Happy Valentines!

I love Valentine’s Day. It has to be one of my favorite holidays. I like the whole holiday that revolves around love and flowers and sweet things. And I don’t just say this as a married person. I’ve always loved Valentines. I loved it back in elementary school when I would take such care to make a unique Valentines Mailbox to collect valentines from my classmates. I loved writing kind messages to my classmates, especially the ones who I knew others wouldn’t take the time to write kind messages to. I loved the sweet gifts my mom would buy me each year (and still does!). As I grew up, the day before Valentines was a busy day. You’d find me in the kitchen making as many homemade chocolates for my friends as possible. Now I find myself enjoying walking through my favorite flower shops, watching men try to pick out the perfect bouquet and admiring the perfection of beauty found in a rose.

Have I mentioned that I love Valentines? I love a holiday where I can remember the greatness of God’s love that far surpasses a holiday that our culture tries to hype up, and I love reminding others of how loved they are.

I also love celebrating with my favorite guy. So here’s a shout out to that guy. February 14- and 14 things that make me glad I get to celebrate Valentines with you!…

1. I love that you support me in all I do.
2. I love that you love me even when I’m at my craziest.
3. I love your laugh. It’s one of my favorite sounds in life.
4. I love how you help me so much at church.
5. I love when you try to hold back a smile, but your dimple still shows.
6. I love how smart you are and how humble you are about it. (Seriously, this guy has a wealth of information beyond belief stored in his brain!)
7. I love how you listen when I want to share what God is teaching me.
8. I love how amazing  you are with kids- our nieces/nephews, the kids at church… even children at the store-  You want to play with all of them and you are so gentle and sweet with all of them.
9. I love how you’ll do just about anything to cheer me up when I’m down.
10. I love how stable you are. You are the steady to my crazy.
11. I love how inventive you are… how you can build, create, and fix just about anything.
12. I love how loyal you are.
13. I love that you love God.
14. I love it that you picked me!

To all of you, today (and every day) may you know the love of those around you and the love of a God whose love far outshines any love we can ever imagine.