My younger brother and his kids were out at the farm last week. Of course, the kiddos wanted to see the sheep and lambs. When we went out there, they were asking who was who and what their names were, so I just rattled them off as they asked. “There’s Buttons and her momma is Cheyenne; over there is MooMoo she’s RaeRae’s twin sister; then we have Cottontail who is over with her momma Whitesock, oh and look at Moonlight jumping around….” My brother turned to me and asked, “They all have names?”. Yep! Yep they do! That’s how we roll around here at Freedom Farms. Our flock is growing! We now have 6 healthy and spunky lambs running around in the pasture, one ram and 16 ewes. We decided it was time to tag them, which none of the boys liked the idea of piercing their ears. They didn’t want to hurt the sheep. But after they saw how quickly the tagging process was and how the sheep went right back to eating, they were good with it and jumped right in to help. I assured them we can continue to name the sheep even if they have numbered tags! I remember a few years ago when I seriously wanted to change my name from “Mom” because anytime I heard it a request was quick to follow. ”Mom, can you help me find my shoe?””Mom, can you make me a waffle for breakfast?””Mom, can I watch a show?””Mom, So&So (insert brother’s name) took my toy!””Mom, I don’t want to take a shower.”…you get my point. Don’t get me wrong! I love the title of MoM!! I love being a mom! But I also desired to hear Mom followed by something sweet… like… ”Mom, I love you.” ”Mom, will you sit by me.””Mom, I made this for you.” Before I went on the hunt for a new name (ha ha), I checked myself. - - - - - When I say the boys’ names - am I always asking something of them? ”Brant, is your schoolwork done?” ”Titus, did you take out the trash?””Sawyer, have you showered yet?”I flipped the script. Every time my boys’ hear me say their name, I don’t want them to think, “Oh! Great! What does she want now?”or “What is she going to make me do?” or “Am I in trouble?”When my boys hear me say their name, I want them to expect…”Brant, I love you.” ”Titus, I am proud of you.” ”Sawyer, I knew you could do it!”Not only do I want that to be the scenario with my children but with other people I interact with, too. I want my husband to hear me say his name with words of encouragement following. I want my parents to hear me say their names with words of gratitude and thanks. I want my friends to hear me say their names and know they are loved and thought about. If you are feeling overwhelmed or under-appreciated - I want to encourage you to flip the script. Are you speaking life into others when you reach out to them, when you send a text, when you make a phone call, when you pop in? Be intentional about saying other’s names and following it with loving words. Living a life set apart, Rachel aka Mom — and I love the sounds of it!! **Fun story of how RaeRae got her name. Before any of the sheep had their babies, I told the boys the first one needed to be named Rachel because it means “lamb of God”. We just knew this one sheep was going to have her baby first and the boys thought the name Rachel would be good. (honestly I didn’t think they’d go for it.. ha ha) Well, another sheep had her lamb first and the boys decided to name it Cottontail. When the other momma had her lambs… they decided to name one MooMoo and the other Rachel… I encouraged the nickname RaeRae…and it stuck! Scripture: I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15Quote: ”Words have meaning and names have power.” Farm Life Family