Ahaviah Zahorah arrived at home on 28 September 2012. Ahaviah means “the love of the LORD” or “the LORD loves.” Zahorah means “to shine” or “to illuminate” or “brightness” or “light.” Our LORD’s love shines brightly and illuminates the darkness. We pray that this love of the LORD will fill our Ahaviah with its light and that she truly be a daughter of the light which the darkness cannot conquer. Then this same love will also shine out through her to others.
As is our custom, we’ve also given her a nickname, Zemirah. (Of course all these names are Hebrew … we’ve got to do something, after all, with that expensive seminary education.) There are two different words (homophones) in Hebrew spelled “Zemirah.” The first means “song” or “melody” and therefore also “praise.” The second means “strength.” Thus our blessing to our daughter is that her life will be a song and melody of praise that rises up to the Father in response to his perfecting love. But we also recognize that the love of God is the only sure source of strength, and so we pray that it will always be Ahaviah’s foundation.
(In case you’ve forgotten or never known, these are the nicknames for our other children:
Alitzah is Tzitzah
Hannah Gail is Shoshannah
Eliana is Tzahala & also Ailona
Zerachiah is Shomer.
Have you ever wondered why we named our other children as we did?)
Oh, and for those of you who will want to know:
She arrived at around 5:38 pm and weighed in at 3.5 kg (7 lbs 11.2 oz) and measured 55 cm long (21.65 in). And of course, she is beautiful. Her father delivered her, as she was in hurry and the midwife was still on the way. (Well, at any rate, her father caught her … like Eliana, she seemed just to have been delivered by God.)
Congratulations to you, Josh & Ruth and family. Thank you for sharing about the nicknames; I had never heard about that before. Love and prayers for all of you and may God continue to bless your family as you serve Him. You now have the exact opposite of my growing-up family. I was the fourth child, and the only girl in a family of four boys; so Zerachiah & I have something in common. (My lot was probably easier than his will be.) Or not.
Love & Prayers, Nancy & Paul
What a story, I sure hope you are keeping a daily journal, it will be impossible to remember all that the Lord is doing in and through your family, 20 years from now. God Bless you!!! Welcome, Avaviah!
Congratulations to you, Josh & Ruth and family. Thank you for sharing about the nicknames; I had never heard about that before. Love and prayers for all of you and may God continue to bless your family as you serve Him. You now have the exact opposite of my growing-up family. I was the fourth child, and the only girl in a family of four boys; so Zerachiah & I have something in common. (My lot was probably easier than his will be.) Or not.
Love & Prayers, Nancy & Paul
Congratulation to the family! Sounds like exciting times. Thank you for all the explanations and birth information.
congratulations and prayers to you all
Congrats to all of you!
What a story, I sure hope you are keeping a daily journal, it will be impossible to remember all that the Lord is doing in and through your family, 20 years from now. God Bless you!!! Welcome, Avaviah!
Congratulations to you all! (Good catch, Dad! You guys have such great birth stories!) God bless all of you!
Great news! Congratulations from our family! We’re so glad Ahaviah arrived safely. May God bless her abundantly!
The Lord continues to Bless you! I will announce tonight at Belvue “and Ahaviah makes seven” !
Thanks, all, for your blessings and congratulations.
Congratulations on a good catch!! She is a blessing, and she will be thru her life!
Congratulations to one and all. Hope everyone is doing fine. You have added another beautifull child into God’s kingdom..