Blooming Down Main Street: Baby O's Dedication

"Before I formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you.

Before you were born, I set you apart."

- Jeremiah 1:5 -

I apologize for lack of posts lately. Last week we were getting ready for a family-and-friends-filled, memorable weekend, so I've been pretty swamped! And memorable it was! We had Baby O dedicated to Jesus on Saturday night. Both sets of grandparents, most of her uncles and aunts, as well as a few of our close friends were there to commemorate the night.

The decision to raise Baby O according to God's Word and to publicly dedicate our lives as parents to doing so is not something we took lightly. Dedication may be a tradition, but we wanted it to be more than just an item to check off of our "to-do" list.

Psalms 127:3 says, "Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him." (NLT) It amazes me that God chose to give us Baby O. We did nothing to deserve her, and yet, we were chosen to be her mom and dad. That's a huge responsibility! We are in charge of shaping a life!

What's even more amazing is that God called us to be her parents before we were born, ourselves. It's incredible to me that God has been preparing me from the beginning to be O's momma. Just so awesome.

Pastor Jeff with the families having babies dedicated

Eliana, Jack, Baby O, and G'Anaiya

Jeff Haase, the CP Children's Pastor, conducted the ceremony and challenged us with a passage from Nehemiah 13. The story of this particular book in the Bible begins with a man, Nehemiah, and his God-given dream to see Jerusalem's wall rebuilt after seventy years in exile. He leads some of the Israelites back to the holy city, but when the enemy's of Jerusalem realize that the wall is being rebuilt, they plan to attack. Inside the half-built wall, the laborer's are getting tired and the people are afraid that they've come back just to be massacred by their enemies. Nehemiah calls together all of the people according to their families, stations each family by their home and a section of the wall, then encourages them in verse fourteen, saying, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

As Baby O's parents we are responsible for her physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. In our walks with Jesus, we have to fight against the enemy; it is no different with our children. It's completely naive to think that Satan doesn't want to ruin O's destiny at a young age. Mr. D and I have to protect her, pray for her, and show her what it means to trust God and fight for victory.