Truthful Love

We love because He first loved us.  1 John 4:19
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This Friday marks my second Valentines Day without a stack of paper cards and candy from a room full of kids and I kind of miss it.  With the little lovelies it was so fun to see their sweet handwriting spawl all over that tiny card trying to fit all the letters.  With the middle lovelies it was entertaining to watch the pre-teen awkwardness as they handed out their heart shaped cards and treats to everyone in the class.  Opening those cards and treats always filled the room with giggles and a sweet kindness and I miss that.  Love, friendship, kindness and fun are the themes of the day and when you think about it, those are gifts the Lord gives freely and longs for us to embrace.  I came across some pretty funny and brutally honest elementary school Valentine messages online and thought I’d share them and encourage us to think of them in terms of our faith and the Father’s love.
**Valentines Day is cool, you are too, you can be better, but I still love you.  I know this has got to be the message Jesus wants to send me on a regular basis!
**Dear Valentine, I want to inform you I kind of love you.  Don’t laugh, I’m serious.  Sometimes in the middle of our mess, we find it hard to feel lovable but He’s there…every minute of every day not just “kind of” loving us but completely loving us…and He’s serious about that!
**Dear Valentine, I love you sometimes!  I think some days that’s exactly what my faith life looks like.  I don’t trust as big and hope as hard and love as completely as I should when things get tricky and this message made me realize it just might look like I only really love Him sometimes.  I’ll need to work on this one!
**Happy Valentines Day Teacher, you are the 2nd best teacher ever! This one made me really stop and wonder how many times I put God’s love in 2nd place behind my own wishes, plans or desires.
**Dear Valentine, You are lucky you are alive. Gosh, I sure am!  While this simple message seems a little harsh and maybe even threatening, I had to laugh because it’s so true and I’m not sure I thank the Father often enough for the gift of being alive.
**Will you be my Valentine YES or NO.  Reply: Not right now, I have somebody else but ask me again in a week or two and I might say yes then. This screams…until I get tired of the way things are and then I’ll give you a try.  Lord, please help me be a committed disciple.
**Love is like when you’re missing some teeth, and you smile anyway because you know your people will love you back no matter what you look like. Now that’s true love!  It doesn’t matter what we’re missing or what we’re in the middle of or what kind of craziness is happening, He still loves us bigger than we can imagine.
**If you wanna catch a Valentine, just shake your hips and hope for the bests. O good golly I’m really glad hip shaking isn’t part of the recipe for being loved by the Father although Scripture does say “dance before the Lord with all your might” so I’m going to have to ponder this one!
 
A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time this week soaking in the Father’s love…google Scriptures about God’s love and sit with some that touch your heart.  Take the time to give out some Valentine messages or treats just for fun as a way to pass the Father’s love for you on to someone else.
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Blessings on your day!