His Name

Linny Saunders71 Comments
Oh I love naming our treasures.

Truly, so stinkin’ fun.

But as much fun as it is – each time we have added another treasure to our family, we have taken naming them as not only a privilege but also a very serious responsibility.  In the Old Testament every name had a very significant meaning and whether good or ‘bad’ – that meaning seemed to be a life indicator.

On more than a few occasions in scripture,  God Almighty took the name of a person and changed it at a significant juncture in their life – to speak new hope and new plans for them.  

We regularly talk with our kids about the meanings of their names, or who they were named after.  We want to remind them often that their name was given them for a very significant reason.  It speaks life.  It speaks hope.  Their name blesses.  No doubt a name can have powerful significance.   
We have been praying and praying about naming our 11th treasure –
 this precious son, who has waited so long for his forever family
and finally {!} we have decided!

So with that little dab of background…here goes…

Did you ever hear the saying, 
“He is no fool, 
who gives what he cannot keep, 
to gain what he cannot lose”? 
That was a quote penned on October 28, 1949 in the journal of Jim Elliot, written in reference to his belief that being a missionary was more important than life itself.  Have you heard of him?
Jim Elliot was one of five young missionaries who went in the early 1950’s to Ecuador to minister.  {His wife was Elisabeth Elliot, who is still alive today and is a great woman of God.}  Jim and the other four young men {Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming and their pilot, Nate Saint}along with their families, learned of a people group that had been totally untouched by the love of Jesus.  The Waodanis – also known as the “Auca Indians”  {Auca means ‘savage’}.  After studying Spanish they slowly put a plan into place which would be known as Operation Auca.  
Part of Operation Auca was to carefully drop buckets of gifts to the Aucas from their small plane, in hopes that one day they could actually land on a narrow strip of river bank.  Time after time they went in to the jungles to drop gifts to the Aucas and it seemed like their was some progress being made.  So much so that they decided to land and stay nearby….walking to where the Aucas were.  But on January 8, 1956 the plan went awry and all five young men were martyred by the Auca Indians, leaving their wives and precious children behind.

Jim Elliot {and the other four young men and their families } sacrifice doesn’t make sense to our human minds, but you must hear the rest of the story….years passed,  eventually the Aucas did come to Christ.  One day in fact we were at a convention and saw one of the very Auca men who had murdered the five speaking {through an interpreter} on the forgiveness of the families and how that opened the door for many of the Aucas to come to Christ.  If not for the courageous love for Christ that those five men and their families exhibited, the Aucas might never know the love of Jesus.  One day, Jim Elliot and the other four will meet the same men who killed them on the other side of eternity, as brothers in Christ!

I dare say that will be quite a day of celebration because:

“He is no fool, 

who gives what he cannot keep,
 to gain what he cannot lose.”       

 Needless to say, Dw and I love Jim Elliot and the legacy he left.  We love his quote.  With deep respect and reverence we love what Jim Elliot did with his life.  
 We are convinced that serving Christ with reckless abandon is the only thing that satisfies and is the only way to really live life.  We cannot talk about those five young missionary martyrs without getting choked up.  They are true heroes.
We also love Moses.  He was a hero in scripture.  The only man who God said, “I speak with others, but Moses?  With Moses – I speak face-to-face.”   Moses was spared by God himself when Pharaoh told everyone to kill all the newborn Hebrew babies.   Moses was rescued out of the water, where his mom had hid him.  Moses was adopted by Pharoah’s daughter.  And then God called Moses to lead His people.
Moses was not so excited to have to be the “lead guy”.  But God knew he could do it!!  And so, Moses, this man that God spoke face-to-face with, well, he went on to lead the Hebrew nation out of captivity.  He was a leader.  He was brave.  He was courageous.  
And so it is with great joy that I announce our son’s name:
Elliot Moses

{If Jim Elliot wasn’t legacy enough, Elliot is Hebrew and means:  My God is the Lord}

And yes, we plan to call him Elliot Moses.

If you hang around our house at all, you will find that most of the time we call Elijah Mueller, just that.  

Elijah Mueller. 
and 
Isaiah Samuel. 
and 
Elizabeth Mercy.
and  
Jubilee Promise.
and  
Liberty Anna. 
and
Emma Joy.
and 
Graham Josiah.

ahhh. 
Yes. 
Elliot Moses
It has such a courageous ring to it, don’t cha think?

71 thoughts on “His Name”

  4. Perfect:) I love it! I love the story!! He is one blessed little boy to be a part of such a wonderful family! And your family is blessed to be a part of all these little treasures:)

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  7. What a powerful name for your newest member! I have read the books by Elisabeth Elliot. Her books are so powerful! The story of Jim E. and the other missionaries resonated for me too. I enjoyed reading the book, The End Of A Spear and saw that movie too. Again…powerful.
    Congrats on the naming of your son…hope and pray he comes home soon.

    Reply

  12. great name!!

    I have asked for prayer for our son to be, and it looks like our prayers were finally answered.

    It looks like his gotcha day will happen in April- Lord Willing.

    We too find naming kids important.

    His name will be Carver Wilberforce

    (after George Washington Carver and William Wilberforce… two godly men who did great things for the black community).

    Just thought you would like to know Carver's name and that he will finally be joining our family! 🙂

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  13. Linny and Dwight and family!! I love how you deeply look at the meanings of all of your children;s names. Elliot Moses will be very blessed to come to your home as you will be very blessed to add him to your family. Blessings and hugs, Ellen Wylie

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  15. What a wonderful name. And the meaning behind it just adds to the beauty of it. How exciting for Elliot Moses to transition into this new phase of his life with a name that speaks hope and blessings to forever remind him of his family's love for him.

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  16. I LOVE his name! The first time I heard the story of Jim Elliot and his group, my heart hurt. Such an amazing story of God's hand and His eternal purpose.

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  23. What a strong name for a handsome boy! I think he looks like an Elliot and dare I say, I think he looks like DW too? Is it the smile? Excited to hear when he'll be coming home.

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  27. Congratulations on your 11th treasure! Love his name! I think I have seen the movie that was made about Jim Elliot- very powerful story.
    I am still sending some items for the wedding feast, been potty training here lately, so I hope to get out this week to do a little shopping! 🙂

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  31. A powerful name! Cher and I have taken great joy in naming our kids too and what a truth you can speak into your kids just by their name. Cannot wait to see Elliot Moses home where he belongs! Blessings, friend!

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  33. Well, dear far away friend, you know what it means to me to hear what you have chosen as the newest's new name. With tears in my eyes, I am praying that it won't be long until Elliot Moses is home and in your arms. Blessings on you sweet friend and God's sweet blessings on you Elliot Moses. Hang on little one, joy comes in the morning.

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  35. there are no words… his name. so precious. i only wish i had been a believer when i named my children.
    not that i would have changed them… but yours… this one… oh. my.word.
    elliot moses.
    perfect.
    jaw droppingly awesome.

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  38. Yes it is perfect. I love the legacy that Jim Elliot has left behind…and his amazing wife Elisabeth! Look at the beauty from the ashes! ONLY God could bring about such miraculous transformation and the Elliots were willing to pay the price for Christ to be shared. Amazing love.
    Congratulations and much rejoicing!

    Reply

  40. I love his new name! I considered changing my daughter's name until I heard the meaning…her first name means "Gift" and her Ugandan last name means "The One Who Sits on the Throne." So she is my "Gift from the One Who Sits on the Throne!" Couldn't change it! She IS my Gift from the Lord. Amazing!

    Sweet blessings and prayers over the next few months of working to bring him home!

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  41. So sweet! We have Elliot James picked out as one of our name possibilities for this baby that's due the beginning of May – don't know yet if it's a boy or girl. 🙂

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  42. LOVE the name Elliot Moses, what it means, and the legacy it bestows upon the precious boy who will carry this great name! May he grow in strength, in character, and in spirit to do mighty works for the Lord. I sooooo rejoice with your family, Linny. I'm tickled pink about Elliot Moses being placed and chosen by God to be apart of your family…his forever family. I pray God brings him home very soon. Oh, it makes me smile just thinking about how Elliot Moses will be flooded with love, happiness, acceptance, family, support, comfort, and joy just as soon as he is placed in the arms of his family. He will no longer know a life of unbelonging, loneliness, and lack. No more…that's been cancelled! HOW AMAZING IS OUR GOD! I praise God for what His hands have done!

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  43. LOVE LOVE LOVE the name Elliot! Beautiful story all around.

    I would also be thrilled if you weould do a post on ALL of your kids' names! I have a name obsession, haha.

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  44. LOVE the name Elliot Moses, what it means, and the legacy it bestows upon the precious boy who will carry this great name! May he grow in strength, in character, and in spirit to do mighty works for the Lord. I sooooo rejoice with your family, Linny. I'm tickled pink about Elliot Moses being placed and chosen by God to be apart of your family…his forever family. I pray God brings him home very soon. Oh, it makes me smile just thinking about how Elliot Moses will be flooded with love, happiness, acceptance, family, support, comfort, and joy just as soon as he is placed in the arms of his family. He will no longer know a life of unbelonging, loneliness, and lack. No more…that's been cancelled! HOW AMAZING IS OUR GOD! I praise God for what His hands have done!

    Reply

  47. I love the blessing behind his name!! We too believe in the power of names and have chosen each of our children's names with much prayer and research.

    I love my
    Caleb Joshua
    Ethan Levi
    and
    Alealani Faith

    and can't wait to hear the names of the future children that the Lord has for us:O)

    Congratulations Saunders family!!! We are so happy for you!

    Lots of Love,
    jenn

    Reply

  48. LOVE the name Elliot Moses, what it means, and the legacy it bestows upon the precious boy who will carry this great name! May he grow in strength, in character, and in spirit to do mighty works for the Lord. I sooooo rejoice with your family, Linny. I'm tickled pink about Elliot Moses being placed and chosen by God to be apart of your family…his forever family. I pray God brings him home very soon. Oh, it makes me smile just thinking about how Elliot Moses will be flooded with love, happiness, acceptance, family, support, comfort, and joy just as soon as he is placed in the arms of his family. He will no longer know a life of unbelonging, loneliness, and lack. No more…that's been cancelled! HOW AMAZING IS OUR GOD! I praise God for what His hands have done!

    Congratulations on your 11th treasure! :o)

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  51. We too take naming the kids seriously,
    i love the names you decided on and the story's behind them…
    can't wait for him to be called by these names and loved and treasured for ever!
    Adriana

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  52. What a great name! I watched the documentary on Jim Elliot with my Sunday School class about a year ago. What a story! We watched over the course of a few weeks and discussed as we went. Lots of tears shed in our class those weeks for a group of amazing people!

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  57. LOVE IT!!!!! Thank you for sharing the story of Jim Elliot. Such an amazing group of men who poured themselves into following Christ. What an example…..
    Have a great day Linny!!

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  59. Absolutely awesome pick for a beautiful little guy (Can guys be beautiful?). Congratulations to your family! How long of a process does it take to adopt from here? Not as familiar with this process. Pray it goes quickly!!!!

    Jackie W.

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  60. Great Name, Linny…
    We take naming a baby seriously as well…it feels like you are giving a gift to your child…
    I hope he lives a life a reckless abandon for His Lord…

    A friend of mine is adopting a boy from an Eastern European Country. The cost associated with that is staggering. To help raise the funds needed to bring him home, she is raffling off a Nikon Camera… http://www.silvamoose.com/MoosePages/MomsPage/tabid/59/EntryId/188/Nikon-D3100-Camera-GIVEAWAY.aspx
    Would you please consider sharing this on your blog?
    Thanks
    C~

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  63. such strong faith wrapped up in that name! a new Heritage and Hope for his sweet life.

    Question (because I haven't none this yet and while I wait I think of inconsequential things) how do you introduce a new name to your adopted child? What do you say to a 6 yr boy, do you transition?

    We want to change our daughter-to-be's first name, she's 5. Our son is 3 and we'll be changing his as well, but I'm more concerned about her.

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  64. Love the name! My youngest son has Elliot in his middle name for the same meaning/reason. 🙂
    Also wanted to say hi, have been reading here a lil while but have felt shy about saying hi, but there it is: Hi!

    ~Bethany (from back-in-the-day, Erin's daughter)

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  65. Love it! Beautiful and strong! I think naming is important and we still don't have a name for our third treasure. Hopefully we'll see his picture soon and know his name then. 🙂

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  68. Oh Linny, I LOVE that name! Two amazing legacies for your newest treasure to grow into! I had tears in my eyes thinking about how both of those men – Moses & Jim Elliot – have influenced my own life. I pray that your Elliot Moses will grow into a nam after God's own heart, who draws many into His presence!

    Love you!

    Reply

  71. I'm sobbing! Names have had such an important role in our family walk. Both mygirls got named when I had walked away from God and yet when theypassed her to me- she was called GRACE (not what we had planned), and whilst pregnant with my second daughter I began to read The WOrd and pray again for the first time in years – somehow her name just got altered in spelling and pronunciation (no mental decision, just one of those things you do for "no reason"), to Aliyah ( Hebrew for one who goes up to the New Jerusalem, or in short, home-coming)(she was three and a half when I found out it was Hebrew and what it meant…) The day after I got baptised I found I was introducing myself by my double barrel name Anna Marie – although I'd used just Anna for 20yrs at that point- it's funny the couple of people who call me Anna are from my old life and when they call me it I have to double take!

    What a fabulous name…x

    Reply

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