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The Very Best Valentine

For many people, Valentines Day can be a drag.
A reminder of what you don’t feel.
A reminder of a desire that has not been granted.
A reminder that even if you have a love, they will never fulfill the void.
A reminder of a heart that is broken.

 

If you are one of those people, I want you to know that
YOU ARE LOVED
by the very God who created you, exactly how you are, RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW. He is a personal God, who cares about every one of your desires and wants to fulfill them. He is a God who takes broken hearts and makes them whole again. If Creator God were to write you a Valentine, I believe it would go something like this. These words come straight from His Word.

Listen, YOU WHO ARE LOVED, and know.

My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you. 
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. 
Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways. 
Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. 
Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image. 
Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring. 
Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived. 
Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation. 
Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book. 
Psalm 139:15-16
I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live. 
Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. 
Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother’s womb. 
Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born. 
Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented
by those who don’t know me.
John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love. 
1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 
1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father. 
1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. 
Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father. 
Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. 
James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. 
Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. 
Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love. 
Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing. 
Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you. 
Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession. 
Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul. 
Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things. 
Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me. 
Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart. 
Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires. 
Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine. 
Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager. 
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles. 
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you. 
Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart. 
Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes. 
Revelation 21:3-4
And I’ll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. 
John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being. 
Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you. 
Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 
2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you. 
1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love. 
Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me. 
1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7
I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is…
Will you be my child? 
John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you. 
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad Almighty God

Father’s Love Letter
© 1999 – 2010 Father Heart Communications
www.FathersLoveLetter.com

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2
FUN/DIY/ Love/ Seasonal/ Valentine's Day

Going Green Valentine Holders

Going Green Valentine Holders

 I was encouraged by Destri over at the Mother Huddle to do a Valentine version of these “Going Green Gift Card Holders.”  I thought it was a great idea and eventually got around to it!
*I made a homemade template.  I hope the measurements are helpful.

*Trace the template onto the inside of a grocery sack.

*Fold in all 4 sides.

*Punch holes with hole punch.

*Fill it with a lil’ somethin’ somethin’

*Add ribbon and decorate however you desire.

{could make holes bigger and use a pixie stix treat}
A little valentine love note can be placed inside, or a gift card -I personally would take coffee shop gift card over fresh flowers, any day!  I plan on making some for my kids and husband. I’ll let you in on a little secret…ready?
I didn’t make my girls classroom valentines homemade…shhh!
I by no means have enough patience to make 3 classrooms, 21ish kids each, all homemade valentines.  I’ve seen some of you do it, and I am amazed, but it’s not for me. I got our classroom valentines from Target on special 2/1!  Ya know, the boxed ones that come with a treat and envelope? Easy.Yay.
I DO have enough time and patience to make them for my girls and husband.
 My kids will have little love notes and candy on theirs, my husband…hmmm…can you handle another secret?  Like, a Victoria’s Secret? shhh…
 His will contain a gift card to Victoria’s Secret, for me to use, of course!  Quite brilliant in my book. A gift for him that allows me to go out and shop (alone without the kids, yippee!) and in the end make us both happy..I hope!:)  (my parents and grandparents are all closing their eyes and shaking their heads right now..hee hee)

Gotta Love Valentines Day!

7
Love/ Spiritual

Yesterday, Today, Forever-He Never Changes

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. 
Psalm 46:1-3,7



“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control. 2 Tim 1:7 (AMP)
I have set the Lord continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalm 16:8 (AMP)
He only is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Defense and my Fortress, I shall not be moved. Psalm 62:6 (AMP)
Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. 1 Peter 5:7 (AMP)
The Lord is good, a Strength and Stronghold in the day of trouble; He knows (recognizes, has knowledge of, and understands) those who take refuge and trust in Him. Nahum 1:7 (AMP)
“The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in You.Isaiah 26:3

Love/ Spiritual

Clanging Cymbals and Missing Mittens

{From I Corinthians 1}
“If I speak…and do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or clanging cymbal”

To speak without love is like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Harsh.  Off-putting.
With a gong, the initial sound is so harsh that the beauty of the echo or the sound of it fading away is hard to focus on.  I think it is the same with our words.  If they are not wrapped in love, the sound of them are harsh and hard to hear, useless and pointless.
Even if they are words of truth, people will not be able to hear the beauty of the ‘echo’ because they have been so jarred by the initial tone.
So…
My words must be in love to be heard.
My words without love are jarring, disconcerting, irritating, unheard.
I want those around me to associate my words with truth, beauty, love and gentleness.
I DON’T WANT TO BE A GONG!
I want to speak truth in love, gently.
This morning my words were a clanging cymbal, in the car of all places.  My poor girls, stuck in a car with their mommy clangin’!  Hitting my gong over–of all things–missing mittens.
Ok, moms, I know you are with me.  Is there anything more maddening than missing mittens??
The pocket method has been working well for us, until lately.  It seems to work when we have consistent freezing weather, because we use them all the time, but the minute it is a bit less freezing, all of the sudden our mittens disappear!  We even have a very accessible mitten drawer this year, that contained (notice past tense), extra pairs of gloves and mittens.  Now it is a drawer of single mittens with missing matches.  How does that happen?
After dropping my mitten-less girls off at school, I came home and found my youngest girls mittens in her coat pockets, right where they should be; she just chose to wear a different coat. (hanging head)  I will sit them down today after school, share this verse with them, admit I gonged, and ask for forgiveness.  Then we will discuss how to be more responsible with our mittens.  This time they may hear me, since I won’t be using these:

Then I’m going to search amazon for a mini version of the top picture.  Wouldn’t that be a great visual reminder of how irritating loveless words are?  Maybe I could even go beat on it to interrupt the trio of loveless sister words that happen from time to time around here…:)
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