Baby Dedication Ceremony

Although I can recall a myriad of sweet memories my children have given me, there are a few standouts. Lincoln's baby dedication ceremony is among the memories that will stay impressed on my heart for a lifetime. The Bible calls us to be baptized upon our confession of faith, so we decided to present Lincoln to God in a dedication ceremony and pray that he will choose to be baptized one day after he asks Jesus into his life. Our church explains the difference between a dedication and baptism this way: 

-Dedication is the act of the committed Christian parents to present their child to God. This is also a promise to raise their child in a home that will always strive to honor God and teach their child to love and obey God as their final authority. 
-Baptism is the act of full immersion by a committed follower of Christ demonstrating their willful obedience to God. 

On April 12, we dedicated our second child to the Lord. One of the most significant parts of the event was that Lincoln was blessed to wear his great-grandfather's 101 year old baptismal gown, passed down and worn through four generations. ​

We invited our family to celebrate with us and Lincoln was blessed to have such a wonderful support system by his side that day. During the ceremony each family was invited up to present their child and their designated life verse. "Life verse" was a new term to me a couple years ago when our friends chose one for their child and I LOVE the concept. Basically, it's a verse from the Bible that you want your child to live by and embrace. For Lincoln, we chose Matthew 5:16.

Our pastor used this verse in a sermon when I was pregnant with Lincoln and I seared it into my memory as an option for Lincoln's life verse. We looked at several other verses, but I was always drawn to this one. After knowing Lincoln for a couple months, I felt like Matthew 5:16 epitomized his spirit. Lincoln is so gentle and loving that you really can see his "light shine." He makes everyone smile with his sweet demeanor and warm smile. Like I see Addie being a fireball of a force for Christ, I foresee Lincoln being the one who leads others to Jesus through his loving spirit.

After we presented Lincoln, our pastor gave a sermon on the importance of intentional parenting, asked our extended family to commit to guiding Lincoln spiritually, and lead us in praying with those who joined us. It was a beautiful, emotional evening for me as I felt the true weight and blessing of raising this child in the name of God.