A Night to Remember...

About a year and a half ago, Mike and I were invited by our friends Brett & Jill to come to their Thursday night "Small Group". Small group at that point was a very casual Bible study amongst several other married couples - ranging from devout Christians to new Christians and more. The Sprays; Andy & Matt, were leading the group of The Gardners, Witherspoons and us; the Merrills. It was fantastic! We would meet every Thursday at The Gardner's house, where Jill had cooked dinner for us and then after dinner we'd casually sit in the living room and read the Bible then discuss our thoughts and questions. I must admit, I grew up in the church, but had never really been part of a Bible study group, and Mike had his apprehensions as well. But as the weeks went on we felt more and more like part of a family. After a while our group expanded, The Witherspoons opened up there own Bible study in Centreville and we took on a few new members from New Life Westmoreland. Quickly our "Small Group" grew into a group that was too big to fit around the dinner table and too loud to study with sleeping babies upstairs. So again, our group expanded. Those people in group that were mildly competent with the Bible and their beliefs began meeting at The Asbenson's home. Our group then switched to Wednesday nights and invited anyone and everyone we knew to participate - with the understanding that it wasn't the kind of "Small Group" that pushed the Bible and God's beliefs down your throat. Thankfully we had interest. Several of our friends have started coming consistently and our group has begun to grow and learn again. Which brings me to the point of this blog....

Throughout everything the Gardner's have been great friends and an inspiration to me of what a good marriage should strive to be. Not to say that my marriage or theirs is perfect, but going to church and attending small group has definitely had an impact on my life and theirs. Because they believe so firmly in God they have decided to be baptized as believers. Tonight we met at their community pool where our friends Andy & Matt Spray baptized them. Afterwards we had a great cookout and socialized. I'm so proud and honored to have been there and witnessed this, it was truly a night to remember!