Our church has a child dedication service once in awhile. The purpose is to have the children publicly blessed, prayed over, and for the parents to agree to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Emma was dedicated to the Lord recently. We pray every day that she will grow up to love Jesus and walk with Him. When Ryan and Erin took her up on stage, she started waving to every one. Everyone was laughing. She is very expressive and friendly. I just love this age when they are so innocent and precious.
When our pastor held her to pray for her, she realized she didn't know this man and wanted to get away from him. She reached for her daddy but Pastor Mark kept his hands on her as he prayed for her. She wanted to get farther away from him so she reached for her mom. It was very entertaining.
When our pastor was done praying, everyone started clapping. This is when Emma opened her mouth real wide and started clapping along with every one else. It was adorable! During the music, Ryan said she was dancing with her arms waving in the air the whole time. She is a happy little girl who already knows how to praise Jesus!
What blessing children are to us. The greatest gifts are from God. To realize that children are given to us by God to raise to love Him is quite an honor and a privilege that one should never take lightly. Emma has brought so much joy into our lives. She makes us laugh all the time. Life is good.
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one's youth.
Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame when
he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5
