What's in a name???? part 1

What's in a name, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet....

Uh-oh quoting Shakespeare, what is she up to now!!

Names...we all have them. We were given one or two at birth, added a surname and some of us later added a married name. Then there are the nicknames we get...."Honey, Sweetie, Mommy" or shortened versions of our name. In my home, my youngest son calls my older son "Bubba," that's his brother and that's what he calls him. I like it. It reminds them of the relationship God put them in.

So, what about your name. I have had issue with mine at times. I distictly remember that in fifth grade there were five girls named "Lisa" in my class. So then, I was "Lisa R." When I was a sophomore in high school, we moved and I changed high schools. I seriously thought of going by my middle name. Believe it or not, I was a quiet and sjy girl, did not make friends easily and thought if I changed my name when I changed schools it would help me change. I was so shy that I would not even go ask for ketchup at McDonald's! But, we see I didn't change it. But, God did start changing me. He began to help me open up more. He opened my mouth, and I don't think it has closed much since then.

If you have ever had to name a child, you know it can be hard, especially when you start to think about what a name means. I didn't thnk about that a lot with my boys (sorry to admit). My husband and I did not agree on a lot of names. He likes traditional names, I like different names(throwback to being one of five Lisa's). We got to "L" in the name book before we agreed, and that is how my first son was named. But it is fun to find out what your name means. We don't think about it often in modern times. But maybe we should.

My name means "Consecrated to God". Whoa--a lot to live up to! Promised and set apart for God. That is the name I want to live up to. I still struggle with wanting to be a quiet loner---SHOCKING I KNOW! But, God has placed in me a passion for Him. My friend says that God did not give me this mouth and not want it used for Him. I could talk all day about God, His love, His mercy, His WORD, and the life changing things He has done for me. Normally, when I talk I use my hands...my mother used to say that if you tied my hands behind my back, I couldn't talk. But when I start talking about Him, or His Word, my whole body gets involved. Ask my Bible study gals! I don't understand it...but maybe it is the living up to my name. Set apart for Him....when I let Him takeover, I live up to it.