Cody's Spiritual Bday

Yesterday was Cody's spiritual Birthday. 7 years ago, he asked Jesus into his heart. That is something we want to celebrate in our family. We start with a special meal of the child's choice.

Cody chose pizza

At dinner, we talk about their last year as a follower of Jesus. We ask the child what God has taught them this year. We share how we have seen him grow spiritually. We encourage him towards growth in the next year.

I try to find some type of small gift that can contribute towards his pursuit of God. Some gifts in the past have a been a journal, highlighter and index cards, post-it flags, devotional book, etc. This year, we gave Cody a small marker board of his own that he can use for Scripture memorization, encouragement, and writing messages to himself or us writing messages to him.

Getting his gift

It is our tradition to have ice cream sundaes for spiritual bdays. Our rationalization is that Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday so we eat sundaes to celebrate the relationship with him.

Cody and his sundae topped with milk duds

Cody immediately started using his marker board. He wrote a message to himself for today.

His first message

I have loved seeing Cody mature this year. His faith is becoming something he is actively pursuing on his own. We are so thankful for the youth group and leaders who have really challenged him spiritually. He is discovering the excitement of reading God's Word and having God speak to him. I pray that the experiences that our family is going through will also be a catalyst for growth in him. We always want to lead him towards faith and trust in God in every area of our lives. Our adoption was quite the faith journey for us, and now, we are embarking on a new faith journey together.

We love you, Cody. God really does have big plans for you. Keep seeking Him through your strengths and weaknesses, your victories and struggles.