Proverbs 22:1

A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

If I had a nickel for every time my mother quoted this verse to me…

Growing up I went by my middle name, Stacy, which means “Resurrection.” Quite often my mother would remind me of what my name meant and how I needed to be sure to live a life that honors what my name means. Forty-one years after being named “Resurrection” I believe I have honored my name by keeping my faith in Christ.

When Julie and I were preparing to start our own family, we made a list of names we liked. I distinctly remember the names “Lydia Grace” and “Elaina Joy” being on the list. As we started to come to terms with our infertility, the desire to name our own children took a back seat to the overall goal of creating a family. Through a miraculous turn of events (that I have not written about in detail yet), we were able to name our oldest daughter the day she was born: “Lydia Grace”

Since Jessica‘s final adoption didn’t happen till she was three her name was something we hadn’t put a lot of thought into. It wasn’t until a family member, Debbie, suggested we go with changing her middle name to “Faith” and a spiritual overtone worked its way into our daughters’ names. “Elaina Joy” joined our family in 2001, and “Anjelia Hope” gave us an even four in 2003.

On Monday I wrote about my desire to pray the Bible for my family. Now I have a little work to do. I need to figure out how I can pray the Bible for my daughters and include their middle names.

What an honor it is to look at these four very beautiful women and pray Grace, Faith, Joy and Hope into their lives.