And she will be called...

Anna Caroline Rife!


After a process that had to be more grueling than vetting for the VP nominee, we finally chose a name. And it was all by the grace of God - truly - because we were about to pull our hair out and just call this poor child Number 2. A couple of people asked it we had prayed about her name, and our answer was "no" - it seemed such a trivial thing to pray about when there are much bigger things on our hearts. But we were reminded that names are important to God: "As his name is, so is he" (1 Samuel 25:25).

Names were so important to God that He often changed people's names to reflect their new identity in Him. Abram means "father," and God changed his name to Abraham which means "father of a multitude." And we can't forget Saul, who before meeting Christ on the road to Damascus was a persecuter of Christians, and whose name meant "demanding." After his encounter with Jesus, his name became Paul, which means "worker." And what a worker he was! From persecuter to the perescuted, from Christian hater to one who would give his life to spread the Good News to the ends of the earth...

So we prayed about it, and a few others did as well. And within a few days, it was clear to us both. No arguments, no disunity - having been through this twice now (Holly was no piece of cake!), that's a miracle in itself!

Anna (gracious, merciful)
Caroline (beautiful woman)