A Savior. In Water. In Life. For Eternity.
Saved once by God’s grace & a life jacket. Jesus was with me then and still is today.
When our fishing boat was swamped and sunk during a storm in 1972, my life was saved by an orange life jacket and prayer.
MyLifeJacket.org is just one more voice appealing to people to wear life jackets during water activities and, more importantly, encouraging people to seek or grow their personal relationship with God. Both lead to saved lives.
I have found the following resources to be helpful and inspirational during my faith walk. I hope you’ll find them similarly informative and enriching.
Inspiring Faith Testimonials & Personal Stories
Tammie was one the first female Naval pilots and later was captain of the crippled Southwest 1380 flight. To an audience at Christ Community Church (12/14/2020), she spoke how her long-standing faith strengthened her while she piloted the plane during an emergency landing in Philadelphia after an unexpected engine failure and rapid depressurization. You can view her “Inspiring Story” here @ CCCLIfe.org.
Though he had four World Series titles, Darryl Strawberry experienced a challenging personal life including addictions and jail time. To an audience at Christ Community Church (10/05/2020), Darryl shared that his purpose and passion is now serving the Lord Jesus Christ and helping others transform their lives through the power of the gospel. You can view Darryl’s “Inspiring Story” here @ CCCLife.org.
Pastor Horton delivered a powerful sermon about the The Beatitudes on 01/03/2021. He spoke powerfully about what it means to be blessed and what it looks like to live blessed. You can view his message here @ CCCLife.org.
At Christ Community Church on 02/09/2020, Scott Hamilton, one of the most recognized male figure skating stars in the world and a 1984 Olympic Gold medal winner, shared his faith story and how it sustained him as he successfully battled cancer. You can view his “Inspiring Story” here @ CCCLife.org.
On 02/14/2021, Chris Baker shared his inspiring story with the Christ Community Church congregation. His ministry, Ink 180, “transforms the painful reminders of destructive situations into beautiful art by covering the tattoos left from a former life in a gang or enslaved by human trafficking.”(Source: www.ink180.com). While Chris’ testimony included many powerful moments, a few of his comments really stood out (paraphrase): “…hard to live a new life in Christ when a tattoo reminds you of a past sinful life.” Also, he had the opportunity to monetize his story through a reality TV program; but, he declined because the production company wanted to de-emphasize or remove the faith component of Chris’ ministry. He declined saying (paraphrase), “If you take Jesus out of our ministry, there is nothing left to talk about.” You can view Pastor Jim Nicodem’s conversation with Chris Baker here.
The statistics from the National Safe Boating Council vividly illustrate the potential consequences of not wearing a properly fitted life jacket when fishing, boating, canoeing, swimming, or participating in any other water sport. The resources below are just a few of many available to guide you in the selection, wear, and care of a life jacket or personal flotation device (PFD).
Life Jacket Loaner Program Info: Life Jacket Loaner Programs make PFD’s more accessible by providing the public with free use of life jackets on a first-come, first served basis. The programs are sponsored and maintained by a wide-range of agencies or groups. Life jacket loaner stations can be found near water access points, such as beaches or boat ramps. Below are some links where you can find additional information.
Here you will find stories and articles about life jackets (PFD’s=Personal Flotation Devices).
In some cases, the story is thankfully a positive outcome: one or more lives saved.
However, in all too many cases, the story is tragic: one or more lives lost.
While impossible to aggregate all of the life jacket related stories in a single place, I nonetheless hope that the stories shared herein prove effective inspiring people to wear properly fitted life jackets suitable for the water activity that they are participating in.
Saved by the Jacket (Safe Boating Campaign)
Saved by the Jacket (PA Fish & Boat Commission)