Shannon McIntyre

Name: Shannon McIntyre
Birth: 7/19/1974

Occupation: Artist check out www.shannonsurf.com / surfer / filmographer,
and co-host for “On Surfari” / soon to be Mom.

Athlete sports background: 15 years surfing.

Competed on College surf team and in specialty PRO/AM events.

Extensive surf travels to: Mexico, Hawaii, Indonesia, Sultanate of Oman (first woman to surf Oman), Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, Australia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Peru, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Dominican Rep., Japan, India, France, Panama, Mauritius and Reunion. 3years scuba .

Sponsors: Roxy, FCS, and John Fluevog shoes

Word of wisdom: Always live with a thankful spirit in all situations.

Favourite Scripture : Psalm 93:3-4 ”the seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea the Lord on high is mighty.”

Favourite band: I really love Chad Farran’s music - he does all the music for our TV show “on Surfari”. It’s culturally diverse, with tunes created by various instruments he’s collected from around the world. Check it at www.crowdedtrain.com
Saved: Maybe in 1978 when I was a small child 4-7 years old

Testimony:
I was raised in a loving Christian home with both Parents and 3 younger Brothers in the desert town of Santee, CA. The first time I remember saying the “sinner’s prayer” to accept Jesus in to my life was with a baby sitter at McDonalds before I dove into my happy meal.

I have been supernaturally blessed ever since. Throughout my life growing up the Lord protected me from all kinds of harm, and the temptation of drugs and alcohol.

I always wanted to save sex for marriage and God gave me the will to. He’s given me all my needs. I feel like I’ve always had the Holy Spirit leading me through life. I believe that my family’s prayers for safety have been answered on all our crazy adventures. I’m a living miracle, God took this inland raised little girl and blessed me with gifts of the sea

I met my husband, Shayne, at a surfers Bible study called “Pizza and Prayer” lead by Peter King when I was only 19. Two years later he proposed to me with his hand-carved coconut shell ring on the island of Bawa in Indonesia after being lost at sea in a tiny fishing boat for 3 days.

We have been married for 8 years now and have had many beautiful adventures, many blissful times and a few major trials that in the end made our marriage even stronger. The trials that we went through in our marriage really tested my faith in love and God. It was in this time I distanced myself from God and tasted hell.

I realized then that that’s what hell is, separation from God. Through prayer and a commitment to stay together we could see that Satan was really trying to win in our marriage. We ultimately wanted God to be glorified in our marriage. With God’s healing and forgiveness our relationship is 200% better.

The Lord has blessed Shayne and I with enchanted lives of world travel, careers as artists, surfers, and TV show producers, and our home little beach bungalow and after wanting children for the last 3 years we are pregnant with our first boy! God is so awesome!

Jesus taught me to have faith to walk on water and to love people of all cultures. He paid the ultimate price for my sins so that I can live a life of forgiveness and have a personal relationship with God. Jesus has given me true freedom, and taught me the meaning of true unconditional love.

The Bible promises that if we delight ourselves in the Lord that he will give us the desires of our heart. Jesus daily encourages me to use my talents to glorify him and bless others. I try to put Jesus first in my everyday life and career.

In the morning Shayne and I read the Bible together to grow closer to God. In my artwork I use symbols and Bible verses to send the positive message. In our surfing we get to be a part of and feel the power of Gods amazing creation. Surfing is a perfect time to worship and talk to God.

I guess if there were anything I can say to encourage you, it would have to be that God truly loves you and knows you better than you know yourself. His desire is to have a relationship with you. He has the unlimited abilities and wants to bless you in supernatural ways. I know that God is the one who blesses me because I have given my life to him, and there is no way that I could have accomplished all that I have on my own.

Go see Shannon website: www.shannonsurf.com

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CHRISTIAN SURFERS GIRLS

CSA NSW Girls Camp (Central & South)

Jodene Watling

HEAVEN IN A HANDBAG

By:Jodene Watling

Whilst strolling around some local shops with a friend, we came across a handbag shop.
And there on a mirrored wall appeared the story of “The Handbag of Glory” …which went on to explain… “Such was the power of the Handbag of Glory, that ladies wept when they saw it and those who touched it went straight to Heaven.” This amused me no end; because for some of us girls, we understand the virtue of a good handbag!! As a young grom I didn’t care for such finery, adamant that my velcro men’s surf wallet was more than enough for me (girls surf merch didn’t exist back in my day!). Being quite the tomboy, it was ‘soft’ to carry around a pretty purse, let alone a handbag.

They were for kooks!! Then came the day, I progressed from girl-hood to woman-hood & got a handbag for Christmas. It was a black ’pleather’ (leather made from plastic) rectangular shaped, long strapped bag, that had a silver plate with some rather non-significant words typed on it.

A bit squeamish at the thought of breaking rank from my tough hardcore exterior (what a laugh!) & sauntering around with a handbag; I decided to give it a go. It initially felt awkward & fraudulent, but then this overwhelming sense of kinship came between us & thus I have gone from strength to strength in my career with handbags. The emerging theme is that they seem to get bigger, so I can fit more stuff in them! The story of the Handbag of Glory is hilarious. An urban parable of an unsaid phenomenon amongst us female folk.

The funny thing is that although we may have heavenly moments with handbags; my experience in understanding heaven was similar to that of handbags. I thought what I had in life would do. Who needs what you don’t know? I never really cared what ‘heaven’ meant, or how to get there. Hey, I was hardcore right!!?? I personally came to consider the concept of heaven when I thought of my own mortality. My insignificance in this big, big world & my lack of control to prevent fatal situations.

Sounds morbid, but I just had no hope or anything to latch onto, should anything serious go down! There is a story in the bible where a guy quizzically asks Jesus about life beyond &how to get there. Jesus answered “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father (who is in heaven) except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus gave the key, the address & left the front light on. It was Him. He was the way to heaven.

And as much as much as that handbag grew to have functional necessity in my life; so has heaven. I now have a place of hope, safety, assurance & security: & certainty of life beyond the present. No pleather handbag is ever getting me to heaven! ....but I know Jesus is not a fake, when it comes to that!!



Contact CSA Girls

Jodene Watling
CSA National Women’s Co-ordinator
Email: jodene@christiansurfers.org.au
Mobile: 0418 823 062
Skype: jdntehaara
Website: www.christiansurfers.org.au





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