Karis Leona Choy was born on Thurs June 18th at 10:34pm! She is my fourth child but first daughter. Everything has changed!
Father’s Day
Names Matter
The first human names were significant. Adam means “man” and Eve means “to live” or “have life.” The bible adds that Eve was the “mother of all.”
Throughout the bible the naming of and changing of names was significant. Abram (“exalted father”) changed to Abraham (“father of many”), and Cephas (“rock”) to Peter (“stone”).
Names matter in the Choy house. 12 years ago, before having our first son, we confirmed the name of our first born daughter. Four kids and three sons later we were able to use it!
Karis is the Greek word for grace. Grace is my wife Laura’s 92 year old grandmother’s name. As long as Laura has known her she has exemplified resilient faith in Jesus. That faith is what we pray and long for in Karis.
Karis’s middle name is Leona. Leona is my 90 year old grandmother. She has also been a woman of resilient faith in Jesus. Her generous and gracious spirit is what we pray Karis will have as well.
One day old
What in a Name?
The names of all four of our children are significant. We remind them of their meaning almost every evening. Our prayer is that they will live out the meaning of their names.
Elijah (“the Lord is my God”) Theodore (“gift of God”)
Ephram (“double blessing”) Daniel (“God is my judge”)
Emet (“truth”) Darrell (after HOF football player and godly man Darrell Green)
Elijah, Ephram, and Emet with Karis in the hospital
What’s in a name? For Karis Leona a lot! She is a gift of God’s grace!
QUESTION: do you know what your name means?
My name (Edward) means “rich guard!” I’m humbled to steward such a name!
I am highly honored for Karis to carry my name as her middle name. I will pray for her all the days of my life and beyond that she may become a GRACIOUS follower of the Lord Jesus and fulfill the destiny which her loving God planned for her from before the foundation of the world when He chose her in the uniqueness of her eternal soul. Leona Choy
She is honored to carry your name GB! And we deeply appreciate your prayers and support for her. She doesn’t understand that now, but we will definitely make sure she does as she grows up!. What a blessing to have a godly great-grandmother!
What a precious post! I love seeing how our children “grow into” their names! Our firstborn, Isaac means laughter and has been such a joy and is hilarious with all his “Isaacisms!” Our second son and treasure in heaven, Matthew, means gift of God. We chose that name during the struggles of the pregnancy because, whether we were able to keep him or not, he was a gift of God. Our third, Lydia, is the seller of purple. While not much is said about her in the Bible, I always imagined her as an independent, strong, decisive and faithful woman. At 4 years of age, Lydia is so independent and once she makes up her mind not a one can change it! Congratulations on Karis! She has a beautiful name and is equally as beautiful in pictures!
Thank you for sharing about your precious family Ruth! Sounds like you’ve had some ups and downs, but God has been with you through it all. He will continue to be your rock. And may He be the God of our children as they grow to honor and fear Him.
Congratulations on your newest member. We pray for God’s Blessings for all.
I know that my name “Catherine” means “pure” and my middle name “Ann” means “He (God) has favored me.”
My mother’s name was “Leona” and I never knew the meaning until I read your messages. So thank you for that. I love to learn and discover all kinds of new things. Thanks for your sharings.
Thank you Catherine! We also learned that in Spanish Leona means “lioness.” That’s becoming a new nickname for Karis as she definitely acts like a little lioness!