We woke up to a chilly 24 degrees below zero this morning. As I brewed Americanos and started our traditional Sunday pancakes, I reflected on how blessed we are. I had a warm house, firewood (dropped off by dear friends who knew Travis was running around the clock with little time to split more), and the joyous sounds of my children discovering their Valentine's gifts on the table.
It struck me how little it takes to speak love into my kids lives. A pretty cupcake and a stuffed animal on the table when they woke up in the morning, was all it took for them to feel loved and cherished. Yet, oh! How much more so my love for them abounds!
Valentine's Day, like all holidays, is greatly commercialized to be about material goods and candy. But, you know, Valentine's Day is one of my personal favorite holidays because it reminds us all to live and love a little bit more freely.
Of course, our greatest and biggest example of love is the love of Christ, who gave himself on the cross that we might not die, but live.
John 3:16-17 "“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him."
Our family's prayer for yours this day is that you would know the immeasurable love of Christ from which nothing can ever separate you. (Romans 8:38-39)
And may that love fuel our words and our actions to share His love with our families, our communities, and our world.
"This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." 1 John 3:23
Happy Valentine's Day, friends. Stay warm!