Nolan's Dedication at Church of the Highlands

Nolan is 4 months old today and we dedicated his life to the Lord at our church this morning. To dedicate a child to the Lord is to make a vow to completely submit your child to the will of God and to raise him in the ways of the Lord. The Bible says that children are a heritage and a reward from the Lord (Psalm 127:3). God has graciously given us Nolan and the tremendous responsibility of "raising him up in the ways of the Lord"(Ephesians 6:4). He has given us the responsibility to provide Nolan with a strong foundation built upon Christ to grow up in His image.

The Bible gives us an example of dedicating a child to the Lord through the account of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:11, 26–28. Since Hannah could not conceive a child on her own, she wept before the Lord. As she wept, she made a vow saying, "O Lord Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life..."(1 Samuel 1:11).

God honored Hannah's request and gave her a son, Samuel. Hannah kept her vow and dedicated (which means "to set apart") Samuel to the Lord. That's what Eric and I did today with Nolan. It was such a special day for our family.