Delayed Introduction ;)

I guess this really should have been my first post but better late than never right!?  Let me introduce myself.  My name is Angie; I am 20 something years old, mother of a wonderful little boy, Christian, a wife to my wonderful husband Ryan, a daughter, granddaughter, sister, cousin, aunt, friend, a Sunday school teacher, active member of my church community Hub City Vineyard and a full time Assistant manager at Sheetz.  My life is pretty busy, but I manage to juggle it all (most of the time with a smile on my face)!

My parents divorced when  my sister (Teresa) and I  were young.  My father remarried and my mother  was in a long term relationship with a man who already had a daughter (Brandi-I still call her my sister) and they had a boy together (C.J.-our half brother).  Our lives were like most modern families:  Not perfect and flawless, but we were grateful for what we had and proud of what we achieved.  I did not have a close relationship with my father during my childhood and there are a lot of underlying reasons why. My mother and I have always had quite a rocky relationship because we are both very head strong!   I also had a strained relationship with my younger sister or my little brother, I found them very annoying and I couldn’t be bothered with little pesky kids! Oh, how times have changed! 

Well, of course we all got older and things changed.  I married and moved to Hagerstown, MD, Teresa gave birth to my first nephew Connor, Brandi moved to Canada and had 2 beautiful girls, C.J. decided to join the Marines and after all of  his tactical training was transferred to Twentynine Palms, California Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center.  In November of 2009 tragedy struck my family.  On Thanksgiving morning I received a phone call from my little brother’s father explaining in little detail a tragic car accident that left C.J. in critical condition.  Immediately my mother, Teresa, and I boarded a plane to California.  While at C.J.’s bedside we learned that there was nothing else that they could do to save his life and that we would have to say good bye.  Losing my brother was the hardest thing that I have ever been through in my whole life.  It was the first of many life changing events that would happen to me through the next few years.  Losing our brother brought us sisters (Brandi, Teresa, and I) closer together.  We all three dealt with our loss in different ways, but through it we formed an unbreakable bond.  My little sister Teresa is now my best friend and I can’t believe that I passed this friendship up so many years ago. 

After a series of events starting around the time my brother died, my life fell apart.  I hit rock bottom.  Trying to help everyone else and not myself lead me into a downhill battle against myself that I was on the fast track of loosing (I’m sure there will be many blog topics about “these events”).  In June 2011, I found out that I was pregnant with my son Christian!  In February of 2012 he was born and our lives were changed forever.  A lot of our friends and family believe him to be “Our Little Miracle”.  I believe him to be MY SAVING GRACE.

 While I was on maternity leave I decided to start going to Church.  I have went to Church on and off throughout my whole life, but my heart was never there.  After only two weeks of attending Hub City Vineyard, I knew that my life was changing.  I was developing a relationship with God and Jesus that had probably always been there, but of course I pushed it away.  After a few weeks my husband started attending with me and soon after him my sister and brother-in-law started attending too.  I can’t explain the feelings I get when I am with my Hub City Family.  In August 2012, I decided to take the next step in my relationship with God and be baptized.  After my baptism, I felt like a whole new person.  The old me no longer existed, I was new!  My relationship with God and his Son has only gotten deeper and more serious. 

I am very blessed for where I am at in my life and to be surrounded by such a great family and wonderful friends. No two persons are the same and no two persons have the same life experiences.  As for me, I know that I have been forgiven for my mistakes and wrong doing, and the experiences that I have been through have helped me help others who have gone through difficult times as well.  My past no longer defines me, my love of God and Jesus Christ now defines me.  One of my quotes to live by these days is “When life brings you to your knees, you are in the perfect position to pray”!

Versus to reflect on::

Luke 13:6-9 (MSG) 6-7Then he told them a story: “A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren’t any. He said to his gardener, ‘What’s going on here? For three years now I’ve come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found? Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?’8-9“The gardener said, ‘let’s give it another year. I’ll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn’t, then chop it down.’”

Matthew 9:11-13 (NLT) 11But when the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with such scum? 12When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.”13Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices. ‘For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”