All you need is love....

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I've got love on the brain. Since I don't mind commercialized holiday's, I don't care if it's a "Hallmark Holiday", I'm particularly excited. Valentine's Day makes me happy. I love to celebrate love. I've got a lot of it to be thankful for.

According to WikiAnswers, the NIV Bible mentions love 508 times, 697 times if you count variations like loves, and loved. If you go to www.youversion.com and search love, you'll get 710 hits. The Bible is full of directions about love, who to love and how to love, because God IS love, and expects us to love, a lot.

1 John 4:8
8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Pretty strong words for Christians, you don't know God if you don't show love.

The guide post that Christians must use to decide whether to celebrate a non Christian holiday is this, can you glorify God through your celebration? Can it somehow be an expression of faith and gratitude and bring honor to Him? I'm so happy that Valentine's Day passes this test, because we can absolutely honor God on this day!

Romans 5:5 says..
....For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We can celebrate our ability to love, God given and intended to be shared. We can thank God for giving us love, so much love there's plenty to share.

We can thank God for placing people in our lives to love. Our family, our friends, our spouses, our children, opportunities to give and receive love are all around us, every minute of every day.

John 13:34-35 says...
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

On Valentines Day, we can honor God and express our faith by showing love. It's not a cheesy commercialized, worthless holiday, but a day to celebrate our blessings, our family, our children, our husbands and wives, and the love we share each and every day. It's a chance to demonstrate the depth and the breadth of our feelings, and if we're the low key type, it's a chance to make sure those feelings are known. It's a chance to show gratitude, to show God that you can clearly see where you've been blessed and that you don't take those relationships for granted.

I'm excited for Valentine's Day.

It means something extra special to me this year.

I won't let the day go past without letting God, and Elvis know how grateful I am to have love to celebrate, to have a husband to love and to have his love in return. I am grateful, more then words could explain.

I won't let the day go past without letting God and my children know how honored I am to be their mother, and that I realize it's a privileged and not a right to have living children to cherish. I learned that lesson in a very painful way, but there was no mistaking it. Our children are on loan to us, and they are guaranteed to us for no specific period of time. Each day I have to show them love is a gift to me, I am aware. I am grateful. More then words can tell.

I won't let the day go past without letting God and my parents, and sisters know that I am happy to have them as my family, and that I know that families like ours may be the exception and not the rule. And I am grateful, to have them and that they have me, because I am well taken care of, and loved, and cared for, my family is a gift.

1 John 4:7
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

We're called to love. Love comes from God and is ours to give, to everyone. Being loving is being obedient and showing our faith and our willingness to live out God's will. It's an exciting opportunity, and one that you can fulfill every day, multiple times a day.

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Who are you going to shower in love? How will you show them how precious they are? How will you show God how grateful you are that you have love in your life and people to share it with?

I'm going to make my children cookies.

I'm going to keep them as quiet as I can so Elvis can have quality sleep (he's working nights).

I'm going to call my parent's and wish them a happy Love Day!

I'm going to text my sisters and tell them I love them.

I'm going to try my hardest to speak softly and radiate love.

I'm going to hug a little longer and kiss a little softer.

I'm going to pray, and give thanks to God, for Elvis, Avery, Everett, Landon, and my little mystery baby (that I have secretly named Hope, don't tell anyone). I'm going to thank Him for my ability to love, that I have a heart that feels it deeply and appreciates what a gift it is. I'm going to thank him for the events in my life that deepened my capacity to feel love, and that I don't take it for granted. I'm going to ask Him to show me ways to love better, and to show me ways to honor Him with my love. I'm going to praise Him, because love was His idea, He is love and He is so good.

In the face of struggle and loss and hurts, it's undeniable that love is alive and thriving in my world, by God's grace alone, I have love, my cup truly runneth over.

Katie