In our church, when an
infant is a few months old, they are given a name and a blessing. This puts the baby on the records of the church, though they don't actually become a member until they are baptised when older. Jonathan was blessed in Sacrament Meeting by his dad yesterday, and it was a really sweet experience. His name of record is Jonathan Ward Dieckmann, something that had been decided long ago... (thanks for no surprises Tim). After the name was pronounced, Tim gave him a blessing. I don't have notes here, but I wanted to record some of the things that really stuck out to me.
* named after friend based on qualities, some of which are hard work and dedication
* look to namesakes for example
* we are blessed as a family to have him as part of our lives
* follow good examples of parents, sisters, friends, to make good choices in life
such as being baptised, going on a mission, and getting married in the temple
* find a righteous girl that will desire to go to the temple to be married
* blessed the parents of that special girl to raise her in righteousness
Jonathan is such a sweet, easy going baby. He has a terrible cold in his eyes that has been just miserable for him. They are constantly goopy and have been crusted shut several times (and yes, I'm sure it is a cold and not pink eye...) I was able to clean his eyes a bit right before I handed him to Tim, and he didn't even complain. Not a peep the entire time. The microphone kept giving feedback so they turned it off toward the end of the blessing, and it was so quiet Tim was able to talk loud enough for everyone to hear.
Those that stood in the circle included Tim, my dad, my brother Jeff, my brother-in-law Ron, Tim's friends Max Iwaniec and Jon (yes, Jonathan) Oldroyd, Bishop Burgoyne (old bishop), Ric Van Beekum (ward clerk that Tim has gotten close to due to his calling as executive secretary), and Mike Banks as a representative of the bishopric. Many of the people we wanted there were unable to make it, some due to illness (Tim's dad), others because of responsibilities in their own ward (especially since it was the first week of the year), and others because of distance.... but it was special anyway.
It was kind of funny. Jon's wife hadn't believed that we really named our son after her husband. I guess she thought we were just kidding around when we told them that, I don't know. But due to what Tim said about the source of Jonathan's name in the blessing, she believes us now :) I was really glad they came. He has been really sick and didn't feel up to coming, but he knew how much it meant to Tim for him to be there, so he dragged himself out of bed and came. That is part of the dedication thing Tim was talking about....
Tim bore a really sweet testimony later in the meeting. He talked about how special Jonathan has been in our lives, and what a wonderful addition he has been to our family. He also talked about the importance of the non-familial examples he's had in his life. His family really wasn't very active as he was growing up. It was largely due to Jon Oldroyd and his family, especially his dad Thom, that Tim has such a strong testimony now. They were there and helped him have a desire to attend church when it would have been much easier to stay home. They showed him what it meant to have the priesthood in the home since his dad worked nights and wasn't around (awake) very often. When Tim and his family moved to Sandy he met Max Iwaniec. The two of them became good friends after their missions, and really helped each other stay strong. And, bonus for me, it was through Max's wife Dianna that the two of us met.
infant is a few months old, they are given a name and a blessing. This puts the baby on the records of the church, though they don't actually become a member until they are baptised when older. Jonathan was blessed in Sacrament Meeting by his dad yesterday, and it was a really sweet experience. His name of record is Jonathan Ward Dieckmann, something that had been decided long ago... (thanks for no surprises Tim). After the name was pronounced, Tim gave him a blessing. I don't have notes here, but I wanted to record some of the things that really stuck out to me.* named after friend based on qualities, some of which are hard work and dedication
* look to namesakes for example
* we are blessed as a family to have him as part of our lives
* follow good examples of parents, sisters, friends, to make good choices in life
such as being baptised, going on a mission, and getting married in the temple
* find a righteous girl that will desire to go to the temple to be married
* blessed the parents of that special girl to raise her in righteousness
Jonathan is such a sweet, easy going baby. He has a terrible cold in his eyes that has been just miserable for him. They are constantly goopy and have been crusted shut several times (and yes, I'm sure it is a cold and not pink eye...) I was able to clean his eyes a bit right before I handed him to Tim, and he didn't even complain. Not a peep the entire time. The microphone kept giving feedback so they turned it off toward the end of the blessing, and it was so quiet Tim was able to talk loud enough for everyone to hear.
Those that stood in the circle included Tim, my dad, my brother Jeff, my brother-in-law Ron, Tim's friends Max Iwaniec and Jon (yes, Jonathan) Oldroyd, Bishop Burgoyne (old bishop), Ric Van Beekum (ward clerk that Tim has gotten close to due to his calling as executive secretary), and Mike Banks as a representative of the bishopric. Many of the people we wanted there were unable to make it, some due to illness (Tim's dad), others because of responsibilities in their own ward (especially since it was the first week of the year), and others because of distance.... but it was special anyway.
It was kind of funny. Jon's wife hadn't believed that we really named our son after her husband. I guess she thought we were just kidding around when we told them that, I don't know. But due to what Tim said about the source of Jonathan's name in the blessing, she believes us now :) I was really glad they came. He has been really sick and didn't feel up to coming, but he knew how much it meant to Tim for him to be there, so he dragged himself out of bed and came. That is part of the dedication thing Tim was talking about....
Tim bore a really sweet testimony later in the meeting. He talked about how special Jonathan has been in our lives, and what a wonderful addition he has been to our family. He also talked about the importance of the non-familial examples he's had in his life. His family really wasn't very active as he was growing up. It was largely due to Jon Oldroyd and his family, especially his dad Thom, that Tim has such a strong testimony now. They were there and helped him have a desire to attend church when it would have been much easier to stay home. They showed him what it meant to have the priesthood in the home since his dad worked nights and wasn't around (awake) very often. When Tim and his family moved to Sandy he met Max Iwaniec. The two of them became good friends after their missions, and really helped each other stay strong. And, bonus for me, it was through Max's wife Dianna that the two of us met.
1 comment:
How neat Laura, we were sad we had to miss it. Hope to see everyone soon.
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