Livin' Up To My Name by Brenda Leyland

"A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character.

You ask, What's in a name?

I answer, Just about everything you do."

MORRIS MANDEL

* * * 

"Brenda, quick like a bunny, run and get me some dill from the garden."

"Brenda, come set the table for supper."

"Brenda, you didn't practice your piano at all this week, did you?"

"Brenda, come to the blackboard and work out this math problem for us."

"Bren-da, hurry up, we're getting in the car!"

 

When I was a girl, I couldn't decide if I really liked my name or not. Looking back, I realize it wasn't the name itself, but rather because I most often heard it spoken when I was either in trouble or my mom (or teacher) required something of me—which often meant tearing myself away from the latest book I happened to be immersed in. If I heard "Brenda Colleen, come here right now!" well, there was no escaping it, I knew I was in deep trouble. So, you can appreciate why I did not pick up good vibes from hearing my name spoken. Oh yes, I got accolades for getting good grades in school, and I felt the love when my family sang happy birthday 'D-e-a-r Bren-da'. It's just that those other times stuck more vividly.

Still, that didn't keep me from pondering how my parents came to choose the name for their first-born daughter. After all, our name identifies us from others, and we identify with our name, and please don't misspell it. I knew some kids who were named for a grandparent or special aunty. When I thought to ask my mom years later, she told me about a couple they knew who called their daughter Brenda; Mom and Dad really liked the name. Popular at the time, it was in the Top 20 for baby names during the 1950s, the decade of my birth.

As a youngster, I learned in Sunday School that God called his children by name and these names found in the Bible often had special significance—names like Abraham, Sarah, David, Mary, Jesus. I was curious—did my name have any such significance, I'd never seen it in the Bible. I searched out the old Baby Names book on the family bookshelf and found that the accepted origin for the female name Brenda came from the Old Nordic Brandr, a male name meaning 'torch' and 'sword'. For a girl hoping for something more romantic, I was less than impressed. Colleen in Irish means 'lass'. I liked that. As an avid reader, I was tickled to learn years later that Brenda was ensconced in English literature, ensuring its place among female names on the British Isles, when Sir Walter Scott gave it to his heroine in his 1821 novel The Pirate.

In my youth it was especially popular for gift and book stores to sell personalized name mugs, bookmarks, and beverage coasters. I'd often stop to scan the racks of cups and smile when I spotted my name, even if I wasn't buying. One day I found a coaster with 'Brenda' inscribed on a cheery blue background with the epigraph: One who lives with enthusiasm; one who encourages others. That grabbed my heart - I loved the possibility of what I could do with that. The coaster came home with me and was used until it grew old and coffee stained. By then I no longer needed its daily reminder - it was part of me. I was glad to discover Bible verses that confirmed the message on the coaster:

"Whatever your hand finds to do,

do it with all your might."

from Ecclesiastes 9:10

"...that I should know how to speak a word

in season to him who is weary."

from Isaiah 50:4

"A word fitly spoken is like apples

of gold in a setting of silver."

from Proverbs 25:11

They became my watch words as I set about learning how to live my young life with enthusiasm, pouring myself into whatever I put my hand to. I watched for opportunities where I could share encouragement with my family and friends, neighbours and coworkers. At first, it was often through letters and cards that I reached out; then it was emails, and more recently, blog posts and social media pages. All with the desire to share a hopeful 'word in season'.

I'm grateful for my name. I like the sound of it when someone speaks it. I'm happy to report I don't get scolded much anymore, although the Lord will pull me up short on occasion, but he's kind about it so I never mind. I know my dear parents chose my name with careful thought and a lot of love, and so I cherish their gift to me. It's a marvel to think that God used an ordinary beverage coaster with its simple motto to set me on a lifelong journey where I could grow into my name. 

A long-time InScribe member, Brenda Colleen writes from her home in Alberta, Canada. She is inspired by the beauty in the world around her and writes about it on her blog It's A Beautiful Life and Facebook page.

What's My Name? by Carol Harrison

  

It didn't take too long until I realized that not everyone liked their given name (s). My mother confided she never liked her name and my second oldest doesn't like hers either which happens to be her grandmothers' names. This picture of a much younger me gives the impression that all is not right with my world and it might have been a bit of a cold that day that brought out the frown. It wasn't because I didn't like the names my folks bestowed upon me. 

My parents officially registered my name as Carol Elaine.  Mom told me they chose it for two reasons. They liked the sound of those two names together in that order and because a favourite cousin of my father had daughters named Carole and Beth Elaine. To pay homage to a special person in his life and subsequently in my mothers, they picked my name. 

But dad like Elaine the best and mom liked Carol. Dad won the discussion and they called me Elaine. Why change it? After all, I didn't hate the name. In fact as I became obsessed by reading and history, Elaine had a romantic connotation in Arthurian legend and from Tennyson's poem Elaine and Lancelot. The poem begins by talking about Lady Elaine with these words,  "Elaine the fair, Elaine the loveable".

My grandmother called me the diminutive form, Lainey, and it sounded so loving as it fell from her lips. To the day she died at 95, I remained her Lainey. Why would I want to change any of that? 

I didn't set out to deliberately change the name people called me and start using my first name of Carol, without the e. It happened by accident, one I didn't think would even matter in the grand scheme of things. Oh I admit, I secretly wished to go by my first name at times, at least until I heard my Grandmother call me her endearing term. Yet change it did and then stuck at least with some people. 

In my second year of university, students were asked to print their full name and circle the name they preferred to be called by. I dutifully printed Carol Elaine and after only a brief hesitation of my pen hovering over Carol, I moved on and circled Elaine. In spite of my circling my middle name, the professors continued to call me Carol as if that pen mark had disappeared from the papers. I didn't answer them at first. After all, I wasn't used to Carol and another Carol sat in one of the classroom seats. Then I attempted to change their minds to no avail. Finally, I decided it didn't matter and I would answer to what they chose to call me for the year. 

At school my name was Carol. At home or with friends it was Elaine. Confusion reigned at times but I adjusted well and deep down might have even enjoyed the intrigue, the change, and decided to go with the flow. What difference would it make? 

But I met a young man in those classes. Towards the end of the final term we began dating but thought it would be over when we went our separate ways for the summer and the following year. A few weeks of hanging out together with him calling me the only name he had heard in class wouldn't make any difference. 

Forty-eight years have disappeared into history since I began dating that fellow and almost forty-seven since I married him. He didn't want to change what he called me, especially since Elaine was also his mother's name. My family and old friends didn't want to change either so I began to answer to both of my names. At a time when most women changed their last names to that of their husband when they married, I managed to change both first and last and all documents are now signed as such. 

What's my name? My first and middle names both remain the same as on my birth certificate even though the one I used most flipped from middle to first. But what do those two names mean anyway? In searching for the meaning of them, I discovered that Carol is the feminine of Charles and means free man or free person. It also comes from the vocabulary word carol meaning joyous song. Elaine has a Greek origin and means sun ray or shining light. 

 I reflected on those meanings in light of being a follower of Jesus who has indeed set me free. He paid the penalty for all my sin when he died on the cross and rose again. I am free in a way only God could provide which gives a reason for joyous song no matter what the circumstances I find myself in. 

In Matthew 5: 14 - 16 it says, "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

As a follower of Jesus, I need to live up to the meaning of my middle name of Elaine and be a shining light to others. Rejoicing in word, action, and song for the freedom in Christ will encourage others and be that light to show them Jesus.

What's my name? I can change my name but it doesn't matter because God knows what it is and who I am. In Isaiah 43:1 I read, "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." So go ahead and call me Carol or call me Elaine for they are both my names, known by God just as everything else about me is known to him. 

Carol Elaine lives in Saskatoon with her husband. She loves to tell stories and has always enjoyed those family stories which helped shape who she is and what she enjoys.

Is it Connie? Or Constance? Or Corny? By Connie Mae Inglis

Your hands made me and formed me. –Ps. 119:73a

“Connie? Is your name short for Constance?” 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to answer that question. The answer is, “No, just Connie.” 

And there it is—just Connie. Nothing unique about my name, right?

In order to make sure that was true, I recently asked my mother again about where she and my dad got my name. She said they found it in a baby book of names that Dad had bought when they were hunting for a name for my older sister, Lovella. They saw the name “Connie” and liked it. Again, nothing unusual. 

BUT, there was more.

Both my parents grew up in strong Mennonite communities, my mother especially so. Communities where people had either Bible names or hand-me-down names from past relatives. Names like Michael or Maria, Gerhard or Justina, Reuben (my dad’s name) or Elizabeth (my mom’s name). 

Even when I was born, my grandma misunderstood and tweaked my name from Connie to Corny (short for Cornelius). She thought I was a boy, named after a relative. Throughout my childhood, we laughed about that as a family. I was an easy-going kid. I knew the gentle, but very Low-German, ways of my grandma. I just laughed along. Not Corny. Just Connie.

But not just Connie. 

You see, when my parents got married and started having children, they both knew they wanted to choose names for their children that were outside of the heritage norm. Names that weren’t like any they’d heard growing up. That didn’t mean they were turning their back on their Christian faith or their heritage. Far from it. I grew up in a strong Christian home and we faithfully attended the Mennonite Brethren Church, a country church outside the town of Borden. 

But my parents wanted something different for us. They had seven children and none of us have Mennonite-sounding or Bible names: Lovella, Connie, Tammy, Holly, Roxanne, Kimberly and Scott. 

Even my middle name is unusual in its spelling: Mae. 

Connie Mae. I like that. I like knowing that my name was thought about—that it was outside the norm. No offense to the all the people out there who have a Mennonite name because of their heritage, but I like knowing that there’s a unique story behind my name. 

I started this blog post with half of a verse. But there is more:

Your hands made me and formed me. Give me understanding so that I might learn your commands. Your loyal followers will be glad when they see me, for I find hope in your word. –Ps. 119:73,74

In God, I too am unique. Not just in my name. I have a unique calling to be ALL God wants me to be because nobody else can fill my shoes. Nobody else can offer the world hope in the same way that God leads me to. That is both a challenge and a joy. 

To God be the glory!

Meet Clan Nickel by Steph Beth Nickel

 

Nice to meet you!

I’m Stephanie Elizabeth. My first name means “crown,” and my second name means “oath of God.” As I recall, my mom liked the name Stephanie and one of her friend’s was named Elizabeth.

I married my hubby David Earl, my “beloved man of noble birth,” 38.5 years ago.

We have three grown children: (David) Nathanial, our “beloved gift from God,” Joshua Aaron, “Yeshua is salvation,” and Sarah Elizabeth, our “Princess, oath of God.”

A Beloved Gift

I’d always wanted to be a mom. Therefore, it made perfect sense to name our firstborn David Nathanial. (He goes by Nathanial or Nate. We never wanted him to be known as “Little Davey.”) The sad irony is that he and his wife aren’t walking with the Lord. Nathanial would have referred to himself as a Christian until he was in his early 20s. He’s now in his mid-30s. Of course, he’s still beloved and a gift from God. It is our prayer that the Lord will draw him, his wife, and her family to Himself.

Fun fact: if our firstborn had been a daughter, we would have named her Melody Alyssa, which refers to a noble song. My hubby is a musician. So, this name would have been a tribute to him.

The Gospel in a Name

Our second son, who would have been named Natasha if he’d been a girl. I don’t think we ever settled on a second name, but at the time, I was involved in praying for and reaching out to Russian brothers and sisters in Christ who were being persecuted for their faith. Therefore, it seemed appropriate to choose a Russian name. (I also liked Sebastiana Alexandra, but that would have been a mouthful.)

However, God knew I had always wanted a daughter and may not have had more children if He’d given us a daughter back in 1984 or 1988, when our sons were born. And I can’t imagine life without either of them.

Joshua Aaron is very much like his dad, an easygoing, faithful follower of Jesus. Joshua settled in northern Saskatchewan after graduating from Bible college there. (It was amazing how God opened those doors, but that’s a story for another day.) Joshua is a gymnastics coach and very involved in his church. He also preaches from time to time. He’s getting married this summer, and we are hopeful that we’ll be able to attend.

Even though Joshua lives only two provinces away, it feels almost as distant as Scotland, where his brother lives. Dave and I hope to get back to the UK at least once more. It’s GORGEOUS!

Made Complete

On February 28, 1990, God sent us our third precious blessing. Our family was complete. Enter Sarah Elizabeth. Remember how I said I’d always wanted a daughter? One day, when she was having a disagreement with her brothers, she said, “Mom wanted me more than you.”

Oh, dear!

I had to tell her that I’d shared how much I wanted a little girl to let her know how special she was to me. I also told her that I hadn’t been smart enough to realize what a blessing little boys were as well.

Oh, the stories we as parents could tell!

Certainty Among Uncertainty

If this past year has taught us anything, it’s that we truly don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know when I’ll see Nathanial and Laura again. (Hopefully, next summer in Jasper, Alberta, if not this year.) I don’t know if we’ll be able to attend Joshua and Ericka’s wedding, which they inadvertently set for my 39^th wedding anniversary. What fun! I don’t know if Sarah will ever get an apartment with her BFF as they’re planning or if the Lord has other plans for her future.

What do I know?

(David) Nathanial is still our beloved gift from God.

Joshua Aaron bears the greatest truth of all eternity in his name. Jesus (Yeshua) is, indeed, the only source of salvation.

Sarah Elizabeth is our princess, evidence that God’s oaths, His promises, will all be fulfilled.

Names, they mean a lot.

And we must always keep foremost in our mind the Name Above All Names, our Lord Jesus Christ. During these days, it’s especially hard to do so, but as we repeatedly take our thoughts captive to obey Him (2 Corinthians 10:5), we will be richly blessed.