and her name is.....

First I have to say that great deliberation and prayer went into this name.  We want to give our children names that will mean something, and names that have a life prayer for them included in them.  I had come up with a girl first name before Silas was born (actually before we got married) and like it because it was a family name, pretty, and I knew no one under 70 with the name.  And then it got popular (#24 on the list).  I hate following trends, I go against them- and so we thought a lot more, but still came back to the name.  So this is just a disclaimer that I thought of the name first and am a little bitter toward those who stole my idea :).

First Name:  Evelynn  JP's paternal grandmother's name was Faith Evelyn but she went by Evelyn.  This is where the idea first came from.  I never met Evelyn, but JP thinks of her fondly.  I changed the spelling however to honor my mother Patti Lynn (who I happen to think is an amazing woman).  After deciding on the name, I then found out that my paternal grandfather's great grandmother was called Eva (probably Evelyn) and his aunt was Evelyn.  

Meaning: Hebrew- life ; French- a bird (possible nursery theme?)

We plan to call her Evelynn.  Sure I may shorten it every once in a while, but she will not have an official nickname.  

Middle Name: Sophia  Wisdom in Greek

The middle name is where the bulk of my prayer for our daughter is based.  I have been studying a lot in my times with God about what he desires for me as a woman, and he has impressed upon me that he also desires those things for my daughter.  Proverbs 31: 30 says "...a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised".  and Proverbs 9:10 says "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..."  I pray for my daughter that she will fear the Lord above all else.  That she will not seek first to please men, but to please and honor God.  I pray that she will have wisdom that comes from heaven "pure, peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere" James 3:17.  There are many more verses that I could mention, but I will stop there for now.  Please join us in praying that Evelynn Sophia would be a woman of wisdom who fears the Lord!

One other note: Evelynn means bird, Sophia means wisdom- and in America a wise bird is an owl.  I am thinking she may be our little owl.  It is interesting though the in this country the owl is considered to be a foolish animal.  But as 1 Corinthians says, the wisdom of God is foolishness to the world.