Aven's Dedication

Last weekend was a special event - we had our sweet baby girl dedicated!

Now I grew up Catholic and was baptized as a baby, but was also baptized again as an adult after (re)committing my life to Jesus. I want Aven to grow up and make her own decision to follow the Lord and show her commitment through baptism when she decides she is ready. That being said, we still wanted to participate in an infant dedication, which our church describes as "the act of giving back to God the gift he has given you as parents. It is an act of worship, thanksgiving, dependence, trust, and commitment." We also wanted to publicly covenant to raise Aven children by modeling Godly principles with the desire that one day, she will receive Jesus Christ as her personal Savior.

We invited the Grandparents, Brian, Naomi, JJ, & Lark, and my best friend Besty, her husband Eric, and son Levi. We kept it to a small group of family (and my best friend) who will be Aven's spiritual mentors throughout her life and support her in her faith as she grows. Since our church is a mega-church, they had a separate service on Saturday night for the babies and their families - 6 total were dedicated. It was a short service, beginning with a slideshow of the babies, then the parents and babies came to the stage where the children's pastor read their names and meanings as well as the life verse the parents had picked out. She prayed for each child, then the guests prayed over the children as well, and that was it! Short and sweet. :) We then had everyone over for dinner and cake to celebrate with us. We are so blessed to have family and friends to help guide us as we parent our little girl and she is so blessed to have such amazing people in her life who care for and love her.

The verse we picked for Aven was Psalm 25:5 - Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Yes, I picked a verse with HOPE in it, as that's her middle name!)

 

 

Watching herself in the slideshow

 

Proud parents

 

The children's pastor praying over her

 

With Mom and Dad

 

The whole crew!

 

 

A little cake celebration after - too bad she couldn't have any!

Trusting in Him

The "M" word is so scary in these first few weeks - miscarriage.

I have known several women who have had one, two or even three. Apparently one in five pregnancies end up in miscarriage which is unbelievable - 20%! The scariest thing is that there is really nothing you can do or not do to prevent it from happening.

Point in case, most recently, some wonderful friends of Tyge and mine had one...there were really no words I could say to ease the pain, other than assuring them I was praying for physical and emotional healing. 

Tyge and I have also been praying for Petrie since we found out, and I know others will as soon as we tell them. It is the desire of our hearts to have this child, and in delighting ourselves in the Lord we pray it is His will too! However, should something happen if will not change my faith in Him at all for I know that there would be a reason behind it.

I myself believe that God doesn't CAUSE bad things to happen, but He will use them for His glory. As Romans 8:18 (ESV) says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." So I suggested my friend take comfort in that, as well as anyone experiencing suffering.

That being said, worrying about the potential of something happening does NOTHING, for God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT). This is easier said than done, as the mind is a powerful thing that tends to wander, or mine does anyway. Another verse that helps me take thoughts captive when I start to worry is Philippians 4:6 (NIV), "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

So Dear Lord, I thank you for the blessing of this child inside me and am so grateful that you have entrusted Tyge and I to be parents someday. We promise to raise this baby in a home that loves and honors you. I pray that you watch over little Petrie as he/she grows, and keep him/her safe throughout the entire 40 weeks. Please be with my mind and heart so that I do not worry about things beyond my control, but fully trust in YOU and your promises. Amen!