Great Day for Sarah and Caleb!!

It was, indeed, a great day!! The day that our 11 year-old daughter, Sarah, AND our 9 year-old son, Caleb were baptized!!

The day was Wednesday, August 19th. The place was a local water park called "Wild River Country". The reason was for Sarah and Caleb to show publicly that they have become a follower of Jesus Christ.

I know the word "baptism" or "baptized" may mean different things to different folks, depending on their religious background. But we believe that baptism, as described in the Bible, is an "outward sign" of the "inward reality" that you have been born again spiritually by faith in Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with going to heaven -- it is an act of obedience that shows publicly that a person has become a follower of Christ.

The best analogy I have ever heard about baptism is that it is like a wedding ring. A wedding ring does NOT make a person married. It is only an outward sign to others that the person wearing the ring is married. In the same way, baptism does not make a person a Christian or get them into heaven - it is merely an outward or public demonstration to those watching that the person is a follower of Jesus Christ.

Shawn and I are so proud of both Sarah and Caleb for taking this step of obedience as the follow Jesus. Sarah came to us about two weeks before the baptism and told us that she wanted to be baptized. We kept this a secret from the boys. Then about a week before the baptism, Caleb came to us and told us he wanted to be baptized. Since they both had already placed their faith in Jesus at an earlier age, we were thrilled that they were ready to take the next step in their walk with Christ.

In addition to having the joy of seeing Sarah and Caleb baptized, there were also about 8-10 others who were also baptized that day. What a great day to celebrate!!!

Our prayer is that Sarah and Caleb would grow in their relationship with Christ and learn what it really means to follow Him day-by-day!! Thanks for praying this for the two of them AND for our son, Joshua!!