Mackenzie's Spiritual Birthday!

Mackenzie prayed to accept Christ this morning at church and we couldn't be happier about that! She has been asking a lot of questions and we knew it was coming soon. It was very important for us to not push her into making this decision until she was 100% ready and understood exactly what becoming a Christian is all about. For the longest time when we talked about being saved, she would make comments about worrying about her ears when gets baptized. We knew when she truly understood and believed, that wouldn't be what was on the forefront of her mind. For the week or so leading up to this, when we said prayers at bedtime, Mackenzie would act kind of nervous and I knew this was why. Brian and I sat with her and explained that to be saved, you have to repent and trust in Jesus. We could tell that she understood, but we waited for her to let us know when she was ready. On Sunday morning when the invitation started, she looked at me and said, "I want to go." I could see it all over her face. It was time! Brian is down front for the invitation, so we went right to him. He led her in the sweetest prayer, and kneeling there at the altar at South Tulsa Baptist Church on October 12, 2014, Mackenzie Grace Baldwin became a new creation with her child-like faith at the age of 8! She is now our sweet little sister in Christ! I could tell she was very nervous and scared as Pastor Ted announced her decision to the church, but I was so very proud of how brave she was! At one point she looked at me and said, "Mommy I kind of want to cry." I told her that was perfectly okay, and a very normal feeling! As a parent, there is no greater feeling than knowing your child has chosen Jesus and is has the gift of salvation and eternal life. I was about the same age as Mackenzie when I was saved. I hope Mackenzie always remembers the way she felt on this day, and continues to follow Jesus always! We are going to do her baptism in a few weeks and that will be a very exciting day!

This picture below is one of my all-time favorites! My sweet friend, Lisa Bayless, snapped this picture for me during the invitation. How special that we have a picture of the exact time that Mackenzie got saved!

This was her "I'm about to cry" face.

We got Mackenzie something called a "Faith Box" for her birthday. It is the coolest thing...basically like a scrapbook where she can record her spiritual journey in life. She was very excited to fill this out as soon as we got home from lunch! 

We went to Cici's for a "special" lunch (Mackenzie's choice!).

Madison struggled a little with all of the attention Mackenzie was getting. She kept saying she wanted to accept Christ too, and we assured her that before long, she would also be ready to make that decision! Again, we want to make sure she fully understands, and I'm not sure she's there just yet.

 

We love you & are so proud of you, Mackenzie Grace Baldwin!

Mackenzie's Sunday School teacher, Mrs. Adams, sent her this sweet card the week after she was saved!