Baptism

This weekend we drove north to visit family and to have Braden baptized. I blogged about this last week, but I wanted to post pictures for those who were not able to be there.

This was a very special and emotional time for our family, filled with both grief and joy. It's been an .......interesting journey. One too long and somewhat painful to post here. We have been surprised by the opinions of fellow believers, and shocked by attitudes expressed that contradict the Bible. M. and I have spent time praying and searching the Scriptures in regards to this issue, and are confident that we are earnestly striving to be obedient in this matter.

Despite the issues at the beginning, this weekend's ceremony was nothing but joyful, simple, and sweet. I cannot express how happy and thankful we are that Braden is growing in his faith.


The pastor did an excellent job of explaining what would happen and the significance of each step. Braden tried very hard to answer questions precisely, thereby making the pastor work hard at phrasing his questions "just right".


Prayer before the baptism begins.


I don't have a picture of the actual "dunking," but my in-laws have some and I need to get copies made. Here are some before shots.








Afterwards, the families organized a small potluck. The fellowship afterwards was a lot of fun, and it was nice to catch up with family and friends that we hadn't seen for a while. There were about forty people there. The kids were among the first to commandeer a table and set up a "grownup free zone."


The following Sunday the church we visited had communion, and Braden was able to participate for the first time. Braden and M. spent time this weekend discussing the sacraments.

There was so much that happened this weekend that I'll have to post this in sections. Still to come: Spam!, Braden's birthday, our basement saga, and Kissing Cousins!