beautiful name

a picture from gatesville, tx

the downtown square at sunset

with the reflection of the courthouse

by wm. blake spencer

what is in a name?

that is the question!

the beauty of a name

is more often than not

connected to the one who is named.

the stories and personality

the gifts and perspectives

the struggles and achievements

the laughter and hope

of the one named

brings life to the name.

what is your name?

how do you bring your name alive?

the church i am serving is about to move

which requires changing the name.

it is an interesting journey.

if you changed your name

what would you choose?

why?

how

would your new name

impact your life?

we pondered lists and lists of names

hoping one would jump off the page

and be so tantalizing

that the mere speaking of the name

would create the reality of new life.

some say the name Jesus does this.

funny...

we didn't consider

Jesus Presbyterian Church.

i do think what we discovered

is that the name we do choose

is really secondary to the

stories and life we bring to the name.

the words we use to welcome people,

and how we use our hands to

bring alive what we say we believe

will indeed

make the name

we choose

significant.

i suppose the same is true

for our own name.