Today Claire was baptized by our pastor Beth. She will be leaving our church soon so we felt blessed to have her perform the baptism. Claire started to cry as the water fell on her face. It reminded me of the moment of her birth, this "rebirth" of sorts paralleled her first breaths. Very cool!

Most of our immediate family was there as was our church congregation. We're fortunate to have a lot of family in town even if they don't all share our faith, or any faith. To quote a family member as she left, it was only a "water splashing day." I don't know what tone was used when saying this, but I don't think it was said to make us feel good. Who knows what this family member thinks, other than their way is the best way. Is their way the best? That would be judging and according to this person, judging is wrong. They can judge us, but how dare we judge them. Double standards stink!

I was baptized the day before I got married. My husband was baptized as an infant. Our children will be baptized as infants with hopes and prayers that they will continue their lives as Christians. A baptism is important, but I believe how we raise them is more important. I want our children to have a choice to figure things out on their own. My parents, my dad in particular, were Nazarenes. Our Methodist church seems a lot less conservative than what my dad grew up hearing. There is less force feeding going on and more opportunities to view the Christian faith from different perspectives. As a newly baptized woman, I'm excited to learn more about Christianity in a church that nurtures and feeds healthy, curious minds.  ¶ 9:40 PM