Father's Day 2008

We had a great Father's Day. It was special for two reasons: it was Tony's first Father's Day as a father and it was Sophia's baby dedication at church. For those readers who are unfamiliar with baby dedications, it's the Baptist's (and a few other denominations like The Church of Christ) version of a christening, minus the infant baptizing and with a little different emphasis. Basically, the parents stand before the church promising to raise their child in a home centered around Christ, to be an example of Christ's love in the way they raise their child, and it's a dedication of their child back to God (much like Samuel's mom did in the book of Samuel). It's the dedicating of that child to God, for whatever purpose He may have for her life. And finally it is the church's promise to take care of Sophia and to work along-side us in teaching her biblical principles.

The day started off with Tony arriving home from an evening at the hospital (he was on call) but fortunately he had lots of sleep (no calls!). He spent the morning with Sophia - bathed her, read her books, and changed diapers - way to go Dad! After the church service we went to Mama Jean's house for a fabulous lunch - steaks wrapped in bacon, cheese potatoes, salad, squash, and rolls slathered in homemade blueberry jam (she bought the blueberries yesterday at the farmer's market and then spent the day making jam). And a delicious dessert of peach cobbler with ice cream. No need for dinner tonight!

So, back to the dedication. During the dedication we stand up in front of the whole congregation. Pretty intimidating for me, and as it turns out, for Sophia as well. I was nervous about the dedication, knowing Sophia's tendency towards spitting up (bless her little heart) and pulling hair. I was convinced she would do one of the two to our pastor. Fortunately she did neither but she did cry a good bit when he held her and insisted on being returned to her mother, which he did.

I'm sure Tony would agree with me when I say how amazing it is to be parents. As we stood there waiting for our time to go on stage, we both scanned the program and were immediately amazed - there it was - Great is Thy Faithfulness. We couldn't believe it. The very song we sang in worship to God on our wedding day was to be sung immediately before the dedication of our first child. Coincidence? Absolutely not! The God who saw us married on December 15, 2001 in Floresville, TX was there to witness and bless the dedication of our baby girl on June 15, 2008. God is always present no matter where you are and He loves you in such personal ways. Praise God for sweet Sophia. And we do dedicate her to God, for whatever purpose He may have for her sweet life. May God use you, sweet girl, to further His kingdom and bring His love and joy to His children!

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