Loving Jesus, Loving Life
In the throes of excitement and romance, as a teenager and young-twenty, I didn’t really grasp what people meant when their love for their spouse grew stronger with each passing year.
I couldn’t fathom loving him more than I did at that moment.
Now I understand.
“We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
It’s a Hallmark holiday, yes. It can be very cheesy, yes.
But we’re all about the silly holidays this year, folks. The kids are loving them.
After the kiddos went to bed on Valentine’s Eve, I decorated. This is what they awoke to the next morning…
Pom-poms hanging from the ceiling. A helium balloon tied to each chair. Valentine’s Day plates, decorations, personalized cards, gifts…
For breakfast, we had heart-shaped scones. Yum.
Lunch? Heart-shaped pb&j. (SO easy – just cut the corners off the bottom of the bread. I actually bought a loaf of store-bought bread for the first time in maybe 2 years to do this!)
Dinner…You’ll never guess…Kidding. It was heart-shaped meatloaf.
Can I just pause to say that Valentine’s Day has endless possibilities of decorations and food compared to Groundhog Day?
Okay, back to the dinner picture. Heart-shaped meatloaf, hasselback potatoes, and broccoli. (I love broccoli.)
And please, can I beg of you? In the name of all that is right, PLEASE don’t just use ketchup on the top of your meatloaf. It is SO, SO, SO much more flavorful to use a combination of ingredients (ketchup, a little mustard, brown sugar, and honey…YUMMO). If you want the exact recipe, let me know.
Dessert was the typical and tasty chocolate-covered strawberries. YUM again.
And I was happy to replace the centerpiece with these beautiful flowers from my sweetheart.
We read some library books about love. We talked about how the GREATEST love is that of God, who sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for OUR sins. “God is love,” right?
So, even though we are called to love one another EVERY day, we’re also thankful for a day that we can focus on God’s love for us and our love for one another. And we love to celebrate!
In order to get the bad taste of a recent debate out of my mouth, I’d like to focus on some BLESSINGS today! I’m sure you’re well aware that it’s Hallmark’s “Love Day,” and our kiddos are SO excited!
We set the table and had a nice breakfast ready for Luke before he had to leave for work this morning, and even sweeter, the kids made all sorts of Valentine’s Day cards for everyone in the family. They were SO adorably excited to give them away!
Today I am so thankful for the love Christ has LAVISHED on us through his sacrificial death on the cross. I’m thankful for the AMAZING husband God has blessed me with, and the ADORABLE kiddos he knit together in my womb. And I’m thankful for Christ’s body – the CHURCH – who is His bride, awaiting His return. What a beautiful picture!
Tell me something you are THANKFUL for today!
As a child, my favorite game to play was “house.” I loved pretending to be a wife and mommy. Sure, I’m a nerd, so I loved to play “school,” too, but “house” was at the very top of the list.
I have always wanted to be a wife and mom. I’m confident that it’s a desire that God placed in my heart. And, praise Him, it’s a desire that He saw fit to fulfill.
I remember lying in bed the night before my wedding thinking, “This is too good to be true. Is this really going to happen tomorrow?” I wasn’t nervous, although I was stressed from doing so much of the planning myself (including making all the flower bouquets, etc. that night) and from misplacing a certain undergarment that sure seemed necessary for the big day.
I just didn’t understand how to process that my dreams were coming true.
Have you ever heard someone say that God’s plans for us are so much bigger than the plans we make for ourselves? Oh, it is so true in my life.
Growing up, I never really knew a guy my age who loved the Lord (besides my pastor’s son, who I’ve only heard say ten words in all my life – sorry, Daniel!), so my expectation was that I would marry a Christian. Certainly I would be able to hold out for someone who was a church-going Christian. Right?
But a man who loved the Lord? Did they really even exist?
So you can see why, on the eve of my wedding day, I would lie in bed and wonder how God had been so amazing to bless me with a man who truly loved and served Him with all his heart. A man who would take his God-given role as head of our family and encourage spiritual growth in our home. And it didn’t hurt that he’s handsome and funny, too. 
It’s been seven years today since the day we took our vows in front of family and friends, with my really great father-in-law officiating. (Did I mention that I got stuck with great in-laws, too? Really, God. SO thankful for that!)
That’s not to say that we haven’t had our ups and downs, our times of feeling really super close to one another, and our times where it feels like we’re in a rut. It’s a human relationship, and we have definitely had some unhappy moments along with the happy ones. But overall, I look back on our seven years and see the way that God has shaped our home and our lives, and I am so thankful.
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What are some things we’ve accomplished in seven years?
1. Got married.
2. Got pregnant. (A picture would not be appropriate here, haha.)
3. Had a baby.
4. Built a house.
5. Joined a great church.
6. Had another baby.
7. Put our house on the market.
8. Had another baby.
9. Took our house off the market.
10. Had ANOTHER BABY!!!
11. Put our house back on the market…Took our house back OFF the market…
12. Took a missions trip to Greece and Italy, leaving the kids for two weeks!
Ah, those are just the highlights. The milestones. There is much joy in the everyday moments, too.
I love you, Luke. I thank God for blessing me with you. Happy anniversary.
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