What’s in a name?

Aaron and I put much thought and prayer into our baby girl’s name, and it has special meaning to us.  Her name will be …

I’m writing this blog post primarily for our daughter.  I hope someday she will read this, and know how much she was prayed for, and planned for, and how special her name is to us.

The reason we chose the name Faith is simply because our child is a direct result of our faith in God, and our faith in each other.

When I was a teenager I gave little thought to what God wanted for me.  I partied, and I had sex with my boyfriend with little to no thought on how God would feel about this.  It wasn’t until I went through a significant amount of pain and heartache that I realized, “This isn’t want I want.  What am I doing?”  In my early 20’s I began seeking God for my own personal reasons.  I wanted to learn about Him for myself, and not through my parents or the Church. I read books on various religions, but I needed to find the truth in Christ.  As I grew in my relationship with Him, I started wanting what God wanted for me.  I decided to wait on Him for the man He had planned for me.  If it was God’s will for me to marry someday, I decided I would settle for nothing less than a marriage that would glorify Him, and a husband that would share the same desire to love God as I do.  I was waiting on God’s promise. “Trust in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. He will do this.”  Psalm 37:3-5

When Aaron and I met, we had great spiritual differences.   Although we liked each other very much, we had doubts about a future together.  Aaron had an agnostic view of God.  My own faith in God was beginning to waver with the passing of years, and I started believing it may not even be God’s will for me to marry.  I remember asking God many questions as to why I would develop feelings for someone so spiritually different than me.  I only felt silence from Him.  I bought myself a ring as a reminder that no matter what happens in my life I will try my hardest to keep faith in God that He knows best and I would follow His plans for me.  The inscription on the ring is a Bible verse that says, “When you have faith… anything is possible.”   Matthew 17:20.
I wore it every day.

Aaron and I continued dating.  I didn’t drag his ass to Church, and I didn’t smack him in the head with a Bible.  Honestly, I wanted to see God’s hand move; not my hand.  I wanted this for my own personal reasons. I knew if I saw God’s hand move in our lives during His timing, and not mine, then my own faith in Him would strengthen.  I wanted this very badly.

The months rolled on. We had some bumps in the road, and spent some time apart. We both used this time  to gather our thoughts and reevaluate our lives.  I prayed for understanding, and Aaron bought a Bible in hopes to find answers for himself. These bumps turned into blessings.  Our relationship started taking an unexpected turn.  It felt like our hearts were softening, and we both began taking a fresh look at God, what He really means to us, and what He really wants for each of us.

On October 21, 2010,  I was at work, and Aaron was at my house.  When I got home I was so excited to see that the samples of Christmas tree branches finally came in the mail.  I sat on the living room floor grinning from ear to ear, and started looking through the samples to decide on which type of Christmas tree I would order.  I noticed on the coffee table was one of those familiar Bible pamphlets that my Dad carries around.  I have seen those little pamphlets all my life so I knew that Dad had stopped by while I was at work.  He frequently pops over just to talk, and we usually hear the same old stories over and over lol!  When I saw that pamphlet I laughed, and asked, “What did my dad try and save you?”  He said yes.  He said he prayed, and decided to follow Christ.  He wasn’t laughing.  He looked serious.  This was so out of the blue.  Aaron took a leap of faith that I wasn’t expecting.  I forgot all about my Christmas tree branches.  I sat next to him on the couch and tried to hold back tears.

On February 18, 2011, Aaron proposed, and I said yes!

Aaron told me that he had the hardest time trying to find out my ring size.  He told me that there was a day when I went to work, and forgot to put on my faith ring.  He said he saw it laying in the strawberry dish in the bathroom, got a pencil and paper, traced around the ring, and then went to Zales.  While he was telling me this, I felt God’s love pour all over me.  Every shred of residual doubt and fear vanished.  I don’t think Aaron realized the impact of what he was telling me.  That ring has been a comfort to me; a constant reminder that with faith all things are possible, and never did I expect that someday my faith ring would be used by Aaron to size my engagement ring! Is God amazing or what!?  For me, this was my crystal clear answer from God that He is personallyblessing our marriage.  God’s love and approval felt so undeniably strong; I only wanted to sit still and dwell in that moment.  When I explained to Aaron just how much that ring meant to me, and the significance it held for me, then he began to see what I saw.  God has been in control all along.  He knew about this day before we did.  He planned this.  Our lives together is truly His will.

I even saved the paper he used to trace my ring size.

During our engagement, we started taking premarital classes, and also a Dave Ramsey financial planning class at our church, which turned out to be alot of fun.

On St. Patrick’s day 2011 we were baptized.

On July 2, 2011 we were married.

On October 21, 2011 (the 1st anniversary of the day Aaron took that leap of faith and decided to follow Christ)  we found out I was pregnant!

Again, I have to say how amazing is our God! His timing is perfect!  I felt his love pour all over us, again.  It wasn’t just an ordinary day to find out we were going to have a baby.  It was the day Aaron chose God, and exactly one year later, God chose this special day to bless us, again :)

I bought Aaron a card on this special day.  I picked out this card right before I took the pregnancy test…

(Here is a link to my blog post for more details about this amazing day …  BIG NEWS! )

He gave us the the fruit of our faith!  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.”  Psalm 127:3

How can we not name our baby girl the one word that means the world to us?  The one word that has held so much power in our lives. Without our faith, she would not be here.  She is a living, breathing reminder of what faith can do in your life.  One day I hope to give her my ring, as her very own reminder.

Her middle name, Isabel, means “God’s Promise.”  ♥  “Trust in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. He will do this.”  Psalm 37:3-5.

Our hearts are filled with so much excitement and joy in anticipation for this wonderful blessing about to arrive in only a few more months!  I thank God EVERY SINGLE DAY for His love and grace ♥

My first lullaby I sing to Faith will be this …