about

Names are important.  They are more than a simple label to distinguish one from the other; names give us identity and character.  For many cultures, the name given a child is considered to be of great importance, having profound influence on the development of that child’s character.  Therefore, when a parent carefully chooses a first and middle name for their unborn child, more often than not, two considerations come into play: meaning of names and honoring a person, often a family member.  As with naming a child, the naming of our blog looked to both these considerations, with one resulting more by accident (or Providence).

Back in December of 2012, right before leaving to be with family for Christmas, my wife and I found out that we were pregnant.  What a Christmas present!  Actually, it was more of a Christmas surprise!  For us, this was a crisis pregnancy.  We already had a two year old boy and twin girls that had just turned one.  We were busy, financially unstable, and we didn’t feel ready for a baby again.  Nevertheless, we knew that we wanted another child and we grew in excitement as the days went by.  We joyfully shared the news with all our family over the holiday and returned home to have our first doctors visit after the New Year.  We couldn’t wait to have an ultrasound and see the little guy (for some reason my wife and I both felt that he was a boy).  Sadly…we never got the chance.  There are points in life that stop you in your tracks.  One minute, everything is just flowing like normal.  The next, a dam has broken and you are drowning.  I remember when my wife came to me, pale in face, with the words that every pregnant couple fears, “I’m bleeding.”  My heart sank.  Upstairs, my wife was on the phone with the nurse.  Downstairs, I was taking care of our young children, praying my guys out for the life of our baby.  My wife came slowly walking down the stairs and into the living room where we embraced.  Then she looked up at me and sputtered, “I don’t think we are going to have this baby.”  I held her tighter and wept.  One minute he was there; the next, gone.  No funeral.  No death certificate.  Nothing.  His name was going to be Eli Joshua.

Fast forward two years.  Through the willingness of another to share his stand for life, my wife and I started investigating abortion in our country.  The results left us in utter shock, disbelief and horror.  How did this go under our radar for so long?  We couldn’t ignore the cold and violent reality of abortion anymore.  We had to do SOMETHING!  That something has turned into this blog, which seeks to educate and provide resources to equip others to stand for life.  The more people learn the truth about abortion and its unrelenting path of destruction, the more women and babies can be rescued.

As we started planning out our blog, one of the first things I wanted to do was figure out a name.  The first name I thought of was Eli Joshua.  It could give us some small way to honor and share him with others.  He could be part of a mission to save his very own, the unborn.  After pretty much deciding on Eli Joshua, I decided to search for the meaning of the name because I couldn’t remember what they were.  I was blown away.

I found two meanings to the name Eli Joshua and both are significant.  First, the American meaning and, second, the Hebrew.  The American meaning of Eli is “defender of man” and Joshua is “a deliverer.”  What a powerful name that reflects the mission God has given His people to defend humanity and deliver those who are weak and oppressed!  For it is our passion and purpose to stand for life: to rescue those being led away to death (Proverbs 24:11) and defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and oppressed; rescue the weak and needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 82:3,4).  The Hebrew meaning of Eli can be “my God” and Joshua is “Yahweh is salvation.”  So, in the name Eli Joshua, we also find a marvelous reminder that our God is the ultimate deliver, our shield and savior (Psalm 18:2).  Thus, I see two powerful meanings behind the name Eli Joshua: an affirmation of our commission to defend and deliver the victims of abortion and the recognition that Yahweh is their, and my, savior!