{ refresh }

I’m going to ask you to do something: Please click on your refresh button. We made some changes to the website, namely the red background. If you’re not seeing red, you need to refresh. See it now?

{ why the red? }

Today we are exactly one month away from Valentines Day. So I thought it’d be fun to splash the color of love on the website to give us all that constant reminder of … well, LOVE. (This is not a permanent change.)

{ love }

Love isn’t just about being in a relationship. It’s not just about having a boyfriend or girlfriend or even being married (although that’s certainly significant and wonderful. In fact, marriage, as we know, often leads to children and I believe FAMILY is most definitely central in God’s Plan of Happiness.)

Love is about even more than that though. Love is what can heal. Love is what can lift another. Through love, burdens are lifted, hearts are mended, and a crummy day becomes blessed. And it doesn’t always mean a close friend or family member. Sometimes it’s a stranger. And you know what? They need love too. Do you realize that even a simple smile can change someone’s entire day?

{ love is a verb }

That’s what they say, right? Well because it’s true. A relationship takes effort. You don’t see a friendship blossom on accident. You don’t see a marriage make it through hard times because husband & wife are waiting for the other to make the first move.

This is a small invitation to each of us to be more proactive in being loving human beings. More patient in our driving. More willing to volunteer our time in service. More likely to following that prompting to phone a friend or write a note of kindness or stop everything you’re doing to read with your child. More effort in changing the subject when gossip flares up. More likely to express gratitude. Being quick to forgive. And more smiling. Definitely more smiling.

{ a visual reminder }

As a small token of my gratitude for you, dear reader, I’m sharing a couple “Love One Another” prints to use however you’d like. Let this visual be a daily reminder of what I hope we can all focus on this month … and always.

Head over to the Free Stuff page to snag your free print(s).

PS – Want a more tangible way to share love this Valentines season? If you missed it last February, this Post-it Love idea might get the wheels a-turnin’. (Unfortunately all the reader comments were erased in last year’s blog server transfer.)