A New Creation

Today is a very special day for our family. Gracie was baptized this morning by Jason. 

 A couple of months ago Gracie talked with us about how she was ready to participate in communion and be baptized. She was ready to publicly say that she was following Jesus and wanted to serve Him and love Him more than anything else. Gracie has had wonderful training outside the home that we are so thankful for. From the beginning, Gracie had a community of believers praying for and loving her at University Baptist Church in Chapel Hill and sweet nursery workers that loved on her during our short time in Mobile. When we moved back to Birmingham we joined Dawson and Gracie was loved, prayed for and taught by wonderful believers. We began a new journey back in the spring with a church plant called Haven Field. This has been a big change for our family (and all of Haven Field), but it has been a great one. We meet each week at the Library in the Forest in Vestavia. After worship this morning we all moved across the street to Wald Park for the baptisms and then a picnic lunch. I have been praying for Gracie since before she was born that she would know and love the Lord at an early age. We are so thankful that God has called her by name. We will continue to pray for Gracie and we covet your prayers also. I shared this morning (through tears) how special I thought it was that Gracie was being baptized next to her school because I know that God will use her in that place to build relationships and share the wonderful love of Jesus with others. 

"If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." 

Romand 10:9-10 

 We were invited to share words of encouragement with each child before they were baptized. I totally lost in and cried through my words to her. 

 Listening to my Mom "Ma" share a memory of Gracie asking for her big Bible when she was 2

 Gracie thought the water was really chilly

 Sweet Friend (Betty) came to celebrate with Gracie

 Some sweet words being shared

Grandmom and Mr. and Mrs. Guy (MK and Steven, the newlyweds) *Steven was holding an umbrella for Grandmom and I purposefully didn't get the umbrella in the shot because I thought I could take Stevens arm out of the picture. I haven't figured out how to do much of anything with pictures on our Mac, so sorry Steven! 

 Gracie and Ma

 James didn't want to be left out

 Uncle Marland and Aunt Betsy with Gracie

 Aunt Beverly and Granddaddy