Tag Archives: Baptism

Celebrating the Release of Baptized in the Water with a Four-Book Giveaway!

I never thought, when I stepped into the cold waters of the River Jordan seven years ago with my sister that I would one day dedicate a book to her. But here it is… Baptized in the Water, my first book on baptism!

Baptized in the water,

Like Jesus long ago.

God’s Holy Spirit dances,

As waters gently flow.

Baptized in the Water explores the varying ways to be baptized and focuses on the one important thing: in baptism, we all belong to God. Read on to peek at the gorgeous illustrations by Anna Kazimi and to enter the four-book giveaway! Continue reading

What Happened at Church This Morning…

A few days ago, a young man stepped into my husband’s office. It’s not unusual. Our church stands on the edge of a city. Many people approach him for help. But this young man didn’t ask for money. He asked to be baptized.

He’s going to be baptized this Sunday, my husband told me excitedly.

We were so excited. Of course we were! We love baptisms! We love it when babies get baptized, and my husband carries them through the congregation to meet their new church family.

But as beautiful and special and meaningful as infant baptism is, it’s the parents who request that for their babies. When a grown man walks in off the street and requests that for himself, you simply know that God is at work in powerful ways.

But would he actually show up? I wondered if he would be brave enough to come, early on Sunday morning. Continue reading

What Happened on a Sunny Afternoon at the Jordan River

20150227_123206I’m only nine years old. She is not yet twelve. She takes my hand and we step up to the altar and fall to our knees in surrender.

The preacher places her hand on our young heads as we kneel side by side. We don’t really know what this means. We are just girls after all. We will not remember her words. But we will never forget the moment.

I’m fifty-five years old now. She is not yet fifty-eight. She takes my hand and we step into the river and fall back in surrender.

We’re much, much older than the day when we knelt at the altar. Many things have changed. We’re no longer girls, but grandmas. We have gray hairs where blonde used to be. We have laugh lines and wrinkles and our knees cannot bend quite as fast as they once did.

But our hearts have not changed.

And God’s Holy Spirit, who first drew us to the altar all those years ago remains the same. It still whispers to us and calls us by name and echoes through these four decades that have passed so quickly by.

And when we emerge, dripping and sodden, from the exhilarating cold of the Jordan River; in the very same place where Joshua crossed the waters to claim the Promised Land; in the very same spot where Jesus waded out to John the Baptist; on this sunny afternoon in the company of blue skies and bulrushes, my sister and I turn to each other and laugh, and hug.

20150227_123956And as we rise from the river, three white doves fly overhead. ..

Just as if someone had opened heaven’s doors and set them free.

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