And he shall be called...

And he shall be called….

We have been going back and forth between different names for our little man-child ever since we found out we were going to have a son.  Picking a name is a big deal in the Cordova home because for each of our kiddos we have wanted a name with a strong meaning that always points them back to the Lord and reminds them, wherever and whatever they end up doing in life, they are from the Lord and have a purpose for His glory here on earth.  Whether they choose that purpose with the Lord is up to them and God’s grace…

We have prayed for each of these babies well before I was pregnant with them.  The Lord had me patiently wait for each of these little ones, in a season of prayer, hoping for a new baby.  Each of my pregnancies happened later than I planned, but I know each was perfectly planned by the Lord and that truth was so completely evident the moment I laid eyes on them.  I have yet to meet this little guy but I know it will be the same on his birthday!

Moriyah Shalom…  Moriyah means “Chosen of Yahweh” and Shalom means “Peace”.  Tony and I expected we would have a boy since he comes from all boys and I only have brothers.  I remember praying and asking God to, at some point, bless us with a girl but didn’t think He would right away!  When we heard the good news that we were having a girl, we knew she was chosen by the Lord and thought the name Moriyah was very fitting for her.  Mt. Moriyah (Hebrew spelling) in the Bible has so much history as well with Abraham and Isaac, as well as where many speculate was the place that Jesus died on the cross… She has a beautiful legacy in her name of her being chosen by the Lord as well as being reminded of the place her Jesus laid down His life for  her.

Scarlett Hope…  This little sassy pants we prayed for the longest out of our children before getting pregnant.  That time was a huge testing point in my life of truly trusting in the Lord for His timing in a child and not my own.  It was a full year of highs and lows… On my good days I was trusting Him and His timing, knowing that once I finally met this baby, however long it took, that I would know this child was from Him and who He wanted to give us.  On my bad days I would wonder if something was wrong with me and question why everyone around me seemed to get pregnant as soon as they thought about it and I couldn’t.  I was on a rollercoaster, all along knowing that I needed to come to a place between me and the Lord where I could let go of my “control” and patiently and peacefully wait on His timing… and then I found out I was pregnant!  Looking at her, she gives me no doubts that she is from Jesus .  Her name came from reading  Isaiah 1:18,  “ Come now, and let us reason together,”  says the LORD, “ Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”  Jesus became our “scarlet hope” when He redeemed us by His death on the cross, taking our sins upon Himself and giving us life everlasting.  Her name to us, always points back to Jesus.

So now for this little kicker!  Tony has been loving Roman names and wanted a strong name for his boy.  He kept joking about naming him “Gladiator Danger”!  This Mama wasn’t onboard though! ;0)  We, again, wanted a name for this guy that would in some way point him back to Jesus and remind him of the fact that he has been prayed up and given to us from the Lord.  Many of the stories of Jesus’ ministry include the Sea of Galilee, which is also known as the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1).  One of Tony’s favorite stories of Jesus is in John 21 when Jesus, after His resurrection, shows Himself to His disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias and made them breakfast.  We love the thought of our son carrying a name that represents some of the ministry life of our Jesus, so we decided to name him …

Tiberias Justus Cordova

******UPDATE: NEED TO READ THE NEXT POST BECAUSE WE CHANGED HIS NAME!! HAHA! OH WELL!