Baby Name Announcement

So we have decided on a name for our son. Here is something Garrett wrote to explain the name, meaning and significance to us.

Jude Paul Higerd

Drum roll please………………..Yes we have finally decided on a name for our son! Before you decide whether you like it or not (probably too late), we want to share with you all how God has been leading us over the last months while we anticipate the arrival of our son.

Definitions:

Jude is a variant of JUDAS, which was a popular form of JUDAH in the first century. JUDAH comes from the Hebrew name יְהוּדָה (Yehudah) which means "praised". Judah was one of the twelve sons of Jacob and the ancestor of the tribe of Judah in the Old Testament. This tribe eventually formed the kingdom of Judah in the south of Israel. King David and Jesus were descendents of Judah. Jude is used in many English versions of the New Testament to denote the second apostle named Judas, in order to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. This is the apostle the Catholic church calls Saint Jude - the patron saint of lost causes. This is why there are many hospitals named after him. Jude is also the name of the author of the New Testament book of Jude who was James’ brother and Jesus’ half-brother.


Paul comes from the Roman family name Paulus, which means "small" or "humble" in Latin. The apostle Paul was originally named Saul, the Pharisee and zealous persecutor of the church, but God changed his name after He called him on the road to Damascus. Paul became an apostle to the gentiles and authored most of the epistles in the New Testament.


Thoughts:

We love that both of these names have a Biblical context that showcases God’s redemptive work in history. Both names are honest about the problem of sin in the world (specifically with Judas Iscariot and Saul) and are testimonies to the wonderful power of the gospel. Our prayer is that we would be able to help our son see where he fits into this story – a sinner like his dad, in desperate need of a savior – created to worship and glorify God and experience great joy in doing so. We hope that our son will grow up to be “a proud man seeking humility by the grace of God” like C.J. Mahaney.
We also want to honor Grandpa Paul Payne. Paul experienced the tragedy of losing much of his family as a young man and has been a source of stability for the family ever since. We see evidences of God’s grace in his life and are very thankful for him.

A few months ago ReAnnon had an impression that we should be praying Psalm 71 for Jude. These verses have been especially meaningful to us.

Psalm 71:4-6 and 17-21
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;
you are he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.

17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19 Your righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done great things,
O God, who is like you?
20 You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.

This is another scripture verse that has been meaningful to us.

Jude 1:24-25
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.