• When The World Misspells Your Name

    March 4, 2008 - Comments (10)

    TONIGHT: TOBY MAC, JEREMY CAMP AND MATTHEN WEST

    That’s how the marquee read at the historic Congress Theatre in Chicago, IL. when the bus pulled up last Friday. At first, I didn’t notice anything other than the fact that MY name was on a marquee in Chicago, the city where I grew up. I made it. I have arrived. I am the man. But for some reason that morning, my eyes took a second glance at that sign and I read my name one more time. As I did, I noticed that my first name was misspelled. Instead of MATTHEW it clearly read MATTHEN. The letter “N” has never been an invited guest in the spelling of my first name. I’m quite content with my first name, and the way I have been spelling it all these years. I went from this great sense of pride, to this humble realization that they didn’t even get my name right.
    Fortunately, the guy with the all the letters was still within earshot so I called over to him, “Hey, you spelled my name wrong.” He looked up at his work and then back at me as if to say, “Looks fine to me.” So, I proceeded to explain to him that for all my life I have been spelling my first name with at “W” at the end, and that my mother would be at the show that evening, and it would really make her day if she could see her son’s name up in bright lights in the big city with the correct spelling…
    Well, turns out he didn’t speak english. So, my whole explanation didn’t really mean much. I resorted to drawing the letter “W” in the air with my finger and pointing to the right placement on the sign. Sure enough, he looked into his big box of letters and pulled out one last “W.” Finally, the evil letter “N” was removed, “W” received a warm welcome home by the rest of the letters, and all was well.

    Does the world ever misspell your name? Overlooked for that promotion at work? Unappreciated by your spouse? Uninvited by your friends to the party? It happens. The world can sometimes seem like it’s going out of its way to make you feel insignificant, like you don’t matter. But even when it does, take this thought for a little encouragement: The One who gave you your name, never misspells it. The world may overlook you, but God never does. He knows your name by heart, and He calls your name every single day. “Follow me,” he says. David knew that God knew him so well. He wrote, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

    So, when the world misspells your name just call on the name of the One who gave you yours. He’s waiting.

    “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3

    -mw

    Matthew West POSTED BY:
    Matthew West

    • 10 comments

    1. 1. Beth commented:

      Tue 4/3/08, 3:54 pm

      Matt I love how you always end most of your funny stories with something meaningful you’ve learned from your experience. It still must’ve been pretty darn cool to see your name up there!
      Be blessed and have fun
      ~Beth

    2. 2. Cathy commented:

      Wed 5/3/08, 1:40 pm

      I was thinking to myself as I was reading this blog…hold up…I was at this concert and I am pretty sure I read your name right, but as I read your story I laughed how you were able to get someone that spoke a different language to understand what you were trying to say. There is also no language barrier when telling people about Jesus Christ, or what he has done for us in our lives. I can’t explain how much of a blessing it was to be at your concert last Friday in Chicago. I wrote to you on your myspace and no I am not a stoker but just a very happy child of God. See I wasn’t going to the concert with my friends, I was just going to go home. I have been going thru so much, job, kids, husband, ministry…on and on I can go. But the whole purpose was that by going to that concert I heard you and your songs…it was like God telling me what I have been longing to hear. I husband bought me your new cd yesterday, I think more because he was tired of hearing me ask or saying I wanted it… lol.. but for real since I opened it last night I have been listening to it and can’t get enough of it and the tears continue to flow. I know the things we go thru “the motions” we just have to get thru it and it will come together but if we don’t go thru it we can’t see what he has in store for us. That is what I am going thru now. I know there is some reason now for whatever I have endured the past year and I will see it and it will all be worth it!! Well I am sure I wrote too much already but thank you and God Bless and continue to do God’s work and enjoy the family…nothing is more of a blessing, I KNOW THIS!
      Cathy “called HIS beloved”

    3. 3. Ashley commented:

      Thu 6/3/08, 5:45 am

      hi!! I just wanted to tell you that your music has really helped me on my journey with God. Your songs hooked me, and kept me praising Him, and on the right track. Plus, I was looking to see where the tour was going (a little too late)and I read this blog with perfect timing, God’s perfect timing, might I add. It’s exactly what I needed to read. Also I wanted to tell you that I was listening to Q90 the night you were on and heard that song you wrote based on that girls story. It’s amazing. It really hit on what I had been dealing with at my job. SO! thank you so much for your music, and I pray that God continues to bless you.

    4. 4. Hannah B commented:

      Thu 6/3/08, 7:11 am

      This is a great post! my name gets misspelled all the time, and I never stopped to think about it like you have! you’re awesome!

    5. 5. Tommy Greene commented:

      Fri 7/3/08, 1:12 pm

      Well. Its a good thing you name isn’t Smith NigglesNorth… I mean Swith Migglesmorth… no wait. Smith Wigglesworth. I can only imagine the teasing he had to put up with. :-)

    6. 6. Bill Martin commented:

      Fri 7/3/08, 8:53 pm

      Matthwesta,
      Love this! Reminds me of the time we had Mark Schutz at a theme park that actually had on the sign – no kidding – “Mrak Schutz”. Unbelievable, only he never got a spiritual lesson from it. He just laughed.

    7. 7. Amy commented:

      Sun 9/3/08, 3:12 pm

      You think that’s bad? Until I corrected them, WGTS’s website was calling you Matthew Perry!!!!
      By the way, Matthew, it’s because of you that I am no longer afraid to share my testimony:
      I never thought my testimony was particularly interesting, and until I started sharing it, I was actually even embarrassed by it….but now I know that I have no reason to be.
      You see, I was raised Jewish, but I never, ever felt like I was “at home” when my parents took me to synagogue. I always felt like something was missing, like the truth was out there just beyond my reach.
      When I turned 18, I went off to college, and much like Matthew West, my freshman year was when I came to the Lord. I joined Brothers And Sisters In Christ (BASIC), but I had to hide my newfound joy from my family. They just didn’t understand, and they threw around terminology like “brain-washing cult” and fed me what they thought were the “correct” answers to the evangelical statements that I know to be truths.
      Well, I snuck around with my Christian brothers and sisters for my 4 years of college, and then when I moved back home, for the sake of my family, I lapsed into a spiritual darkness. I was sad, to say the least.
      Then I met a man with whom I fell in love. (Since December 2007, we’re no longer speaking to each other. For the purpose of telling my story, though, I have to mention him.) On our first date, he asked me what I wanted to do—Did I want to play pool? Did I want to throw darts? My answer was that I wanted to go to church!
      And that night, I found my home.
      Ever since then, I have been an active member of Church of the Redeemer, and an avid listener of WGTS. In fact, it’s the only music I listen to now whenever I’m in my car and for 8 straight hours a day when I’m at work.
      So, thanks to the music that is played WGTS, and Matthew West’s “Next Thing You Know” in particular, I am no longer afraid to share my story….and in fact, I’m actually rather proud of the way I overcame adversity in the name of the Lord.

    8. 8. Amy commented:

      Sun 9/3/08, 3:13 pm

      You think that’s bad? Until I corrected them, WGTS’s website was calling you Matthew Perry!!!!
      By the way, Matthew, it’s because of you that I am no longer afraid to share my testimony:
      I never thought my testimony was particularly interesting, and until I started sharing it, I was actually even embarrassed by it….but now I know that I have no reason to be.
      You see, I was raised Jewish, but I never, ever felt like I was “at home” when my parents took me to synagogue. I always felt like something was missing, like the truth was out there just beyond my reach.
      When I turned 18, I went off to college, and much like Matthew West, my freshman year was when I came to the Lord. I joined Brothers And Sisters In Christ (BASIC), but I had to hide my newfound joy from my family. They just didn’t understand, and they threw around terminology like “brain-washing cult” and fed me what they thought were the “correct” answers to the evangelical statements that I know to be truths.
      Well, I snuck around with my Christian brothers and sisters for my 4 years of college, and then when I moved back home, for the sake of my family, I lapsed into a spiritual darkness. I was sad, to say the least.
      Then I met a man with whom I fell in love. (Since December 2007, we’re no longer speaking to each other. For the purpose of telling my story, though, I have to mention him.) On our first date, he asked me what I wanted to do—Did I want to play pool? Did I want to throw darts? My answer was that I wanted to go to church!
      And that night, I found my home.
      Ever since then, I have been an active member of Church of the Redeemer, and an avid listener of WGTS. In fact, it’s the only music I listen to now whenever I’m in my car and for 8 straight hours a day when I’m at work.
      So, thanks to the music that is played WGTS, and Matthew West’s “Next Thing You Know” in particular, I am no longer afraid to share my story….and in fact, I’m actually rather proud of the way I overcame adversity in the name of the Lord.

    9. 9. angelica commented:

      Sun 9/3/08, 11:05 pm

      Hello Matthew!
      I can completely relate to what you said. only that my name usually gets misread. People always call me angelina or angela! How can they completely skip over the “ic”?? I just dont get it! But it is great to know that the maker of everything we see, the star breather, the King of kings and Lord of lords knows our name and everything there is to know about us! And that he loves us just as we are!
      Take care, God bless. You truly are an inspiration to many, including me!
      A.

    10. 10. shorti07 commented:

      Wed 12/3/08, 3:53 pm

      Hey mattheW! first i would like to say that i think you are absolutely awesome. I love your music, not just for the lyrics and how you sing them, but for the way you have not forgotten what it is alot about. singing for God and for Him only. I think alot of singers have forgotten that. i havn’t been able to see you yet in concert. I know that you are coming here to the ampitheatre i wish i would be able to be there. Also, my name is KellI and alot of people spell it with a Y that is an evil Y. I know that God wants you to sing because if He didn’t you wouldn’t be #1 right now! thank you for singing it has really touched my life. God has allowed you to keep singing but you have allowed Him to use you and that right there is awesome in of itself. i can’t wait to hear you sing your heart out.
      In His Grip
      Kelli

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