Lincoln's Baptism

A few weeks ago, we finally got around to Lincoln's baptism. We did it a bit later for him, with our move, getting settled in the new house, and the overall craziness of this summer, it made more sense to wait than try and squeeze it in. Also, we were so eager to finally host a celebration in our own home. We used Lincoln's baptism as the opportunity to have guests in our home for the first time!

We spent the whole day prepping food and cleaning. Mike's brother has a smoker, and has become somewhat obsessed with it ;-) Mike found a pulled pork recipe, and they were up and starting that process before the sun rose. He also made a homemade barbeque sauce. Those men and their smoked meats. Seriously, such a process!

 

As I have mentioned a time or two (or ten), Lincoln is not the easiest of babies. So, to be honest I was a bit anxious about the baptism and service leading up to it. We have not been to church with the kids since he was born. Jackson is at a wild man age, and Lincoln basically refuses to sit, so we are just too nervous to even attempt it. Surprisingly though, they both made it through the service relatively well! We had to get up with both of them because they got antsy about halfway through, but it wasn't a total trainwreck, so I chalk it up to a win!

The baptism was held after the service, and again, I was a little anxious. Lincoln SCREAMS whenever I get his head wet during bath time, so I figured having water poured over him wouldn't be his favorite thing. And wouldn't you know, he didn't make a peep through the whole process! I got a couple of questionable looks out of him, but he stayed calm and I was so surprised. We prayed over him, he was blessed with oils (which smell just so amazing), and welcomed into the church. It is always such a special experience to take that step and have your child baptized. It is a blessing to know someone greater and more powerful than me will always be watching over my children!

 

After the ceremony, we bolted home to get the food set up. My brother and sister in law were so helpful and were preparing and setting things out while we were at church, so things were nearly all set up. I ordered cupcakes from my favorite local bakery, and a small cake for Lincoln. The rest of the menu included cheesy hashbrowns, a veggie tray, veggie salad, banana pudding, and fresh fruit. I will give Mike credit where credit is due, and say that the pulled pork was AMAZING. Totally worth the time and energy they put into it. It was seriously delicious.

 

For the adults, I made a caramel apple sangria, and it was super yummy! I will be sharing the recipe here on the blog soon :-)

Overall, the night went so well, our one setback we ran into was not having enough seating! In the process of moving, we just didn't quite think to buy extra folding chairs and tables, so even with our table and large sectional for people to eat on, people ended up sitting on the floor (bad hostess!) Needless to say, those items have been added to our need to buy list!

We are so thankful and blessed to have such amazing family that came out to celebrate our sweet boy, and we are so happy to have finally had him baptized. We all love you, sweet Lincoln!

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A Reminder To Us All

I regularly listen to children's singalong tunes in my car. When tantrums happen, they seem to have a magical way of calming things down. The CD I have is often played on repeat, and is often kept playing while I mindlessly sing along long after I have dropped off my children at daycare. It's catchy, okay?


One of the songs recently struck a chord with me. I have known it since childhood myself, but I think in the current events of our nation, we can all bear the reminder.

"Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world". Not just the affluent children. Not just the well behaved children. Not just the children who have parents who raise them in the Christian faith. He loves the homeless man begging on the corner. He loves the refugees from other nations. He loves those who are in jail for committing terrible crimes. He loves us all. I have been raised to love and serve God, and I do not understand where along the line religion became something that people think entitles them to pass judgment. Do I have beliefs? Do I have opinions? Yes. Do I believe that those beliefs and opinions give me the right to dislike and criticize others who may not live their lives in the same way that I do? NO. Hate breeds hate, and that is not what we are here for. The God of the family who goes to church twice a week and attends bible study is the same God of the family that has never been to church, lives off of food stamps, but says their prayers nightly and thanks God for that food they are receiving. You do not get to be more Christian than another person. As a parent, we often find ourselves with one child who succeeds and strives for the best, and perhaps another child who scrapes by in school and acts up more often than we would like. And yet, we love both children equally and would do anything and everything for them. God wants us to help one another, serve one another, and love one another. I am by no means anywhere near perfect, and I imagine God looks at me often and thinks, "wow, she is making poor decisions. I do not like the way she does things". And yet he chooses to love me, as fiercely and passionately as he loves all of his other children. So why should I do anything different?


Regardless of your religion, the frequency in which you practice your faith, or the number of times you pray per day, I hope that we can all choose to love, choose to support one another, and choose to know that we are all equal in His eyes. God is love, so let's start to practice what we preach.

Beloved, let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth him. 1 John 4:7-8.

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