what's in a name?

Someone asked me recently, “If you had another boy (or baby) - what would you name them?”


This started a very interesting conversation.

I love baby names!!! Pretty sure we aren't having any more babies but I still can't stop myself from thinking of baby names. Luckily Heath doesn't actually have to agree to any of these. ha!

If we had another boy - my top picks would be:

Wesley Walker (Wes)or William Walker (Will)

Wesley is a huge family name on my Grandma’s side of the family and Walker is her and my Grandpas last name. Heath’s Dad is William (Billy). I love last names for first and middle names.

I if we ever had/have a girl (and if we do have another it will be a total God thing because we are NOT “in the market”), I would like to go with an "M" name:

Maren Elizabeth

Mattison Elaine

Maggie Emelyn

The “ME” trend was not intentional… those are just the combinations of several names I like. I would like an “MJJ” since those are my initials but “MEJ” is ok too.

However, should another baby ever come into our lives, and my OCD kick in, I would almost be required to name him or her Sonnie. Which isn’t bad. My Grandpas nickname was Son, and I also think Sonnie is cute for a little girl. And pretty playful for a boy too.

Why Sonnie, you ask?

You see, as most of you know, we currently have Lucas and Cason. I did a post once about where each of their names "came from" and why we chose them. 

We totally did not plan this and did not realize until Cason was a few weeks old and our 4 year old smarty pants Lucas said, “HEY – look. LUCASON. Our names go together!” So what other name would continue that trend? Sonnie.

LUCASONNIE

And then of course Heath brought up the fact that were we to ever have a daughter, he’d love to somehow name her after his Dad, who’s middle name is Dee. BUST.MY.BUBBLE…

So there you have it – our non-existent daughter has been dubbed none other than:

Sonnie Dee.

Poor kid.

Running

In the Midst of Tragedy, Where Do You Run?

"That's what Americans do in times of crisis," Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley, a Boston mayoral candidate, said. "We come together and we help one another. Moments like these, terrible as they are, don't show our weakness, they show our strength." (Source: ABC News)

I don’t know about you, but I’m hurting.  It’s as though we are just beginning the healing process from the painful and tragic headlines that have consistently assailed our senses over the past year, when even more heartrending stories and images darkly greet our days.Yet I wholeheartedly agree with the quote - don’t you? 

Terrible moments like the Boston Marathon bombings and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas immediately demonstrate the nature of what truly dwells in the soul of people.And nowhere does that nature surface more visibly than in the images of people’s reactions in the moment of crisis. 

In West, there were a few people who felt justified in looting and taking advantage of a horrific situation. In Boston, many folks ran the opposite direction when the explosions occurred - and honestly - who could blame them?But what inspired me and sparked a kindle of hope in the grief of these calamities were the accounts of the small community in Texas coming together as a family to carry each other through the loss.  And perhaps even more heartening was the picture I have imbedded in my mind of people actually sprinting towards the blast areas in Boston regardless of the danger, because their sole focus was on helping the broken.

As I pray for the communities of Boston and West, Texas, it occurred to me that I am not only capable of - but actively engaged in – both kinds of reacting seen in these two areas impacted by calamity.  I have never been around a terrible explosion and given a choice to run or help, but I am constantly surrounded by people who have been blindsided by disappointment, loss, grief, and the negative consequences of their choices.And so what is my nature?

Sometimes I run…not physically - but emotionally I pull away and dwell on my own contentment - afraid to enter their pain because it might get messy and uncomfortable.  Even worse, there are times when I feel justified in “looting” the situation by selfishly focusing on what I might gain from other’s losses.And if you are honest, you and I are very much alike.  It is in our nature to be looters and abdicators when pain is present, but Jesus clearly calls us to a different standard:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come”  (Luke 4:18-19).

If we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, then these verses clearly lay out our job description.  We are to be the “first responders” in a world constantly burdened by the fallout of a fallen condition.  There are people all around who are impoverished physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  There are captives and prisoners who have been enslaved by abuse from others and harmful choices of their own.

And there are many who are blind to the life saving message that Jesus Christ is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.  His offer of forgiveness is freely extended, but so many cannot see the light of the gospel because they are bound in the chains of their darkness and wounded by the detonations that accompany our journey through a sinful world.

If you want to be the hands and feet of Christ, you must take seriously the high calling of engaging in the lives of the wounded and broken.  Open your spiritual eyes and ears and identify friends who may look OK on the outside, but on the inside they are dealing with crippling pain.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that “someone else” will come along and help, because you may be the only Jesus some will ever encounter.  His Spirit is upon you, and He has anointed you in THE Cause of making disciples.

In the midst of tragedy, where do you run?

Boring.

I think, sometimes boring is just what you need.

I made it my personal goal and mission to finish out the weekend by watching some Quality Sunday Evening Television. In fact, I sat through an entire episode of 60 Minutes for the first time in about fifteenyears, and do you know what? It was delightful. When I was younger I used to associate the sound of the 60 Minutes stopwatch with DREAD and DOOM and HORROR because SCHOOL IS COMING SOON, but now it just makes me think about Sunday nights at my grandparents’ house. And how we ate leftover pot roast a lot for Sunday night supper. And how BarbaraWalters always seemed so cool and with it compared to all the other reporters.


The mind works in peculiar ways, doesn’t it?

We’ve had a really laid-back weekend at our house, mainly because there is a child in this house who is waging war with pollen right now. I’m guessing you know which child I am talking about since, but if not that child is my eldest- Lucas, but he usually has four or five days every spring when the pollen makes him absolutely miserable, and that’s exactly where we were at the end of last week. Friday he coughed from the time he got out of bed until the time he went to sleep, and while on one hand I felt so sorry for him and wanted so much for him to feel better, I was also about ready to take that cough outside and give it a piece of my mind because OH MY WORD IT WOULD NOT STOP. Thankfully, yesterday and today have been so much better and we even made a trip to the county fair where his daddy came pretty close to scaring the sneezes and snot out of him on the roller coasters.  We had dinner for a friends birthday too, and that was fun but very laid back. LOVED it.

So all in all, I guess, it was kind of a boring weekend. But after last weekend long tournament and the associated drama, I’ll take it. It was just what we needed. Luke is feeling better, we are rested and hopefully there’s some springtime fun in store this next week – springtime fun that’s cough-and-sneeze-free.

That would be a wonder, now wouldn’t it?

FINGERS CROSSED.

Also.  I have some links.  Just some stuff I've come across recently that I'd like to share.

- “Because I think we need more voices gently declaring that marriage slants hard, and that’s ok. Sometimes grace finds shape in ‘me too!’ And even more than that, this recognition of shared struggles leads to the novel and frightening realization that perhaps God wants to teach us something through marriage that has less to do with happiness and an equitable sharing of chores than it does with our hearts.” – Done: For days when marriage feels impossibly hard




- “…this birthday marks the halfway point of your childhood. Nine years have whizzed by– nine years of playgroups and picture books, dolls and songs, snuggling and walks in the woods. In just nine more years, you’ll be preparing to graduate from high school, and go on to college, and start life as an adult. And I’m sorry, Punky, but that that’s just not enough time. I need more time.” – The Halfway Point

- I saw this on Ann’s blog this morning, and it struck me as just right in light of yesterday’s tragedies.






Happy Monday, y’all!

Perfect

I have been working on this blog for what seems like days... Start, get interrupted, forget.  Repeat. 

 

Anyway, Do you want to know something? I'm so guilty of wanting to capture the "perfect" holiday pictures. The ones where our kids are perfectly posed in their sweet coordinating clothes with sweet, angelic looks on their faces...maybe even sweetly holding hands with big, squinty-eyed grins.

 I'm not sure why I put that pressure on myself sometimes to capture life that way. Maybe that is the way I want to remember it? Maybe that's how I want our family to be perceived? Either way, perfect isn't the norm around our house.

Sometimes our kids stand on furniture at the end of meals in clothing selections that are less than adorable...

 

Sometimes our kids beg for no more pictures and wiggle until we let them run free....

 

Sometimes our perfectly behaved children stick their tongues out at the camera or make very un-perfect faces

 

 

Sometimes (or every time) our kids fight when we attempt to get a "perfect" picture of them together....

Sometimes they are over pictures and sometimes I look like a crazy lady by the last few attempts...

 

No, this is not my long lost daughter.  But she is my cousin's daughter and one of the sweetest little gals I know.  Even she was tired of my camera!

 

When I look back on this season of our life, I am confident these are the pictures I will love most. The real ones. The ones of us doing our perfectly imperfect life together.

The fact is, our family is far from perfect, our lives are far from perfect, and we are really crazy, flawed individuals.

 

 

Saw this.

Loved it.

Trying to remember it daily.

And I LOVED this post by Beth Moore. This is EXACTLY what I have been struggling with for the last few years. I can't tell you how much relief her post gave me. We all have different passions. Mine may be different (or much smaller) than yours - and that's okay.

http://blog.lproof.org/2013/03/what-would-you-look-like.html

And on a similar note - Kelly Minter wrote a great post. If you feel like what you are doing is not significant or important ...........read this:

http://kellyminter.com/2013/04/quiet-and-small-its-okay/

 

I'm almost certain that God makes the Ornery ones cuter on purpose.

 

 

Gosh I love this little mischievous boy.