I won the cruise!

I can't believe I won the contest for the cruise. I just HAVE to tell the story of how this all came about. If you can't see God's hand at work in this, I don't know what will convince you!

God has really been laying on my heart that I need to write. Write what? I don't know, I am not a writer. Many people who follow our carepage tell me I should consider writing but I thought they were crazy. But God kept laying it on my heart and I couldn't shake it. So, I decided I would start a blog. It would be a place where I could practice writing what God was laying on my heart. I set this blog up the beginning of October.

Once I started the blog for some reason it got blocked, it was flagged as a Spam blog so I was not able to do anything with my blog for a couple weeks. Finally it opened up for me to edit and post. That very same day I got a message telling me about this contest for a cruise. It said to tell them creatively why you and a friend needed a getaway cruise. I read the email and said wow that would be nice but I could never pick one friend. I closed my computer and continued to get ready for bible study that night. But as I walked away there was a huge burden placed on my heart. I thought of my friend Misty. I sat back down at the computer and quickly put some thoughts down. I sent them to my friend to see what she thought about it and the contest. She was moved to tears and then we both were filled with such joy. The possiblity of meeting, the chance to getaway from it all.

The thing is the contest was ending the next day. So, I had to figure out my blog and get it posted quickly. I stayed up late that night composing my entry. I felt like this was an assignment from God to practice my writing and I wanted it to be just right. I was very proud of my entry and thought it protrayed the friendship that we have and how God is so amazing even in the midst of a storm. I had to recruit some help to learn some of the ins and outs of blogging quickly. With their help I was able to get it posted. I was so excited. I just felt a peace.

I have tried to leave the blog alone since that entry just to make sure that my post didn't get lost in the blog. My original plan for this blog was a private place to practice writing. But I soon realized it would be a place the judges would come to look. So, I have let the blog sit. I tried not to think about the contest for the next couple weeks. The winner was to be announced November 1st.

As the date got closer, Misty and I dreamed of what it would be like to meet on a cruise. But we knew that it would all work out if that is what God wanted. We left it in His hands with hope. I began to feel that God wanted me to share the story of how He provided a friend in the midst of trial so I decided to post it on carepages. Everyone was so supportive and "just knew" we were going to win. That encouraged and excited us, but we knew they were not the judges.

I was planning to stay up until midnight on Halloween night to see if they would post the winner. But after a long day I was exhausted. It was about 10:30pm and I was chatting online with a friend. I told her I would not be able to stay up long enough to check. She told me to send her the link and she would watch for it. After I sent her the link I clicked it to make sure it worked. When I did that I noticed the page had been updated. My heart was racing and I could hardly stand to look. I opened the page and I saw my name listed as the winner. I wanted to scream but didn't want to wake the sleeping kids. I told my friend and my husband, I think we were all in shock. Then I picked up the phone and called Misty. I knew it was late but I couldn't wait to tell her! She knew when I was calling that late at night what I was calling about, but she was still surprised. We both were thanking God for His wonderful miracle. It is unbelievable! God worked out every detail.

We are so thankful for God's amazing provisions for this trip. We are looking forward to this trip and we just know that God had this all planned and so we are confident that all the details will work out.

Thank you to christianwomenonline for giving us the chance to win this cruise and then choosing my entry. We can't wait for February 4th when we head to Mobile, AL!

Christie
"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1