Wednesday, April 23, 2008

New Beginnings

On the weekend of April 18th, Billy and I were baptized and confirmed into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS).

After much careful contemplation and prayer, we felt 100% that this was the right decision for us and for our family.
The baptism was attended by many people in the church and a few friends and family. I wish I had pictures to share but since both of us were being baptized, it was hard to get pictures. When we have Alex's baptism, I'll get plenty of pictures though!

The missionaries asked Billy to give his testimony after he was baptized...why he chose to become part of the church, what he felt about this, etc. Billy will probably be embarrassed that I'm sharing this AGAIN, but he broke down in tears - crying - for the first full minute of his testimony. There weren't many other dry eyes in the house after that! It was a very special moment.

We are very happy with this choice we made. I feel like it's right, everything feels right and it just "fits".
I just don't think that I can express how warm and accepting everyone in the church is. I like the fact that I can't just sneak in and out of church without ever actually getting to know anyone. People come up and introduce themselves to you, invite you to dinner, etc.
The boys are learning valuable lessons and good morals, and forming friendships with other children with the same morals and values. It's hard in a public school where you can't really control what your children are exposed to, and the bad choices other kids are making around them. But to have them involved in a close church community and making friends, some who go to the same school as them, it helps teach them these morals and values that we alone were having a hard time teaching them.

So it's more then just a church, but also a community of friends...a place for us to belong.

Before, now looking back, I think we seemed confused and lost...like we were walking in circles and didn't know where we were going or how we were going to get there. Now everything seems so much more clear and our family is stronger and closer.

In closing, I wanted to invite everyone to Alex's baptism on Mother's Day weekend, Saturday May 10th. ANYONE can come and we'd very much appreciate if you did! It will probably be at 2pm and afterwards I plan to have a lunch/dinner for family and friends at our house.

Thanks so much to all of our friends and family who supported us and even those who challenged us to think about it a bit more. ;)

Until next time....

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really am glad that you guys have found happiness and I pray that even in this you keep your eyes, ears, and minds open. The community that you feel in your church sounds the same way I feel about The River Academy for the kids. That atmosphere and positive influence....
I wish I could come to Alex's baptism in a disagreeing...yet supportive of friends type way, but we won't be able to. We care about you guys and I hope that the lines of communication always stay open between us. We really value you guys and we need to get together for a BBQ sometime....the season is approaching =)

CONVERTGIRL said...

Congrats! I found your blog from your comment on my blog, i'm so happy for you and your family! Everything you've said about the open love people in this church show to everyone is true, I felt it too from the moment I first walked through the doors.