Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day to whomever is reading this post! I love this day, even though I am currently single and don't have a "special someone" in my life. It's really OK and I am really OK with it today. That is God's doing though, and I want to give Him the glory!

One of the things that I miss about being someone's special girl is holding hands. It was one of the things that sent tingles through me the first time my husband did it back when we started dating, and was a way that he could calm me down or just make me feel special when we were married.

But let me tell you how wonderful God's love for me is. This morning in the devotional book, Jesus Calling (that I can't seem to stop reading each day, even though this is my third year to go through it), one of the verses to read was Isaiah 41:13:

"For I am the LORD your God, who upholds your right hand,
 Who says to you, 'Do not fear, I will help you.'"

Then, when I looked in the notes for that verse, another verse was listed, Isaiah 42:6:

"I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness,
I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations."

How sweet is that! On a day when I could easily let myself get caught up in the world's definition of what it means to be loved and fall into a huge pity party for myself, God reminded me that He holds me by the hand. He gave me the similar verse in Isaiah 41:10 on one of the darkest nights of my life, which says the same thing as verse 13. And He doesn't want me to forget it, almost seven years later!
Thank you, Lord!

And since I love Valentine's Day, I love to show love to my friends and family at this time of year. This weekend, I spent some time making some Valentine cards and was able to give some treats to friends and will treat my family this evening (Daniel got blueberry muffins and some treats this morning).

Here are a few of the ways I chose to show love to them this year:

These cake pops were made/sold by my friend, Lorie. She's thinking about doing some for Easter, so I'll spread the word if she does that!

 

This last card is for my parents, and was inspired by this post. Dad had collected these stamps over the years and gave them to me a couple of years ago, with the thought that I might be able to use them in my papercrafting. When I saw the post that inspired me, I found the stamps and created my own card. I can't wait to give it to them later today!

So, as I posted on my Facebook status today, go show someone some love today. And then do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that!