have been married to my wonderful husband Joe 5 years this past January.
2. I have two of the cutest kids ever – my son Justice, who is 2 years old and my daughter Rayah, who will soon be 6 months.  While mothering is one of the hardest things I have ever done, it is also the most rewarding and it is making me a better person.
3. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and I truly love it here, even though I could definitely do without the -40C winters!
4. I am a computer programmer by trade, but am currently on my 1-year long maternity leave (a sweet benefit of living in Canada!).
5. I have been blogging on and off for about 5 years at several different locations before finally ending up here at www.echoinghim.com. 
6. I love Jesus and am eagerly awaiting His second coming to the earth!  Woohoo!  I think the Bible is an amazing book, as the very words of God to mankind and the story it tells is so dramatic and exciting, so I am looking forward to the fulfillment of this grand story and hope I am on the earth when it all happens.
7. I think prayer is the greatest way we can impact our world, so I love being part of Sanctuary House of Prayer, where we get to intercede to God for Him to come and transform our hearts & our city with His love and power.  I also created a prayer blog called Prayer Fuel where I write prayers for needs around the earth.
8. I love Starbucks Cinnamon Dolcé lattes, McDonald’s fries, cottage cheese rolls, sweet potato fries, hot spinach & artichokes with cheese dip, Barq’s rootbeer, and milk!
9. I love writing, reading, singing, playing piano, cooking, and social networking.
10. I am passionate about seeing God bring justice to the earth – life for unborn babies, adoption for the orphan, freedom for those caught in human trafficking, provision to the poor, protection to the persecuted, healing for the sick, peace for the war-torn, etc. etc.

So, now that you know a little bit about me, feel free to browse around, leave a comment and introduce yourself!

I will also be giving away a prize – a $15 CDN Starbucks card (I would expect it would still work in the USA, but I don’t actually know for sure).  To participate, you can leave a comment to be entered in the draw.  You can leave an additional comment if you follow me on twitter (@echoinghim) and/or if you post a link to this post on twitter or on facebook.  I will announce the winner on April 17th on this blog and the winner will have 48 hours to contact me so I can get your mailing info.

As for the prizes that I would love to win from the US/Canadian list, here are my top three picks:

1.  USC 11 – Win a $50 gift certificate good towards any purchase in my Etsy shop or my website. Provided by: Priddy Creations Custom Designs Follow here: Priddy Creationsor Visit Our Fan Page: Priddy Creations Custom Designs
2.  USC 43 – Prize value: $100. One winner gets to choose 3 meal time plate sets – which includes a personalized plate with coordinated personalized placemat. Provided by: Olive Kids Direct, LLC Follow here: olivekids or Visit Our Fan Page: Olive Kids
3.  USC 57 – One winner will choose a pair of children’s shoes from Eleven Collection! Provided by: Jamaise @ Wishing Penny Follow here: Jamaise or Visit Our Fan Page: Jamaise Wilson

If these prizes are all taken, I would also go for any of the Amazon gift cards (8, 36, 37, 40, 44), cash prizes (35, 39), or the Bath & Body Works gift card (63).

Thanks for visiting!

Thinking of you…

I wanted to write a blog post to tell you about some dear friends of ours who are in our thoughts and prayers these days.  Roger and Rose are one of the most delightful and beautiful couples you’ll ever meet and who we had the joy and privilege of connecting with when we lived in Calgary.  When Joe and I were leading the young adult prayer ministry back then, they were kindred spirits who, for a time, joined their hearts and intercession with ours for this generation and were such an encouraging support to us.  Over the years, we got to witness their incredible hearts of generosity and love as they repeatedly took people into their home, even as newly weds and new parents, sharing what they had without restraint. 

When they took in Rose’s younger brother Timothy, he was in a rough stage in his life and in desperate need of some guidance and a touch from the Lord.  Because of their willingness to open up their lives to him, we got to see the mighty workings of the Lord in Timothy’s life as he was delivered and set free from the addictions of his past and also healed miraculously of dyslexia – finding that he could read for the first time as he opened up his Bible as a new believer!  Again, we were blessed to observe Timothy growing in maturity and passion for Jesus and his testimony was an encouragement to us all.  We were also often blessed by Roger’s worship leading as the anointing and intimacy in his songs brought us into God’s presence numerous times. 

Around the same time that we moved from Calgary, Roger and Rose and their two girls had the opportunity to live abroad, due to Roger’s work.  I have been following Rose’s account of their travels as they first lived in Kaula Lampur, Malaysia, and now in Lagos, Nigeria, Africa.  I have thoroughly enjoyed Rose’s poetic story-telling of their many adventures and have been touched by her depictions of the poverty she witnessed and the orphans she would minister to.

But just a couple days ago, Rose shared on her blog the difficult news that her brother Timothy (now 24 years old) has been diagnosed with brain cancer.  So, if you read this, I am inviting you to join with us in prayer to contend for his healing!  We know from before, that the Lord has his hand on Timothy’s life and that He loves to deliver and heal his kids, so we are anticipating that He will do it again and reveal His glory and might in new ways, that we may again be in awe of His goodness!  If you would like to follow Timothy’s progress as he fights this disease or if you simply want to be blessed by reading the blog of a beautiful woman of God, then please visit her site at http://rogerandrosaleen.blogspot.com.

Roger, Rose, Timothy and your family – we are thinking of you and praying for you…

Onething and Our 4th Honeymoon!

The last two weekends have been FULL!  First of all, we hosted a Onething regional conference here in Winnipeg and Joe and I personally hosted 3 of the team members at our home for the weekend!  It was such an amazing time getting to know the team from IHOP and connecting with other young people who have the same heart and passion for prayer that we do.  Everyone was so great and fun and they did such an incredible job of putting on this conference for us!  Even though many of us at SHOP were volunteering for a lot of the time, we also got to enjoy a few of the sessions and received much from the Lord.  I also believe that much was sown in the spirit in our city and the youth and young adults here. 

Then, the very next weekend, Joe and I went to Calgary where the Onething team was doing another conference, which just happened to be at the church where we attended before moving to Winnipeg!  So it was the perfect excuse to go and visit our old friends there that we hadn’t seen in over a year.  This time, we got to enjoy the conference without having any responsibilities and then at pretty much every single meal or break, we were going out with friends to reconnect, which was really great!  Busy – but great! 

After that was all over, we took off to Canmore where we had booked a lovely suite with a fireplace, jacuzzi and king-sized bed for what was quickly appointed the “4th honeymoon”!    I basically like to call any time away for just the two of us a honeymoon, just because it makes it feel more special!  We spent three nights there and really loved just being in the mountains again, going out for nice meals, and sitting in front of our fireplace reading our Bibles or a book and talking about God and simply enjoying one another’s company.  It was a lovely, relaxing time that we had been looking forward to for a long time and which may be our last holiday like that for a long time, with baby on the way!  Yet, while we may not get that same level of quiet alone time at a nice hotel, I believe it’s so important to make time for each other and make it feel special, even after baby arrives.  I realize it will look very different (although I honestly don’t truly have understanding of just how different until I experience it) but I plan to make our marriage a priority, even in the midst of transition, because if our marriage isn’t healthy, then our family as a whole won’t be healthy and happy.  So here’s to many more honeymoons, no matter what form they take!