Vincent's Baby Dedication

We as parents first publicly consecrated ourselves again to Christ.

Followed by an anointing for us as parents and Vincent.

Members of the Body were given the opportunity to bless Vincent.


Vincent's baby dedication was at our church, Early Church, on December 21st. The dedication service began by a reading of Deuteronomy 6:1-9 (our request) by my sister Rachel; then a few words by our pastor, Ron Copeland; then a prayer by Martin's dad, James; a hymn "Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us" (our request); reaffirmation of our baptismal vows; anointing with oil; a congregational response; and then charges given to Vincent by Martin's brother, Philip, and Ron. The service ended with an invitation for members of the Body to come and bless Vincent.
A very meaningful baby dedication...I am always humbled and simultaneously blessed by the privilege to be part of a community of Believers who seek to follow Christ and be continually transformed into His image. And it's good to know that our boys will be able to grow up in a community where there are many persons who emulate what it means to be a faithful disciple of Christ.
We were blessed to have so many of our family with us for Vincent's dedication, but missed those who were not able to attend, especially my dad who still wasn't able to leave home due to his broken hip.

Philip's charge to Vincent:
Vincent James Witmer Rhodes,
I charge you to follow your mom and dad as they follow Christ. I know them well, so I tell you with confidence that you can trust them.
They know you are a gift from God and will teach you well on God's behalf as long as you are in their care.

Follow Jesus joyfully like they do; be willing to give up your life, your stuff, your everything for him.
Take the word of God seriously like they do; always seek what is true, noble, and good.
Love the church like they do; always seek authentic Christ-centered community.
Live courageously like they do; stand up for the least of these.
Live peaceably like they do; speak often with the Prince of Peace.

From Psalm 22 I charge you:
Be faithful (as they are faithful) so that FUTURE generations will be told about the Lord; proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn...

Ron's charge to Vincent went something like this (from my memory, and he further elaborated on each charge):
Accept criticism well.
Be the first to apologize, especially when you are in a role where you have authority over others.
Be like St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and serve the poor and those who are cast out of mainstream society.
Never think you fully know what the Bible says - always read the Bible with joy and in anticipation of learning something new.
Honor your parents.

-Sylvia

LIFE

A glimpse into the typical happenings of our life these days:

Martin works 5 days a week at Vistashare (a Mennonite owned software company) as a trainer. His days involve clicking computer keys, talking with customers on the phone, and bantering with co-workers.

I stay at home with the boys during the day, and our days involve playing with toys, coloring, reading books, playing with playdoh, doing laundry, fixing meals, washing dishes, occasionally going to the store or to someone's house, playing silly little games to get Vincent to laugh and interact, and being mimicked and shadowed by Elliot wherever I go. The days vary between lots of fun, silliness, and laughter, and some tears, orneriness, and frustrations.

Our evenings vary week to week with things such as relaxing at home and playing with our boys, various discussions with our house mates, hosting friends or family, dates as a couple, or going out on the town as a family. Monday nights we always go to Our Community Place for supper, and Saturday nights will now always be church.

So, our life is pretty simple right now, but that suits us just fine. Who knows what, where, and when the Wind might blow next.

Thanks

This one is for Sylvia. I am thankful that after 9 1/2 years of marriage my wife still does things to surprise me. For my birthday last week she took the initiative to arrange for a nice time away for the two of us. On the night before my birthday we had a great time with our friends Aaron and Danae Amstutz over supper at a Mexican restaurant in Winchester. She also arranged for me to have the next day off of work and so we stayed overnight in Winchester and spent the next day eating out and just enjoying each others company. I cannot imagine tiring of our love's exploration and the small ways that we still surprise one another after more than a decade together.

Growing Boys

Elliot
Age: 20 months
Height: 34 inches
Weight: 27.6 pounds
Growth Chart: 75% in all measurements - height, weight, and head circumference
Activities: looking at books; coloring; playing outside; washing dishes - "hep didjes" ; talking; playing with balls and trucks; going to visit people; going to the store; trying to differentiate colors - currently most things are "gween"; counting - he can say what the next number in sequence is up to 9; music - current favorite devotional songs are "For God So Loved Us", "Running Over", and "Building Up The Temple"; and eating - loves almost everything


(This picture is for you Carmen, Jason, Dara and Lydia and Luke!)



Vincent
Age: 7 months
Height: 26 and 3/4 inches at 6 months
Weight: 17 pounds at 5 months
Activities: taking toys/blocks out of containers one by one; "jumping" in his exersaucer and making it move all over the floor; screeching happily; watching Elliot play; trying all kinds of foods; loves music - smiles almost constantly while we sing devotional songs; loves the outdoors; wants to be in on all the action now - I think he'll be more happy when he can finally crawl; and is generally curious and excited about the world around him.

Update On My Dad

Dad is still at UVA and surgery to repair his hip is scheduled for tomorrow (Monday). He is in good spirits, but is in more pain as more weight is attached to his leg (his leg is in traction). The doctors are amazed at the good health he has at his age (67). Yesterday when I was visiting him a doctor was in and asked a string of questions prior to surgery (he had a couple of blood clots on his lungs and surgery to place a filter in was needed), and was genuinely surprised when Dad answered "No" to almost every question on the list. That's certainly a blessing!!

To give an example of the way my dad is responding to his situation, when the emergency personnel were at the scene of his fall, they asked if he had any medical/health problems they needed to be aware of, and Dad answered "No, just accident prone". And that amidst experiencing severe pain!

A brief account of what happened: He was pressure washing the roof of his sister's house, unknowingly touched a hot wire, lost his balance, slipped, and fell 18 feet onto a concrete basement landing.

Continue to pray for Dad and Mom - there will be a long period of recovery ahead.