And he shall be called...

It was time to start thinking of a baby name. My parents had batted around a few suggestions, mainly boy names (!) but nothing had been settled on. One day my dad burst through the door and said 'Rebekah Helen' my mum, rather perplexed asked 'who's she?' And my dad announced it was the name of the baby if it turned out to be a girl. 
Yup, that's how I was named. 
Other than this little story, I don't know why my name was picked. Often parents will choose names based on special family names or significant meaning. My name means 'Captivating light'. 
In 'Bible times' names were hugely important, they represented not only who the person was but also their character. So Abraham means 'Father of many' and David means 'Beloved'. Mary and Joseph didn't get to choose their child's name. I wonder if they did have the choice would they have picked a name which encompassed the character and the future of their baby boy?
God instructed them to call him 'Jesus', a name meaning SALVATION. What a perfect choice! His name describes exactly what he came to do, bring us salvation. 
In Isaiah 9:6 Jesus also inherits some other names: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. You probably won't find these names on his birth certificate but they are equally important as Isaiah is describing the character of this baby. 
What if every one of us came with titles like that. To not only have your actual name meaning (significant or not) but to be called and known by your character, the person you really are. Rebekah captivating, light, children's pastor, creative, fun, extroverted Williamson. 
It's a little bit of a mouthful but it describes a little bit of me. It's what I or my friends  would name me, but just like God named his own son, he has named us too. He has called us his sons and daughters, his princes and princess, his chosen ones, his heirs, his workmanship, holy and beloved. WOW!! That is what God believes in and has called each one of us. 
'Rebekah daughter and princess of the most high, created with purpose, chosen and beloved Williamson' Isn't that just incredible? Try it out with your own name! It's who you are, it's why you're here. This is not supposed to be an exercise for increasing our egos but an exercise to firmly plant ourselves in our true identity. Jesus knew from the start who he was and I'm pretty convinced that being rooted in those truths helped him overcome all that he faced. It can do the same for us!

Silence

Today's devotion encouraged stillness, silence and reflection, all things I am not very good at! I had to be very disciplined to get through the 5 minutes of silence whilst reflecting on God. I'll admit it took a few attempts! Attempt one resulted in my mind being on Kids Church within about 40 seconds. Attempt 2 was no better as I started planning dinner around 2 minutes in. However, I managed a complete 5 minutes of reflection, stillness and silence by attempt 4 or 5. It was difficult as its not my preferred way of sitting with God. I enjoy being creative, going for a walk or connecting with God in worship, but it did me good to sit and just 'be'. 
I reflected on today's passage where Zachariah was silenced by God because he didn't believe the things God said he would do. He was silent all the way up to the birth of his child. That's a crazy long time to be mute for! I actually think God was being a little harsh on poor Zachariah. The odds were stacked against them as far a conceiving a child was concerned so you can hardly blame him for questioning God over it. I'm pretty sure anyone in his position would have done the same! 
It started me thinking about my own life though and the promises that God has made to me. They are not yet fulfilled because its all in his perfect timing. Does that stop me believing they will happen? Well, yes, sometimes. I have days where I question God over the plans and purposes for my life. When he asks me to do something I have days where I say no and days where I ask why? Who am I to question God over these matters? If like Zachariah, God decided to silence me every time I had doubts and unbelief then I think I'd be permenantly quiet (a blessing for some!) 
Father I thank you that you have perfect plans and purposes for each of our lives. I thank you that those plans are bigger than we can even imagine and you reveal them to us in your perfect timing. 

God with us

Jesus gets called many different names but I think Immanuel is my favourite. It means 'God with us'. I'm not sure I've ever taken the time to allow that realisation to fully sink into my heart. God is WITH us. The God who created the heavens and the earth, the God who knew us before we were born has given us himself. He showed up! 

I love that Jesus would have had messy nappies, been sick, learned to talk and walk, read and write. He would have had cuddles from his mum and play fights with his Dad. He would have cried when he hurt himself and laughed with his friends. 

God is WITH us. He's not some distant figure watching us doing life. He took on human form and  knows how it feels to be sad, scared and angry. He knows how it feels to be happy, excited and content. He knows because he showed up!

I've taken time to pause and ponder over these thoughts today and it has given me a sense of comfort and of awe. God really does know what I'm going through, good or bad and He is also WITH me in those times.

The waiting begins....

Today I had the privilege of teaching three different groups of children all about Advent. We looked at advent being a time of waiting, not super boring 'stuck in a queue at Tescos' type waiting, but a time of EXCITING waiting. A time of anticipation, of hope, of preparing our hearts and minds for Jesus.
On my desk I have my 'to do before Christmas' list, it's long...like really long!! It would be so easy during advent for me to completely lose sight of what Christmas is actually about. I'll get caught up in decorations, planning kids stuff, present buying, outfit choosing and everything else that goes along with getting ready for Christmas. However, my desire and my prayer is to make sure I'm ready for Christmas, but above that, much more importantly, the biggest priority is to make sure I'm ready for Jesus. 
So why not join me over these next few weeks, find time to slow down, to wait, to enjoy the anticipation, to sit with God and to reflect on the marvellous gift that is Jesus' birth.