i got baptized!

On the 4th of July, I got baptized at my church in Estacada. I love it that the 4th will now always have more significance to me! (sorry for the bad pic quality though)

sharing my testimony

My testimony

I was born into a Christian family and grew up going to church. When I was four years old, I remember learning about Jesus in Sunday School. One night I asked my older sister if she would pray with me to become a Christian so I could go to heaven and be with Jesus, and she said yes and so she helped me pray my first prayer as a Christian. After that, I continued to go to church, participate in Awana, VBS, and other Christian camps and such. When I was 10, my family was going through some difficult changes and I decided to rededicate my life to Christ. I felt that I had matured in my faith, now understanding more of the basics of the faith and wanted to again make the commitment to live my life for Christ even though life seemed more complicated. This time, I prayed in my room by myself. At the time, I thought that I had learned everything I needed to know to be an effective Christ follower, but over the years I discovered that I really only knew the basics about who Jesus was. 

I knew that he was the Son of God, that as a believer in him as my Savior and Lord I had a personal relationship with him and would be granted the promise of eternal life. However, that really is all I knew for sure. I had a vague understanding of the trinity: who Father God and the Holy Spirit were and how they fit into the redemption story and what their roles were, but not fully. I also didn’t know a lot about many other aspects of the Christian faith but always had a nagging feeling like I was missing something. Over the next few years I continued to grow in knowledge and my faith as I went to church, joined a small group of girls my age at my church, and studied and read the Bible on my own when I “had time” (which wasn’t often enough). Jesus was my Savior, but I was still very much afraid to proclaim him to others because I felt like my understanding was limited, although I didn’t know why at the time. Every few months, the Lord would open my eyes to a new concept or another aspect of his character and I began to feel more secure in my identity as a believer, but I still had many questions. 

And then I started college and soon after met the Carters and my eyes were again opened to more and I was able to understand more of why I believe what I believe. I began to better understand what my life is supposed to look like as a daughter of Christ in this modern world we live in where feminism is the popular and common way of looking at life. I saw the importance of memorizing verses, of meditating on the Word, of really studying it for myself and with others, and of finding a fellowship of believers who believed what I did. That was when I decided to step out of my box and come visit ECC. At first, I was a little uncomfortable, just because it was not like any church I had been a part of before, but I saw the dedication of all of you and how happy and genuine you seemed, and I was intrigued. 

Needless to say, this is where God wants me right now. I am by no means an expert in the Scriptures, nor have all of my questions been answered, but I have found my church home for the present, and am thrilled to today have you as witnesses as I am baptized. As a believer, I know that I have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, but I would like to be baptized by water in the presence of the church as I am now a member and because baptism is commanded in the Bible as an important step once you are a believer, as well as to symbolically show my place as a Christian into Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, which I fully believe. I believe in my wretchedness as a human because of sin, that I am in need of a Savior, and that now as a Christ follower, it is my privilege and duty to spread the gospel to those around me, live a lifestyle of purity and holiness, use my spiritual gifts for the church, and continue to study the Bible, which is inspired by God and is the truth. 

If I had to say in one sentence what my life is now, I would say: God has chosen me and I am living in response to his call upon my life. I am excited for what the rest of my life will hold. I continue to struggle with not knowing what will take place or how I will be used, but I am continually encouraged by the Psalms, other books and studies, as well as the Book of Revelation because I know that no matter how desperate I feel things are getting, there are promises to cling to and a God who is awesome, with total control. As long as I stay in frequent prayer and studying, I find that I am less stressed and more content to simply live in the life that God has given me. Today, THIS is my next step. So here I am. I am ready to be baptized. Praise God for choosing me among the many to be one of his followers. I feel truly overwhelmed and blessed when I think on that. Praise God for his faithfulness, for his promises, for his mercy and grace. That is what the gospel is about, and that is what I cling to. So here we go. I am ready for the next chapter of my life. 

right before...

right after :)

Paul, Russell, and I at the potluck afterwards