Jones's Dedication

Jones's dedication was last Sunday, and God was so good.  We honestly could not have scripted the day to go any better than it did.  Here's a little more about the big day:

I love the way their
outfits coordinate!

Long before he was born, we'd decided to dedicate Jones on Masters Sunday. For a boy named Robert Jones, that seemed a logical choice. The date helped with both the color palate of his wardrobe (green, red, and yellow) AND with the menu at the luncheon afterwards (egg salad / pimento cheese sandwiches, barbecue, and other Masters standards).

Could he BE any cuter?!

We'd also asked our church music minister to sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" during the service, as it was sung in both our wedding and frequently around our house, and it's truly the desire of our hearts. The Sunday before the dedication, though, I was singing through our Praises 3 songbook while putting Jones to bed. I got to "Father, Lead Me" and wept, as I sang it to him. Instantly, I knew we had to have James sing THAT instead. Not only had I grown up singing that song, but I'd sung it to Jones, while I was pregnant, AND it's also from the same Patch the Pirate album as his bedtime song.  Perfect?! I think YES!

This is very possibly
my favorite picture
ever of Jones.

Frantically, I called James to ask him about the change, and he was immediately - graciously - amenable and even agreed to one slight lyrical change.  Instead of "Father, Lead Me," he'd sing "Father, Lead Him." For years to come, I have a feeling that Jeremy and I will sing this to him, a prayer of consecration for the sweetest boy God ever created:

"Father, lead him day by day,
ever in Thy loving way.
May his life be pure and true.
Show him what he ought to do."

When he's temped to do wrong,
make him steadfast, wise, and strong,

and when all alone he stands,

shield him with Thy mighty hand.

As he travels on life's sea,

help him to remember Thee,

happy most of all, to know,

that his Father loves him so.

May he do the good he knows,
be Thy loving child below,
and, at last, go home to Thee,
ever more Thy child to be."

For the record, James also had the choir sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us" as their special number for the day. I could not be more grateful to him for honoring our special requests.

Canton First Baptist Church

For some reason, I have been SO looking forward to this day. All during my pregnancy, I thought of Hannah and how she gave Samuel back to God to be used for His service, and that was definitely what Jeremy and I wanted to do with Jones - to fully consecrate him to advancing the Kingdom of God. That's probably why I've been so excited; it's also why Jay referenced I Samuel during his talk, which, by the way, I thought was just spectacular. It's very special to me that the man who married us also dedicated our sweet son.

Jay was at the hospital several times when Jones was born, and he was also the one who gave Jeremy his "Courageous" pledge. He's become a really precious part of the family.

But I digress...

Though you can't see it here,
one of the things that I'm holding
is the monogrammed hankie
I carried in our wedding.

Like I said, the day couldn't have gone any better.  I was nervous about how Jones would handle the timing of everything - we had to be at church at a time when he's usually napping. But, like I said, God was so good.  He woke up at the normal time and went straight to sleep when I put him down for a nap thirty minutes earlier than usual.  Jeremy and I both got ready, and twenty minutes before we were supposed to be at church, I went in, scared I'd have to wake up Jones. Nope. He was just starting to stir. He got dressed and was his same sweet self all day, even though he didn't get another nap for four more hours ... and when he did, by the way, he slept for three hours straight.  Given that he normally naps 45 minutes at a time, that's saying something!

Etsy invites

After the service, we had the luncheon in the parlor at Sid's. That may have been the best money we've ever spent.  Just the peace of mind of knowing I didn't have to clean the house or cook or figure out where to put that many people (not to mention how to feed them!) was SO worth it. They did a beautiful job, and we were thrilled to have the family there, as well as friends like Ruth, Leslie, and the Shook family.

We were home by 2 p.m., so Jeremy could catch all of that day's Masters coverage. Jones slept for three hours, and while he did, I probably said "That just could not have gone any better" about 5,000 times.

We are deeply, greatly blessed. And as grateful as can be.