Down at the River

Today found us in Princeton, Illinois, at the site of the Captain Swift Bridge, the only two-lane covered bridge in Illinois.  No one was jumping off the bridge; we were next to it, along the Big Bureau Creek, to witness the public baptism of two young men.

Big Bureau Creek was muddy-looking this afternoon, and seemed to be rather shallow.  But you need only a few feet for a baptism, so it would work.  Turned out there's a deep channel a little more than halfway across, and the guys stood almost chest-deep in water--plenty for today's ceremony!

Lakota was baptized first, then Robin.

We had a time of prayer over these two young men who publicly dedicated their lives to Christ.

The B. family brought an old pump organ, so we had an accompaniment to our singing!

We all signed the baptism certificates as witnesses.

It's amazing and praise-worthy to see young folks declaring their allegiance to Jesus Christ because of a heart saved by His blood!


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

The Lake -- Day Five

Thursday, July 24.

A beautiful breezy day greeted us today, and even though it had cooled off, we still found things to do on the lake.  Who wouldn't love sitting on that dock, even with a sweater, looking out on the lake??

Jake wanted to take Allie out in the kayaks, since she had never been.  They took lunch over to the gazebo and public beach (it's literally fifteen feet wide!) across the bay.

Meanwhile, Fernando, Joseph, and I went into town (Harrisville), and visited the park along the Oswegatchie River.  This is one of the most beautiful places I've ever visited!

With Fernando's help, I climbed this rock, then had him take my picture.  Looks like I'm a great rock climber, huh?  *grin*

Joseph posed for me, too, though he was a little antsy and just wanted to get back to the lake.

Three trees.

Back at the lake, we had spotted a nest of baby robins right next to the front porch!  I was finally able to capture a great shot of one of them--I think he was hungry!

After dinner, we drove into town--not Harrisville to the east, but Natural Bridge to the west--for our favorite dessert place.

After getting filled to the gills on ice cream, we headed back to the lake for evening.

The lake was calm, and the clouds drifted away, leaving just a few spots of color in the sky.  But the sinking sun shone forth its rays into the night sky.  All was peaceful and calm.


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

Into the Water

August 24.

Sunday after church, we headed over to Weigand Riverfront Park.  The ducks were already there, sunning themselves on rocks, and floating on and diving into the flooded river.

Now it was Thomas' turn to go down into the water.  Today, he was baptized in a public ceremony, confessing his allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  Pastor Fraley did the honors, praying over him and baptizing him in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Fernando was there to help in case the river current was strong.

Thomas' friend Noah was also baptized.  What a special thing to see two young men publicly dedicate their lives to Christ.

We had a celebration party at our home afterwards, and I didn't pick up the camera even once!  After everyone left, though, the sun made a spectacular display, illuminating the clouds to the east.

And the sunset itself seemed to light the sky on fire.

Beautiful ending to a beautiful Lord's Day.


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website

August at Home

August 23.

Kind of a random post here, mostly to share pictures.  :)

Here's more spaghetti sauce I canned the day before.

Here's my lunch.  I sauteed green and red peppers from my garden along with some chopped mushrooms, and put them on my raw salad.  I topped it all with freshly chopped parsley from my garden.  Yum.

Right after dinner, we decided to go to Weigand Riverfront Park to check out the river, since we had had about three straight days of heavy rain.  The river had been very low, which was a concern to us.  You see, Thomas would be baptized there tomorrow, and we needed the water level to be at least a few feet deep--which it was, barely, when we checked it out a week ago.  Now we were concerned that the park would be closed due to flooding!

Here's what it looked like:

Well, we needed more water, and the Lord certainly provided it!

Back home, a spectacular sunset sang praises to the Lord along with us.

Can't wait for Thomas' special day tomorrow!


Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website