Baptism

Today, we celebrated our son's baptism. We walk in faith that God is with us and hears our prayers. We believe that we are saved through grace, and that it is important that God is always a central figure in our family.

Matthew, we pray that you will be continued blessed in your life, as you have blessed us. Matthew means "Gift from God," and we truly believe that you are a gift to us. We can't wait to see you grow up and discover your strengths, and as you learn of your weaknesses, we pray that you will look to God for strength and wisdom.

During your baptism at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, I read the life verse that we selected for you. I hope that you find these to be words to live by:

Matthew 22:36-40 (The Message): One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”

Jesus said, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”

The Lottery & Dreams

I'm not really a gambling woman, I don't enjoy trips to the casino, and I don't regularly purchase lottery tickets. It seems that I work hard enough for my money that I feel kind of connected to it and want to be wise with my cash. Recently, however, the Mega Millions jackpot hit $330 million, so I parted with some of my cash. I'm sorry to say that I didn't win anything with my ticket, but I feel like my money was well spent...

For a few dollars, I was able to dream about what I would do with the winnings: pay off the house, donate money to charities, travel, dream. One little lottery ticket (and one large jackpot) led me into multiple conversations with friends and family about what we would do if we were suddenly wealthy. Virtually everyone that I spoke with said that they would squirrel money away in a savings or other accounts, and splurge on travel or other luxuries.

In the few days between purchasing my ticket and the lottery drawing, I allowed my mind to wander... It was great! As we drove down the road, I would ask Lennie "what if we..." and I would spin stories and ideas about how we would help others or enjoy the bounty of lottery winnings. My random numbers may not have been drawn, but I certainly enjoyed thinking about what I would do with the winnings!