Dedication Verses

A few months ago we got Bri dedicated. If you don't know what that means, it's basically getting up in front of the church and promising to raise your child for the Lord.  I'm not going to lie, just thinking about getting up in front of a couple hundred people practically gives me hives.  Sheesh, what we won't do for our kids, am I right? 

Well, we've done this with all 3 of the girls now. And each time we've done a dedication, it feels more significant it to me.

Maybe it's because I have a few years of parenting under my belt now and I realize just how valuable it is to train my kids and teach them how to love and serve the Lord.  And to promise - in front of others and the Lord - to do just that.  For me, dedication has become a huge commitment....not just something I should do because that's what church people do.

As is custom in our church, for each dedication we chose some scripture to "give" to our children to guide them in life.  When preparing for Brianna's dedication, I looked back at what we chose for the older girls and I just found myself being thankful we had done this.  Maybe I'm just sentimental, but I love how they have a verse that's "theirs" from the time they were born.  One that was prayed for them and over them.  And still is. 

Here's what we chose for each of our girls:

Rylie

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

(This verse was one of our favorites and felt like if we had to pick one verse for our first child to live by in the Bible, this would be it!)

Austyn

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7

(Out of all the verses I've put to memory, the Lord brings this one to my mind most often.  We thought it would be a great verse for Austyn to be able to turn to in every stage of life.)

Brianna

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them was meant to be. 
Psalm 139:13-16

(We chose this for her because, as our third child, we wanted her to know she was created uniquely and wonderfully by God.  Also, the Lord really laid this verse on my heart while I was pregnant with her.)

Our verse/promise to our girls from us

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable great power for us who believe.
Ephesians 1:16-19a

FROM THE MOUNTAIN TOPS

Freedom.

That's the only word I can come up with to describe what I feel right at this very moment.  Last weekend I went on a women's Encounter.  Not to be confused with a "retreat" because as they said, "we're not retreating from anything."  We came to have an encounter with God.  And that's exactly what we did.

I can't remember feeling this completely drenched in God's love....ever.

Completely loved.

Completely whole.

Completely forgiven.

I've never before lifted my hand in praise while driving down the middle of main street.  I did that today.  It was an automatic, genuine, fearless sort of love I felt.

I've not felt this clean and pure inside since I gave my life to Christ 25 years ago.

I'd been holding on to a lot of "yuck" in my life.  And...it's gone now.  It's God's.  I gave it to Him.  Because he wanted it.

If I had a mountain top to shout on I would.  But my blog will have to do for now.


GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH!

HE SENT HIS SON TO DIE FOR YOUR SIN.

JESUS HAS ALREADY PAID THE PRICE.

HE PAID THE PRICE FOR YOU AND HE WANTS YOU.

ALL OF YOU.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU'VE DONE.

YOU CAN BE REDEEMED.

YOU ARE LOVED BEYOND ALL MEASURE.

OPEN YOUR HEART TO HIM.

BE WASHED CLEAN.

GIVE YOUR LIFE TO HIM AND YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.



In fact, you'll want to shout about Him from the mountain tops!

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,

but to save the world through him.

John 3:17

She's Answered (Part 2)

Over 2 years ago I wrote this post (check it out if you haven't read it.)

She Waits (Part 1)

 

With tears in my eyes and my heart overflowing, I am more happy than you'll ever know that I get to write Part 2 to this story.



 

**************************************************


 

I actually pictured the second half of this story to go way differently.  I had prayed so fervently that Nat would have a baby that I had worked up a scenario in my mind that I was just sure would come true.

We would be having lunch at Pizza Hut. (It had to be Pizza Hut, because we had been "lunching" there since we met in 1997.  In the early days, without fail, every time we ate there Nat would pop a quarter in the jukebox and play "Bump and Grind" by R. Kelly.  We would laugh until we cried.  A part of me died when they remodeled and got rid of that jukebox.)  Anyway, in my scenario, we would be chatting and then Nat would casually say, "hey Tam, guess what....I'm pregnant!!!"  And we would both scream and then cry and create a big scene.  The waitress would come over to see if we were all right...


But, enough of my romanticism...God had a much different idea of how things would go and here's how Part 2 really happened:

 

About 2 years ago, after many tears and disappointing doctor appointments, Natalie and Jerod felt the Lord calling them toward adoption.  As most all families who have adopted know, this began a wild, stressful, uncertain and many times, discouraging journey for them.  Several months into it, after many setbacks and disappointments, they seemed to really "catch a break." 

A break that was clearly one of Divine intervention. 

Jerod's uncle, who is a doctor, had a special patient one day.  An aging foster care mother, who had a beautiful baby boy whom she loved but felt she wasn't in a place to raise, came into the clinic.  Out of pure "chance" and completely unrelated to why she came to the doctor, she began to chat about her situation.  Jerod's uncle told her Nat and Jerod's story and gave her their information.  

And so began Jerod and Nat's pursuit of little Easton Dean. The situation seemed too good to be true.  Easton's middle name "Dean" was even Natalie's late father's middle name!  They knew this was the little boy God had for them.  The child they had waited 8 years to hold.  But, unfortunately, as with all things that seem too perfect, there were many barriers between them and this precious boy.  The journey was not a smooth one, filled with court appearances, mounds of paperwork and all sorts of legal nonsense. 

The stress of all this really took a toll on Natalie's health and I was genuinely worried for my friend.  I often wondered how much a person can actually take before they get overtaken.  I think Nat was on the brink of insanity, though I would never tell her this of course.  "Let's think positive" is what I would try to say.  (Yes, I know, friends don't get any better than me. I'm never one to come in with a great word of advice, it just eludes me.)

But, what I've been learning a lot about lately is that there are 2 stories in life.  An upper story and a lower story.  What we live out and can only see is the lower story.  Only God can see both the upper and lower stories.  Our pastor explained it well....he said it's like cross stitching. Only God can see what's on top and it looks beautiful and perfectly done.  What we see is the backside or underside of a cross stitch. It looks a little messy at times, but all the while God is orchestrating something beautiful.

And, 8 years in the making, he did orchestrate something beautiful indeed. 

A few days ago, on January 9th, Natalie and Jerod officially became parents to little Easton Dean.  What a glorious, glorious day!

 

She is Answered.

 

Isn't he adorable?!!

 

Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not disappoint us...

Romans 5:3-5a

 

Birthday Party for Jesus

I can't really believe it's Christmas time already!  Wasn't it just yesterday that I was pregnant? And now I have a baby 2 months shy of a year.  Guess that's what sleep deprivation does to a person!  Whole chunks of time pass without you realizing it! 

Well, with Christmas time comes my now annual Birthday Party for Jesus.  Now that my friends Malinda and Angela help me it has become a fun event to plan.  It totally took the stress out by asking them to help and I'm so glad that they do!  Not only because it helps me, but because they are so much more creative than I'll ever be!

This year we decided to do an all girls party of close friends/relatives and neighbors.  The worst thing about birthday parties, I'm coming to find out, is who to invite.  We've had many a tear in our house over not being invited to birthday parties, so as a mother I have a hard time finding a cut off point! But, I guess that's just part of life...

This year we went with a manager theme. 

Our invitation was an ornament to color with information about the party printed on the back.

We started with a craft.

We glued craft sticks around a felt piece for the manger.  I found some nice manger scene figures at Hobby Lobby and put felt backing on them.  The idea was to have a craft they could play with over and over like a flannel graph.



I got some manger scene stickers for the younger ones.

Angela then had an interactive story for the kids.  If you are familiar with resurrection eggs for Easter, this was along those lines.  The kids went on a scavenger hunt to find little presents to open that coincided with the Christmas story.  Very fun!

Every child brought a gift for Children's Mercy hospital and we worked that into the story time.  They got to show what they brought to give away and everyone was very happy and excited to place their gift in the box for others to enjoy. 

Next we did the cake.

Malinda free-handed this cake of her own creation.  I loved how it turned out!

I just have to say that it's really nice to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and have Him be the focus of the party.
It's so refreshing to see kids having so much fun at a party that's not thrown in their honor!

  

 



We finished the night playing dress up and acting out the Christmas Story.  I think this was the kids' favorite part of the night.  They got to take turns acting out different parts.

 

 

We had Kings

Joseph

And donkeys!

Joseph leading Mary and the donkey to Bethlehem



Mary



 

A donkey taking a break

It was great night to take time to focus on the Lord and remember the reason we celebrate Christmas.

 Merry Christmas Everyone!

Keeping in Step

So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.

Galatians 5:16-17

Whenever I read Paul's words here I come away thinking...boy are these verses ever true.  I can literally feel a war going on in my soul probably every day.  My sinful nature is very alive and well. Here's a fraction of what goes through my mind on a daily basis...


I'm going to tell her she's being a jerk.

Do it.

If my child disobeys me one more time I'm going to lose it on her.

About time.

I'm going to call someone and tell them this juicy piece of news!

Oh, that someone will love to hear it.

I'm way too busy to have them over.

Yes, you are so busy.

Ugh, I need to remind/nag my husband to fix that.

Maybe if you keep doing it he'll remember!


The bummer part is, I find myself listening to this sinful side of me far to much. Sometimes I get so far into it I literally don't know the truth from the lie.  When I can feel this war going on, I often find myself saying out loud, "Get thee behind me Satan!", so I can figure out what the Lord really wants of me in a certain situation.

I guess the good news is that I definitely have the POWER to overcome it.  And I know the more I do overcome it the softer that sinful voice will become. It just feels as though it's center stage right now.

But hey, I'm blaming it on the baby!  I totally fell out of my routine of daily reading God's word after I had her.

Oh wait, blaming?  Couldn't possibly be my sinful nature...

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galatians 5:25, 26