Grumpy the Gator

In Grumpy the Gator, a group of children playing encounter a grumpy alligator. The story teaches children to always keep a safe distance from animals in the wild, and to find an adult if they see an alligator.

Grumpy the Gator

Its Always A Story With The Hendersons

Savannah or Jovannah? Who are you calling?

 

Have you ever had one of those phone calls when things didn’t go the right way?

Recently, I was occupied and could not answer my phone quickly enough. By the time, I reached my cell phone, the caller had hung up. A red button on the message icon alerted me that someone had left a voicemail.

Entering the correct prompts, I waited and listened for the details of the message. Static on the connection caused the words of the caller to fade in and out. There was something about a reservation for an upcoming trip. 

I remembered there was also a prompt on the phone to allow me to read the “transcript” of the call.

Awesome. I would not need to listen anymore. Just read the message.

A person named Jovannah had called to alert me of changes in the reservation. No problem, I would call back and reschedule. All would work out fine.

Tapping the buttons on the phone, I was ready to speak with whoever answered and ask for Jovannah.

A friendly voice answered and gave the name of the hotel and provided their name, too.

“How may I assist you today?” The person inquired.

“Yes, I’m returning a call from Jovannah. I’m calling about rescheduling a reservation.”

“Who are you calling? What name did you say?”

“Jovannah. She called and left the nicest message. May I speak to Jovannah?” I asked.

A moment’s pause. 

“Ma’am. There is no Jovannah here. Could you be trying to reach another hotel?”

My face began to blush even though I was alone and the person on the other end of the line couldn’t see me. How could I have made such a silly mistake?

Beginning to explain, I mentioned how the call came from that number and the transcript of the message said Jovannah called. 

“Ma’am, could you possibly mean Savannah? Sometimes phones record the messages wrong. We have a Savannah and she is standing right here. Would you like to speak with her?”

Laughing, I said yes and waited for this person to begin speaking.

“Mrs. Henderson, this is Savannah. I left you a message about your reservation.”

As I explained the silly mistake, we both laughed and shared about other mishaps with phone messages at the hotel.

This experience reminded me how we each have unique names. Some of us are named by family members, some are named to carry on the family line, some names are chosen out of a baby book. 

Do you know how you were named? Do you know the meaning of your name? Melissa means honeybee.

You have a name here on earth. The most important name you have is “child of God”. You were created by Him and you are loved by Him. I am thankful to be His child and He calls me by name.

 

Blessings,

Mimi

 



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35 Comments
  • June Foster
    Posted at 20:50h, 20 May Reply

    Ha, as usual it is indeed a story with the Hendersons. We live in the south now, but I’m still not used to the southern accents. I was getting my hair colored today and the beautician asked if I ever had a foal. A young horse? No I’ve never owned a horse. She said, no and pointed to the foil paper on my head. You know, foal. Oh, she meant foil. We both had a laugh.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 20:54h, 20 May Reply

      June, I am laughing out loud. I can imagine the look on your face when she asked about a “foal”. hahaha! Yes, always a story around here. Have a blessed week dear friend! 🙂

  • Jill Weatherholt
    Posted at 21:01h, 20 May Reply

    LOL! Yeah, we can’t always trust those transcriptions can we? I love that Melissa means honeybee. I think that’s a sign…you need to write a children’s book featuring a honeybee, Melissa. I’ll have to search what Jill means. I’m often called Jilly Bean. 🙂

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 22:44h, 20 May Reply

      Aww…how cute! Jilly Bean. Love that! I am glad God calls me by the name He has given me. Child of God. Have a blessed week! 🙂

  • Lisa Quintana
    Posted at 21:10h, 20 May Reply

    I love how you capture the events of everyday life so joyfully! We’ve all done this – got the name wrong. But yeah, names matter greatly! My name, Lisa, is a derivative of Elizabeth, which means “consecrated to God”. My parents did not know the meaning of my name when they chose it. I look at my life now – truly consecrated to God – and am amazed at how God does things like that.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 22:46h, 20 May Reply

      “Consecrated to God.” What a wonderful meaning of your name! I can feel the love you have for God. Your messages and comments show God’s love. Have a blessed week! 🙂

  • Yvonne
    Posted at 00:25h, 21 May Reply

    It is always a laugh with the Henderson’s too. My name gets mispronounced so many times. My name is French because my mom had visited Paris. It means archer and is the French way to say it is EVON. But, more important is my name Child if God.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 00:53h, 21 May Reply

      Your name is beautiful. I didn’t know it was French. Yes, more important is that your name is Child of God. 🙂 Have a blessed week! 🙂

  • Nancy E. Head
    Posted at 11:32h, 21 May Reply

    My parents named me after my mother’s aunt. I wish I knew more about her. Grace; God is my oath–that’s what my name means. I so often don’t live up to i.

    • Eliza
      Posted at 12:06h, 21 May Reply

      💕💕💕 I should have just replied to this 🙂
      Love, light and glitter

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 13:06h, 21 May Reply

      What a beautiful meaning of your name. My middle sister named me. 🙂 Have a blessed day!

  • Eliza
    Posted at 12:05h, 21 May Reply

    My name means gods promise.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 13:07h, 21 May Reply

      God’s promise. How beautiful! 🙂 Have a blessed day!

  • Melinda Viergever Inman
    Posted at 16:47h, 21 May Reply

    I love how you take every day stories that we can all relate to, and you turn them into an important lesson or an uplifting idea. You’ve done it again here with the significance of our names! I was named after a great-great-grandmother. Her amaryllis has been split and shared and propagated through many generations. My own pot of great-great-grandmother amaryllis sits on my shelf. Melinda means either “beautiful honey” or “dark honey” or simply “beautiful.” So many varied definitions are given. I hope that I in some way represent the name and the great-great-grandmother from whom I obtained it.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 17:02h, 21 May Reply

      Melinda, thank you for your kind words. I love the story of your name and the amaryllis. What a wonderful story! Yes, you are beautiful on the outside and on the inside. Have a blessed week! 🙂

  • Karen
    Posted at 05:20h, 22 May Reply

    I love your question, Mimi. Back when I was teaching, I also asked the same question of my students every year. After they had written for about 15 minutes, we stopped and took turns sharing. I heard all sorts of lovely stories as well as a simple “I don’t know.” I always cherished finding out how special their names were and the stories behind them.

    As for me, Karen means “pure,” and I strive to always live with a pure heart and in moral purity. I was born one day after my mother’s birthday, on St. Patrick’s Day. She tried to name me something Irish, like Shannon or Patricia, but she said Karen went with my last name, Jurgens, much better.

    I love that yours means honeybee–so sweet! Blessings! xoxo

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 11:53h, 22 May Reply

      I didn’t know the name Karen means “pure”. That suits you perfectly. A pure heart and soul. Thank you for your continued encouragement and support. I love learning more about your mother. 🙂 Have a blessed weekend! 🙂

  • karentfriday
    Posted at 16:16h, 22 May Reply

    Funny, Melissa. And the same thing has happened to me in a not so humorous way. Not only was the transcript of the person’s name wrong, but also other information that gave me concern since it was from one of my medical providers. So you can image my relief when I called back and all was well and I was well. 🙂

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 18:00h, 22 May Reply

      Wow, that must have been scary. I am glad all turned out well. We have comfort in knowing He calls us by name. We are His. Have a blessed weekend! 🙂

  • karentfriday
    Posted at 16:18h, 22 May Reply

    And I meant to say I love the meaning of your name and since Karen Jurgens already gave you the meaning of “Karen,” I left that part out of my comment. But I will say I love that my husband gave me the last name “Friday.”

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 18:01h, 22 May Reply

      You are so sweet! “Friday” is a good name. 🙂

  • Melissa McLaughlin
    Posted at 17:01h, 22 May Reply

    Melissa, what a cute story with an important lesson! If we pause and think about our names, they can capture more than we realize. My name like yours is related to honeybee. I pray we will be busy with the sweet things of God, dear sister!

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 18:02h, 22 May Reply

      Thank you Melissa. Yes, let’s be busy with the sweet things of God. Have a blessed weekend! 🙂

  • Lynn J Simpson
    Posted at 17:03h, 22 May Reply

    I didn’t know Melissa meant ‘honeybee.’ How sweet, literally! And honey bees are productive, aren’t they? I’d say the name fits you well! Lynn means lake, and soft, mild and flexible–which pretty much sums up my personality. And I love the water! God sure knows us before we’re even born…

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 18:03h, 22 May Reply

      I didn’t know the meaning of Lynn. I have a cousin named Lynn and wonder if she knows. Amen God knows us before we’re even born. 🙂 Have a blessed weekend!

  • Jeanne Takenaka
    Posted at 22:33h, 26 May Reply

    This is such a fun post, Melissa. I love knowing the meaning of peoples’ names. My name is God is gracious. I’m thankful He is gracious to His children. I love that we have our earthly names, but God also has a name just for each one of us to discover when we get to heaven.

    Thanks for the focus on names today!

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 23:53h, 26 May Reply

      I love the meaning of your name. “God is gracious”. Beautiful. I am thankful to be a child of God. Have a blessed week!

  • debwilson2
    Posted at 03:18h, 27 May Reply

    Melissa, I think Revelation says Jesus has a new name for us. I wonder what that will be. My name also means bee.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 11:53h, 27 May Reply

      Yes, I wonder what my new name will be. What a comfort to know He calls us by name! 🙂 Have a blessed week!

  • Dianne Miley
    Posted at 11:32h, 03 June Reply

    I enjoy the meanings of names and always look them up when naming characters in my stories. My daughter’s name is Melissa and she’s sweet and productive, just like you! Dianne means divine or goddess, as in the Greek mythology Diana, goddess of the moon. My mom named me after a high school friend whom she admired. The extra N mimics my mom’s name, Anne Marie. I am Dianne Marie.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 12:32h, 03 June Reply

      What a beautiful name! Dianne Marie. You are divine. 🙂 I am fascinated by names and how people were named. Have a blessed week dear friend. 🙂

  • Chandra Lynn
    Posted at 19:15h, 29 June Reply

    I am familiar with your name’s meaning. There are many Melissas in my life. :-). My name means luminous, imminent, moon, moonlike and such things. It’s from Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language.

    • mimionlife
      Posted at 20:48h, 29 June Reply

      What beautiful meanings of your name! Have a blessed week! 🙂

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