We are about a week away from Baptism Weekend! Meet Paula, and watch her get #dunked next weekend!
Hi, my name is Paula Logue …I am a mother of two boys, ages 26 and 21. My husband Ted and I have been married 17 years.
My life was all about me before I trusted Jesus. I grew up in a home with two loving parents and three older sisters. Two of my sisters are mentally challenged. Being the youngest child I felt that I had to be perfect for my parents because it seemed that all their time and focus was on my two sisters. They had so much on their plate that I thought if I was good and always did the right thing I wouldn’t be a burden to them. I didn’t want them to worry about me because they had enough to worry about.
Every Sunday we went to church because…that’s just what you did. I really never knew why we went to church – I just thought that’s what everyone did on Sunday’s. Once I started going to junior high I stopped going to church, not really sure why other than my parents didn’t make me. It wasn’t until I was in high school that one of my friends invited me to a Young Life meeting.
Once I went I was hooked; I really looked forward to going to these weekly meetings because we would laugh, sing, and always heard a message about Jesus. It was during one of the weekend trips that Young Life took us kids on that I finally understood what Jesus was all about. The year was 1980 that I accepted Jesus into my life. I remember the speaker had given us this verse to memorize, 1 John 5:11-12 “And this is the testimony, God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”
Eternal life is a gift, not something we gain from our good works or efforts. I could be good and perfect as much as I wanted for my parents, but the truth is I was still a sinner. But God loved me so much that He sent His one and only Son to die on the cross to take away my sins.
After graduating high school all my friends went to college and I started my career. I stopped going to church, stopped reading my bible and again life was all about me…because as a young adult I thought I knew everything. I really turned my back on God during this time; life seemed to be nothing special for me.
I was now in my second marriage when my oldest son Dennis came home from middle school and promptly informed me that one of his friends invited him to Grace Community Church. The same week one of my friends also invited me to Grace Community Church. I thought…gee was this a sign? You see, this is how God works…He puts people in your path to bring you back to Him.
I will never forget the first time we walked into Grace Community Church on Rumsey Road. WOW! Everyone I met was so friendly, so inviting…don’t even ask me what Mark Norman was preaching about because all I was doing was crying, the tears would just flow down my cheeks…what was happening to me?
But one thing I do remember is that Mark was reflecting on Jeremiah 29:11 which says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” It was during this particular service that I “rededicated” my life to Jesus, and recognize that He is my Lord and Savior.
Today my life is so different than it was before I started attending Grace. I joined Connections, which is a women’s Bible study. I met so many wonderful sisters in Christ. I was a Connections leader for a few years, which I absolutely loved, but I felt God was encouraging me to go and make disciples. Now my “side-by-side sister,” Jeanne Springer, and I co-lead a woman’s Bible study group, which started out with seven ladies and has now grown to 19 women. It is through this group that I can share my love of Jesus and have a safe place to share our life experiences, study His Word and give thanks, praise, glory and honor to Him.
Jesus gave me a new life, a freedom from perfectionism. I have JOY in seeking God for guidance and trusting that He will take care of me and direct my life according to His will and not my own.
I am getting baptized today to proudly proclaim that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. God is so good and so faithful – I don’t know where my life would be if I didn’t have Jesus. I am hoping and praying that others who don’t know Jesus, who feel like they are lost, will take that first step and reach out to Him. He will never forsake you, He will always be with you and He will always love you.
Baptism at Grace
During all worship gatherings on Baptism Weekends, we celebrate the very reason we exist as a church: Christ’s mission to make disciples, baptizing and teaching in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28: 19-20). We share testimonies of how Jesus changes lives now and for eternity. And the best part… we baptize with a joy that’s out of this world!