Tag: Valentine’s Day

Unique Ways to Express Your Love This Valentine’s Day

Are you scrambling to find the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your spouse or the special someone in your life? Most people take the easy way out; they order flowers to be delivered, bring home a box of chocolates, and make a dinner reservation. In 2023, Valentine’s Day spending in the U.S. came to $185 per person. Yet, 34% of adults surveyed expressed disappointment in their partner’s expression of love on the holiday. Forty percent of women felt their partner fell short of adequately celebrating the occasion.  

The moral is that spending a lot does not necessarily make your loved one feel special. So, this year, instead of overspending and stressing your budget, you might consider giving gifts that take a bit of effort but cost little or nothing. Making the effort to create a gift or doing an act of kindness demonstrates your love for the recipient.   

Consider what type of action or gift is most meaningful to your spouse or partner. Gary Chapman identified five languages of love:  physical touch, words of affirmation, acts of service, quality time together, and physical gifts. He theorized that people have preferences and will appreciate and value the gift and you if you cater to them.

If your partner’s love language is touch, consider treating them to an in-home personal spa day.  

  • Prepare a warm bubble bath with a soft, fluffy towel nearby for drying off.
  • Give your partner a neck or back massage or a coupon for a massage once a month for a year.
  • A foot soak followed by a massage is an excellent “touch” gift.
  • If your partner is a lady, paint her toenails.
  • Make an effort to give frequent hugs and kisses throughout Valentine’s Day and every day.

For those who value words of affirmation, a handmade Valentine’s card or note will be significant.

  • Write a note or poem expressing the qualities that you love about your partner.
  • Hide messages of affirmation around the house and in lunchboxes and briefcases.
  • Take notice of the unique things they do for you and thank them for doing those things.
  • Print out the words of a song that describes your feelings and put them inside a handmade card.
  • Post Facebook messages telling all your friends how special they are to you.

Acts of service require a bit of effort, but you could demonstrate love to those with this love language in many ways.

  • Cook your loved one’s favorite meal rather than going out.
  • Bake their favorite cookies, cake, or pie. 
  • Do a chore for them, especially one you know they do not enjoy doing.
  • Complete one or more chores from the “honey do” list that your spouse has made for you.
  • Give your partner a book of coupons for services you will do throughout the year.

Spending quality time together requires little more than clearing your schedule and making the love of your life the focus of your day.

  • Plan a day of doing their favorite things, whether antiquing, hiking, visiting a museum or art gallery, or attending a sporting event.
  • Recreate your first date or a favorite date.
  • Turn off your cell phone and watch a romantic comedy or an action movie.
  • Cook your favorite meal together.
  • Participate in their favorite hobby—play pool, paint, go to a pottery class, or go fishing.

Select a meaningful gift if your loved one values a present over words and action.

  • Frame a favorite picture of the two of you or your family.
  • Buy a favorite dessert from a local bakery.
  • Rather than a box of inexpensive chocolates, select a few pieces of high-quality chocolates in a beautiful red or gold box.
  • Purchase a plant that will live long after a bouquet of roses has been discarded.
  • If your loved one is a collector, a new piece to add to their collection is a thoughtful gift that will not disappointment.

If God has blessed you with someone special to share your life, be grateful to Him. Take time this Valentine’s Day to thank Him for the gift of romantic love in your life. Remember that actions speak louder than words unless your partner values words of affirmation about other expressions of love. 

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 (NIV)

Happy Valentine’s Day to My Favorite Valentines

Wishing a very special Valentine’s Day to two little people who have captured my heart completely.

Grandson DanielFrom the moment we first learned we were to be grandparents, Steve and I were filled with love for our unborn grandchild.  We were so delighted to meet Daniel and have enjoyed every moment of watching him grow from a baby to a toddler.  He is full of energy and discovering new skills daily.

Granddaughter BrooklynWe were overjoyed to learn last spring that a second grandchild–to be Daniel’s cousin–was expected at Christmas time.  Again our hearts filled with love for this child that we did not yet know but whose birth was greatly anticipated.  Brooklyn arrived 6 weeks ago to everyone’s great delight.  She is a good natured baby who loves to be held and cuddled.

Every moment we spend with Daniel and Brooklyn brings love and joy to our hearts.  As Steve and I celebrate our 35th Valentine’s Day together, we are truly very blessed.  God has given us three amazing sons, two beautiful daughters-in-law, and two very precious grandchildren.  Our hearts are filled with love and gratitude to God for His amazing blessings and His love for us.

Valentine’s Day Reflection on Meeting the Love of My Life

Celebrating our 25th anniversary with a Caribbean cruise

I had lunch after church yesterday with the love of my life.  As I sat across from my husband in the booth at one of our favorite restaurants, it occurred to me that we had been coming to this restaurant for 33 years.  The memories of eating fish, fries, coleslaw, and hush puppies here together go all the way back to our freshman year of college.  They’ve remodeled the restaurant a time or two and tweaked the menu, but it’s in the same spot and I’m still coming with the same guy.

I vividly remember the first time I met Steve.  It was early October 1975, our junior year of high school. I was the vice-president of the French club and in that capacity I had to help select the cast for the annual French club play.  The French teacher, Madame Dameron, had chosen a musical—The Pale Pink Dragon.  I remember that some of the characters were turned into bears by a dragon. I was assigned to be in charge of costumes and spent many hours dyeing thermal underwear brown, making papier-mâché bear heads, and creating a dragon costume.

On the first day of tryouts, a large number of students showed up.  Most of the would-be actors read a scene from the script and sang briefly a cappella.  Some were quite good and others were, well let’s just say, not so good. Near the end of the first day, it was Steve’s turn to audition.  He was new in school, and I had never seen him before.

Steve’s was kind of cute, but he was not, at first glance, my type. He looked like a hippie with long straight hair that fell below his shoulders.  He wore blue jeans with holes in the both knees, a white Mickey Mouse teeshirt, and a plaid longsleeve flannel shirt. I wasn’t really interested until he picked up his guitar. He had my full attention as he strummed the guitar and sang.  He was, of course, cast in the play.  I remember giving him a pattern and material and telling him to have his mother sew his costume, a long hooded robe.  He said she couldn’t as she didn’t have a sewing machine.  I made his costume myself.

The remainder of the year, Steve and I had little interaction.  Senior year, however, we were seated beside each other in physics class.  We got to know each other better as we flirted on a field trip to D.C. and helped each other with physics homework.  Steve was shy and the year was almost over before he got up the nerve to ask me out. Once he did, I knew he was that special person God had for me. 

When people ask us how long we’ve been “together” Steve always says it’s been since the French club play while I count from our first date in April 1977.  Either way, we are well into our fourth decade as a couple.  In a few months we will celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. 

As we ate our lunch, I thought about how special it is to have met the love of my life when we were only 17.  We share a lifetime of memories from high school graduation through college and graduate school to starting a family.  Our three sons were raised in a stable home with parents who loved them and each other unconditionally. Last summer we had the wonderful experience of becoming grandparents.  We look forward to making new memories with our precious grandson.

We don’t know what future God has in store for us.  We do know that God will be with us each step of the way and that we will be here for each other “for as long as we both shall live.”  Happy Valentine’s Day, Sweetheart.  I love you with all my heart.