Baby Dedication

On Sunday the 24th,we had Jonathan's Baby Dedication sevice at Lakewood Baptist. It was a very sweet service, in spite of a very rainy and cold afternoon. Andrew and Coleman's dedications were done during the Sunday morning service at the churches we were attending at the time. They were nice services too. Lakewood has their dedication services at 4:00 on Sunday afternoons. The families and friends of the babies come and share in the service and then fellowship at a reception afterwards. It was a very sweet service and we loved the laid back atmosphere.

The service started off with a welcome from the preacher and then we sang a praise chorus together. After that, the children's minister got up and called each family individually to come to the stage. She shared some information from a form we filled out prior to the service. They asked us about his name, what he was wearing, and anything else we'd like to share. We wrote, "Jonathan is our third son. Like his brothers, he was given a biblical name and a family name. We chose Jonathan because it means "gift of God" and Jackson is for his grandfather. The gown he is wearing was made by his mother, and the blanket he is wrapped in was used in his brothers' dedications and his mother's baby dedication. Our prayer for Jonathan, and his brothers, is Proverbs 3:5-6. 'Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

Then the preacher held Jonathan and prayed over him. Each family did the same thing for their baby. We also had another couple standing with us. Lakewood pairs a seasoned family with each baby being dedicated. This couple promises to pray for the child and their family during their upbringing. We chose a couple from our Sunday school class. While we haven't known Bill and Suzanne long, we know they love God and His Word. We are honored to have them on our "team," praying for us as we raise our boys.

After each family was seated, we said a prayer of blessing over the babies. Then we closed the service with a slide show of pictures of the babies. We were asked to send in around ten photos of Jonathan and our family for them to use. The staff compiled everyone's pictures into the slideshow. It was a really sweet end to the service. Here are the pictures from the afternoon.

Jonathan in his dedication gown (Papack has much better pictures, but I haven't been able to download them yet.)

Bill and Suzanne with Jonathan and us

Dr. Tom Smiley with us

The Archer Five - Please notice that the yahoos are wearing their rainboots. This was not because it was raining. Thankfully, it was raining so they didn't look too absurd. As we were getting ready to leave, Coleman's shoes disappeared from our house. Gigi, Papack, Brent and I tore the place apart looking for them. When we could wait no longer, the decision was made that he would have to wear his rainboots. I had a sneaking suspicion that Andrew would want to wear his when he saw Cole's. Sure enough, when we got to the church and Andrew saw Cole's boots, he wanted to change out of his shoes. Good thing I had grabbed his pair as well. When we got home, Coleman's shoes were in the middle of their bedroom floor. I have no explanation for how they got there.

The Archers

The Archers and Bells