Our name is  the first thing we are asked when we meet someone, the first thing we offer when we introduce ourselves and the first gift given to us when we are born.   Many parents take months deciding on the perfect name of their unborn child. They buy baby name books and comb through the internet for just the right name.  A name that their child will be known as their entire lives. Our names identify who we are and many times, where we came from. There is so much value and meaning in a name.

When I was given my horse, he came with the name "Bert".  Not my first choice for a name but it came with a story. Stories add new elements to names.   Bert was born on  my best friends property just weeks after the passing of her father – her father Bert.  When my horse was born, he was named in honor of her father and that is not a name you change.  Sometimes I call him, "Bertie" or if I want him to sound Italian, "Bertolli". No matter what I call him in that moment, his name is still the same – Bert.

God changed the name of several characters in the Bible.  Abram (father) was changed to Abraham (father of many).  Sarai (my princess) was changed to Sarah (mother of many nations).  These name changes signified God's promise to Abraham and Sarah.  Every time their name was called, they were then reminded of God's promise to them, that they would be the Father and Mother of many nations! That promise and those names became who they were and who they were going to be.

When we know HIS name then we know OUR name.  Our name and identity is directly linked to His name. When we know Him as Redeemer then we know we are Redeemed.  When we identify Him as Restorer then we know we are Restored and Whole.  When we recognize Him as Healer then we know we are healed. When we know Him as Father then we know we are His Son and Daughters.  When we know Him as King then we know we are Royalty.

Acts 2:21 saysall we need to do is "Call upon His Name"  and "He will save us".  In order, to call out His name, we need to know His name! Whatever we need in that moment, that is who HE is.  He fills our every need.  If you are sick in body and need healing then call out His name as Healer!  If you are broken or hurt then call out His name as Restorer.  If you lost your job and don't know how to pay the rent then call out His name as Jehovah Jireh – your Provider.  There is power in His name.  His name is linked to our name – our identity.

Isaiah 65:5 reads, "To them, I will give in My house and within my walls a memorial and a name better (and more enduring) than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off."  The name He has given you is even greater than Sons and Daughters.  It is an everlasting name and nothing you do can change the name He has given you.  You will always be what He has called you.  Your past mistakes don't change or erase that! Truth cancels the years of lies.  If the "name" we are called doesn't line up with who He is then it is a lie.  If the "name" we are being called isn't part of His character, then it is a lie.

Branding is a common practice amongst the equine community to distinguish your horse as your own.  A "Brand" is specific to your horse(s).  Many horses have common characteristics such as coloring, blazes, and socks which make it hard to distinguish your horse from the others.  Branding is done for the purpose to set apart your horse from the others and to use for identification. 

When you brand a horse, it is usually done on the back hip of a horse.  The horse can't see the back hip– this is a vulnerable place for a horse.   This is the area that predators would attack – on the back and/or back hip.  Maybe God designed it that way on purpose.  Maybe it is at the most vulnerable places in our lives that we need to be reminded of who we are and what God calls us.  Or even more, maybe it is a reminder to the predators and the enemy, when they come to attack, they see who we belong to and who we are!  It can also be a reminder to ourselves, that as we try to look back at our past that we are reminded of who we are and NOT what we have done – not of our past but of our future. Don't let the things of this world leave their mark or "brand" on you – let the Creator of the world brand you with His Seal that you may always know who you are and who you belong to.

Lauren Joy Clark

SUMMER SHAKE UP SERIES
GATHER HER || 07.13.17
FAITH + FASHION + FRIENDS + FREE

TOPIC: PURUSING YOUR DREAMS IN EVERY SEASON OF LIFE!

Enjoy an evening with women just like you who want to explore their faith and love all things fashion!

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Panel: Elaine Mingues, Jan Goss-Gibson, Rachel Davis
Topic: Pursuing your dreams in every season of life

Fashion Partner: Alona Robinson, Younique

~ Food: Catered by Tita Joliffe
~ Bar is available for purchase. 
~ Raffle items! $3/ticket or 6 for $15

...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.