What’s With the Name???

Ziba? Zeevah??  and Ali-what?? Ha ha ha… We’ve had quite the reactions to our daughters name.  We love it… but it may take people a while to grasp it, and we don’t mind. Ziva’s name has special meaning to us, and since everyone asks I thought I’d write an explanation as to how she got her name.

It’s kinda long and complicated… so bear with me… but then by now, ya’ll should know to grab coffee when sitting down to read anything written by me~! Ha ha ha…

Ziva (pronounce Zee-vah) is Hebrew for Bright or Radiant (the feminized version)
Alethea (pronounced Al-lee-thee-ah) is Greek for Truth

Our family website is RadiantChristians.com after Psalms 34:5 “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered in shame”

And Sam’s life verse is Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” when read in context (especially starting with 25) the verse is about how trustworthy our Lord is… we will be provided for, just not maybe in the way WE want things to always pan out… but He is in control none the less!

My life verse is Philippians 4:6&7  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

…and so for us, her name reminds us that the most radiant truth of all… we have nothing to worry about as the Lord will always be there to take care of us! 

Since our marriage, Sam and I have been on some life roller coaster rides!  Never really having financial stability, making a move back to the U.S. off of the mission field with no money to ship our stuff home with and no jobs to go home too (and no work experience within the U.S. for Sam)… but through everything the Lord has provided, and provided well.

Initially we just liked the name Ziva, then loved it when we found out the meaning… (it’s actually a name we found off the t.v. show NCIS~!)

Part of what put me on the process for a meaningful name for Ziva is because of her due date.  See, Ziva was due on the date that Sam and I lost our first baby.  That day used to be a sad day for me every year, it was something to dread, and at first it made me fearful for Ziva’s safe arrival… but as the weeks went on the date became a date to look forward to, he replaced my sorrow with gladness He cared enough about me, to take that sad day from me… He doesn’t choose to do it for everything, but it just felt like He did that for me in this case.  It’s been a year of being shown time and time again that the Lord is Good and Faithful and we have nothing to fear, though I stress and fear all of the time, because in my earthly self I want life to be painless… but it just never is painless. With this year being a year to reflect on all of that, it just seemed fitting that we would name our daughter a name that is a milestone of sorts for solidifying that in my faith. 

Sam and I feel so blessed and privileged to be in His care and to be blessed with a new daughter.  (We don’t take our ability to become parents lightly, many of our family and friends are not so blessed, so we are truly thankful). 

Ziva will be a constant reminder that even in times of trouble we have nothing to fear because Our Father is there, in control… it may not all turn out the way we wish it to, he’s not a “Santa god” but His love for us is deep and wide and though sometimes we must go through dark times, He is always there with us through it all. 

That our friends and family, is how our daughter got her name. Ziva Alethea, Radiant Truth

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1. Lyena 08.05.08 / 2am

   thank you!!!!!

   i was nearly crying….

   i cant give birth now - need to have an operation first…(different doctors say different things:( - so it was good for me to reed all of those things!