What a special day to dedicate our sweet baby to the Lord...Father's Day! We are so thankful to attend a church where so much emphasis is placed on raising and dedicating our families to growing the Kingdom of Heaven!! Where we are encouraged to raise our sweet Hayden to be all that her Heavenly Father has created her to be...what an incredible responsibility and blessing!!
And we were so thrilled to have our family there to support us. Hayden's Emmy, Karo, K-Bob, Gigi, Gebo, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Brad were there, as well as many of our close friends.
Hayden did a WONDERFUL job just sitting there and looking beautiful ;o). And Emerson was so sweet too...she loved being up there and praying for her little sister! As Pastor Gary introduced Hayden to the congregation, there were lots of "awws" and he began to talk to us about the importance of allowing God to guide us as parents! Really, I can't imagine even trying to be a parent without knowing that God is in control and is leading us in this adventure!
Then, Pastor Gary talked to us about how special our little Hayden and how much Jesus loves her! Of course we knew that, but we loved hearing it! He reminded us that the reason we were there to dedicate Hayden was to recognize the purpose for which she was created, formed and fashioned and to dedicate her to the purpose of glorifying the living God! Then, he prayed this precious prayer over our baby girl...
"Lord, I thank You for Hayden. Thank You for creating her with just so much effort, energy and intentionality. You created her fearfully and wonderfully. You created her with hope, potential and a future. Even as You were creating Hayden, You were declaring, "I know the plans I have for you, plans not to harm you, but to give you a hope and a future. They're plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." So Lord, we thank You for Hayden. We thank You for the way You have created her in Your image. And I thank You for giving her a mom and a dad who are standing here to say, "Lord, we will partner with you, we will raise her to know You and love You and serve You." So Lord, today, Hayden is dedicated to You. She's Yours. And Lord, we dedicate the Rowe family to You. May it be a place where Your Spirit dwells. May it be a place filled with joy and peace. May it be a place that brings honor to You. In Jesus name we pray, Amen."
It couldn't have been a more special day for us...celebrating our Heavenly Father, celebrating Scott and our own dads on Father's Day and celebrating Hayden's dedication to our God! Even celebrating a little Mexican food ;). Thank you, Lord, for your rich blessings over us!!!
