Day Fifteen Hundred and Forty-Four

The Dedication of Amelia

Yesterday ended like this...

But let me explain how we got there.

We woke Amelia up for the day at 8:57AM - a solid two hours too early for the bedtime she had the night before. The girl was not impressed, and for good reason. She's been going and going and going and going and our Little MillieGirl was just exhausted. But we had to take her with us to the morning conference, so we dressed her real cute - that always makes a girl feel better - and we headed out to breakfast. During breakfast, I thought I smelled something funny. It's not like Amelia to have a bowel movement 20 minutes after she's woken for the day, so when I pulled my hand back from her diaper after checking it for poop, I wasn't exactly expecting yellow breastmilk poop to be running down my fingers.

"Honey, she pooped. Like, a lot."

So, we rushed her out of breakfast with just a diaper and some wipes and found the most modest yet functional place to change her. And that's when I realized the poop running up her back.

There goes that cute outfit.

So we changed and we went back to breakfast. We ate and we worshipped and she slept and I learned and then she woke back up again, just in time for workshops. I did my best to attend the smaller-sessioned workshop on discipleship, but all Amelia wanted to do was crawl and talk. Not conducive to others' learning. So, I took her into the hall and she crawled. And she sucked on decorative rocks and she talked. 

And then workshops were over. And then it was lunch and then it was family time.

So much processing.

This conference is information overload - in the very best way. And so, we walked and talked and gave Amelia her very first leaf. Which she totally shoved into her mouth.

And then, another nap.

And more worship.

With David Crowder.

And more teaching.

And mostly, just a whole lot more Jesus.

Because that's who this conference is about, after all.

And then, the best part of the entire conference.

Baptisms. 

The outward expression of the inward change. 

A public display that says I am a new creation in Christ and I acknowledge Jesus as my Savior.

The old is washed away and the new is brought to life!

Amelia and Adam and I and the rest of our baseball brothers and sisters cheered as several friends publicly declared their faith in Christ!! We clapped and hollered and cried and laughed. The beauty that surrounds this symbol of death to life never gets old. It never tires. It's always fresh. Always exciting. And always reason for joy upon joy. 

Souls - so many souls - were won to God this week, and every day, it's my prayer that Amelia too, will be one of those souls won to Jesus. The One who gave her life in the first place. And so, yesterday, Adam and I - in front of our brothers and sisters in Christ - publicly dedicated our lives to bringing Amelia up in a home that honors Christ. That teaches her His truths. That is honest and obedient to His will. It is our prayer and every hope that Amelia experiences LIFE, not death, and for as long as she lives, we'll continually be pointing her in the direction of the only one who offers it: Jesus Christ. 

You're a trooper, my little Beauty!

Your Daddy and Mommy love you more than you could ever know!

And your Father in Heaven, so much more.

Poopy explosive diapers and all <3

And, exhausted.

Goodnight.

(Whitacre, I'm not sure there's any stuffed polar bears in Heaven, but if there is, I pray you'll be there too, buddy.)