From Hope Valley Devotional (Week 16): The Blessing of Name Calling Truth

Happy Wednesday friends! As I shared several  months, I am excited to re-share some of the most popular devotional posts that I wrote in 2017-2018 (if you would like to see the complete list you can find it HERE!) and am excited to share this one this week!

There are a lot of lovely moments in the 1st episode of Season 2, but one of my all time favorites is when Mayor Ramsey announces the name change from Coal Valley to Hope Valley. The symbolism that comes from a name is powerful isn't it? This profound scene shows us the blessing of name calling truth in a person's life.

As a former history teacher I was intrigued to learn that often times towns in early America were named for a certain person or a certain set of circumstances that occurred. For example Coal Valley (although fictional for this story line) was similar to many towns in the west that were coal mining towns. But what is also particularly interesting is that over time there are many historical examples of many towns changing their names due to changing circumstances and eventually many original town names were lost or those that remained were seen as obscure or obsolete. 

We also see an even more personal touch of the power of names in history in Native American culture where parents would typically consider many factors when naming their children. In some New England tribes little ones received descriptive names and as they grew into adolescence they would receive new names that would reflect their different experiences. In some cases it wasn't uncommon for people to receive name changes several times over their lifetime. It also was very common for those in Native American tribes to try to strive and grow into new names of courage and honor, recognizing the power and blessing of name calling truth.

There is a beauty in these historical examples of towns changing names and people striving for particular names, isn't there? The power of a name change. The power of what we call another person. The power of picking names that we speak over and call another person has incredible potential to change the course of another human life. 

In our modern world one of the clearest examples of name choosing typically comes when parents are picking names for their children. But as adults, have you ever stopped to consider the possibility that we have the potential and the opportunity to instill the same type of "hope" into another person's life with our names that parents due at birth? I hadn't thought about it a lot until recently, but there is tremendous potential to change a person's life with the words and names that we speak over them and call them.

In Scripture we constantly see the importance of names and I am amazed at the way that the Lord names us. Here are just a few of the names that the Lord calls us in the Bible...

* I am a child of God (John 1:12)

* I am the apple of God's Eye (Psalm 17)
* I am treasured (Deuteronomy 7:6)
*I am redeemed (Romans 3:24)
* I am not condemned (Romans 8:1)
*I am free (Romans 8:2)
*I am accepted (Romans 15:7)
*I have been called a saint (I Corinthians 1:2)
*I am chosen (Ephesians 1:4)
* I have purpose (Ephesians 2:10)
*I am bold (Ephesians 3:12)
* I am confident (Ephesians 3:12)
* I am complete (Colossians 3:3)
*I am loved (I Thessalonians 1:4)

And the list goes on and on and on... 

Today, dear friends, let's live in the beautiful promise that there is a blessing in name calling someone with truth. Let's remind those around us of who they are in Christ. Let's speak life into those who have lost hope. Let's remind them that they are treasured, loved, chosen, and have a unique purpose in this world. Let us speak boldly into the "meanness" and death words that are often given and said to people and let us speak life into each person's "coal valley" name. Today, let us believe and know that there is a beautiful blessing that comes with speaking name calling truth... the blessing of freedom and love... and most of all hope. 

"[You are] God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved.."
-Colossians 3:12-

*blog post originally published on Caravan Sonnet in May 2017*

Looking for past From Hope Valley Devotionals? You can click HERE to find a complete listing of all of the devotionals! 

I receive several emails a week asking where you can watch older episodes of "When Calls the Heart". If you have a Netflix account you can find seasons 1-3 there or you can purchase them on Amazon. You can purchase and watch all of the seasons and episodes by clicking on the links below:

When Calls the Heart, Season 1

When Calls the Heart, Season 2

When Calls the Heart, Season 3

When Calls the Heart, Season 4

When Calls the Heart, Season 5

When Calls the Heart, Season 6

*Please note that the quotes used in these weekly devotionals are the sole intellectual property of Hallmark Channel, WCTH, & Crown Media, LLC. These on-line posts are in no way supported, endorsed or affiliated with WCTH, Hallmark Channel, or Crown Media. They are simply encouragement inspired by Janette Oke and this precious show.*