We hope you enjoyed last week's "get to know you" with Debbie. This week we are featuring Karin from Flickers of a Faithful Firefly. You already know a little bit about Karin from her guest post a couple of weeks ago entitled Think Before We Tweet.
Tell us a little bit about you and your family.
My husband and I live on twenty acres of beautiful land in rural Manitoba with our dog Faith and various barn cats.
Would you share a little of your testimony with us?
One evening as I sat at the computer, in my Chicago suburban home, an internet message came through from a stranger, not unlike most I'd regularly receive, asking for basic info, simple questions. I stopped what I was doing, and asked a few basic questions of my own. The info he provided included the fact that he was in a very committed marriage, satisfied with his life, and a Christian. We began chatting online. He warned me that somewhere along the way he'd try to save my soul. I took it as a joke, and a challenge.
I had lived 43 years, with no sense of a higher power in my life, no belief, living one day at a time, for that day only. After this internet contact I found I was stuck in the middle, I couldn't believe and I couldn't return to my life of non-belief. I spent sleepless nights, trembling beneath blankets, asking God for comfort, and for signs. I couldn't hear Him telling me that faith means believing in what you cannot see and cannot prove. I wanted to say the prayers asking Jesus to be my savior; in fact, I did recite the words, but wasn't sure if I could feel them. I didn't want to be a hypocrite, wanted to be sure. It was faith I lacked, and didn't hear Him telling me "just ask and I will teach you all you need to know. Hear me, believe me, accept me, and you'll receive all the help you need."
I thought I needed to be perfect before I came to God. But then I took that giant leap of faith that God had been requesting all along. On a long car ride home from work one evening, I spoke aloud to Him, confessing that I could never be good enough on my own, I knew that I needed Him to shape me, to set me on the right road. I thanked Jesus for all his sacrifice on my behalf, and asked Him to be my Savior. I continued talking out loud, not so He could hear my words, but so that I could better hear them. And I knew He was there in my car with me, knew then that He had always been there with me, waiting with astounding patience for me to merely come to Him and ask.
When I opened the door to Jesus, His light flooded me, pushing into even the emptiest corners. And the heart that I didn’t know was there has been swelling, expanding, and growing larger with each day.
The following spring, through divine design I met a man of His choosing and followed His leading to Manitoba, Canada. When we married we knew that God must always be the center of our relationship and our lives. Without really knowing much about this country, God has truly placed it upon my heart, giving me an unexplained passion to see Canada arise to fulfill her destiny as a healer to other nations. Each time I question how I ended up here, I am uplifted and restored by His Word in Esther 4:14: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this”
My hunger for God and desire to be molded by Him and not this world has continued to grow ever stronger. My desire is to be totally surrendered and radically obedient to His calling.
Why did you start blogging?
I began my blog when we returned from a short term mission trip as part of a global build team for Watoto Childcare Ministries in Uganda. I had experienced so much I was bursting to share.
How long have you been blogging?
I began my current blog in January 2008. Prior to that I had maintained various other websites but not with the same regularity.
What are your favorite things to blog about? Why?
I enjoy blogging about the ways I see God at work, in the lives of those around me, in nature, in my marriage and in my own heart. I always pray that my words encourage and spur on others to listen to the voice of God.
Please visit Karin at Flickers of a Faithful Firefly. For more Say it Forward stories, visit 5 Minutes for Mom.
I realized the other day that blogging has opened up opportunities to me that I would never have been able to have otherwise: I have met wonderful women and formed precious friendships. Recently I also was asked to do a guest post, a first for me. I have been blessed with a support system that is critical for me. Experience in writing on a more professional level and learning about topics that I am passionate about is another benefit.
Obviously blogging is not the reason for all of this but only the means. God chose this avenue to fill holes in my life that were always blaringly apparent to me. And for this I am so thankful!
Our very first Featured Member here at Faithful Bloggers is 
When I participated in the A Woman Inspired - Online Ministry Conference I learned much about social networking. I spend more time checking 
