This Valentine’s Day will be different. We have no plans for chocolate-laden-Hallmark sentiments. No outing to a romantic hideaway.  No fancy evening on the town.  No large gifts or extravagant trinkets.  Just a day spent lovingly focused on our family.  The four of us together celebrating our wonderful family unit.

I can think of no better gift to give to my husband and children on Valentine’s Day than my time and focus. Can  you?

I believe that it is appropriate that Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday this year, because it is a day devoted to God.  Who better than our Lord to show us the true meaning of LOVE?  Because he IS love.

And speaking of LOVE, one of my favorite Bible verses of all time is this one: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves.” – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I am concerned that I am facing the last year of Christmas magic with my children.

At this point, my sons BELIEVE.  They believe with all of their little hearts.

But there are some that are close to them who do not.  These children are constantly filling their heads with doubt.  And, yes, their faith is wavering.  It makes my heart ache for them. Mostly because I remember how I felt when I found out “the truth.”  The same thing happened to me… other kids mouthing off.  I remember the feeling I had when my parents took me aside and explained.

I can honestly say that it took me a year to get over it.  But eventually, I recaptured the wonder of Christmas.

Because I realized what it was truly all about.

So we are savoring every single moment with our boys this holiday.  Every Christmas cookie. Every holiday song. Every Christmas wish list.

And then when the time comes, we will sit them down and teach them about how the wonder of Christmas has nothing to do with presents.  How it has nothing to do with hot cocoa or snowmen or toys.  That it is about something deeper… LOVE and HOPE.

And how THAT will never fade.

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year.” -Charles Dickens

I must admit, I am a bit overwhelmed at the response I got from yesterday’s post. It was my biggest traffic day to date.  My heartfelt thanks to everyone who left a comment here, on Facebook, Twitter and via email.  You truly made my day and definitely reinforced my decision.

Oh, the power of the Internets.  I must have struck a chord somewhere.

Ironically, I later found a handwritten quote while cleaning out my office (don’t even get me started) that pretty much summed it all up: “Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.” Phillippians 4:6-7

It’s in the BIBLE Y’all.  Can’t argue with that, can you?

God has a sense of humor.  I’m telling you – he truly does.

As you know, for a couple of months now I have been going through an inner struggle relating to my life and what I thought I was being called to do.  What I (emphasis: ME) thought I was being called to  do…  Let me ask you something – Have you ever tried to fit yourself into something that is clearly not meant for you?  It can make you pretty miserable.  It can make your home life pretty miserable. It can consume you.

So, obviously I didn’t listen closely to that voice in my head. I focused on worldly comforts instead and just jumped right in. Mistake.

Serves me right.

I should have waited.

I should have had patience.

I should have listened to my instincts.

So…I have been struggling for months now wondering why I can’t accomplish what I want to accomplish.  Why can’t make a difference?  Why is this not working out for me?  What am I doing wrong? Why am I so POWERLESS?

Gee? I mean, I totally KNEW all along.  That small inner voice reaffirmed the answer for me time and time again.

And even through all of my misery, I knew God was there waiting for me to come back and ask him for help.  And when I did, he answered so loudly that I laughed OUT LOUD in front of tons of strangers.  He has a sense of humor, I’ll give him that.

I guess he needed to be pretty obvious.  I have a history of not listening to subtlety. I am usually flying around at a frantic pace and when you are in that mode, the little things get lost on you.

So this particular morning I was feeling blah, having just run the kids to their first Sunday school class.  My husband was out of town and I had some time on my hands.  Being the miserable wretch that I was, I hadn’t made much of an effort to look decent.  I was just hoping for a cup of coffee and a place to work out my issues.  So after securing the required caffeine I plopped myself down on marble stoop downtown  with my trusty notebook. In the notebook, I wrote out a couple of statements describing the problems in my life… leaving lots of room to write action steps to fix them.

But I couldn’t figure out the action steps. I was just totally drained. I had no inspiration what so ever to solve my problems.  I just felt EMPTY.

I’m guessing God wanted my attention at that point because right then the church bells started ringing.  I’d never heard them so loud. In the beginning, it was almost annoying… until I caught the song.  It was “Jesus Loves Me.”  Remember that song from way back in your childhood?  I haven’t heard it in years.

It was so loud that my iPod couldn’t have drowned it out.

I had to laugh.  He totally got my attention.  It was like he was saying, “Can you hear me NOW?!” Funny how he had to be that dramatic, isn’t it?

So now I get the point.  He loves me.  He is with me and we are gonna work this thing out together.  Next time, however, I’m not moving a muscle until I seek bigger help first. If you know what I mean!

By the way, I read a really good post this morning over at (in)Courage Me called With Joy.  It is by Andrea of Under Grace and Over Coffee.  You might want to check it out.  It is a similar topic.

I love stumbling around on the web.  It is amazing what you might find when you aren’t even looking.

That is exactly how I found it… I just found the most inspiring site called (in)courage.

I was just messing around on the computer when I bounced over to Robin’s site Pensieve (You know I am a sucker for a Harry Potter reference, right?) and while hanging out there I discovered her post about (in) courage.  I was intrigued and so I “clicked” and found this lovely site.

The site, which launched today (ironically) houses some 20 women as contributors to this faith-filled hub.  They describe it thus:  “Think of it a bit like a beach house—you can put your sandy, dirty feet on the coffee table, laugh late into the night with friends, and also hear God’s voice clearer than perhaps anywhere else. Life just feels more vibrant and real, as if you’ve stumbled upon a glimpse of heaven and it’s nothing like you ever imagined but everything you’d always hoped.“

And just like that I was SOLD.

It’s a place of courage.

Amazing.

It got me thinking about what encourages me in my life. Of course my family encourages me. I LIVE for my husband and children.  But something more, really….WOMEN. Specifically, the strength, wisdom, faith and strong voices that come from the women in my life.  Women from the blogosphere, from my social circles, from my family… all of their voices support and keep me going strong throughout this life journey of mine.  I take comfort in their wisdom and look to them for inspiration.

I’m looking forward to seeing how (in) courage develops over the next couple of months.  I’ll be watching.

In the meantime, be sure to check out the ladies of (in) courage. All very inspirational…

Tsh at Simple Mom
Sara Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee
Nester at Nesting Place
Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy
Kristen at We Are That Family
Jennifer at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam
Jessica at The Mom Creative
Mary at Giving Up On Perfect
Angela at Becoming Me
Melissa at The Inspired Room
Jennifer at Studio JRU
Andrea at Under Grace & Over Coffee
Angie at Bring the Rain
Anne at Flowerdust
Ann at A Holy Experience
Amber at The Run-a-Muck
Emily at Chatting at the Sky
Ginny at The Thoughts I Think
Heather at Heather Gemmen Wilson
Robin at Pensieve
Sarah at The Best Days of My Life
Annie at Annie Blogs
Lisa at It’s the Little Things

I have this bright pink three subject notebook that I use to help me organize my life. One section is for business (You know, those ideas that come to you in the middle of the night.), the other for blog topics (Hey, I’ve gotta write this stuff down before I forget it!) and the other for faith and inspiration.

Monday as I was being zapped by my physical therapist I was reviewing my notebook when I came across this book excerpt.

It really struck me.

It is from the the book “Become A Better You” by Joel Osteen. I am a big Osteen fan.  His books on faith really speak to me. 

“The enemy knows something about about what is inside of you, as well.  He knows the POTENTIAL you are carrying, so he does everything he can to keep that seed from taking root.  He doesn’t want your (dreams) gifts and talents to FLOURISH.  He doesn’t want you to accomplish your dreams.  He wants you to live an AVERAGE, MEDIOCRE life.”

That is really powerful when you think of it that way, isn’t it?  I think my biggest fear has always been to live a mediocre life.

Just thought I would share.

Got this email today and it really made me think, so I thought I would share it:

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several time a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?

What if we gave it to kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go….hmm…where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing… Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

Makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities? And no dropped calls!