Name That Baby

Maybe I take this too seriously, but I've been stressing out a little about naming this baby. In the Bible, children were frequently named in a way that reflected the circumstances that brought about their existence (Isaac), or the way they came into existence (Jacob), or a name that would define their existence (Jesus). So I tend to take this a bit seriously.

Anyway, I have been having a long conversation with God (and myself... therein probably lies my first mistake) about who this baby is.

With Finley and Joe, part of their naming came from my desire for what kind of character these two would hold: Finley means 'fair warrior,' her middle name, 'noble and kind.' Joe's middle names basically mean 'passionate follower of Christ.'

Part of what I'm debating within myself is... how much of what God is talking to me about is for just me, or does it relate directly to who I am carrying in my womb as well? When I was pregnant with Joe, I was really focused on the work of building things. I read a book about a man who moved to Alaska and built a log cabin and all the furniture inside with hand tools. I obsessed about learning how to make furniture and dreaming about the day when the kids would be old enough and I could spend hours in a wood shop making things. God was (and still is) talking to me about our heritage... How three of Joe's four great-grandfathers were carpenter types who either built or modified their own homes and were constantly making things they wanted or needed instead of buying them. Joe is named after one of these great-grandfathers. Who knows if he will ever really take to working with his hands like they did, but when some people from my church were praying for him before he was born, one of them (who didn't know me well or what I'd been thinking about) felt that he would be a builder... That could mean many things, of course.

Anyway, I have been in a season of 'obsessing' about the earth, and the restoration of things to the way God intended them to be. When I really stop to listen, it keeps coming back, and I'm not sure what to do with it.

I have been poking around the internet, trying to find a name that reflects this concept, but the very few that I find, I'm not sure I like... which is another problem. I'm really picky. I want to like my daughter's name, and really don't want an ultra-girly name or an obvious boys name made feminine. So I've been making a list. My hope is that in another month or two, I'll have a list 20 or 30 long, and that Chris will look at it and see a few he likes, and that the meanings will resonate with what we feel God is talking to us about this kid.

That or we'll have to pull a Johnson... just live with her for a year before we decide. I just don't know how the hospital would deal with that, though.