True Joy

People often ask me how we came up with the name Jovie, and the question always makes me hesitate.  I usually respond that I heard it somewhere years ago and have since always loved the name.  Thankfully, that answer usually suffices, unless my loving 17 year-old sister is nearby when the question is asked.  She will happily barge her way into the conversation and exclaim, "Jovie is the name of an elf!"  

This, of course, is entirely false.  Jovie is not the name of an elf.  It's the name of an elf's girlfriend.  Actually, the girlfriend of a human raised by elves.   

Okay, true confession: I first heard heard the name when watching Will Ferrell's Christmas classic, Elf.  If you've seen the movie (and if you haven't, shame on you--cutest movie ever!), Jovie is the tough, sassy girl who ends up finding happiness again as she falls in love with Buddy the Elf. 

Ben and I watch Elf every Christmas season, and we both really liked the name of the character.  However, when I wanted to use it for our daughter, Ben hesitated.  Neither of us had ever heard that name outside of the movie, and Ben didn't want a made-up name for his little girl.  But after hearing of another "real-life" Jovie and then discovering that its meaning is "joyful," Ben happily agreed to the name.  

We never really considered the meanings of the boys' names when deciding what we should call them. But the meaning of her name seemed to fit given the joy we experienced even amongst the stress and anxiety of Jovie's circumstances at birth.  

As we celebrated Jovie's baptism yesterday, Ben wrote a blessing for her just as he did for our boys.  And our prayer for Jovie comes back to that simple yet poignant meaning of her name: joy.  

Ben's words for his daughter:    

Jovie, you have brought much joy already to this family, bringing your joy even before we initially expected.  Even amongst the trials of your first weeks of life, God has bestowed his grace on our family.

For your blessing we’ve chosen Psalm 40: 16, “But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, ‘Great is the Lord!’”

We already see your joyful and happy personality, but always remember that true joy is only found in the Lord God.  It is our prayer that you come to know the Lord and seek after the Him, even at a young age.  Jovie, God bless you with the true joy found in him and in his goodness and salvation.  May you glorify God, spreading the joy of the Lord and proclaiming with all the saints, “Great is the Lord!”