How to Find the Meaning of Your Name

Understanding your name is so powerful!  As I said on the video I posted (and re-posted below), I believe your spiritual DNA is in your name.  So to help you understand how it works, I'm going to take you through a process I use--which you can use as a tool to help you find your own name's meaning.

First, write down EACH of your names.  For instance, my first name is Becky, my middle name is Darlene, my maiden name is Sanders, and my married name is Dietz.  So my full name is Becky Darlene Sanders Dietz.  But since I believe that every name which comes into your life is significant, I'll also use my mother's maiden name, Childress.  Becky Darlene Childress Sanders Dietz.

I'll google the meaning of each of these names.  There are lots of baby name websites you can use.  But usually if you google, "meaning of name ______" it will automatically pull up a meaning.  So here we go!

Becky:  snare, captivating
Darlene:  darling, beloved
Childress:  orphan, orphanage
Sanders:  defender of mankind
Dietz:  ruler of the people

Many of our last names (surnames) have come from a location or occupation.  If there were lots of Beckys in an area, they would call me "Becky from the orphanage."  That way, I would be singled out from "Becky from the meadow" and so on.  My daughter's married name is Wright, which comes from an occupation.  So that family was singled out from other families because they were craftsmen.   The interesting thing is that even though a name comes from a location or occupation, it still has spiritual significance.   For instance, a craftsman is a picture of someone who is creative and knows how to put things together--they can craft ironwork, wood, art, words.  A spiritual craftsman might be someone who is able to take the Word of God and bring understanding to it.  They may be able to lead and organize a ministry.  You may have to research to understand what that name means--and ask the Holy Spirit, who is your teacher, to give you understanding.

Two of my names have a potentially negative meaning:  Becky & Childress.  And I can be both a snare or trap or act like an orphan--in the flesh.  But when I walk in agreement with the Spirit of God, I am both captivating and an orphanage.  So if your name has a negative meaning, realize that's who you are if you're not walking with God.  But...God ALWAYS wants to turn it into a positive in your life.

So if I'm taking all of my names together and believing there's a story there (having asked the Holy Spirit for illumination), this is how it would read:

Becky, you are captivating.  Your love for God draws others in.  You've been chosen by God and dearly loved by Him.  You are the apple of His eye.  You once were an orphan (trapped in sin), but you were adopted by God Himself because He loved you even when you were unlovely.  He took you in, loved you completely, and His love began to change you.  You became a new person with a new name!  God's love for you began to bloom in your heart and you blossomed into a well-loved child who matured and began to take others in.  You became a safe place where others were nurtured.  You've invested spiritually in dozens of lives--and turned other orphans' hearts towards a Father who loves them well.  Not only did you become an orphanage--a place where spiritual children were nurtured, but you became a defender of mankind.  You love BIG!  You hate seeing people hurt or manipulated or put down.  You will jump in to defend them.  Darling girl, you will rule in the kingdom of God.  You will rule well because you know what it's like to have nothing and to be left out.  Your rule will always point to God--you're a true representative of Him, the King of kings.  Your love will draw others into God's kingdom.

This is my story.  It starts from when I was an "orphan"--but it grows into ruling in the kingdom of God.  And every part of this story is true of me.  It's my spiritual DNA.  It was programmed into me when I was named.  It's kind of like looking at an acorn--and knowing an oak tree is packed inside!  God knew from before we were conceived what our name would be--and who we would be!

It's so interesting to take a name (even of someone I've never met) and being able to see who they are!  We've lost this ability.  In Hebrew & Greek, when a name was spoken, the meaning was spoken at the same time.  Abram=exalted father.  Sarai=princess.  When Becky is spoken, a mental image of "captivating" should come to your mind.  But the English language has lost that.  I encourage you to research your name!  Find out the meaning of your name.  Discover your story!

Liz's Church Salad

I don't know about you, but I'm always in need of a good recipe for church functions!  Recently, my good friend, Liz, invited me to lunch and to spend time praying as a group with another friend, Jodina.  She served this pasta salad.  It was delicious!!  But even better than the salad, was the time spent praying with two good friends.  It just reminded me how important hospitality really is--you don't have to use your best china or dishes--I usually use paper plates!  But Liz has the gift of hospitality and her lunches usually look like this.  Doesn't it do something for the soul?  I love how we all have unique gifts and when we use our own gifts, it's always going to look differently.

Liz's Church Salad

1 (16 ounce) package fusilli (spiral) pasta

3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 pound provolone cheese, cubed or shaved

1/2 pound salami, cubed or sliced

1/4 pound sliced pepperoni, cut in half

1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch pieces (or Liz used three colors of peppers)

1 (10 ounce) can black olives, drained

1 (10 ounce) jar pitted green olives, drained

1 (8 ounce) bottle Italian salad dressing

Grate parmesan cheese over the top.

Mix and allow this salad to chill over an hour.  

The longer it chills, the more the flavors will marinate. 

This is the Italian dressing Liz used:

Liz served her salad with crackers and muffins.  As we ate, we talked about how good bread sticks--or pepperoni bread sticks--would be with this salad, too.  It's an Italian salad, after all!

Liz always offers her best--and it's as pleasing to the eye as it is to the stomach.

I've prayed with Liz & Jodina for over 20 years.  We no longer live in the same town, but when we get together, it's like we never left off.  And God always meets with us when we dedicate our time to Him.

My prayer is that each of you will find good, good friends--friends who will allow you to be yourself and open your heart--and friends with whom you can pray.  I have several friends like this.  It's worth risking your heart and developing that kind of trust--I promise!!

WINNERS of the AMAZON GIFT CARDS!

Francini Fam & Deborah Brown Ferrari

Congratulations to these two women--each are winners of a $25 gift card from Amazon!  Francini Fam & Deborah Brown Ferrari and their husbands all serve in churches in Colorado.  We at SYAPW want to thank you for all you do for the bride of Christ!  Send us your email addresses and we'll have the Amazon card sent there!!  CONGRATULATIONS!!

Amazon Gift Card Give-Away!

LADIES!!

It's time for another give-away! 

You and another pastor's wife can BOTH win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!  You must tag a pastor's wife on our Facebook page.  HERE.  You will both need to leave the name of the church where you and your husband serve on the original Facebook post.  If you're not on Facebook, email this blog post to another pastor's wife--and you must leave a comment below with her name...and below that, the name of the church where you and your husband serve.  Then she must come here, find your comment and reply to your comment with the name of the church where she and her husband serve.  Everyone can use an Amazon Gift Card--even if only to give away to someone else!  Winners will be announced Wednesday night, July 27, 2016.

BLESSINGS!

Why is Pastoring Such a Hard Job? by Becky Dietz

Why is it so hard to be a pastor?  It's because we're ministering to three parts of a person.  We are made up of three parts--body, soul, and spirit.  It's much like the tabernacle or temple of God in the Old Testament.  A little background:  In the tabernacle, there was the outer court, the holy place, and the holy of holies.  All Jews could enter the outer court where they offered sacrifices for their sin, but only priests could enter the tabernacle.  The first room the priests entered was called the holy place.  In this room was the unleavened bread, the lampstand with an endless supply of oil, and the incense.  The unleavened bread represented our need for a sinless sacrifice who would be the light of the world (lampstand with endless oil).  The incense represents the prayers of the priest for the people. Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies once a year.  A rope was put around his ankle so the other priests could pull him out in case he was killed by God for any unconfessed sin. (He was supposed to confess his own sin and the sin of the people before he entered the holy of holies.)  This was all a picture to show us how serious God is about sin.  Sin deserves death.  That's why there had to be a perfect sacrifice (Jesus) for our sin.  God could accept no less.  The holy place is a picture of intimacy with God and the holy of holies is a picture of the presence of God. When Jesus (the perfect, sinless sacrifice) died on the cross, the veil separating the holy place and the holy of holies was torn in two from top to bottom--God tore it!  This was to show us that we now all had complete access to God without the need for a priest.

What does this mean for us?  People are made up of body, soul and spirit.  Many professions minister to the body (doctors, coaches, trainers, nutritionists, cooks, etc.) and many professions minister to the soul (counselors, teachers, psychiatrists, musicians, life coaches, lawyers, etc.).  And ALL believers are supposed to minister to the spirit.  We are all to carry the presence of God to the world.  We are supposed to tell others the way of salvation.  We are to tell people the veil has been torn and they have access to God!  But not all do.  Ministering to the spirit is the most important job.  It's a matter of eternal life or death.  The spirit is the innermost being of a person.  It's the throne of a person's life.  We can allow Satan access to that throne, remain on that throne ourselves, or invite Jesus to sit on the throne of our lives and take away our sin--saving us for all eternity.

Pastors try to minister to the body of people (ministering to the sick, helping people find jobs, giving them food, etc.) and they are ministering to their souls regularly (counseling, guiding, giving advice, emotional support, etc.)  But they're also dealing with the spirit of people.  They're bringing the presence of God to them and encouraging them to open their hearts to God.

Very few professions minister to all three.  And if they do, it can be costly.  You can empty yourself daily by ministering to body, soul, and spirit.  That's why it's a harder job than most.

Pastor's Wives Retreat--MONDAY!

Beginning Monday, ten of us will meet at this beautiful spot in Arkansas for our first-ever "So You're a Pastor's Wife" retreat!  Would you pray for us?  Pray that we are all able to leave the things at home...home.  Pray that God will do amazing things.  Pray our days are filled with laughter!  Pray we hear God.  Pray that our sharing is beneficial to one another.  Pray everyone leaves rested and refreshed.  And pray that people who don't know one another bond in a way that can only be explained by God.  We appreciate your prayers--we'd love for more and more pastor's wives to be a part of a week like this--a week where they're appreciated, loved on, encouraged, and blessed.

Worst Ministry Advice Ever Given

By Hope Huddleston...

Sixteen years ago when Jason was just starting out in ministry, we were given some advice from a pastor.  One of the the things he told us was to not make friends in the church we are serving in.  He said you will only get hurt and it will make it too hard to leave when another opportunity comes.

I was shocked.  It hurt my heart to think any pastor would actually feel that way or had come to a place where he believed this to be good advice.  Maybe he didn't mean it the way it came across. Maybe he was just trying to protect us.  Maybe his definition of friends is different than mine. I don't know, but I can still remember sitting there thinking, “did he really just say that?”

Today, I don't think I would be as bewildered at this advice, but I still think it's the worst ministry advice we've ever been given.  It breaks my heart to now know he's not the only minister who feels this way.  Some because they don't want to get hurt and some because they've been hurt one too many times.

I'm glad we left that conversation agreeing that wasn't us.  I'm so thankful we didn't take that advice.  We have friends all over the place now from the different churches Jason has served in.  And when I think back over the churches we've served, I don't see places.  I see faces.  Faces of people I love.  Faces of people I miss.  Faces of people who have impacted my life in good ways and some in not-so-good ways.

The truth is ministry can be a lonely place, extremely lonely at times.  I can't even begin to imagine how lonely (and how boring) these past years would've been if we'd held people at arm's length.  It's also true that our church member friends don't understand what it's like to be in full-time ministry, but I don't understand what it's like to be a school teacher or a doctor.  It wouldn't be fair if I expected them to understand everything we go through just as it wouldn't be fair for them to expect me to understand all they go through in their lives and jobs.  We have also been blessed with so many ministry friends that do understand the ins and outs and the highs and lows of being a pastor and pastor's family.  But wouldn't life be boring if we only hung out with people who did what we did and thought like we thought. 

My husband loves people, pretty much all people (there have been those few that are difficult to love). He invites them in to his life quickly and loves them deeply from the get-go.  I've always been a little more guarded.  Some of that is just my personality and that's okay, but I'm also glad that he's pushed me out of my comfort zone in this area.  Friendships are worth the risk.

That pastor didn't lie though.  We have been hurt and it has been hard to leave our church families as we were called to a new church family, but I wouldn't change it for the world.  Because without these friendships, I would've missed so much and I wouldn't be the person I am today.  When I think back over all these friendships in our churches, I think about

laughing so hard my sides hurt

eating lots of good food together

staying up late playing card games on summer nights

crying as we lost someone we loved

good hugs (and I'm not really a hugger)

trips full of ministry and missions

studying God's Word together

arguing over what God's Word meant

watching kids grow up

celebrating births and adoptions

being with each other during sickness or sick kids

spurring each other on to good deeds

loving difficult people together

taking and receiving meals in times of need

not knowing what to say in hard times but just being there for one another

tears of joy and tears of sadness

prayers, so many prayers

These memories are precious to me.

Friendships are hard and good.  They are messy and beautiful.  They are challenging and worth it.

So, you know what my advice is to new people in ministry is: love your people.  Make friends.  You don't have to be best friends with every church member.  In fact, you'd go crazy if you tried. I mean Jesus has his 12 and only 2-3 of them were His really close friends, but He loved all people deeply. He knew they were going to hurt and betray them, yet loved them still. It's okay to let  people in. It's okay to be friends.  It's okay to be closer to some than others. Have fun.  Be real. Some are going to be easier to love than others, but I've never regretted loving someone and investing in them.  You're going to get hurt.  Some will lie to you. Some will just take and take.  Often, boundaries have to be set (boundaries are not a bad thing and do not mean you're not loving). Through all of this, you will come out with lasting friendships that were worth it all. It will be a fun and bumpy ride.  And I can guarantee if you love your people, life will never be boring.

Hope has been married to Jason for 17 years.  Jason serves as Senior Pastor at FBC Elgin in a small town just outside of Austin.  They've been in full-time ministry for 16 years now.  They have 4 kids and Hope works part-time from home. Hope's favorite thing is a date night with her husband or some really good sushi - it's a toss up ;).  Hope has a passion for adoption and children, especially foster kids and teen moms.  Hope loves being a pastor's wife most of time and has been blessed with church families that love her well.