I’ve had this swarming in my head all day. I’ve thought about all the content I could tackle and places I could go with it. So
GALentine’s Day
I love that this is a thing that has taken off. My friend, Abby Turner from A Table Top Affair has done a great job with some fun ideas this year. But, what I love most is that the women of the world are loving and celebrating each other. That’s really what we need more of. If we are going to live out a “who runs the world” mindset then we have to do less comparing and more uplifting. More celebrating, more lunch dates, and coffee chats. More snacks, more pushing each other forward, more cheering on the same causes and more relaxing and chilling and no-nonsense hospitality. So yes, more GALentine’s Celebrating. I’ve even added a couple items to my Etsy store – K Cutie Designs – to celebrate the day.
LOVE is the REAL answer
I was in Walmart earlier today and saw a shirt hanging the wall that said this in a perfect script writing, so I added one to my buggy even though it was in the juniors section. Y’all, my mind is still rolling from IF:Gathering on Saturday where Angie Smith shared a talk that rocked me to my core. She challenged Christ followers to quick standing around picketing and instead go stand at the backdoor of the abortion clinic and hug the girl walking out from making the hardest decision of her life. I’m still processing what I heard and how I want to express it. But, what I know and what I believe so wholeheartedly is that we have got to stop judging and screaming at each other and start embracing and loving each other. Nothing will make us look more like Jesus than when we open our arms and accept others just as they are and walk alongside them. It simply takes my breath away thinking I would be any other way. So, a theme in my world will be standing under the banner – “LOVE IS THE ANSWER.” It was the plan and answer from the beginning and its time we quit making it so hard.
Being single on Valentine’s Day
it’s hard. There is no way getting around it. I was there a long time. Frankly, I just love this holiday. I was reminded yesterday afternoon at the afterschool program where I volunteer on Tuesday afternoons. Red, pink, glitter, sprinkles, sparkles, glitter, its fun. But, I get it. When everyone at the office is getting flowers and you’ve got nothing. Or everyone is talking about a fun date, and you’ve got nothing. Or, you’ve been seeing a sea of red and pink since you were out after Christmas shopping on December 26. But, the reality is its not as big a deal on the other side as you think it is. At our house I do what my mom did for us growing up. I try to have treats out to celebrate – just a little something, kinda like a stocking, that are just fun things that make my people feel loved. I make a special dinner with a fun treat, often homemade strawberry pop tarts, and we just know its a more special day. I hope to raise my little man in a home where we celebrate love every day. Where he knows we love all kinds of people. Where we are observant and cognizant that not everyone has it as we do. That we love our neighbors, the ones who only speak Spanish, or have a stinky dog, or are old, or don’t have any family close. That’s how I always want to celebrate this day. And, when I was single and didn’t like being alone, I decided not to be. I got girlfriends together and went out. I made goodies for all my co-workers. I drew names for secret sisters. I wore pink and red together. I took off work and worked at my friend’s flower shop. It just made it not matter. Because here’s the deal. When you are busy paying attention to and loving on others….you don’t have time to think about yourself. I didn’t feel like looking like a pig wallowing in mud. And when you have on hot pink pants with a glittery red sweater, you just can’t look like a wallowing pig in a mud hole. You look like joy. You look like LOVE. And, I want to look like love every. single. day. Whether I’m married, single, 30, 40, 80, with a kid or without. And, do worry. My menu will involve a crockpot and repurposing items in my refrigerator to make something new (we are trying to eat down our pantry and freezer). Special is a state of mind!
All the Crafting
my friend Desperately Seeking Gina has been putting me in the Vday mood for over a month. She is a craftonista (is that a word?) and her creations are beautiful, fun, and festive. But, I was reading something posted by Maune Legacy today and it got me thinking. I love all the printables my blogger friends and Pinterest pals have created that make making valentines so fun. Since we saw many of Valentine’s a couple weeks ago at Little Man’s birthday party (post coming soon!), we made Delta Moxie’s winter hand balm with geranium and peppermint. We poured it in little jars with “you make my heart melt” labels. It was perfect and Little Man helped me stir it all together. But there are so many fun ideas from dino-mite, to rawr-some, to robots “made for love”. And, I dont know the saying for it, but there is a lot of unicorn love this year. Last year I came up with some “not-so-cheesy” Valentines Sayings and I’m still really proud of them! One friend even worked up a list of Date Night questions to talk through with your spouse and I’m loving them. They are printed and ready to go for our dinner tomorrow night. If you have a printable, I’d love for you to post the link in the comments, I’m going to already start thinking about ideas for next year!
On a side note, I saw some mamas on Facebook pushing back against all the judgement they were felling about being “too creative” with their kid. And, you know what I get it. I made a valentine craft with my 13 month old, but that’s me. That’s the kind of thing that fills my bucket. I wanted to try something new I saw and I had the time this year. That may not always be my thing. But as this mom reminded me (and us), that it was special time she got to sit down, uninterrupted, and help her little girls dreams come through. She feels like a powerhouse with a glue gun in her hand, and I say “GO GIRL.” If glue guns scare you and you are not a fan of Elmer’s or a glue stick, you are afraid of staple guns and you have too many things. Don’t feel judged. Mom guilt is real and its time we squash it. Pictures on FB are often there, not to brag, but to just show happy. This year apparently the egg carton dino box got a big fan group, but I’ve seen cute lamas, unicorns, and even a programmed box that responded and played music. I feel like valentine’s boxes are a place we see our kids personalities come out. They want to sit down and be creative and they want you to sit at the table and help them. So, help them. Celebrate them. Love them. Teach them to love others, and love themselves. You may loose sleep over the dang box, but they will be proud at the end of the day when its full of notes and goodies from their friends and will not remember next year when they have some other contraption on their mind! Call on your posse, someone is probably dying to pull out the cotton balls and hot glue.
Loving Yourself
I should probably write a whole post on this one topic alone, but you have got to love yourself. Not in a vein, conceited way, but be proud and confident of who you are. You are a special creation. From the beginning, when you were in your mother’s womb, God created you with a purpose, for a purpose. Its time to live out that God-sized dream. I remember in those hard singles years as I turned 30 and still had no prospect of a husband in sight and I wanted the one thing I wanted to deeply. I had a huge hole in my heart and I was trying all kinds of pegs to fill it up. I was depressed. I was working too much. I was staying busy and coping with all kinds of things. There came a point, a bottom if you will, where I realized that hole in my heart was GOD SIZED. There was nothing else that was going to fill it. That hole was only meant to be filled and my heart was created to be satisfied by the heart of God. I still struggle with that and probably will all my days. But, I tell you when I started pursuing the heart of God,
LOVE its a big deal. I love that we have a whole day that celebrates it. I love that leading up to it, we all get a little more gushy and spend extra time thinking about loving on others. I love love. I love loving on people. I love making people feel special. My Little Man and I are going on a date togehter. It will probably be more of doing my favorite things, but I can’t wait to make this a special time for him. Where we make and do special things for his dad togehter. Where we call family and tell them that we love them. Where he can write his name on the bottom of Valentine’s and pick out special gifts for his friends. May we never tire of loving. And, may we find small ways each day, throughout the year, to LOVE big.
Love will always be the answer. Mostly because Christ showed His love to us when He died for us. If for no other reason than to follow His example and offer our love in obedience.
We love because He first loved us.
By this will others know you are mine…. because you have LOVED.
LOVE is the answer.
On another note, my dad asked me today, while at the lab, “Do you know why plebotomists think they are so pretty?”
WHY?
“They are so vein”
#dadjokes #butitwasfunny
acknowledgements: Today’s feature image is by Mandy von Stahl, a contributor to Unspalsh.
This is so awesome. You were right, we were definitely on the same wavelength that day, and today for that matter. Thanks for the shout out. I love to share my “happies” and I hope it inspires someone, anyone. You inspire me:to be a better person, blogger, crafter. Thank you for that!
the inspire train is my favorite one to be on. Sometimes I have to go get in the cargo cart to learn some more things!!!