Baby Dedication

My precious baby,
  I have been thinking so much lately about my great responsibility in guiding you to know Christ.  In February, we are going to officially dedicate you to the Lord at our church, The Summit.  Our good friends, the Elmores, are going to be our stand-in family for the day and pray for you and our family just as we were their stand-in family when they dedicated their youngest boy.  Anyway, the day is just as much about us committing to raise you in a godly home as it is about “giving” you to the Lord.  
  So what are some things we will do in our home to point you towards Christ?  Of course we will continue to go to church every week, but we are the stewards of your heart the majority of the week, not the church.  First, daddy and I commit to continue having daily quiet times for prayer and Bible study.  Daddy does his at 6am after he has worked out and I, not the morning person, have been able to do it during your first nap.  I have a spot set aside-the closet, with the door closed and away from distractions (except Rylee flopped over my lap:).  This time has been so rich already, as I have been able to soak in Scripture and have it in my heart and mind the whole day. 
   I am also committed to having a gentle spirit-being calm and kind to daddy, especially.  Without time in the Word, this desire rarely turns into reality, but with God, all things are possible!  When I choose to take my frustrations to the Lord in prayer and give it some time, he always softens my heart and gives me patience with my words.  This usually results with daddy and I being able to connect and quickly resolve differences and thus, peace in our home.  I desperately want to treat him with gentleness and respect as my husband, and for you to see this and grow to find a wife who will do the same for you (it would crush my heart for someone to be nasty to you). 
   Some other things we will do include praying for you every night, reading your Jesus Storybook Bible (sooooo good, the best children’s bible that explains God’s heart behind every story and how the entire Bible points to Jesus), memorizing Scripture and keeping it up in our home (Lillightomine.com for Scripture memory cards), we will speak kindly about others and have fun doing random acts of kindness, and we will give generously to God’s work and needy people in this world so that we don’t hold onto the things of this world too tightly nor find our treasure in things! 

   We will fall short, though, many times over the years!  I recently read a quote, “even if we were the perfect parents, we would still raise little sinners in need of God’s grace.”  Its not about us, its about Him.  And we will try to point you towards him every chance we get. 

   Here are the prayers we will pray over you this month at your dedication:
That you will know the love of God at a young age and will respond by loving Him back.
That you would have peace and joy in your heart.
That you will become a light to the world for Christ. 

   And some of the scripture we’ll read there will be:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him and He will direct your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5

Isn’t it neat that our God is still a creating God?  I am so glad he made YOU! 

I love you, Daddy loves you, Jesus loves you.

Love,
Mommy