Names

What’s in a name really? What happens if you name your kid something and come to find out the meaning isn’t that great? What if you choose a name and they get teased for the rest of their life? Or they interview for a job and their resume get’s passed over because of the name you gave them!

Yes, we’ve thought of names. In fact, we’ve been thinking of them for 2 years. One of the names we came up with 2 years ago (yes, before any of you did) has now been used, I hear it often and don’t know what to do about that. Do we nix it or go forward?
And…where on earth do people find names? It seems everyone has the same idea but then I hear a name I’ve never heard before and I think: now what website did you go to in order to come up with that.....

So…when you pass by a name, throw it out there... We’ll see what happens. We aren’t finding out the gender so we have to come up with boy and girl names. We have some in mind but of course this runs through my head all the time!

Summer and Winter

I was looking at blogs last night and stumbled upon this. It is from Matt Chandler's family blog. I hope it blesses you today.

"Thou hast made summer and winter."
--Psalm 74:17
My soul begin this wintry month with thy God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind thee that He keeps His covenant with day and night, and tend to assure thee that He will also keep that glorious covenant which He has made with thee in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to His Word in the revolutions of the seasons of this poor sin-polluted world, will not prove unfaithful in His dealings with His own well-beloved Son.

Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it be upon thee just now it will be very painful to thee: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: He scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: He casteth forth His ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, He is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore thou canst not murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are of the Lord's sending, and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill noxious insects, and put a bound to raging diseases; they break up the clods, and sweeten the soul. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!

How we prize the fire just now! how pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw nigh to Him, and in Him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of His promises, and go forth to labours which befit the season, for it were ill to be as the sluggard who will not plough by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.

God's Child

This weekend my mom and I went looking for a few things for Christmas. One of them was an ornament for the baby we miscarried. It was very sweet of her to think of that. It hadn't crossed my mind and meant a lot to me actually. So, we had looked at a few and then came upon this ornament. I don't know if I would buy this ornament for any other child but the one God took early. It seemed perfect to me. The reason it is blue is not because we thought it was a boy but because last we knew it was the size of a blueberry and so we kind of go back to that when thinking of that time.

My mom asked what I wanted to write on the back of it (b/c we have an ornament from every year of our life that is written on)...My first thought was "we found out we would miscarry on May 18 so I guess May 2009"...and then it hit me...May 18? Really?...let me double check my calendar, so I did. Yep, May 18. Now, as I have proclaimed over and over through the last 2 years and have tried to believe whole heartedly in is "The Lord Gives and He Takes Away". The reason the date May 18 hit me so strong is because our current baby is due May 19.

The Lord did not have to orchestrate things in such a way to work out as they did. The current baby could have been due on any other day, we could have lost the other one on any other day but that isn't what He intended. We will forever have a reminder of the Lord's faithfulness, once again, during the month of May. When he turned mourning into dancing, a crown of beauty instead of ashes, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair. And as we read the day we had a little ceremony back in May, Isaiah 35:1-4 was also written on the back of the ornament.

So sweet. Thanks Lord....and p.s...there is a bloom on our tree this morning. A blue bloom :)

Strollers...asking for opinions

Come one come all...I need your opinion....

Blake and I are already looking at a few things for the baby to see if we want to ask for any items for Christmas. We dropped by a store today and looked briefly. Maybe we should borrow a baby and go to the store :) A few questions about strollers....you can also add your comment about any other item if you would like.

This is what I want to know:

What Stroller do you use?

Do you love your stroller?

What is the most important thing to you about your stroller?

Do one of your friends have a stroller you envy?..what kind is it?

What do you hate about your stroller?

Tell your friends, even if I don't know them...to tell you what they use, love and hate!

Good Read...

My dad wrote the following post. I read it and originally thought "so that's where I get it from"...keeping notes, my love for words of encouragement, boxes and boxes of highschool notes (i finally threw away)...etc. Then I too, thought of the people in my life who have impacted me in such a way by a simple note, including my parents. I'm thankful for the time they took out of their schedule to put thoughts down on paper. I actually keep a little board in my kitchen with notes on it from sweet friends of mine. It's probably a lost art. I have not been good about doing this recently and would like to be better about it again. So read the post below and think of someone who would enjoy getting a note from you in the mail!

Making an Impact in People's Lives

So what are you thankful for?

I went to my file drawer and pulled out a folder with notes and cards written to me that I have kept for over 30 years. It's not an ego thing on my part to keep notes, but I remember years ago a 'sage' I respect encouraged me to keep a file on notes of appreciation sent to me. They would be important to read when days of discouragement come and to remind me I have made a difference in someone's life.

Some are from kids who used to be in my youth group like Keith Rogers, Trudy McKesson, Denise Herndon, Kim and Kerri Simmons, Dan Sides, Angela McGinn, Daryl Zeller, and many more. There were notes from some parents who encouraged me as I tried to be a person of influence in their son or daughter's life like Kay Lashley, Linda McHaney, Pat Morrison, Bruce Moran, Peggy Means, and Ronnie and Marsha White.

I have notes from individuals I have worked with in the past like A.B. Morris, Patty Weaver, Danny Mize, Johnny and Susie Davis, Steve Dominiak, Pattye Moore, and Josh Landry. Some like Harrold Owen, Peggy Means and Debbie Bradshaw have signficant meaning to me because they have since died. Still their spirit lives on with the words of encouragement on the page.

And finally the best ones are from three people I admire most: Becky, Erynn and Ryan. They are the notes who touch the very core of who I am and want to be.

So what's the point? The point is true leadership is about impacting people's lives. One significant way to do that is to tell them. Write a note. Before email there was 'slow' mail. Today it's too easy and common to just sent an email to someone you appreciate. Do you really want to make a difference in someone's day or life? Take the time to write a personal note, put it in an envelope and send it 'slow' mail. Send it to their home address. I realize you have to be careful as a professional in writing words of encouragement to other people who work with you but what's wrong with just a 'post it' note? Or a card written by you?

Be thankful. Tell them you appreciate them for something or for just making your life better.

I have kept the cards and notes because they mean more than just cards and notes. They represent real, live people whom I have had the joy of sharing life with. And for each individual it's an incredible memory to be thankful for.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

rb