Summer time
It is summer right now (truth, I started this post in the summer and now it is literally days before fall so technically still summer, even though there are pumpkins on my mantle) and that means it’s time to go to the beach. When you go on vacation and visit a souvenir shop, do you stand at the keychain display and look for your name? Do you have a unique name or a common name?
My son’s name is Brandon, there is always a keychain with his name. When he was in the Boy Scouts, the leader would tell the new kids, “Just call out Brandon if you need help, the group has five Brandon’s so someone will answer”. My daughter is Catalina, she never finds anything with her name on it. She has only met one other Catalina ever. But I couldn’t picture either of my children with a different name.
Hello, what is your name?
What is the first question we usually ask when we meet someone new? “Hello, what’s your name?” Names are so important to who we are, to our identity. Where did you get your name? Are you named after your grandparent, a famous person, or maybe a city? My mom was babysitting a family when she was a teenager and one of the children was named Shannon and that is how I got my name. My middle name is Louise, which is my mom’s first name and both of my grandmother’s middle names, it is also my daughter’s middle name.
Our name can represent our heritage and where we come from. It is a very important decision to make when you are expecting a child. We went back and forth with my daughter’s name, Kaitlyn, Kathryn, Katelyn, Cathryn… Thinking of what nicknames she may have and what we would call her. We really wanted to call her Kate, however, we went with Catalina because it was the Spanish version of both Kaitlyn and Kathryn and we haven’t called her Kate a day in her life! We want our children to like the name we picked out for them. And all that work picking out the perfect name only to nickname them Bub and Keen, oh well.
How does your own name make you feel? Do you love it, hate it, or haven’t given it much thought? Do people mispronounce it and call you something different? I have an autographed playbill from the production of Annie from when I was 12 years old that is signed to Janet. My husband is Matt and this lady used to call him Marty, he never corrected her. I guess Janet and Marty will be our names if we ever have to go into the witness protection program. Well, would have been but not now that I told you.
Chrysanthemum
I love to read the book Chrysanthemum to my class on the first day of school. Chrysanthemum loves how her name looks on her birthday cake, on an envelope from the mail, and how she writes it with her orange crayon. (I loved how the tooth fairy used to write my name in glitter on tiny little notes left on the windowsill.) But she starts to hate her name when she goes to school and the other girls make fun of it. Has anyone ever made fun of your name? I hope not. After I read Chrysanthemum, we do a craft. (Freebie on my teacher’s pay teachers page, link here)
What does the Bible say about names?
” Now this is what the Lord says. He created you, people of Jacob, He formed you, people of Israel. He says ‘Don’t be afraid, because I have saved you. I have called you by name. You are mine.’ “ Isaiah 43:12
What does that mean for you? It means that God created you, God is with us all the time, we are precious in his sight. We don’t need to be afraid because God knows us, and he knows our name! How wonderful is that?
The craft has the part of Isaiah that says “I have called you by name. You are mine.” Take time today to think of how special you are to God and what that means that he knows OUR name!
Dear God,
Today I open my heart to you. I thank you for knowing my name. You know me better than I know myself, you have a plan for my life. (Jeremiah 29:11) You knew me before I was born, you knit me together in my mother’s womb, I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:13) Don’t let my desires get in the way of what you have planned for my life. You have called me by name and I am yours.
Amen
