Written January 31st, 2022
Strap in + grab a snack, Friends.
It’s story time.
I moved to Nashville November 1st, 2004.
For as long as I’ve lived here, it was heavy on my heart to find a church home. I’ve visited SO many Nashville churches with + without my kids over the years.
When Stephen moved to Nashville in June 2021, we immediately started researching church websites. We compiled a lengthy list of churches to visit, and started visiting the ones that were no more than 20 minutes from our home. (That was one of my non-negotiables. I’ve always felt like you should go to church close to where you live - especially in such a big city like Nashville - so you can make connections and really plug in.)
So a little backstory, Generation Changers (GC Church) made the list, but it wasn’t a top choice for me because my former father-in-law (Alan’s dad) goes to church there.
Over the time Alan and I were married, we had visited GC Church, maybe a total of 3 times.
I think it was the 1st or 2nd time I attended a Sunday Service there, at the time the church was called “The River,” that I had a very powerful + emotional experience.
The worship team sang a song called “How He Loves” - it was the first time I had ever heard it. It was literally everything my heart needed to hear at that time in my life and touched me so deeply I *legit* ugly cried through the rest of the service.
I remember feeling uncomfortable for having that kind of reaction in front of my ex-husband because he had some really strong negative feelings about church that was a result of growing up in, and being heavily involved with, church because of his dad. He saw first-hand how the bad politics that sometimes happens within churches can completely destroy church families.
That was in September 2013 - I only know that because I looked it up on my FB profile. I remember referencing the song on FB many, many times after that service.
Since then, that song has been a song that I’ve listened to on repeat, day in and day out. It’s comforted me and helped me through SO many times where I felt less than, not good enough, unlovable, unloved, and unworthy. I wish I had a play count of just how many times I’ve listened to that song over the past 8 years.
Now back to July 2021, after visiting a few local churches, we attended a Sunday at GC Church together. I had visited the church before, but this was the first time I felt overwhelmed by the welcome we received from EVERYONE. Pastor Barry preached a really good sermon like I’ve heard him do before, but Pastor Blake - who I had never seen or met before - made a point to come talk to us after the service, he got our phone numbers, and invited us back - AND even texted us during that week to check in.
So we came back the following Sunday.
Then the Sunday after that.
Then the next Sunday and the next…
On September 12th, we officially joined the church.
Since then, we participated in a semester long parenting class, I started volunteering in the kids room, and Stephen has been volunteering with the parking + shuttle service.
The day we joined, we filled out a questionnaire about what areas we wanted to serve in, if we had ever been baptized, and if we had a desire to be baptized. I answered “Yes” to both. I was “sprinkled” when I was a kid, but hardly understood the meaning of it and since have always wanted to do a full immersion water baptism.
GC Church does baptisms the last Sunday of every month. I had been asked a couple of times right after we joined if I wanted to get in on the next baptism Sunday and it just wasn’t ever lining up with our schedules.
This weekend was our Leaders In Training conference - which is for current volunteers and for anyone interested in volunteering. It started with an awesome service + message on Friday night.
Late that night, like around 11pm late, I went on the church website to register for the next day’s event that started at 8am on Saturday. While I was on the website, I registered to get baptized. At the time, I didn’t realize that it was for THIS SUNDAY (today).
At breakfast on Saturday, Pastor Blake apparently received my late baptism registration and asked if I wanted to do it tomorrow (as in today).
I laughed and then floundered some gibberish about my son being with his dad and that I was already committed to serving during the 9am service in the Kids room that morning, and some other stuff about letting me see if I could make it all happen.
After texting Alan to see if he could bring Xander, I found out that he had already planned for Xander to stay the night with his parents that night. So I asked Alan’s dad who was also at the conference all weekend if he could bring Xander to church with him. And that was that.
Okay then, I guess it’s go time.
All of that to finally get here:
Today was an experience I’ll never forget.
I drove to church by myself this morning to serve in the kids room during early service and listened to my praise and worship music like I do a lot of the time when I’m in the car alone.
Stephen and Em met me for late service.
The first song the worship team sang was one I had just listened to earlier this morning. I’m singing and they go into the next song and I start getting a little teary-eyed and chill-bumpy-ish (because apparently that’s what I do when I go to church now) then Pastor Blake unexpectedly segue-ways into the chorus of another song…
“He loves us, oh, how He loves us.”
If that wasn’t a message specifically to *ME* directly from God to let me know that He sees me and I’m right where I’m supposed to be, y’all can FIGHT ME.
- Especially considering - that until this post - Stephen is the only person I’ve shared this whole, very long story with.
I know I was already saved because I asked Jesus into my heart a long time ago, but I wanted to publicly rededicate my life to God because I can clearly see the evidence of HIS goodness alllllllllll over my life and I desperately want for everyone I know - but especially my children - to experience HIS love and goodness through me.
This weekend was exhausting - especially emotionally - and consumed a lot of our time and energy - but it’s everything I’ve wanted and prayed specifically for.
- A Christian man who would take me to church.
- A church home where we could plant ourselves in and grow with.
He is faithful, y’all.
Just keep running toward Him. 
Thank You, Jesus.
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