125/365 Believer's Baptism

I actually did a blog about this awhile back. It's been over a year.  In light of current events I wanted to revisited the topic. I believe in immersion baptism or believer's baptism.  Here's why: Jesus was baptized in the Bible by John the Baptist.  (Matthew 3:13-17)  I was baptized as a child.  I knew Jesus was God's one and only son. I knew He died for my sins and rose again.  I decided at 9 to make that choice.  It was because before that I didn't know those things.  When we lived in Joliet our father would take us to church on Greek Easter.  Sometimes we would go to Vacation Bible Study at a church down the street.  But I didn't really know that much.  When we moved to Medora I was invited to church that first Sunday.  I started going.  Then my mom and siblings started coming.  We all actually got baptized on the same day (March 10, 1990).  I fell away from the Lord during my college years.  I scummed to peer pressure.  I just wanted people to like me.  I just wanted to fit in.  I still prayed to God and occasionally read my Bible but I was not living the way God wanted me to.  Having Gabrielle turned me back.  It wasn't over night.  But I knew I wanted my daughter to grow up in a Christian home.  It took me a bit to get back on the right path.  I'm not perfect.  No human is.  I am a Christian.  Some people have misinformation about Christians; that they feel if you are a Christian you're perfect or you aren't a real Christian.  I love how our pastor breaks it down and says he still sins.  You stumble, you ask for forgiveness, and you move forward and do better.


From the moment Gabrielle was born, I prayed to her and over her.  I read her stories from the Children's Bible.  When she was 18 months old, we started going to Eastview.  A co-worker invited me.  This was the place for us.  I came to get my life back in order.  I came to reconnect with God.  I still was struggling with sin in my life.  I kept trying to do better.  When Mike and I married, he started coming to church more and more.  At first he didn't like the huge feeling of Eastview.  But he loved the services.  We began to pray every night at bedtime.  One day in December of 2007, he said he wanted to be baptized.  I thought he was doing it for  me.  I told him to keep praying about it.  We kept praying and started reading the Bible together.  He told me in April of 2008 that he wanted to be baptized.  We meet with the pastor.  Mike was ready.  Now the cool thing about our church is the pastor doesn't do the baptizing.  Well he does if you want him to.  I was raised in a church that only the pastor could baptize.  When I asked our pastor about it, he quoted the Bible.  Matthew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"  As long as you were baptized by immersion (Believer's Baptism not Christening) than you can baptize.  So I got to baptize my husband on May 4, 2008.

Isn't that awesome! I had the privilege of baptizing my husband!  Gabrielle got to witness it.  She talked about it forever.  She had all kinds of questions.  Will I be baptized?  Yes when you are ready.  When will I be ready?  When you understand what it means and you want to make that choice.  She has been filled with questions for the last three years.  I figured I would keep answering her questions.  During that time she kept going to Kidsview (which is our version of Sunday School).  We kept doing family prayers and devotionals. We got involved in a small group Bible study. She would help me teach my baby Kidsview class.  She learned about service and helping those less fortunate.  We read the Bible stories.  We made sure she always knew the real meaning of Easter and Christmas.  She did upward cheer leading where they did devotionals at games and practice.   She joined Kids Khoir at our church.  So many people helped her grow spiritually.  Her father prays before every meal.  Her Grandparent Quinns say Grace before meals.  Her Grandma Cathy would talk to her about heaven.  My mom would talk to her about God.  Tons of people at Eastview helped plant seeds of faith in her.

Our church did 24 hours of prayer at church the week leading up to Easter.  She came with me and sometimes we all went together as a family.  One of the prayers by the Big Kidsview room (where she is moving up to next month) was that children make their own decision to follow God and be baptized.  After we said that prayer, Gabrielle said, "Doesn't everybody want to follow God?"  We had a talk about how their are different religions (we have had this talk many times especially when she had a Jewish boy tell her Christmas isn't real) that don't follow God.  Plus children need to make their own minds up about following God not to do it just because their parents want them to.  She told us that, "I already follow Jesus."  At another station we prayed for Global outreach and said, "we want everyone to know about God's Love."  Gabrielle told us she's always known about God's love and can't remember never knowing.  That night she asked more questions about baptism; a topic she hadn't asked about in awhile.

On Easter (that's my picture above for today)  she wanted to sit in the front row so she could see Mike play in the band.  At the end of church we did an old fashion invitation.  She hadn't seen one before.  She asked about it.  I said that's where you can go forward and tell one of the pastors that you want to recommit to following Jesus or you want to be baptized.  We continued to sing the song.  Then she told me she wanted to be baptized.  I asked if she was sure.  I asked her if she knew what that means.  She said,"Yes.  God sent his son Jesus as a baby to a manager.  He grew up to die on a cross for my sins.  His friends buried his body, but they came back three days later and the stone was rolled away.  Jesus was gone because He was risen.  You get baptized to tell everyone and God that you want to follow Jesus and God."  I said you have to be doing this for yourself not for me.  Her responsive was classic, "Why would I do it for you?  I don't get it."  She truly made that choice on her own.  She wanted to go forward to tell Pastor Mike Baker.  He was thrilled.  He married Mike and I.  He has watched us grow to be active members in the church.  He told her that he was 6 1/2 when he was baptized.  That made me feel better.  I was worried that people would think that she was too young.  She is young but she very mature in her faith.  She knows more about the Bible and God then a lot of adults.  I am proud of her.  I am proud that she made that choice on her own.  I know she will stumble and fall but she will get back up.  I will be here to help her stay on the right path.  I know that so many loved ones will be helping her stay on that path as well.  She will make mistakes.  She will sin.  I just hope she doesn't make the same mistake I did when I turned my back on God.  I hope she will never lose sight of His Love.  I have never been prouder of her.