Names

I have always had a thing with nicknames. I don't know why. I think it makes you feel special when you have a nickname - something that is from a period in your life that you share with a small group of people. Anyone can call you by your real name, but only a small group of people call you by a nickname. Nicknames mean different things to different people. It can be from a good time in your life, a time you would rather forget, or something random you did that will stick with you forever. To me, they remind me of different periods in my life. They remind me of connections with people.
Ash is my most common one. I love to be called this. It shows that you and I are closer than just acquaintances. It shows me that you are comfortable with me. Ashlynn is sometimes what my family calls me - usually when they are upset and Ashley Lynn becomes one word :) Asher is a name my friend in Lancaster calls me. Ashes is what my RA in college called me. Delo was my name when I worked at Bath and Body Works.
I also am a big fan of assigning nicknames. For instance, my good friend is Chica, and my other good friend and current roommate is Sara Jay. My dad is sometimes called football head - its from the TV show Arnold. I am a big fan of shortening names too - for instance if your name is Samantha I will call you Sam. Sometimes I call my sister Sar - no "ah" at the end.

I think the best thing about names though, is that the Creator of the World knows you and calls you by name. Isaiah 43:1b says: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine" God, the Almighty, the Powerful, the Infinite, the Omnipresent, the Sustainer of the world, the Creator, the Omnipotent, knows me by my name, He calls me by my name, I am His!! That is so powerful and humbling. That verse really hits home to me because I have such a thing with names. Not only does He call me, but I can call him Abba, Father. I can have a personal relationship with Him. We are on a first name basis - in fact, we are on a nickname basis. He knows me better than I know myself. He knew me when I was still in the womb - Jeremiah 1:5. When you think about how big God is, and then think about how much He cares about me, and in addition cares about everyone else in the world, it just blows my mind away. I am so thankful that I can have a personal relationship with Him, that He calls me by my name - that he knows me intimately, and that I am His.