Valentine’s Day today! ❤ My Babe is cooking a special meal for this evening (steak and mushrooms, followed by icecream). He’s out this morning, and we’re not planning wild shenanigans to celebrate the day. I haven’t got anything as such for him – sometimes just getting a box of chocolates is not quite the thing (most times it is – let’s not get silly here!) Instead, I have chosen some songs which feel like they reflect parts of our journey, and sent them to him. ❤
…and if you haven’t yet got a gift for your significant other, here’s some hints 😆
It’s Valentine’s Day, and a Sunday as well, so we could spend time at church singing of God’s love… I was given a beautiful bouquet of roses by the lovely lady who makes bouquets to hand out Sunday mornings. Mine was a belated birthday gift 🙂 Here it is, settled in at home…
A close up, just because…
I am fortunate to have a loving marriage and family, so Valentine’s Day is a favourite day for me. We haven’t gone overboard with the celebrating, but we did pick up some nice cake to share.
GF rosewater and pistachio – yum! Tasty and romantic! 🙂
Sometimes it may not look like it, but there’s so much love to be had in this world… Some families are difficult, some situations (health, finances) are wearying. Days like today can make it seem like everyone else is enjoying life while you’re stuck outside in the cold. It’s OK to separate yourself from people that hurt and belittle you, and it’s OK to ask for help when the world is overwhelming. Find the ones who love you because you’re you! Our door is always open if you need to get away for a bit. ❤
As for me – I’ve just been enjoying Songs of Praise, and this is one of the songs they played. Here is the Love that brings all love into my life… available to anyone who asks!
I enjoy all that – I know some people think it’s an over-priced excuse to indulge, and that it undervalues everyday, long-lasting, persevering love. There is that element, of course. I think we have to make that choice to mark the day, while remembering the sentiment for the rest of the year.
But do we celebrate only a narrow definition of love?
Romantic love is pretty well covered. What about families – parent/child, siblings? Love between friends – that uplifted feeling you get when a beloved friend drops by unexpectedly, or you’re sitting down over a cuppa just nattering away. Love for the furry members of the family, who tend to adore unconditionally, and help to calm and lower blood pressure…
And above that, love for God, and His for you.
Today can commemorate sad memories and loneliness for many people. I don’t want to minimise the pain of that, but I do wonder if we, as a society, elevate romance too much at the expense of the rich diversity and fulfillment of other relationships…
Happy Valentine’s Day!
❤
May you be able to look around you and see (and be) the love!
Here’s a snippet of a training manual 🙂
“Love is large and incredibly patient. Love is gentle and consistently kind to all. It refuses to be jealous when blessing comes to someone else. Love does not brag about one’s achievements nor inflate its own importance. Love does not traffic in shame and disrespect, nor selfishly seek its own honour. Love is not easily irritated or quick to take offense. Love joyfully celebrates honesty and finds no delight in what is wrong.Love is a safe place of shelter, for it never stops believing the best for others. Love never takes failure as defeat, for it never gives up.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Passion Translation)
❤ Valentine's Day! ❤
Went out with my Babe this morning for a cuppa…
I didn’t have breakfast beforehand, so I could really enjoy the white chocolate cheesecake 😀
We love going out, chatting about whatever. Remembering the past…looking to the future. It seems that advertising for Valentine’s Day wants us to buy flowers and chocolates – to adhere to a version of “passion” that is narrowly related to romance. We did discuss running off to Paris for the weekend…
😀
A passionate life can include extravagant gestures and wild departures from the everyday, but it needn’t be defined by the big things. The word “passion” has a few different meanings, one of which is “an intense desire or enthusiasm for something”. Why can’t we feel that about plain, basic life? Every day is an opportunity for wonder – for taking the ordinary and infusing it with light…
On another note, I treated myself to a new Bible this year – the Passion translation of the New Testament with Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Songs.
Isn’t it lovely?
I know it’s about what’s inside, but I don’t see why I can’t also have a beautiful outside…
I’m enjoying using this in my devotional time, although it benefits from having another translation (NIV, NKJ etc) available to check understanding of texts. It jolts me into seeing certain passages afresh, but I have also had years of reading the other translations, so can pick up where there’s something that’s a bit different… as in the Message translation, I would not recommend using it as the sole study source, but in combination with others. Still, it’s good to be jolted out of complacency 😀 .
I’d still like to go back to Paris (and Rome, Venice, Tuscany…) some day, to have a proper look round. I was there in the summer 25 years ago; the sky brown with pollution, and not enough money to eat properly (three days on water and a bag of pain au chocolat). I’m glad I got the chance, even if the experience was budget rather than extravagant…
Let’s go forward with passion, cheesecake, and love! ❤
We went to the library today, as we usually do on Thursdays… they were doing a special Valentines Day deal – we could take our chances with a wrapped book, as well as our other choices. They had adult non-fiction and children’s fiction left.. we got two of each.. it was very exciting!
(Yes, the chocolates were part of the deal.. 😀 )
Here are the books we got..
Not what I would have chosen myself, but that’s part of the fun..
Libraries are cool!
He dropped in to Di..licious down the road, where the specialty is cupcakes. This is a full sized one, although not as big as it probably looks – that’s a teensy little saucer that I found somewhere ages ago.. I don’t get to use it often..
This is the box it came in… and this is what was also in the box 😀
I’m thinking that’s a brownie, and a bite size Lemon..licious cupcake. I’ll know when we eat them.. the big one was coconut ice.
Tomorrow is another day..
I have a nice dessert planned, and we’ll have steak for dinner.. I’m off for a cuppa and cupcakes!
a bit of creativity, a bit of eco consciousness, a bit of inspiration.... hopefully not a lot of pompousness and blathering :D
i'm not entirely sure what's going on here... let's travel along and see...
1000 Fields of Roses 