And His Name Will Be...

...Elijah Christanand Briggs!  After much prayer and discussion, we both feel this name is the right one for our son.

Elijah is Hebrew for "My God is Jehovah" and was the name of a great prophet from the Old Testament who lived during the 9th Century BC near modern-day Haifa, Israel.  He walked so closely with God that he didn't even die and went straight to Heaven in a chariot of fire.  Later, he appeared along with Moses during Jesus' Transfiguration.  He was a man who walked with God all the days of his life, and stood strong in a fallen world. This is an example we want for our own Elijah, just as Daniel has always had his namesake to look up to.

Christanand is my father in-law's middle name and is Hindi for "joy of Christ." We wanted an Indian middle name and are thrilled to be able to pass along this name that also has such a great meaning.

No, we never had that "God moment" that we were hoping for in making this decision. However, we did we receive a growing peace as we discussed our hopes for our child. This was a name that we had brought up a couple years ago as one that we liked...it's interesting how God brought us full circle, right back to that same name!

Only ~8 weeks until we see our little Elijah face to face!