What's In a Name?!

So where did we come up with the name Lane?  Read on (and no skipping!, we want to share this with you).

First let's ask an important question; does God speak to us in our dreams?  In the "old days," people certainly relied upon dreams to be a tool God would use to speak to his people.  Today, not so much.  Dreams are the stuff of psychology, our subconsciousness trying to tell us something, or our hearts dealing with an uncomfortable truth.  But are dreams a vehicle of which God can still use?  Maybe...if we had the sense to remember them.  In our family, dreams are a big deal.  They have led us to make the two most important decisions in our lives.  We now share them with you for you to enjoy (and for the first time).

Technically this was after we were married, so it's not a dating picture,
but we are taking a Mediterranean cruise leaving Barcelona here, and had only
been married a couple of years, so it kind of counts...

Dream #1:  In the summer of 2005 I went out on a limb and asked my sister's hot roommate Renee out on a date.  Good lord I was too shy and awkward for my own good but did my best.  She was gracious and sweet, and so SO pretty.  But little did I know, I was a summer fling for Renee.  She'll freely admit this today, but yeah, I was to be a friendly relationship to fill up the summer.  Yeah, that sucks for me.  Then halfway through the summer, Renee had a dream.  In this dream she saw that we were a happy married couple.  That morning she read her morning devotional which quoted Joel 2:28; "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions."  After much prayer and reflection Renee discerned that God was telling her to give me a chance.  So the next day I received an email (we were a few months away from the Texting Revolution) and I read those dreaded words, "We need to talk."  She followed up with the words, "Don't worry, it's good news!"  Still I spent the day in a fuss, worried, because, who knows what this means?  We met for dinner, she told me about her dream, showed me her notes from her devotional, and we kept dating.  Even though we still have very little in common, we've been inseparable ever since!

This is Renee telling the tale of her dream in worship today.  As you can see,
I still have a big crush on her

Here is my Stay-Puff Marshmallow Man, I mean Lane

Dream #2:  A few years after Will was born (and I'm pretty sure this was around the time we were testing him regarding his developmental struggles), we were discussing and debating if we wanted to have another child.  Well one night, I had a dream.  Now I dream all the time.  Most of the time I'm dreaming about hostile aliens, zombies, monsters, and I'm a super hero blowing them away.  They're fun dreams, sometimes tense, but I enjoy them!  This time was different.  I was in a room that I would describe as a fellowship hall with Renee and a group of friendly strangers.  I'm not sure where Will is, maybe he's at grandmom's house.  In my arms is my new cute baby boy.  Well everyone in the room is giving the happy congratulations, we're so happy for you, blah blah blah, and then someone asked, "So what's his name?"  I freeze.  Oh, crap.

My #1 weakness, the thing that scares me, that has always plagued me, is remembering people's names.  I completely suck at it.  It's embarrassing.  That's why I often hang near Renee, as she's a genius at this and will often bail me out.

So in my dream I look to Renee, trying not to betray the fact that I have forgotten my own son's name, and she gives THE LOOK.  The Look is saying, "Go ahead, tell them," and, "Are, you, serious?!"  So I think really REALLY hard and the words slip out my lips without thinking, "His name, is, ...Lane?"  Yeah, I almost ask it.  Renee gives THE SECOND LOOK, saying, "You KNOW it's Lane, why are you looking at me?!"  I sigh in sweet relief.  I wake up, tell Renee, we have a great laugh, and it's decided.  God is giving us another message through our dreams.

Lane Smith Cunningham being baptized by Dr. Jeff Patterson.
Here we are all laying hands on him, and even Will did his part.

So today my son, Lane Smith Cunningham was baptized by Dr. Jeff Patterson.  Dr. Patterson was awesome, and it's so amazing to witness this sign of God's grace.  God knew Lane before I did.  And I first met Lane in my dreams, even as I forgot his name BRIEFLY!

Don't ignore your dreams.  They can be fun, or scary, or creative.  They can also speak great truths to us.  In our case, twice now, God was trying to tell us something, and we had the good sense to listen.

PS, Lane's middle name, Smith, comes from Renee's family.  Smith was the middle name of her grandfather.  We are southerners, we have to put some family name in there or Lane would be an outcast.