Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Mom & Me: Names

We have been observing many more opportunities lately for investing in the character of our children. In particular, our Emily has been struggling and I've been praying for wisdom in being intentional with her.

One idea that God provided was to take some time on Sunday evening, now that AWANA is finished for the year, and do some Bible Study one-on-one with her. But, I was overwhelmed with where to begin: there is SO much I want to cover!

Then, during my Mom's visit she brought up what Emily's name means and as I was praying about where to begin God brought this to mind.

With God's help, here is what I came up with:

Mom's Guide:
Importance of Names Mom Guide

Study Sheet:
Importance of Names Study Sheet

Here's how I envision this working. Sunday night we won't even look at the Study Sheet until after we are done. I will work through the Mom's Guide with her and we'll look up the Scripture passages together. We'll talk, learn, pray.

The Study Sheet will be hers to work through during the next five days.

While planning this, I remembered I had these "Seed Packets" my friend Stefani had made. They have little paper seeds inside with truths from God's Word pertaining to the meaning of any name! I absolutely love this creative idea and have been blessed by it many times before - now I'm excited to share with Emily!

Even though Stefani is a busy mom of five, she did confirm with me by e-mail that she is still making these Seed Packets. They are $5 each plus $1 for shipping. If you're interested in one for yourself or a gift (I've given lots for gifts!) you can e-mail me at thehomespunheart (at) hotmail (dot) com and I will get your message to her.

Sunday night arrived and we went out for a little treat to start off our study. I haven't really decided if I will just close my bedroom door and study with her at home or if we will have better success going somewhere else. I will probably mix it up some.

We had a great time together and I trust that God will do His work in her! For fun: do you know what your name means?

10 comments:

Mary Ann said...

Together my name means "Living Fragrance and Grace".

*carrie* said...

What a special idea, Monica. Yesterday was another very difficult day with Nathan (my "gift from God"), and I lay in bed praying for extra wisdom today. I actually told Eric last night that I'd like to plan to take Nathan out for some 1-1 time tonight.

Of course you know my name means strength or song of joy. Love it!

Lisa @ Simply Things Family said...

Thank you for sharing this. I always enjoy your posts. I will be printing and using in our home.

pippasmum said...

I love this idea!!! Names have so much significance and are a gift from God. We need to use them to praise Him! When we had our son, we had been going through some tough times and felt that he was a true blessing to us. We named him Iain (from John - "God is Gracious") and his middle name is Gideon because we felt, for so many reasons, that God was proving himself to be at work in our lives.
On a lighter note, my name, Sarah, means princess and when we were growing up, my brother insisted that his middle name was "King" since I was royalty, he had to be, too.

Unknown said...

My name means "Blind Reborn" and my children are "Gods Gift Wise Protection" and "Hero From Mary"

angie said...

I immediately printed your study guides. My daughter has been struggling with some anxiety at home and at school. I think some 1:1 time with her is just what is needed at this season of life. I plan to look up the meanings of our names and use this as a springboard for a name study and further discussion. Thank you for sharing your God-given inspiration.

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

My name means beloved. Thanks for sharing this--I think I'll try to do this with my girls!

Sarah E. said...

Love this, not only because I have an Emmalee Ruth but because the names of each of our children (first and middle) are biblical or family.

Mom said...

This is a great idea, Monica -- I hope that this study will be meaningful for both you and Emily. :)

My names mean:
Ruth: friend
Ann: gracious

I hope I am living up to these attributes!! Love you, Mom

Anonymous said...

How very precious. What a neat idea. Thanks for sharing.