Oliver's Big Day!

Oliver was baptized today! Mom and Dad got us an engraved silver frame with his full name at the top and the date 6-6-10 at the bottom. It is funny because he was born 12-12-09....I guess double numbers have been working for him :) Anyway, Oliver did really well. At almost 6 months old he is a very sweet guy but he enjoys talking and squealing.....so I was hoping that he wouldn't do any of the latter during the church service but he was a very good boy. He was totally enthralled with the music and stared at the soloist the whole time he was singing. As it turns out, he was the only baby being baptized and that was kind of cool. Dr. Howell lit a candle during the baptism and Oliver got this gleam in his eye and lifted his hand to try to snatch the candle..... fortunately he wasn't close enough :) But he just smiled and looked around, generally taking it all in!

I have had some questions from some people about Oliver (and babies in general) being baptized and the fact that he isn't making a conscious decision to accept God...but his Baptism is about the free, unearnable grace of God. Infants don't believe yet, but we are all touched by God's grace before we even know it and can respond to it. Many churches practice infant baptism and the Methodist church is one of those. The fact is, God knows who you are before you know who He is; God loves you before you can say "yes" to His love; God remembers you when you forget Him; and it is only because God loves you that you have hope in your life. The holy water sprinkled on your head means you are forgiven; God loves you just the way you are; you belong to Him. And, Oliver has clearly belonged to God from the beginning. He has guided our family through some very difficult months and it is clear to me that God holds Oliver in the palm of His hand, and we are grateful for His love and guidance!

After the church service Mom and Dad had everyone over to their house for a celebratory lunch and it was delicious! They also got Oliver the cutest present. It is a Noah's Ark with stuffed animals in it! He'll love it.