my name ...

17 Though the fig tree does NOT bud
       and there are NO grapes on the vines,
       though the olive crop FAILS.
       and the fields produce NO food,
       though there are NO sheep in the pen
       and NO cattle in the stalls,

    18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
       I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Hab 3 : 17 & 18
Your name is important to your life journey. A name can cause you pain and heartbreak. A name can inspire you to great things. A name can break your will. A name can help you follow a great role model. A name can predict your future. Selecting names for your children can be quite a burden to bare!

However, no matter what name you got, the Almighty uses your name and even renames you along your this life of yours. Just as God renamed Abram to Abraham and Saul to Paul, He still does it today.

My name means 'dark valley'. I never let it bother me nor did I feel that it predicted my personality or my future. My first name comes from my father and it is a bit unique. My middle name comes from my mother. I am proud that I bare their names. However, as I had a major bump in my life, my name has really made me take notice of my adventure and my personality.

I use to carry a lot of melancholy with me. People around me saw the yucky part of me and not my smile. At the time I was trying the best I could but it just never seems good enough. I felt caught with no where to go. God intervined and messed up my life. Through it I found Joy. Joy is a personal lesson that you must really take on with everything you have. You are empty and nothing but with Joy you actually have to see God. When He is straight in front of you, He wipes out everything else. It seems impossible to explain and even harder to try. There has to be a God-Intervention. You must train always to be gratiful, to delight, to create passion, to declare His Attributes.... I sing hymns and choruses and refresh myself with His Words. I paint and I write. I exhale and breath in deeply. Joy bubbles up. It still amazes me to this day. I can have hard times yet Joy is ever present. Balance is key to Joy. I am a deep person yet lately I see that through my working my surface allows others to feel comfortable in engaging me.

As my journey has enlarged so has my name. 'Dark Valley' has become 'from a dark valley blossoms a Joyful one'. No matter how barren or alone I feel, Joy will be my drink, my fruit & veggies, my meat, and my oil.

name it : Precious Gift