Tuesday 14 April 2009

My Baptism

Sunday was a special day for me, not only did we get to celebrate because Christ has risen, but it was a sort of Resurrection for me, I was born again and cast away my sins and turned to Christ.

Everyone kept asking me if I was nervous and they said if I was it didn't show. But do you know what? I wasn't nervous at all. I text my friend in the afternoon to say that I had butterflies, but I think it was pure excitement. All day I couldn't stop grinning, I looked like Wallace from 'Wallace and Gromit' just lots of teeth!

When we arrived at Church and I saw the pool it just added to the excitement. The Church leader talked me through how he wanted things to go and then we started the service with some songs and prayer, everything sort of went by in a blur, which is a bit sad because I wanted to savour every minute, but then I was called into the water "Do you turn away from evil?" I turn away from evil
"Do you repent of your sins?" I repent of my sins
"Do you turn to Christ?" I TURN TO CHRIST (I've written it it capitals because I'm sure that I shouted it so loud I could be heard at the end of the road, I've never known such an amazing experience and so glad that I have done it. I had to get dressed very quickly and return for the rest of the service as there were further baptisms after mine and to be honest it was the first baptism that I have ever attended so was desperate to see someone else be baptised.

I would also like to say thank you and God bless to my towel bearers, specially chosen to be there when I came out of the water a new person, after all they helped lead me there.

My Testimony

I was raised with the knowledge that I should go to Sunday school; my parents did not attend church. When I got older it was my decision that I would not continue to go to church, although it has always been apparent in my life.

I grew up without church; I got married, had children and worked hard. I lost my sister in 1998; this caused me to re-evaluate my life resulting in a divorce. I met and married Mark and we have Grace our beautiful 8 year old daughter together. Grace was diagnosed with a life threatening incurable illness in 2001.

We moved into Cottesbrook Close shortly after, the first day we moved in Nick and Vicki baked us flap jacks, when Grace first started school I befriended Rachel and Andy immediately,whom later asked me to attend the Alpha course at their church in Rugby, at that time I wasn't quite ready, but a year on here I am. I could say that I have made my fair share of mistakes and suffered our fair share of disasters on this journey.

I could tell you so much more but a testimony is more than just a spiritual CV. The big question is not what I have done, but who I have become? What difference has Christ made to me?

The more I learn about God and his hopes for me, the more I come to realise how far I am from meeting his expectations. We were meant to write when we felt we actually came to Christ, I think it was through a series of links, something which I have recently read about. Starting with Sunday school when I was a child and more recently, my friends and the examples set by many in church have helped me understand how to grow as a christian. Culminating on the day I opened the bible and decided to start reading, "where should I start?" I asked myself, well certainly in the New Testament because everyone knows the story of The Nativity right? I opened the book randomly and began to read Mattew 6: 25-34

The words spoke to me - "Do not worry, can anyone by worrying add one single hour to their life?" I was the worlds worst worrier and this was the first page I opened in the bible, there and then I found Jesus. I've since learned through prayer I can cast my anxieties to God and he will guide me.

I am still a 'work in progress' a quote that a good friend of mine uses often, but by reading the bible I learn:

James1: verse 5

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

Just a year ago I would have said I wasn't ready for Christianity let alone baptism, but purely by reading the bible and being surrounded by the church community has made me see that baptism is an important step, a symbol of my sins being washed away and a celebration of the start of my new life with Christ.

Photos to follow......

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Further Alpha course discussions were -How does God guide us and How can I resist evil-

God guides us through prayer,and I found personally that God guides visually, I saw good in the people that go to my Church and it made me want to discover how they can be that way, its not always an easy task and I also resist evil through prayer and through the church - the people of the church community act in such a way and speak in such a way that it makes you stop and think before any kind of action is taken. They tell me they always speak to God, they ask for his advice and he will give them the answer .............it works for me.

THE ALPHA AWAY DAY

Was a biggy, the discussion was about the Holy Spirit and it was most enlightening...but at the risk of repeating myself I will keep it short...

I've said before that we liken the Holy Spirit if you like, to water, we can have free flowing water, but it can be frozen and it can become steam. Now that picture is in your head imagine The Holy Trinity - The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father is God and The Son is Jesus the Holy Spirit is a presence of the three combined, infact all three are one, the Holy Spirit is a feeling within, a feeling that we know God is with us. I know that a long day should promote more discussion but I feel that I get so over excited about these things that I have already touched on them more than once in other Alpha meetings.

Following on from that- this weeks discussion is titled -DOES GOD HEAL TODAY?

Finally on Easter Sunday I am due to be Baptised, how cool is that? being baptised on Easter Sunday?! Especially as I have a chest infection at the moment and I am feeling very unwell...I am praying that I will make a good recovery.

I am going away now to think about my testimony....
Okay, I am way behind on posting about Alpha, apologies, I just have so much to write and before I knew it, I had missed about 3 weeks.

So Alpha-

Why and how should I read the bible? and How do we hear God speak through the bible?

I have learned that 'The bible' is the best selling book ever, if it was in the 'book charts' it would permanentely be in the number 1 spot.

I began reading the bible as soon as I had started going to Church, I wanted to know for myself of the sermons I was hearing on Sundays that 'fired' me up.

I opened the book randomly and read - the power from the words felt as if God was speaking to me himself straight out of the book ( a bit like the Never ending story).

I read from the New Testament, after all thats what I thought I knew best, and this is the passage I read
Do Not Worry

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

...and thats when it struck me, God was talking to me. My husband was self employed and getting very little work, I was battling day after day in my head about 'how can we afford this? how can we afford that? will we ever be able to plan a holiday? Christmas is coming up what should I do?'

All of this stuff was emotionally wringing me out! and the words said Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? That was the moment that I realised that the bible is our guide to life, we need to read it regularly so that we can put into practise what God wanted of us, he loves us all and Jesus spoke of 'the way and the truth' "I am the way" "I am the truth" he entrusted the writing of the bible to his disciples, he entrusted the word of God..........

A man who worked on the translation of the book in the 1940s said this of his experience
The present translator who has closely studied these letters for many years,is constantly struck by the living quality of the material on which he is working. Some will no doubt, consider merely superstitious reverance for holy writ, but yet again and again the writer fell like an electrician rewiring an ancient house without being able to turn the mains off.

That shows the power of such a book, spiritual authority is within this book and in order to be close to God we need to read everyday. I myself, find that if I do not read regularly I lose touch with God and the same with prayer, I have to find to talk to God everyday or else I can lose touch, it becomes very apparent when I get to Church on Sunday if I haven't been close to God then he is right there on Sunday telling me.