What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet."~~ W. Shakespeare

Did you ever know someone (maybe yourself) that named their car? My husband named his 2nd car "The Fire Chicken", my first car was "Zippy" and we currently have a "Rex" parked in the driveway.

Which makes two "Rex"s for our house... as our 15 year old, Remington, decided in 5th grade that he preferred "Rex" to the "Remmy" that we had called him since he was a baby.

My daughter, Millie, is actually named Millicent... which started out as a joke before she was born.

(Milli-cent or "Little Penny"... get it?) You might say, I prefer names with a little more "Sparkle" than the more common names that some people name their children.

I grew up with a rather uncommon name. I could never buy the packs of personalized stickers, pencils or key chains like my friends with names like Kathy, Jill, or Amy. Sometimes I dreamed of a "regular" name for myself... Debbie was always my first pick. But now, as an adult, I have learned to embrace my name for all that it is. I can't imagine being called anything other than Penny. (Although I would like to try "Your Majesty" ... if I could get my kids to give it a go!)

When Kevin and I first met, nearly 3 years ago, I remember the day when I first heard his last name. I instantly thought, "Oh my gosh! I will have the cutest name EVER!" Later he confessed to me, that when he first saw my name in the first email I sent him, that he thought it would be a great name too. Everywhere I go, I get comments and giggles from people who appreciate they way our names go together. Penny Potts has a fun ring to it, you have to admit.

Even more exciting than my fun newlywed name, is this concept: those who choose to follow Christ and identify with His Glory are given a "new name", according to several places in scripture! This tells me that who we think we are on earth, is but a glimpse of who we will be in eternity where Jesus will write this new name upon us. The wonderful thing about this is that it won't be just any old name he places over us. It will be HIS name because He wants us to be a part of Him in the most intimate way, by sharing who He is with us. Isn't that something to look forward to?

You can get started on your re-naming process today, my friend. Ask Christ to begin transforming you into the person that He created you to be. He will help you find out who He is and what is important to Him along the way.

May your day be filled with Sparkle, from the inside out!