My involvement with MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) has traditionally involved preparing some kind of Valentines Day treat or activity for our kids. One year we cut out 14 hearts and wrote something encouraging about our kids on them. One heart got posted on their bedroom door each day leading up to Valentines Day. The next year we made and decorated special treat bags and glued together Valentines Day robots out of edible snacks. Nicole has been requesting another robot ever since! Due to these fun and convenient MOPS facilitated crafts, I have yet to establish any family traditions around the holiday.
The kids and I aren't participating in MOPS this year which means that figuring out what we are doing for Valentines Day is up to me. I have been racking my brain for weeks trying to come up with a plan that will communicate the love and care that this holiday is all about.
In the future (and with a lot more pre-planning) I want this holiday to be primarily about doing something kind or loving for others throughout the week and then have a few special things that we do just as a family on the actual day. Future plans aside, I'm spending this year focusing on our family celebration.
As I thought about what messages I want to communicate to my kids on Valentines Day, I knew that I wanted them to know that love comes from God because God is love and the way we show love to each other is important. I am going to a facilitate a dinner activity around this idea that I hope sticks around for years to come. We're going to make each other 'love signs'.
A love sign is simply a piece of large paper that has each family members name on it, along with the verse 1 John 4:7,
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
At dinner, we will talk about the ways God loves us as well as the things we do to make each other feel loved. As we talk about those things, I'll write them on the appropriate love sign as a way to document our conversation. Simple, sustainable and (hopefully) meaningful.
If I can squeeze some private time in the kitchen between now and Friday, there might be some heart-shaped goodies that grace our table on Friday too, but if not, that's ok.
I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week and an extra-special Valentines Day. I pray that you know that God loves you and His love is perfect. His love casts out fear, it never fails, it never ends and is greater than any other kind of love there is. All you have to do it receive it by believing in the work that Jesus did on the cross. Now that's worth celebrating!
With love,
Erica
No comments:
Post a Comment