Names

In Biblical times, everyone had a name that meant something.  For example, Naomi (pleasant) told all her friends in Bethlehem to start calling her Mara (bitter) after she lost her husband and sons.  And, of course, God changed people's names all the time.  Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Jacob to Israel.  Names are important.  They remind us who we are.

Robin means fame or bright, shining.  Renee, my middle name, means reborn or born again.  I'm not so big on the fame part, but I love the idea of being born again to shine.  I'm thinking about this a lot because I've just read two fiction books that deal heavily with the idea of names and how important they are to identity.  The first was The Warden and the Wolf King, book 4 of the Wingfeather Saga written by Andrew Peterson.  Yes, our Andrew Peterson who has performed at Cedar Valley and wrote a song for Jody Van Hove.  It is a fabulous series.  The other I just listened to today with my family on our trip to Sioux City.  It's A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L'Engle.  Both books emphasize the importance of being named.  That our identity comes through our name.  That we must never forget our names.

That got me thinking of a couple of things.  First,  the song "Hello, my name is" by Matthew West.  The chorus goes,

 "Hello, my name is child of the one true King

I've been saved, I've been changed, and I have been set free

"Amazing Grace" is the song I sing

Hello, my name is child of the one true King

The 7th Graders sang this at the final concert this year.  It's a great song and so true.  But even more than that, I've been thinking about the names of God.  I looked up "names of God" online, and here's what I got:

(From www.spiritual blessings.org)

This is an amalgam of names of God and names of Jesus, and I know it doesn't cover all of them.  But it's a nice start. At the bottom of this post is names of God from the Old Testament.  (I couldn't get it to copy right here, so it's at the bottom.)  It's from jimmypringle.wordpress.com.

Anyway- It is amazing to think of all the attributes of God and of Jesus as seen through his various names.  It is also interesting to think how our names define us.  I don't think my parents were thinking about the meaning of my name when I was born.  They just needed something that would go with Bob, Bobbi, and Rob. ;)  But I am going to claim the meaning of my name: Born again to shine.  Not to shine for myself, but to shine for Him.  To let every part of my life be a light shining the way to Jesus.  

I think I'll name my cancer.  I like the name Agatha.  I looked up the meaning.  It means "good."  I'll take that.  She is definitely opening up amazing, good opportunities in my life.  And anything that draws me closer to the Lord is definitely good.  So, Agatha it is.  

Now- it's time for a snack since I won't be able to eat tomorrow until after I get my powerport. :)