Braden's Baptism and Waterpark Family Fun!

Last Sunday, Braden came out of his class after church and asked if he could get baptized the following Sunday.  We spoke with him to find out why he wanted to do this and what he thought it meant and clarify some things with him.  We all came out of it with the satisfaction that this was His timing for Braden to start his very own relationship-adventure with his Heavenly Father.  These are exciting times!

For a long while now, I've had the perspective that I didn't want my kids to follow some set pattern of some point in time there is this momentous occasion that you make a decision to have Jesus come into your heart and then you follow that with "Believer's Baptism" and then off we go, la-ti-da-ti-dah.  That version of doing things reminds me very much of how much importance our society places on the ceremony and all that is involved in the fiasco of getting married and the honey moon time afterwards, but very little importance or effort is placed on the importance of beginning with a fantastic foundation before the ceremony takes place or the longevity of the process of marriage after all the euphoria of the beginning has dissipated into the reality of what covenant relationship really entails.

Now, don't get me wrong, I believe the decision is important and the baptism is too.  It is necessary to recognize in yourself your complete and utter lack of ability to get rid of sin and live in a true and absolute freedom in the way it was created and meant to be.  When we can acknowledge that we NEED the Savior, the only One who has the power and authority to transform us into new creations, the only One who is able to stand in our place, so that we are judged as pure and holy and righteous before our Sovereign and Holy Creator and God so that we can be reestablished/restored into our rightful places as heirs of our Amazing Daddy God!  That's enormous!...Then, to follow with being baptized to declare in an external/tangible way of the triunal (this will be an actual word someday;) transformation (mind, body and spirit) that has begun inside us is essential!   But its only the beginning.  Its the starting point of the greatest adventure anyone can ever enter into.  The sheer magnitude of how much interest in and enjoyment of us, the HOLY (set apart) and MOST HIGH GOD, the Creator of all that we see and are still unable to see, the One who's very words holds the universe and all therein together at the deeper than molecular level, how much pure, untainted, un-perverted, freely-given, all-encompassing LOVE He has for us.....the magnitude of it all is overwhelming and continually so!  Do you know that He delights in us?  Delights! - adores, approves, is satisfied with, praises, is pleased, honors, appreciates, has glee in, is gratified....the list is extensive!  You know, I believe we can make Him giggle or belly laugh!  I love the picture that paints. :)

I find it very interesting that we make this huge deal out of the birth of Christ for Christmas and then His death at Easter and while those two things are key and paramount, again...they were only the beginning and compared to what those keys unlocked...WOW!  The door that the birth of our Savior unlocked was His ministry here on earth and His death on the cross and resurrection in order to open, through a reciprocal relationship with Holy Spirit, an ever extending inheritance of freedom from the curse of the fall, restoration into a restriction free relationship with our Abba Father and the complete ability to live and walk in the authority and annointing to bring the fullness of His Kingdom and all that entails as it is in heaven into our environment and atmosphere and sustain it right here and right now.

Do we have eyes to see or ears to hear or hearts to listen?  I want THAT for my kids, for Sam and I, for our family and for our Christ family.  I don't want a someday-when-I-die-things-will-align-the-way-they-are-supposed-to Christian philosophy.  That somehow only by us dying will things finally be the way God meant them to be.  That would mean that Christ's death wasn't sufficient to restore and renew.  He continually said that we should repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.  He was telling us that we need to get the sin out, so that we have nothing blocking us/holding us back from using the full, complete, absolute power and authority that has already been gifted to us by our Father to use in our lives here on earth today!  That was before He was crucified...the key of the crucification unlocked the oppression of the death of living under the law and through the blood of Jesus opened up a whole new way of living in constant connection with Holy Spirit Who interprets for us, guides us, comforts us...this list is extensive, too. :)  Its just a whole kaleidoscope of amazingness!

Just sayin. ;)

I do have pics of Braden getting baptized at the water park.  I love that our church does it this way, too.  Another fun highlight was that Memaw and Pepaw came to be with us for this special time, too.  :)  Here we go:

 Braden waiting for his turn

 Miss Pam and Michelle, two wonderful ladies with hearts for kid's ministry doing the "dunking" ;) honors

 The adventure has begun!

 Beautiful Memaw!

 Zeker Weekers

 Ler was having a great time!  She even went down the big slides with Sam and I. :)

 Brea had fun, too...she would continually lose her balance and go under and we would set her upright again and she would continue on her merry way.  No fear.

 Pepaw found a baby to hold. :)

 Sweet Liam had his first water park adventure

That's a proud mama!