Joshua D. Cooke

Jynna Eleanore Jyn Erso I am blessed to be dad now to five daughters.  Our latest addition was born this past Friday, weighing in at 9 pounds 6 ounces and 21 inches long.  We named her Jynna Eleanore Cooke .  The responses have pretty much been universal.  “She’s beautiful!”  “She’s precious.”  “She’s perfect!”  This is followed by some combination of “Where did you come up with her name?” followed by, “How do you pronounce her name?” I am a bit of a nerd, so I will admit the truth.  I named my daughter after the character Jyn Erso from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  You read that right.  I named my daughter after a fictional character from a movie.  Then, we added an extra “na” to continue a family tradition we have carried where each of our children’s names end with “nna.”  My starting five now consists of Brianna, Donna, McKenna, Alaynna, and Jynna. Jynna is not a common name.  I cannot help but smile when I realize that the name is unusual enou

As the new year began, I decided that I was going to step away from social media.  I removed the Facebook app from my phone, and instead added a journaling app, determined to spend more time writing in my journal over the next year than engaging with social media posts.  I felt like it was important for me to make better use of my time, and also felt strongly that in the last couple of years significant investment in social media is not good for my spirit.  I am certainly aware of its virtues, and I have made the decision over the last couple of months that I would "check in" every once in awhile, but that my own posts would be significantly limited.  I have to say, this decision has done me much good.  I have spent less time with my phone; I have been more focused on my work; I have found more productivity in my weekends; I have given even more attention to my family; I have written in my journal regularly; I have found myself being spiritually fed on a more regular basis.