Parenting Within Christian Community

Yesterday evening we had the privilege of dedicating Sawyer at The Place. One of the verses that we chose for him is Isaiah 58:10+11. It says "Feed the hungry and help those in trouble, then your light will shine out from the darkness and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring" (NLT). The verse speaks both about living a life that is focused outward and about God's provision for us.

Our desire for Sawyer is that he would come into relationship with Christ, seek to know Him and live his life being an expression of Christ's love in the world. We believe that raising him to be this type of man requires a commitment on our part and on the part of our community.

Dedicating Sawyer is a public commitment by us as parents to raise Sawyer in the way God teaches us to. At the same time our community was committing to hold us accountable to that goal and to be involved with us in the process of raising Sawyer. That involvement started almost immediately when we had the privilege of having the leaders of the church pray for Sawyer's health, his surgery and his recovery, during the service. We are feeling the impact of everyone's prayers in the peace that we're experiencing as we start off this week. There's a lot on our minds and we're anxious sometimes but we're trusting God and feeling at peace knowing that we're in good hands.


Today Corinne and Sawyer left for the mainland to get the pre-op stuff done for Sawyer's surgery tomorrow. We have a challenging week ahead but it will be made considerably easier by two things. The first is the support of our families. My Mom is out in Victoria to help me hang out with Tyler and Riley, and Corinne's parents are helping Corinne out at the hospital. The second is the support of our Christian community at The Place and elsewhere.

Thanks to everyone for your support in its various forms! We'll keep you posted on Sawyer's progress.