Oh beagles!

Oh how I wish I could sleep like this!!!

The day of Love

Well... another single valentine's day... some may say... but that wasn't really the thought in my head this year. This holiday isn't really real anyway, so why worry about it? It was something that I am sure was originally intended for good... until Hallmark got a hold of it. Now, its something that has just literally exploded... into a day where not only should you get a gift or something nice for your boyfriend/girlfriend/fiance/husband... etc... now parents should be getting things for their kids, classrooms require children get valentines for their whole class if they celebrate the day at all... and it goes on. A total monetary explosion...and maybe some retail giants make up some sales loss from slow holidays or people being snowed in. But that's not what this day is really supposed to be about, now is it? I am happy to say that I heard quite a few people say that they enjoy the day, but feel that your love should be expressed everyday... probably more people said this (that I noticed) then last year. Now, don't get me wrong... this day is a cute and sweet way to express your feelings for someone else.. but, seriously, I would never really want to get engaged or married on that day.... it just doesn't do much for me in that sense. 

So why just one day for love? Why aren't we loving all the time? Are we truly loving all the time? Or is a girlfriend, wife, or even husband looking down upon their significant other because they didn't live up to the holiday hype of what valentine's day is supposed to entail. I myself may have been guilty of this in years past... in relationships before I was a Christian.  Now, here I go with my love statement as a Christian.. which is the entire reason I really wanted to write this blog. Ha.

The Bible tells us that God IS love. Okay, so what does this mean?  God loved us first, so that is how we know how to love...He loved us sooo much that He sent a Son to die on the cross for our sins. To suffer for whatever sin we would commit at any point in our lives, so we didn't have to. Now, that to me is really why you hear people call God the King of Love. The Bible is FULL of statements telling us to love one another as ourselves, even to love our enemies...to love one another with the love of God. Pure, passionate, all-consuming...love. But, how do we know how to love like this?... Did you catch what I said first? We know how to love because God loved us first. Seems simple enough, but even for a Christian, can be highly complicated... why? Because we are first human. Yes, our human state of being, of emotions, and of free will can really get in the way of this love thing sometimes. 

But, what if you don't feel the love of God? This is something else the Bible simply states for us.... Present ALL your requests to God...yep, all of them! But again, we are human, and at times we let our emotional state get in the way of what God is trying to do for us in our lives. If you ask God to fill you up with His love, He certainly will. God will completely ravish your heart and carry it away for Himself... you will be forever changed, and completely destroyed for anything- or anyONE else to possibly love you... until, you find the ONE God has for you to love you in the best way God created you to be loved. Remember, our God is a jealous God... He wants you to be completely whole in His love first and foremost, before you can purely and completely love another person. No person on this earth can ever- or should ever- "complete" you.... You are made whole in the love of God...and He truly is all you need. One of my favorite quotes is... "A woman's heart should be so hidden in God, that a man has to seek Him in order to find her." It is sooo very true, and important that this is what happens. 

One more thing about our very human state of emotions. God knows how He created us, He has a perfect plan for every single person He created.... just think of the Bible verse that says- "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you"...or even when He came down to this Earth to create Adam with His own hands. You can't get anymore perfectly loved then that. God can cover all of your needs, and take care of all your emotions. This weekend, the youth ministry had missionaries from NYC that they work closely with come visit and teach us about purity and God's Holy love. When they were sharing in a small group, one of the missionaries had stated that even when she feels "very" single (which I know I often do)....she prays that God romances her in the ways she feels she is emotionally lacking..... This is something SO simple, I had never even thought on until I heard her share that. God wants to fill up all of your emotions first and foremost, so you are never lacking, and never need to stray elsewhere to find them. For no one can love you the way God will.... married or not. God should always be the King of your heart.