Last night, our Life Group had a Baby Blessing on the Beach for the babies born into the group: Isaiah, who was born last May, Abby and Izzy, who were born in February, and Nathaniel, who was born this May. It was a really, really special time, and so important to all of us as parents to have Steven (our pastor) pray over our children!
We've gushed before about the amazing family that God has given us in our Life Group, and that was so evident last night in the blessings that were prayed over the babies, and the support that was promised for us in helping to raise them to love God with all of their hearts, souls, and minds. This group of people has been praying for our girls before they were even conceived, and we, as parents, can't even begin to thank them enough for the prayers, love, and practical support that they have given us, and that we know that they will continue to provide!
Steven and Maya's daughter, Evia has been so sweet with our girls.
As many of you know, we lost our first baby in September of 2006. It was a devastating time for Dan and I, and we really struggled to see God in the midst of that storm. Looking back now, it is so clear that God provided so much for us in those really hard months, in terms of bringing us to our church, giving us amazing friends to support us, and teaching us some really important lessons about grace and trust and character. We still grieve for our baby, but we're able to see God's hand on our lives, and we're living out His blessings (doubly!) in parenting our two amazing, beautiful daughters!
When I was at a really dark point, I "discovered" a verse that really gave me a smidgen of peace... Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I think that as a family, we will always cling to that promise, that even in the worst of times, God KNOWS His plans for us, and His plans are really good. That is the blessing that I pray for our Life Group babies, that they will always trust in God's plans, that they are good plans, and that when times are hard, that God will always be faithful with a provision of hope.
Sybil gave each of the babies a special "blessing bookmark," and I wanted to share them here:
Abigail
May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and we will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
**What's especially neat about this one is that Courtney also shared with the group last night that this was one of the verses that she prayed over me when our prayer group met when we were having such a hard time getting pregnant again. She was so excited to get to share it again on this side of the situation, when we really are shouting for joy!
Amazing blessings. Amazing Life Group. Amazing God.
Thank you so much to our life group family, for being part of the Baby Blessing, and for being such an integral part of our lives!
We have more pictures from the event here, at our Picassa Web Album. Enjoy!
We've gushed before about the amazing family that God has given us in our Life Group, and that was so evident last night in the blessings that were prayed over the babies, and the support that was promised for us in helping to raise them to love God with all of their hearts, souls, and minds. This group of people has been praying for our girls before they were even conceived, and we, as parents, can't even begin to thank them enough for the prayers, love, and practical support that they have given us, and that we know that they will continue to provide!
Steven and Maya's daughter, Evia has been so sweet with our girls.
As many of you know, we lost our first baby in September of 2006. It was a devastating time for Dan and I, and we really struggled to see God in the midst of that storm. Looking back now, it is so clear that God provided so much for us in those really hard months, in terms of bringing us to our church, giving us amazing friends to support us, and teaching us some really important lessons about grace and trust and character. We still grieve for our baby, but we're able to see God's hand on our lives, and we're living out His blessings (doubly!) in parenting our two amazing, beautiful daughters!
When I was at a really dark point, I "discovered" a verse that really gave me a smidgen of peace... Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I think that as a family, we will always cling to that promise, that even in the worst of times, God KNOWS His plans for us, and His plans are really good. That is the blessing that I pray for our Life Group babies, that they will always trust in God's plans, that they are good plans, and that when times are hard, that God will always be faithful with a provision of hope.
Allison, Isaiah, and Seth.
Ted, Nathaniel, and Sybil
Sybil gave each of the babies a special "blessing bookmark," and I wanted to share them here:
Abigail
Psalm 20:4-5
May He give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed. We will shout for joy when you are victorious and we will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
**What's especially neat about this one is that Courtney also shared with the group last night that this was one of the verses that she prayed over me when our prayer group met when we were having such a hard time getting pregnant again. She was so excited to get to share it again on this side of the situation, when we really are shouting for joy!
Isabel
Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Amazing blessings. Amazing Life Group. Amazing God.
Thank you so much to our life group family, for being part of the Baby Blessing, and for being such an integral part of our lives!
We have more pictures from the event here, at our Picassa Web Album. Enjoy!
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