A Day to Remember…
Well, I wasn’t actually planning on making this a blog post. Well I was… until I left home without my camera last Wednesday evening… and so then I wasn’t…. and then the sweetest new neighbor (at our OHW home) asked her husband to photograph us… and so now I am! Wow did that make any sense? The super talented David Cannon Photography (@davidcannonphoto) saw me at Winter’s preschool, introduced himself and then let me know that he had photographed our baptism last week. Seeing as though I was still bummed about rushing out the door without my camera, I was beyond thankful and excited. And now even more excited to be able to share this important evening with all of you…
So what evening am I referring to? Well, the most important evening so far in AddieBelle’s life thus far and quite possibly mine as well. You see, over the last two years, we have become more and more involved at our local church, Grace Monroe. After “church hopping” for quite a long time now, we fell in love with Grace after moving to Monroe a little over two years ago. Although ALWAYS a believer, I can’t say that we’ve ever been really involved or honestly even attended church on a super regular basis. We used to go in spurts and then get busy and not go for periods of time but it was always something we both wanted and definitely needed. Mark and I both really really wanted to find a church home, to get involved, to teach our girls more than the praying basics but never really found a place where we felt at home. Needless to say, we have become addicted. I am rather confident I am not speaking “religiously correct”… rather from the heart. I use the word addicted because since joining Grace, we have become addicted. It’s no longer a “we should go to church tomorrow”. It’s become “we want to go to church tomorrow”. We make it a priority, we look forward to it and truly feel at home there. Coming from a self-described “not SUPER active believer”, this has become really huge for us. Not even just huge but honestly life changing for our family. And although there is SO much more to faith than attending church on Sundays, this has become the first step that WE needed to make everything else fall into place.
AddieBelle has literally changed before our eyes since we first attended Grace two years ago. She has become the Bible loving child that I always dreamed of and I am so proud of how much she has grown in her faith. So when she decided to profess her faith through baptism, I decided to join her. Having been raised Methodist, I was christened as a child but never baptized through immersion. Last Wednesday Grace hosted a KidzLife baptism evening at a beautiful location in Monroe. Although the much warmer baptismal was an option, I chose the more picturesque lake. AddieBelle was not as excited about the rather freezing cold alternative. Mark was there alongside our pastor which made the evening that much more memorable. And I am blessed to be able to share this beautiful evening with all of you…
(My Dress)
XOXO, Brittany Hayes
Tina says
Love this!
Brittany Hayes says
Thank you SO much!
Crystal says
This brought tears to my eyes. Just beautiful!
Brittany Hayes says
Thank you Crystal! You are always THE sweetest blog reader!! XOXO
bonnie stoltzfoos says
Congratulations to you and your daughter… that is so wonderful. The church is an amazing thing. 🙂 So glad your family found the right one for you where you can grow together. And I think it’s better to speak from the heart than religiously correct anyway 😉
God bless!
Bonnie
Brittany Hayes says
Thank you Bonnie! Yes, I agree whole heartedly! You are just a doll! XOXO
Katherine B says
How wonderful that you were able to get surprise photos! Love your testimony of finding a church family that allows you to grow.
Brittany Hayes says
Yes, such a wonderful surprise! Thank you dearly! XOXO
Susan says
Tears. This is beautiful!
Brittany Hayes says
Wow thank YOU! XOXO
Karen Macisaac says
This is so great…I am crying…so beautiful…
Brittany Hayes says
Gosh Karen thank you!! You are always just the sweetest reader! Thank you!!!! XOXO
Nicole says
This is so wonderful and I’m glad you shared. I have no doubt that the Lord was wanting you to share this- I mean someone you didn’t know shot pictures- glory be to God!
Brittany Hayes says
Gosh I know right?!? Now that you put it that way it does seem so amazing! I hope it touches at least one person. That would be so wonderful!!! Thank you so much for reading and leaving your sweet comment 🙂 XOXO
Whitney Shortt says
This brings tears to my eyes! How special for your hubby to be there and for you guys to be baptized together <3
Brittany Hayes says
Wow thank you Whitney! You’re so so sweet! XOXO
Susan B. Jones says
I absolutely love that you and your daughter were baptized together! What a special bond to have the rest of your lives!
Brittany Hayes says
Thank you so much! I so appreciate you reading about our special day and commenting! XOXO
Rebecca says
God Bless you and your family. I was baptized in a creek when I was 12 and I still remember that wonderful day.
Brittany Hayes says
Awe how wonderful! Yes, an extra special memory for sure having it done in nature 🙂 XOXO
Debi says
Love this, my amazing friend!! My daughter and I were baptized together, also, 2 years ago, because we had both only been “dedicated” as babies…but never baptized as adults. It was a wonderful, and memorable experience, for sure! Thanks for sharing your special day!!
Beth says
Of all your posts, this is my favorite. I am newly rededicated to Christ myself, and I have been on the same journey as you, looking for a church to join bc I feel a connection, not going regularly but yearning to find somewhere I WANT to go rather than feeling an obligation, and wanting to get baptized. This post really hit home for me. Thank you.
-Beth in West Virginia