Showing Love

In honor of Valentine's Day tomorrow I've been thinking about this topic as I've been wondering what to do for Brandon. I know that people show love and feel loved in different ways. Some people like hugs and others like gifts. Some people like to do something nice for the ones they love. Others like to hear that they are loved. So this is what I decided to do...I actually go the idea from this article. I hope he doesn't read this before tomorrow or the surprise will be ruined. :)

I decided that for Valentine's day this year I'm going to ask him what makes him feel loved. Oh sure we've discussed this over the 7 + years since we've been married, but I'm going to ask him to write 10 things down that complete this sentence: "I feel loved when you _____." (Fill in the blank). I want to paste this list somewhere I'll see it often to remind me what to do to show him that I love him (in the way he feels loved).

I posted around Christmas about meaningful gifts - I've been thinking a lot about how to make gifts and giving more meaningful. I think if we show love to our spouse in the way he/she wants to feel loved, that is meaningful.

What about you? What are you doing for Valentine's Day for the ones you love? Do you think it's important to show love for those that you love?

Meaningful Gifts

Giving is always important, but the Christmas season tends to bring out the desire in us to give even more. When we act on that desire to give and share with others, we feel good inside. That feeling is often described as the spirit of Christmas. While giving is better than not, meaningful giving is even better. Some ideas of meaningful gifts include:

• Gifts that satisfy a need
• Acts of service, giving of yourself
• Gifts that show your love or support
  

Here's an experience that happened to me when I was in college that taught me a lot about meaningful giving. It was the Christmas season which of course means that it's also finals time and students are very busy. I woke up one day very sick. I was supposed to study with a study group later on that day, but I was too sick to even get out of bed. All of my roommates had left earlier that morning so I was alone. I went back to sleep and woke up a few hours later to the phone ringing. It was my study group calling to find out where I was. I told them I wouldn't be able to make it because I was sick. A little while later, I heard a knock at the door and there was my study group. They brought me some food and did all the dishes in the sink. After making sure I didn't need anything else, they left to study. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant a lot to me. My friends took care of my needs - they brought me food, they served me by doing the dishes, and most important, they showed their love and support to me. Their gift of love to me was akin to the love shown by Jesus Christ to those around him. Jesus was always about doing good and serving his fellowmen. He performed acts of meaningful service and love everywhere he went.

Sometimes it's hard to think of meaningful gifts. It takes time and effort to find out needs and try to meet them. There are plenty of reasons and justifications that we can come up with for not giving. But giving is what we should do. No matter how much we have or don't have, we can always give. Sometimes the best gifts are as simple as a kind word or a smile. Let's cultivate and attitude of giving this Christmas season and look for meaningful gifts that will bless those around us.