If you have been following my blog for any length of time, or happen to know us, personally, then you are surely aware that we are Christians. Now, today, that means different things to different people based on one's background and presuppositions.
For our family, that means not only accepting that Jesus Christ is the only son of God, chose to die on a cross for our sins, and was resurrected, having victory over death. It also means that we believe that the Bible is THE Living Word of God....in fact, "God-breathed" and "useful" for daily living, as Paul describes it in his letter to Timothy. (2 Timothy 3:16) We believe the entire Bible to be true. Period. And, that our God wants to have a personal relationship with each one of His creations....aka, US. So, because Christ has done so much for me, I have life and hope and love and a desire in my heart to follow God's Word.
Over their short lifetime, our children have both seen and heard about God, Jesus, and the Bible quite often. Don and I have openly and frequently shared our faith, along with our struggles, at home, and we've nurtured and encouraged a number of special friendships with other Christian families, as well as attended church fairly regularly since they were toddlers.
A few months ago, all 4 of my children decided to make their parents' faith their own, publicly.
YAY!
While each of them had already accepted Christ as their Savior, privately, within the past few years, they wanted to share that with their spiritual family and friends by getting baptized! They wanted to experience that outward symbol of dying to self and living, renewed, for Christ, just as they have watched others, including Don and I several years ago, by sharing their testimonies and being submerged in our pastors' pond.
We went back to our church in PA, Timberline Church, because we have such special, enduring relationships with many families there, and my kids have such respect for Pastor Marlin, who has always taken a personal interest in each of them.
It was such a cool experiencing to hear each of them share how their faith developed, and their perceptions of the sometimes-very-difficult things that our family has faced over the years. It is such a joy to see and hear each of my children growing in a personal relationship with their God. And, I was so proud of their public-speaking abilities, as they shared their individual testimonies to a crowd of at least 100! (12 young people, in all, chose to be baptized this year at Timberline - very cool!)
Thanks for indulging me today. I promise to work on those recipes next! And, I'll show you my bountiful garden in an upcoming post as well!
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