05/18/2024 - 2:46 pm CST
Paige gave birth to Knox Nolen Reuel Van Voorst
7 lbs. 2 oz, 20"
happy... healthy.
and then at 05/18/2024 - 3:08 pm CST
Paige gave birth to Eulalie Day Van Voorst
7 lbs. 0 oz, 20"
happy, healthy... just as surprised to see us as we were to see her :)
It took us longer to name the twins than any of our previous children. They were almost 2 weeks old (5/31/24) before we settled on names. Because this was our first time not having an ultrasound, it is also meant it was going to be the first time we were surprised by the gender. That fact alone made it hard to commit to a name before seeing the child. Then we not only were surprised by the gender, "It's a BOY!" but we were surprised by another person, "it's another baby... a GIRL!"
Our 9th child and 4th son is Knox Nolen Reuel.
Knox
Knox comes from Scottish Reformer, John Knox, and literally means "hill", but figuratively means the mountain of a man that was John Knox and his punchy Presbyterianism. He was the father of the Kirk (the Scottish church). He was bold and faithful, full of fire for God's enemies and comfort for God's friends. The kind of man you want on your side and fear to have against you.
"In the providence of God, John Knox was a nation builder. But he was emphatically not what we would call a political operative. He was no coalition builder, no maker or shaper of consensus. He knew nothing of polls, but if he had, he would have despised them. He probably never took a personality test to gauge his fitness for the ministry. He simply thundered the word in the hope that God would gather faithful men to Himself. And this, for many reasons, God was pleased to do." — Douglas Wilson
What do the righteous do when the foundations have been assaulted? They build it back beginning with the only foundation that holds, Jesus Christ as His perfect life, sacrificial death, triumphant resurrection, glorious ascension, and majestic rule and reign from the Father's right hand. Just as John Knox built a nation, may our little Knox build a Christian nation where one once flourished.
Speaking of nation building, Colonel Henry Knox was instrumental in helping the colonies defeat the tyrannical overreach of the British Empire in establishing the United States of America. The Knox Expedition, commissioned by General George Washington, was led by Knox to transport heavy weaponry that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to the Continental Army camps outside Boston during the winter of 1775–76. This expedition involved tons of pounds and hundreds of miles, but he persevered and pulled it off and thus a nation was born.
Nolen
Nolen is my mother's maiden name and means "champion." It pairs well with Knox since he is often referred to as the champion of the Kirk in keeping the flame of protestant hope and faith alive and thriving in Scotland. In Christ, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us, but we are not less than conquerors. Sure, there is more to it than merely conquering, but there is not less to it. Conquering is an essential element of the Christian faith (cf. Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21, etc..) Christ is our Champion. In Him, we become like Him and we win. We do not fight the good fight because we personally cannot lose, but because the case is guaranteed victory. Faith is the willingness to die combined with a strong desire to live. Lord, may it be so.
Reuel (pronounced for our purposes as "rule)
Reuel comes from J.R.R. Tolkien and means "friend of God." The second "R" in J.R.R. Tolkien's name is Reuel (John Ronald Reuel). He was the author of the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and our family recently read through all of those during our nightly Story Club. We read these post 2020 and they were a breath of fresh air in a world where the smell of dumpster fires began to hang in the clouds. Frodo and Sam's commitment to the mission and each other was heartwarming in a cold winter. The faith of the Fellowship in the face of impossible odds fueled our family as we watched everything unfold.
Reuel is also Moses’ father-in-law (Exodus 2:18) and means "friend of God." He is more commonly known as Jethro (Exodus 3:1). "Jethro" likely being a title and "Reuel" being a given name. He was a good father, a good father-in-law, and a great counselor. There are few things more you could hope for someone than for them to be a friend of God and friend to those who are themselves friends of God. Reuel was a friend of God and a friend of Moses, the man who was a friend of God. He loved God's law and he loved God's people. May Knox do the same.
Our prayer is that little Knox Nolen Reuel will be a champion of the church who spreads the leaven of Christ's Kingdom further through the lump with political involvement, theological purity, imaginative power, and deep-seated, everlasting friendship with and allegiance to God Almighty.
...
Our 10th child and 6th daughter is Eulalie Day
Eulalie
Eulalie is a version of Eulalia, who was a Christian martyr from 303 AD and means "sweetly spoken." She was sweet and well spoken, relentlessly gentle and quiet in Christ... until you spoke ill of her Savior or attempted to elevate idols to be His equal.
“Eulalia, a Spanish lady of a christian family, was remarkable in her youth for sweetness of temper, and solidity of understanding seldom found in the capriciousness of juvenile years. Being apprehended as a christian, the magistrate attempted by the mildest means, to bring her over to paganism, but she ridiculed the pagan deities with such asperity, that the judge, incensed at her behaviour, ordered her to be tortured. Her sides were accordingly torn by hooks, and her breasts burnt in the most shocking manner, till she expired by the violence of the flames, Dec. A. D. 303." — Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
Eulalie is of French and Greek origin. It is feminine and full of meaning. It embodies the Christian ideal of femininity in being sweet and kind and ferociously devoted to Jesus. It is that peculiar blend of accommodation and stubbornness. It is willing to bend where and when it can and unwilling to blur God's commanded distinctions. In a world where basic math and biology are shouted down, the willingness to stand for truth is crucial. But it is also crucial that it not be fussy or whiny, it must be gentle, loving, and cheerful. The one losing their temper is losing the argument. The one who has confidence in Christ is free to be friendly and faithful to be ferocious when required.
Day
Day is my sister-in-law's married name and means "light." There are 24 hours in every day. Some hours are ruled by light and called, "day," while others are ruled by darkness and called, "night," but the 24 hours as a whole is known as a "day." The 24 hours are defined by the presence of light, even during winter months when darkness prevails. Just as field mixed with wheat and weeds is called a wheat field, a 24 hour period of daylight and darkness is identified as "DAY."
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
"The evening was 'darkness' and the morning was 'light,' and yet the two together are called by the name that is given to the light alone! This is somewhat remarkable, but it has an exact analogy in spiritual experience. In every believer there is darkness and light, and yet he is not to be named a sinner because there is sin in him, but he is to be named a saint because he possesses some degree of holiness. This will be a most comforting thought to those who are mourning their infirmities, and who ask, 'Can I be a child of God while there is so much darkness in me?' Yes; for you, like the day, take not your name from the evening, but from the morning; and you are spoken of in the word of God as if you were even now perfectly holy as you will be soon. You are called the child of light, though there is darkness in you still. You are named after what is the predominating quality in the sight of God, which will one day be the only principle remaining." — Charles Spurgeon
Days include a period of both dark and light, but they are defined by the day. A night is simply put, just another part of the day. It is said to be darkest before the dawn, but by that time the night is nearly defeated. Though it appear to be making a final conquest of the light, it is merely exhausting its last breath before it expires (John 1:5).
"Do not, I beseech you, be troubled about the increase of forces already in dissolution. You have mistaken the hour of the night; it is already morning.” — Hilaire Belloc
Day is a tip of the hat to the postmillennial hope the Bible teaches. It is a faith-filled belief that God will do what He has promised to do and that we labor not in vain in the Lord while we patiently work and wait. The sun is not setting, it is rising. The world is not getting darker, it is getting hotter. This march of progress is inexorable, but not without difficulties. Every day still has it's night and will continue to do so until all the darkness is eradicated (Gen. 8:22, Rev. 21:23).
Our prayer is that little Eulalie Day will sweetly speak of the pleasant surprise of God in flesh appearing, dying, rising, ascending, and ruling at the right hand of the Father. Just as the night is absorbed by the day, the nations will be ushered into Christ. Eulalie was a surprise. Her life appeared unexpectedly. May God provide more surprises and more life as His leaven spreads throughout His kingdom.
Amen!
