Mother's Day and Owen's Baby Dedication

What a day this has been! My third mother's day as a mother (we celebrated when I was pregnant with Karis too) and it was great! I am so thankful for my kids and so proud to be their momma! They are growing up so very fast. Makes me sad if I think about it too long, so instead I'll just get to some pictures of our day....

In addition to Mother's Day, we also celebrated Owen's baby dedication at church. There were twelve babies presented before the church today (and lots more little ones on the way). It was a time of thanking God for the gift that these children are, asking the church family to help us in the spiritual shaping of our children, and asking the Lord to guide our children to saving faith in Jesus Christ. We were asked this list of questions during the dedication:

1. Do you today recognize these children as the gifts of God and give heartfelt thanks for God’s blessing?
2. Do you now dedicate your children to the Lord who gave them to you all, surrendering all worldly claims upon their lives in the hope that they will belong wholly to God?
3. Do you pledge as parents that, with God’s fatherly help you will bring up your children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord,” making every reasonable effort, with patience and love, to build the Word of God, the character of Christ and the joy of the Lord into their lives?
4. Do you promise to provide, through God’s blessing, for the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of your children, looking to your own heavenly Father for the wisdom, love and strength to serve them and not use them?
5. Do you promise, God helping you, to make it your regular prayer that, by God’s grace, your children will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins and for the fulfillment of all his promises to them, even eternal life; and in this faith follow Jesus as Lord and obey his teachings?

The section that I highlighted there is a line that has stood out to me since Karis' baby dedication (where we were asked these same questions). This line sums up what the baby dedication is, a surrendering of all worldly claims on my child's life. I firmly believe that my children are ultimately the Lord's. He has seen fit to entrust them to me for a time, and I am to be a good steward of this gift of motherhood. Whatever He chooses to do with their lives is His concern, and I am to trust Him completely. These are difficult things to say and believe in my flesh, and I know that as they get older it will become more and more difficult. But they are the Lord's. I will do all I can do to provide for them, protect them, teach them, love them and be an example for them. But at the end of each day I must say, these children are the Lord's.

I dedicate you, my little baby Owen, to the Lord who gave you to me, surrendering all worldly claims upon your life in the hope that you will belong wholly to God. And, I promise to make it my regular prayer that, by God's grace, you will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of your sins, and that you will follow Jesus as Lord and obey His teachings.

I love you,

Momma