Today was actually warm! The sun was shining and the snow was melting. I went out without my big heavy winter jacket. Wow! And I managed to get many errands run before noon. Grocery shopping done and put away. Gas purchased, car washed (and it was seriously needed..so much road salt) and I even got my hair cut. I had an interesting conversation about my name with the gal who cut my hair. And then this showed up on my Facebook feed.
I immediately thought about my name, once again. My full name is Lynnette which means (in some sources) a small flowing brook. And the verse associated with my name is John 7:38
"Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them."
But here is the really interesting thing. Tonight when I looked up the meaning of my name, I found one place that said the meaning was "little lion"! Well, if Jesus if the Lion of Judah, I guess it would be a very good thing to be a little lion!
This is me and my mom, in the hospital when I was born. When she gave me the name Lynnette it had nothing to do with the meaning of the name, or the verse that was associated with that name. She actually wanted my name to be Annette (a nod to my mom's aunt Anna) but my dad wanted the name Linnay. My mom also liked the name Linda so they sort of just compromised and I became Lynnette Rae. But, we all know that God has a hand in our names. And I know that this is the perfect name for me.
After I really committed to Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I knew that the verse from John was my life verse. I had a powerful experience with Jesus and heard him speak those words to me. And, since that day in 1988, I have had that exact verse spoken to me over and over again. As a matter of fact, there have been times that someone has just walked up to me and prayed that verse for me. Today when I saw the idea in that first picture, that as Jesus fills me up, (and that river flows out of me) then I will be affecting the land around me, it added another layer to that river verse. It is one thing to think about the living water flowing out, but to take it further and think about POSSESSING everywhere that the river flows........WOW!
So here is what happened today at my hair cut. Eileen, the stylist, asked me if I liked the name Lyn. This is a really interesting question that you don't normally hear during a hair cut. My first thought was to wonder why she would ask that question. I told her that my full name was Lynnette and yes, I liked my name. She said that she hated her name and was thinking of changing it. So she has been asking every client about their names and is trying to come up with a better name. I asked what her parents thought about her changing her name. She just told me that she does not have any relationship with them at all. I was praying for the right words to share with her and decided to just share my name story. When I told her that God knows our names and that often we discover the truth of the "fit" of our names in unusual ways. I asked if she believed in Jesus and she said, "not really". So I simply told her that I would be praying that she would have confirmation that she has the perfect name and that she would hear Jesus speaking to her. Tonight I discovered that Eileen means beautiful bird. So please join me in praying that this sweet young girl discovers why she has this wonderful name......and that she discovers Jesus in the process.
Jesus, reach out right now and touch Eileen. Holy Spirit, draw her to Jesus and settle her spirit about her name. Jesus thank you for speaking to me and giving me revelation about my name. Thank you for these chance encounters that remind us that you have called us to share the good news. Thank you for sunshine and warm weather and thank you for my name. Amen
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