We are pleased to announce that we have a winner for our name-guessing contest! After 20 or so guesses, Jenny McCoy, a high school classmate of Jason's, nailed it! And even gave the correct scripture references! Way to go, Jenny! Your gift card will be in the mail shortly.
So now for the big unveiling...The moment you've all been waiting for...The full name of baby #2 will be..........
Olivia Anne
Olivia was inspired from a teaching we received from a wonderful, godly man named Suresh from South Africa this past summer. He was teaching on the olive tree, and how we as the church are designated by God to be like a 'green olive tree'. He said that olive trees are symbols of wealth, they have the power to nourish others, they grow in high ground (which represents us having a high standard of life), the leaves come in pairs (representing covenant relationship), they are a source of oil (which produced new anointing), they bear abundant fruit (symbolizing high productivity in life), they grow in warm, sunny conditions (meaning they're able to bear heat & endure), they have the power to endure judgment (the dove that Noah sent out from the ark brought back an olive branch as the first sign of life after the flood!), and they have the power of attraction (as we do with the beauty of Christ inside us). I was so struck by all this as he was teaching that I kept thinking..."How could we name our kid after this?" And then the lightbulb went off, "Olivia!" Even though Olivia has been one of the top 5 most popular girl names for the past few years, I had NEVER been drawn to it or even considered it. But over the course of a week or two, it grew on me and Jason & I both felt the Lord's pleasure in it. I love that it's another tree, too. So we've got an oak & an olive tree now! I love how God is in the details, b/c we could have never thought of it on our own.
"Anne" comes from two places; 1)Jason's side of the family (it's his mom's middle name), and 2)Anne of Green Gables, my favorite heroine.
So there you have it! The suspense is over. Now the suspense of meeting her really begins! This one LOVES to kick, she reminds me of her presence all the time! We can't wait to meet our little olive shoot. :-) Thanks everyone, for playing our game!
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"But I am like an olive tree, flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever." Psalm 52:8
