Blessings of Baptism

Today Josh, my oldest son, was baptized. He has been wanting to be batized for about six months or so, and we had sort of been putting it off to make sure he was ready, and also to make sure we were ready. It turns out that we would probably never be completely ready for what God is doing in our son, but that this is a blessing. One of the amazing things about this baptism is the way Josh has prepared for it by constantly asking questions and interpreting his world through it. He is fond of saying, "Being baptized means I will follow Jesus with my whole life," which is not the exact language of the baptismal covenant, but is pretty good for a six year old. This "new reality" that has been inbreaking in Josh has opened our whole family up to some of the ways God is using Josh as an ambassador, and challenging Abby and I to be more faithful. Whether its deciding to stay in our apartment so Josh can continue to minister to his neighborhood "friends," or giving up some dreams we have had about elementary school so Josh can continue to be saturated in the story of God's Word, God has been faithful and we have been blessed. Josh's baptism corresponded with Pentecost, the event marked by the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, and foreshadowed in the Old Testament lesson for the day by Ezekiel and the dry bones, when the words of the prophet brought life to a valley full of dead bones. Our prayer is that God will bring life from death through Josh as he continues to speak God's Word to the world. Here are some pics:


Josh gets his first Bible.

Josh about to be baptized.

Josh's baptism cake, he ordered it himself.