If you follow me on IG, you may have seen #journeytosandj under our adoption photos. I wanted to take a moment to talk about what it means.
A few years ago, God laid two names on our heart. We thought they were meant to be for our second born child. Then, Josh came to me one day and said that he believed our son was to be named Israel. I am EXTREMELY picky about names. We pray about them. We talk about them. We try it out with all of our names to make sure it fits. I've mentioned before, but I had to get used to the name Israel. I definitely let Josh lead on this one. He was so confident in that name, that I was not about to try to change his mind. I know if I had said, "NO WAY!" he would have been okay with that, because he's that kind of guy, but I would not do that. I love that he felt so confident in the name the Lord wanted for our son. We realized then that God was truly laying those two names on our hearts for our children who would come to us through adoption.
Selah & Judah
The names we have prayed over for many years. We choose a verse for the year for each of our children, and this year we chose one for Selah and Judah.
When we talk about our children that are in Haiti, those are the names we say.
If you ask Eden about her brother and sister, she will tell you that their names are Selah and Judah.
The funny thing is, we have no idea if we are getting a boy and a girl. We have no idea if we are even bringing home TWO kids. We are choosing to be open to 1-2 children, but we have no idea who God has chosen for our family.
And of course, since moving, we have become friends with a family that has a Judah. I always get so weird about "stealing" someone's name so there's that.
I don't know if God will bless us with a boy and a girl. I don't know if we will choose the names they were born with. But, for now, these are the names that we are praying over until we know who are children are.
I will admit, I will be so excited when we know if there will be 1 or 2 more Crain babies because then I will know if I should say child or children.
It's the little things...
I just came over from the lettered cottage and reading back through your entries I read the post on selah and judah- great names! I can so relate to your story about these names. We also have two children and for each one it was so important for me to have God guide us on choosing their names...
ReplyDeleteYou also wrote that you pray with your husband...how - or when!- do you manage to do that with two kids? I´d love to hear from you on that...
Maria
Hi Maria! Sorry it took awhile for my reply, we have been out of town! Prayer time for us looks different every time. Sometimes it is right before we drift off to sleep (we TRY to go to bed at the same time, but that seems to be happening less frequently these days). We also like to take drives as a family, it is relaxing, and puts our kids to sleep, so we often pray during those drives as well. Sometimes we pray together on the couch, right after the kids go to bed. I am so routine driven that it is hard for me to NOT have a specific prayer routine, but we truly just have learned to be flexible in finding any spare moment to pray together! Hope that helps! Praying with your spouse is such a significant way to grow closer. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Mallory!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for taking time to answer! And it´s true, praying together is such an important way of growing together, but we tend to forget or let other things get in the way...Now you´ve encouraged me to keep trying! It is great to see other women and moms on the other side of this world (we live in Switzerland) committed to God , struggling to follow him through everyday-chaos. I hope God blesses you and your family and that you can keep on growing and flourishing.