As a young child of age 6, I responded to a Pastor's invitation to receive the free gift of Christ's salvation by praying a prayer in which I told God that I believed in Him, I repented of my sin and wanted Him to come into my heart and be my Savior. I had gone to the front of our church, knelt down and immediately felt that someone else had just knelt beside me. When I opened my eyes to see who was there, I saw that it was my mother. She asked me if I was ready to ask Jesus to come into my heart. I told her, "Yes". She listened as I prayed my prayer. I'm not sure of her exact words at that time but I'm quite certain that she assured me that God had indeed, come into my heart because of my belief, repentance and trust in Him.
The photo below has the five Groves kids lined up outside of the Nazarene Church in Winona, MN. Our family attended this church for the first years after we moved from a farm near Viroqua, WI to a farm near Fountain City, WI which was seven miles from this church. I'm not sure of the date of this picture but it must be about 1952 or 1953. Perhaps it is Easter Sunday. Margelyn was born in October of 1950. Barbara and Kathleen are wearing the dresses they wore as flower girls for the wedding of our Aunt Mildred Groves to Riley Burchfield. Jim and I, Linda, have new Bibles, It was in this church during a service that I went forward and received God's gift of salvation.
Though that experience happened about 70 years ago as I begin this new blog in 2020, I have a very clear memory of that experience. I truly believe it was the moment in time when I personally accepted God's free gift of salvation because of Jesus' death on the cross and I became a child of God with the Holy Spirit welcomed inside of me.
This decision has guided me throughout my whole life and has been the best and most significant decision I have ever made.
With this blog, I have two main goals. The first goal is my response to several verses of scripture passages which I have found in the Bible.
Deuteronomy 6: 5-7
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Psalm 71: 17-18
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.
Psalm 78: 4b; 5b-7
...we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done...he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands.
My second reason to start this blog is to tell some of the stories of my life and of other family members - most of which will be what I remember of those who have gone before me.
