Valentines Fun

I spent a Saturday morning at the end of January with a great group of ladies learning about a sweet Valentines tradition. I don't know if it has an official name... maybe "Fourteen Days of Blessing Your Husband."

The idea is to do a little something each day for all the days of February leading up to Valentines Day, expressing your love and respect for him.

Some give little clues along the way leading up to the "big" gift on Valentines Day. Others have publicly declared their love with yard-sale type songs all along their husband's route to work saying "Trish loves Jerry." How cute is that!?

The picture above is from a surprise visit we paid to Dan at work this week. Another day he found found chocolates in his car, and he has had employees deliver little gifts to him at his various office locations. Who knows what will happen next!

And if your marriage could use a little refresher or you want to learn more about what it means to respect your hubby, check out Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl. Click here to order it. It's not easy to read, but it will bless your marriage as you pray your way through it. If you haven't read the Pearls before, be forewarned... for most of us, parts of it are like reading about a different culture. But I think this is their best book yet, and I know it blessed our marriage immensely.

Happy Valentines Day!

Struggling

I have had a hard time blogging the past few weeks, because a lot of painful stuff was going on, but nothing that I could share online. I feel like we're out of the woods now... I hope and pray!

One of the biggest lessons I have learned from this experience is how draining it is to have turmoil. My life is busy, but I forget how easy and blessed it is. And how hard it is just to live life when there are people or situations that sap all of your emotional energy. I have new sympathy for others around me who live with dysfunction or disease or anything other than normal. It is exhausting.

As Christians, we are going to mess up. Others are going to hurt us. Satan is alive and well doing his best to cause all the trouble he can. Even amongst like-minded people who all desire to see God's will be done, there can be divisiveness. God knew this, and he warned us in Colossians 4:13 to be "bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."

We shouldn't be surprised when other Christians hurt us. We know from His Word that this is expected.

How do we bear and forgive? "But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful." Colossians 4:14-15

And though we labor, strive, and agonize, it's with His strength which works in us mightily. (Colossians 1:29) So even when He calls us to hard things, He gives us His strength to do it. (Thanks, Mom, for sharing that verse this week!) He's thought of everything. He did it all. Bringing me back to one final and favorite verse:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21