James 4:10 speaks of humbling yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up. Sometimes that comes from our own doing… and other times it comes without invitation.

Take—for example—a couple weeks ago when I spoke at a conference. It was the closing session and I’m sure the host forgot how to pronounce my name after he asked me three times for a phonetic lesson in zie über German, Olthoff [olt-hoff just like it looks]. As he introduced me to the audience I began to walk to the stage. Or shall I say, I was about to walk on to the stage. He roused everyone with a loud, Stand to you feet and welcome… BLanca er, Ul thoff. 

Blanca Ul-thoff?!

In a momentary act of rebellion I wanted to sit back down. That ain’t my name, dude! That ain’t my name. [shakes head in disbelief]. But I did my mother proud and walked onto the platform.

Afterwards I just had to laugh. In the grand scheme of life, does my name really matter? No seriously, if my goal is to preach the gospel and glorify Christ, would it matter if he called me Bonquiqui? Or Jane Doe? Or Madam X? As long as the name of Jesus is remembered and praised, I will gladly respond to any name. Especially Beyoncé. Yes, anyone can introduce me as a Beyoncé.

The Count of Zinzendorf said it best, Preach the gospel, die, and be forgotten. As long as one name is remembered, that’s all that matters.

Love,
Blanca

PS If you’re in the Phoenix area on February 18th, Cornerstone is hosting an event for all women called REMIX. If you want to RSVP for this free event, check out their Facebook page for more details! [Side note: It’s my face on the promo reel but my name is wrong. I think Bianca Juarez is even harder to work with than Bianca Olthoff. From now on, feel free to call me Beyoncé! :)]

For more antics about the difficulty of my name, check out this blog: That’s Not My Name!

Pin It on Pinterest