Lisa Canning
My name is Lisa and I was born and raised in Toronto Canada to loving parents who brought me up in the Catholic faith. But for many years, my Catholicism was simply something I did to please my parents and to follow the rules. It took 18 years for my Catholic faith to become more personal, and for a relationship with Jesus to start.
When I was 16, I was invited by a friend to attend a Prostestant event where praise and worship and praising the Lord with your hands in the air was the norm. I remember it felt and looked more like a rock concert than any church service I had ever attended and the joy I saw on people's faces was contagious. I remember asking the question why this joy was not as apparent in my Catholic experience. As a result, I hopped around to various Prostestant churches in Toronto (but still going to my Catholic church on Sundays) to find more of this joy.
When I was 18, I was invited to a retreat experience in a community in Orangeville, Ontario, just north of where I lived. What I found there I will never forget- organized by a group of charismatic Catholics, I found young people who were clearly in love with Jesus. I found people who could articulate how and why a relationship with Jesus had changed their lives, and I found the joy I was looking for.
At that retreat I also experienced the Holy Spirit in a very palpable way, which led me to exploring praising the Lord in song in a more formal way at various retreats and events, and I continue to find any opportunity I can to praise the Lord in song.
I now live in SW Florida with my family of 8 children, where we seek to be open to the Lord in all areas of our lives.