I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. – Isaiah 61.10

I come from a faith tradition with a high view of baptism. As a child, the richness and beauty of baptism was both explained to me and modeled for me in our church. For that, I am thankful. Now, as a parent myself, whenever I seek to share my faith with my children, baptism is inevitably a part of the discussion.

All of this made today a really special day for our family. This afternoon, with a host of family and friends looking on, Abby Kate was baptized into Christ. I reminded her of her name – Abby Katherine – which means “father’s pure joy.” The name is a fitting one. When I learned that were having a daughter, I literally jumped out of my seat and yelled at the top of my lungs. And being the father to this beautiful young lady has been nothing short of a joyful experience for me.

Prior to each child’s birth, Sunny and I selected a text that best represented our prayers and hopes for that particular child. Abby Kate’s passage was Isaiah 61:10, a text that hangs on the walls of her room so that it might be written in the halls of her heart.

This has long been our prayer for our daughter. Not only does she bring us great joy, but more importantly, we’ve wanted her to delight greatly in her Creator. And today, our prayers came to fruition. Our daughter professed her faith in Jesus by declaring His lordship over her life.

And this father couldn’t be more joyful.

Abby Kate, today you lived into your name. I can’t imagine how your Father in heaven could love you more than I do, but I believe this to be true. On behalf of both of us, you bring us such great joy. Go to peace, my dear. You are loved deeply.