My Baptism

This past Sunday, I was baptized at my church. I came to Christ this past fall, October 17 if you want to be exact, and i felt i was ready to be baptized after hearing a sermon about baptism one Sunday morning. I was very convicted that Baptism was something that God commanded us to do. and so was very excited to tell my parents about my decision. once i got home from service i informed them on what i planned to do the following month and asked them if they wanted to come and support me. my mother was pretty much speechless and my father was quite opposed to say the least. and i cant really say that i didnt expect that, but over time i imagine they must have realized that even if they didnt agree with what i was doing, they still wanted to support me in my decision to be baptized. and i am so grateful for that now. what i am ashamed to admit is that on the morning of my baptism (before i arrived at church) my parents said that they definitely wanted to come and support, and I was the one who wasnt too thrilled about them coming. my reasoning being that they were so opposed to my being baptized at one point, and now they all of a sudden want to be a part of this big day in my life? i was angry and confused. why couldnt they have told me sooner? i had spent hours worrying if this decision would cause a rift between me and my parents forever. and now it seemed like all of those hours could have been spared had they only told me how they truly felt about the situation. so i was upset. i even told them that i wasnt sure if i wanted them there. i left the house in a state of anguish and confusion.

as i walked to church, i began to pray. and then when i arrived at church i talked with someone about how i was feeling. talking through it seemed to clarify my thoughts. when it came down to what i really wanted- i wanted my family there. it would also be a great way to witness to them and give them a chance to hear the gospel, not to mention many other people's testimonies as well. So i called my parents shortly after talking with this person and apologized for how i had made them feel. then i told them that i truly wanted them to come, and that i was so thankful that they loved me and wanted to come. it was a really emotional morning, but it was a wonderful morning too.

it felt great to make a public statement of my faith with my best friends and family all around. and afterward how they said they were proud of me. the only thing i could really reflect on though, was how good the Lord has been to me. i cant even begin to describe the renewed gratitude for the gift of His grace in my life. and also He has blessed me with this morning, i thought. Everything that happened this morning, it was because of God. My baptism is a day in my life that will never be forgotten, and it has inspired me with a stronger desire to grow spiritually.

Seasons

So lately ive been thinking a lot about dating. i mean its pretty hard not too when virtually every conversation that takes place at my school is about said topic. i had made a promise not to date until college, but that didnt quite satisfy my curiosities about the way godly dating relationships should look. my approach, of course, was research. so i asked my youth pastor if he knew of any good books on dating, and of course he did. A few nights ago i decided to dive right in. to say that i was shocked at what i found would be an understatement.

'the gift of singlehood!?!...from friendship to matrimony!?!....i thought this book was going to be about dating, but it sure seemed like this author didnt approve of dating at all!' (or so it seemed from the table of contents) unfortunately, my own naivete, hindered me from noticing the very title of the book, I Kissed Dating Goodbye by: Joshua Harris. at that point i was about to put the book down because...well.... that was just not what i had signed up for. the aspiration of my existence for the past three years had been, 'I must find a boyfriend. im only happy when i have a boyfriend. ' and thats sure how it seemed seeing as how whenever i didn't have a boyfriend, i was perpetually looking for one. so how on earth could being single be a gift?! and friendship to matrimony? how was that even supposed to work? But, really, i knew that my old mindset of dating wasn't really how a Christian's should be, and so i decided to give this Joshua Harris a shot.

The first chapter caught my attention immediately, and from there on out i became so interested. the book was divided into four parts, but what i really want to get at and discuss right now is just a tiny fragment of a chapter in Part Two. the name of the chapter was: "The Right Thing at the Wrong Time is the Wrong Thing."
and how very true i believe that statement to be now. you see, Mr. Harris compared the seasons of the year to the "seasons" of our lives. Singlehood is a season in everyones life that a person can either choose to embrace or rush out of. so often have i wanted to skip this time of singlehood and get on with dating, but now i realize that God has blessed me with this time of singlehood so that i have the opportunity to focus my life on furthering His kingdom and for my undistracted devotion to Him.

now there are many, and i mean many other topics addressed in this book that i would love to discuss, but i dont believe that a blog is the place to do so. i simply felt the need to jot down some thoughts that i had come up with that really stirred me up as i read this book. i could never do this topic justice or even fully convey my thoughts on this through writing, so i highly recommend this book to any and all of you. (and please, let me know what you think) Well then, it looks like i may have a new favorite season.