WHAT'S A NAME?

What's in a name or what's a name or name, what's that?

Now I'm not real deep when it comes to knowledge but I figure that if your daddy was:
1. a carpenter you might be named Woody.
2. a baker you might be named Cupcake.
3. a banker you might be called Nicholas.
4. a fisherman you might be called Catfish.
and of course you could go on but what is a name today. Everyday I see a new name. Bentravious, Devonia, Cordiaria, A'Terio, Tomassio, Brenquale, Dehycion, Pepsi (YES I DID SAY PEPSI), and of course the ever popular, Laronian.
What ever happened to the heritage of the "NAME." William Robert Jr or Robert Earl III. You can just tell that those guys dads were famous people but how about Dehycion's dad? I knew a guy who had three sons and he named then where their initials all came out to be "KKK". No questions please and yes he was a white guy.

Seems to me it's time to set the tone for our children by giving them names that carry an air of expectancy. One that they could strive to live up to.

How about John Wayne --------- . now there's a name. I might name my next son John Wayne Walden. WOW! Sounds great. It will take a real man to live up to that name.

But how about those folk that name their kid Alexander Martin and then call him "Chi Chi." How does that happen? We named my girls after their mom, Katherine Jane and Anna Elizabeth. Of course neither are called by their mothers name. Not because there would be a mix up because their mother is called Libby. Don't ask, I don't know!

OK, what is a name? Do you look at some one and say "oh yea, you're a Richard because you look like a Richard. I can see why some people could be called Tubby or Stinky or Shadow but are those really names.

Let's put tags on names. OK, we started by naming the carpenter's son Woody. OK, does that mean that Woody has a lot of fiber to him. Not a muley person but one that was rough. Sounds good. Now what about naming folk by characteristics like Butcus. Let's say Butcus is a man of great strength. Let's name everyone with great strength Butcus. That way when you are introduced as Butcus then all know that you are a man of great strength. Now we are on to something. When we have a need for a man of great strength then we can go to the Yellow Pages and look under Butcus. When we need some one to fix the toilet we can look under Plumber. Right! Simplifies everything in life. You take on a name and live to fulfill your name's mission.

Of course you know I'm pushing you to a thought here. What about those who take on the name Christian. Maybe we should change our names to Christian Bobby, Christian Libby, Christian Katie, or Christian William. Would that give us more purpose to our lives? I think not, but it might give us more focus to what a name or tag means.

My tag is Assistant Principal Walden but I've been called the Big "W" by a lot of my kids. Both mean authority to me and a mission to help others find themselves and be better citizens. It keeps me focused.

My tag is also "Bobby Walden Christian" but I'm also known as Big Bob. Both mean the same thing to many people but the meaning doesn't come from a bunch of letters but from a life of commitment to something greater than all other names put together.

Think about what your name means for your focus and for what you are known for. It's never to late to change a name. Think about Abraham.