olivia's baptism...

was one of the most special days i have experienced as a mother.  i have prayed that my children would grow up with a faith in christ and that they would have a relationship with him, but i have also known that my desires are not those of His and that was a decision and a relationship that only He could foster.
the journey to this day began several months ago, so let me start there...
on april 1, 2012 olivia felt the Lord speaking to her and confessed that she was a sinner and that her sin separates her from god, that she understood that christ loved her very much and came to earth to die on a cross for her (and all those who believe) so that she can be perfect in god's eyes and have a friendship with Him forever.  i'll admit i thought she was too young to understand all of that, but god reminded me that He is in the midst of this conversation and was completely capable of helping a little girl who truly has a heart for the Lord understand how very much He does love her.  we rejoiced with her, prayed with her, and continued to seek Him in fostering this new relationship.  olivia was a little nervous about talking to our pastor about what god was doing in her life and she was REALLY nervous about being in front of our whole church family to be baptized so we took baby steps over the next several months.  we encouraged her to continue to ask questions about her faith and new relationship.  we prayed for her heart and her confidence.  soon enough, in god's perfect timing, olivia was ready to talk to our pastor.  yay!!  god is so faithful! she spoke with our preschool minister about her decision and she gave us some great tools to continue on this faith journey with olivia.  fast forward a few more months, olivia was excited (and still a little nervous) to share her decision with our church family.  so the sunday she got her first grade bible, olivia shared with our church family that decision she made to ask God into her heart and that she wanted to be bapatized. we thanked God for giving her the confidence and step out of her comfort zone.  now that brings us to today...

our family was all there to celebrate with olivia.  mark watched from the stage since he was leading worship.  that actually made the day extra special.  ;)

another one of my greatest sources of joy-worship on sunday mornings with  my church family lead by mark and the worship band.  thankful for their gifts and how they use them to serve God.  

ellis asking o about her decision.

praise god for this day, this little girl, and for being an amazing god that cares about our olivia so much that he spoke to her and gave her a passion for him.   i stand amazed and so very thankful!

Matthew 28: 19-20

^"19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with youalways, to the very end of the age.”

special september sunday...

started off with a gathering a first graders ready to receive their bibles.

i love my church for a long list of reasons, but this particular sunday we participated in just one of them-- our church gives the gift of God's Word to each first grader.  what a precious gift given at the time when these little children are just learning to read.  it's perfect!!  olivia was super excited to get her bible presented by our friend and now children's pastor, ivy.

o and ivy with her brand new bible. 

all the first graders that were getting their bibles with their bible fellowship teachers.

olivia and daddy looking up some verses that ivy was sharing about what the bible says about this special book.

after a small presentation upstairs in the children's area with just parents, we headed down to "big church."  there each child was called up on the stage and our whole church prayed for these children that they would seek God's Word in their daily lives.

olivia getting her bible.  she was excited to have her bible but nervous to be on stage in front of everyone.  :)

as if that wasn't special enough, at the end of the service olivia made the decision that she was ready to share some big news with her church family.  she bravely walked down front and told pastor ellis that she was ready to be baptized.  she explained to him and ivy that she god spoke to her heart on april 1, 2012 and she prayed and asked jesus to be her savior and best friend of her life, but was just now brave enough to walk forward and share that news with her entire church family.  it was so great to celebrate her new relationship with jesus with our church and now we look forward to her baptism.

olivia and some of her biggest fans after the service.   pop, olivia, gram lois, b and nana.

what a special day!  truly the lord has blessed us (mark and i) with this precious little girl.  i am so grateful that she knows him personally at such a young age and that he has given her a heart for him.  she desires to read his word and know him more.  what a gift to witness and what a challenge it is for me to have the same child-like faith that she has along with a daily urning to know him more intimately.   thank you god for allowing me to be her mommy.  

olivia takes the stage...

this time not as a darling ballerina, but in her first choir concert. olivia joined the 4 year old childern's choir this year and has been loving it. she has been going to rehearsals each sunday evening practicing songs and learning so much about music. she was just as excited as the rest of us to attend her first concert. our WHOLE family was there to support o-- nana, gramps, b, pop, rara, christman, abby, kk, and of course mommy and daddy. as mark says, "we leave a large footprint everywhere we go!" we might seem crazy to most people, but i love that we all support eachother in so many ways, plus it made olivia so proud!!!

olivia did a great job!! her choir (the 4 year olds) sang several songs. they sang all about the things that god has created and how we praise god with our voices.

baby dedication...

(notice the smile on olivia's face. she is so proud to be "presenting" her baby brother.)

sunday was baby dedication at our church. we were so happy to present jack to our church family. it is so encouraging to know that we have their love and support as we commit to raise jack in a home filled with truth, love, and grace. we were thankful to have our family there to support us as well. here are a few pictures from this special sunday morning...

pop & b with baby jack

jack with his great grandpa terry. he is one proud papa!!

gramps and jack. they are always "playing" together.

in true bowlin fashion, we celebrated by all going to lunch at amigos. it was a first visit for several of our family members. they loved it, of course!!