Regina.   Victoria. Leanne. Samuel.  Sydney.   Kenny.   Seth. Tammy. Chad.   George.   Kevin.   Annie.   Dianna.   Gloria.    Kyle.   Lana. Scott. Dennis.

Heather.  Alan. Brittany.   Darryn.  Ron. Andrew.   Vickie.  Carol. Alena. 

Mackenzie.  Roy.   Sarah.  Jason.  Thomas.  Marieke.  Jill.  Hunter.  Matthew.  Billy.   Julie.    Greg.    Angie.  Darrell. Jeff.

Names we are given. Names we are called, but what name do we want most?

Christian.

________________ (is a believer in God, a Christian, one who has accepted Jesus as Savior).

Each of us are given one, some two, and maybe even a third one (along with a surname). 
Even others are given five names to juggle whenever they fill out documents.  So Often, names are beautiful reminders of our heritage as the names remind us of those who walked the earth before us.   As we ponder our future days, we may even find ourselves hopeful that our name lives beyond our earthly existence, and if we’ve ever strolled through the cemetery, then we’ve noticed how the grave markers display many shared names.

Yet, it is true that two people who share the same name are NOT the same person.

A person’s eternity is unique to him….individually.

Names are indicative of the person’s character.

Can an individual be given a name that others also share, but (whenever that name is spoken), every person immediately associates that name with an image of a single individual who was given the name first?

Yes. I believe so.

A great man said to me yesterday:  “We don’t want our ministry to die with us.”

One way to entrust in the future population is to share our faith, our ministry with the world.

Both come from deep within us, worthy of being shared with others because of Who dwells within us.

What lies deep within us reveals us, our deepest passion, and our singleness of focus.

We say so often, “LIFE IS SO BRIEF. A BLINK. A VAPOR,” and as we traverse through the seasons of life, we realize this truth more.

We may even travel some life-seasons and find ourselves thankful that particular seasons pass as a vapor because they bring great struggles.

Thank goodness God gives us some life-seasons to pass through quickly, so we can then move into the blessing of a new (hopefully) easier season.

AND, although Life-Seasons will pass by us as we walk, the harvest always remains the same for the Master Gardnerer.

AND, although Life is A Brief Span of years,

Thankfully, Eternity with God is so much more Because It Is Forevermore!!!

A Name & A Balance & A Focus.  Those three words define life.

To better understand, please allow me this description. When I was a child, we raised peppers, and one patch was in a field that ran beside my grandma’s front yard. Grandma liked to call the field the orchard (appropriate since apple trees were planted throughout the orchard).  So, dad planted the peppers in rows that curved around the apple trees, and I do not remember a single row of peppers laying in perfectly-straight line.  For as far as my eyes could see (from grandma’s yard to the field’s end), there were rows and rows of peppers to pick.

We grew a copious amount of peppers in that orchard. The curving rows filled the entire orchard, but even when our arms were filled with peppers, we never carried a heavy burden because peppers remain so light, even in their gathered weight.
However, a vegetable that grows to maturity and weighs so little can still become an arduous task to harvest. When we pushed our wheelbarrow (laden with peppers) through the orchard and throughout the many rows, leaning to the left and and to the right, maneuvering around the apple trees, we faced some difficulty. Pause to see the wheelbarrow filled with green peppers in your mind.

See One wheel.

See Two handles.

See the Balance Required.

See the Focus Necessary.

See how we hold the wheelbarrow parallel, not leaning too far to the left or too far to the right.

A difficult task for a child just learning how to balance the wheelbarrow down the pepper rows planted around the perimeter of the apple trees that filled grandma’s orchard.

A Name.

A Balance.

A Focus.

Jesus. Acceptance of Him Brings Us to Salvation.

Faith in Almighty God, a Faith focused upon the Father and Creator.

Balance & Self-Control resonate within us because of the One we Trust and Obey.

The Names describing God reflect who we follow, as we walk beside Him within His daily purpose and with a single focus upon Him. The Bible gives us several passages that speak this truth, and one passage is found in Isaiah (the Old Testament book often referred to as the fifth Gospel).

“For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace.  On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness  From then on and forevermore.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this” (Isaiah 9: 5-7).

Christian. A Name We Are Given. We individually gain this new name as we accept Jesus as our Savior.

Balance. Then we push through the curves of life, walking throughout the seasons we are given, balancing our light load as God holds onto us.

Focus. It is truly only when we focus upon the Gardener of the harvest that we find our purpose for living.

Thank You God—-A child was born.

Thank You God—-The government rests upon Him.

Thank You God—-He establishes and upholds All Things Forevermore.

Thank You God—-Help us today see the fields ready, waiting for Your harvest.

And Thank You God—-Help us to daily know it is YOU who walks along beside us throughout the orchards of life.