Moms are heroes.

I’ve experienced my own mom serving selflessly.

I’ve witnessed my own wife’s unwavering dedication.

I’ve enjoyed my mother-in-laws powerful example.

And I’m humbled and honored.

Thanks (MOMS) for all you do.

“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.” -Proverbs 31:28

Seriously?

Yep.

From now until September 30th here’s all you have to do:

1. Send me an email (info “at” yoursecretname.com) with a copy of Your Secret Name receipt from Amazon (Paperback or Kindle version).
2. Post a short review of Your Secret Name on Amazon.
3. Email me (info “at” yoursecretname.com) with the subject line AUDIO BOOK.

That’s it.

I’ll then email you a link where you can download of free copy of Your Secret Name on audio. 

Crazy hey?

Your Secret Name free on iTunes here we come.

One more Secret Story just rolled in:

God has been after me, trying to give me my name for so long, but I’ve been too stubborn. Instead I’ve clung to unsatisfying  names that others bestow upon me or that I grasp at on my own. I’ve tried to run from those names, but without my TRUE name to replace them, I always return.

These names are the faults, shortcomings, and failures that others see in me and the failure, inadequacies, and struggles that I try to hide and cover. Complaining, self-loathing, depressed, afraid, angry, mean, failure, trash. All of these, and so many more that I’m not yet brave enough to share here. It’s better to have a horrible identity, than no identity at all. But these names don’t offer healing.

Through a question in the middle of the night, a postcard in a bookstore, a facebook connection, and a gracious gesture from a person that I have never met, but I am honored to know even the least bit now, I am seeing how God has been pursuing me with this for so long. I have a name, my TRUE name.

I am hesitant to say I know it, although I believe I do. It is beautiful, but if I try to look at it from the perspective of what I am capable of doing on my own, it is daunting. Only through God’s gracious gift of His Son and His continuing work and strength in a person so fallen, will I ever truly be able to embody this beautiful name: REDEEMED.

Did you ever look at all of the meanings of the word redeem? To buy or pay off; to buy back; to recover by payment; to exchange for money or goods; to discharge or fulfill (a promise); make amends for, offset; to obtain the release or restoration of, as from captivity, by paying a ransom.

Do you know what the opposite of REDEEMED is?

ABANDONED.

If any of you know me, truly know me, you know that I have felt abandoned and have been abandoned in various ways. I have felt the weight of that abandonment. For a long time it led me to question whether or not God really cared for me at all. I truly believed that God existed. I believed wholeheartedly that God loved other people. But, somehow, that God simply couldn’t love me, not if He really knew me the way everyone insisted He did.

If He knew my facade, maybe He could love me, but not if He truly knew all of the dirt. Then during my first semester of sophomore year, while in my Exploring the Bible class, God allowed me to hear. I didn’t learn His name for me that day, but I did find my name for Him.

Genesis 16:13- “You are the God who sees me.”

In the desert, alone, running away after being mistreated by her master for bragging up the fact that she was pregnant, God met Hagar. He saw her. He knew what she had done, He knew what Sarai had done, He knew that she was pregnant and not with the child He had promised Abram. But He SAW her. He comforted her and promised that her son would also become a father of a nation.

He saw her. He knew her. He comforted her. EL ROI- the God who sees me.This name impacted me so much that I now wear this reminder permanently in black ink on my wrist.

I have my name for God. I have His name for me. It is a large name to live up to. In fact, there is no way to embody that name on my own. God is the only one capable of getting me there and I know it’s going to be a long and hard journey.

Thank you, to everyone that God has been using in my life, and continues to use in my life, to bring me to the place of knowing my SECRET NAME.

Some of this might be confusing to some of you. I had never thought of such a thing as a secret name before, even though it’s mentioned in the Bible. Not to mention the fact that I’ve been trying to carve out a name for myself for years, not knowing the whole time I was merely seeking something to fill the gap that was meant for true name.

Anyway, this might clear a little bit up and maybe, if you don’t already know God’s name for you, begin the journey of finding it. www.yoursecretname.com

If I could have one season all year I’d pick Fall.

I’m blessed to live in a place that celebrates all four seasons.

But the month of October brings:

• Kelly’s birthday
• Our anniversary
• Football
• Color
• Leaves
• Fires in the fireplace
• Pumpkins
• Hot cider
• Cool evenings
• Sweaters
• A craving to write

Gee, I guess I’m going through more withdrawal then I thought. 

Anyhow, summer is cool, but Fall is better.

Only a few short weeks now…

Are you “IN”?

You still have time.

What is weShare?
It’s our “Great Commission Fast” to support our missionaries

How’s it work?
Choose to give up daily extras to give the money saved to the Great Commission

Why?
“…how can they hear…believe…unless they are sent? (Romans 10:14-15)

What’s the goal?
If each of us sacrifices $3/day, together weShare will raise $300,000 for our missionaries

When does it take place?
May 1st -- May 31st 

Join the Facebook event

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6StdW4_Mom4

(…Continued From…) Chapter 01: Names will Never Hurt me

Life at St. Mary’s Catholic grade school inched by slowly that year. I longed for summer afternoons where my cousins and I were the kings of the woods behind their house—where we would invent our own names for each other, names consistent with our other favorite TV shows like the Dukes of Hazard, MacGyver, and the Greatest American Hero popularized by its theme song “Believe it or Not.”  

Unfortunately for us, there was nothing believable about our make believe playtime and each school year jolted us back to reality. My classmates knew nothing about the clever aliases my cousins and I assigned each other.

Thankfully, not everyone at my school was cruel…

Some of you have asked if you can copy and paste excerpts like this on your blog or website. Freel free to do so. Just please follow Zondervan’s guidelines by also including in your post:

• Book cover image
• Title
• Author
• ISBN
• Publisher
• Price
• Website for book
• A button or link whereby one click one can go to a retailer page showing the book (such as amazon.com) and purchase it.

Or to make it easier on you just copy and paste the book cover image (also above) and this text:

Excerpt taken from Your Secret Name by Kary Oberbrunner, published by Zondervan, available here via Amazon for $10.19 (ISBN:  978-0310285465).  More info www.yoursecretname.com

I snuck over to McDonalds with the kids.

I exposed them to a little piece of my childhood.

A what a sweet piece it is.

Aren’t you glad some things never change.

Like Shamrock Shakes.

What’s a piece of your childhood that you love?

They have been slugging away in Haiti for years, before all the earthquake media hype.

They need our help now more than ever.

Check out their website and let the stories seep into your heart.

Reckless love for others displayed through simple medical care +

 the message of hope displayed within the Gospel of Jesus Christ

= NOVEL CONCEPT.

Tag = Seeking creative-types who want to reach out to a culturally diverse and post-denominational world. Online and in Portland.

Another statement to wrestle with…

Seminary training  applies to ministries that fit this tag.

Agree or disagree?

What are some important qualities of training for ministries that fit this tag?

I didn’t sign up for this magazine.

It  just came to me.

I was innocent.

I’ve heard good things about the magazine.

I’m sure they have the best intentions.

In fact, I bet I could learn a lot from this issue.

Still, I know my heart and my hang-ups.

And for me, looking through this magazine, is spiritual porn to my soul.

It causes me to lust, to fantasize, to despise the place the Lord has me in.

It puts space between me and God.

So instead of reading it, I’ve stayed away from it.

The Magazine?

Outreach Magazine.

The Issue?

The 100 Largest-Fastest Growing Churches in America.

Do you know your heart and your hang-ups?

Do you know what puts space between you and God?