Baby Dedication

Today was a very important day for us. We participated in the baby dedication at our church. We brought Harper up before the church and made a commitment to raise her in a christian home. We will not force our children to believe in God, I don't think it can be forced even if we wanted to. But we will teach our kids about God's love for us, and about our Savior Jesus. It was also a chance to have the church pray for Harper. Having about 800 people pray for her this morning was pretty awesome!

We've been wanting to do this for a while, but we were hoping there would be a time where we would have some family here to participate with us. My mom gets here Thursday and we so badly wanted to do it while she was here, but they moved the dedication because of Christmas. So I want to thank our friends Tara and Brian for coming along to support little Harpsters. They aren't related to us, but they're a part of our camp family. It meant a lot to have them there.

Tara took some pictures for us of the event. First Pastor Lee introduced us and told the congregation a little bit about Harper. She of course hammed it up in front of the large audience by waving at everyone. He asked if she would let him hold her so Chris handed her over. She wasn't super thrilled with that, and immediately, to Chris' delight, leaned back towards him. Then almost as quickly, she leaned out of his arms towards me. It was pretty funny! Then Pastor Lee prayed for us all and gave her a bible. And of course she loves books, so the first thing she did was open it. All in all it was a really neat experience and one that means a lot to me. I want nothing more for her than to know Jesus and follow God with her whole heart. This doesn't insure her salvation or force her into a belief, it simply gave Chris and I a chance to make a commitment to her. It was a lot of fun. (Sorry mum for the jeans and t-shirt...it was just too cold outside for the dress) And as far as the mountain man standing beside me holding my child, that would be my husband who is currently in a beard growing contest at our gym. Can't wait till that's over. I do think he has a great shot at winning though!