Love.

When we returned back home from Texas, we had very few Christmas decorations to take down. I had put up a nativity and a "Merry Christmas" sign before we left and that was about the extent of it. I think I may have packed those up our first day back. As much as I LOVE Christmas decorations, I also tend to enjoy the clean and de-cluttered feeling after they're put away.

I think a lack of decorating in this house left me itching to gear up for Valentine's day. This is a first for me. We usually keep Valentine's decorations to that day, but I have been very excited to add little touches of "love" all around the house.

One of my favorite things we've been working on around here is our Love Tree.

I had originally intended this to be our Blessing Tree in the fall. You know, where you add leaves and write one thing you're grateful for on each leaf. Well, we managed to make the trunk, but we never did get around to adding our leaves. We were just too busy trying to get things done for our trip back home.

One thing that has been heavy on my heart these days is teaching these boys about how much God loves them. Sometimes I can get so focused on trying to teach them what God tells us is right and wrong that I forget to teach them about His great love for us. And it is His great love for us that should fuel our desire to obey Him; not that we do right to please God so that He will love us more. The latter misses the message of grace and our need for Jesus altogether.

So between now and Valentine's day, we are putting a heavy emphasis on LOVE. That God is love. That He loves us. What love is; what it isn't. How we give and show love. Who we should love.

Here's how we're doing it. I found these hearts and printed them on red paper and cut them out. Each day, I open the bible to a passage of scripture about love. I show the scripture to the boys and have them touch it so that they see God's word. Then, I write the verse on a heart and put tape on the back so that they can stick it on the Love Tree. I look for times throughout the day when we can talk about the verses we have up there. For example, when the boys are reading a book or watching a cartoon where someone is helping another person out, we talk about "serve one another in love" (Gal 5:13). I also use those verses when we say our bedtime prayers.

Here are some of the verses we're using (some of these are shortened for our little guys):

"God loved us and sent His Son." 1 John 4:10
"Serve one another in love." Gal. 5:13
"Love God with all your heart." Matt. 22:37
"Love is patient." 1 Cor. 13:4
"Love is kind." 1 Cor. 13:4
"Love is not rude." 1 Cor. 13:5
"Love is not easily angered." 1 Cor. 13:5
"Love does not keep record of wrongs." 1 Cor. 13:5
"Love always protects." 1 Cor. 13:7
"Love always trusts." 1 Cor. 13:7
"Love always hopes." 1 Cor. 13:7
"Love each other." John 15:17
"Love your neighbor as yourself." Matt 22:39
"Love one another, for love comes from God." 1 John 4:7
"I love you, O LORD, my strength." Psalm 18:1
"Show us your unfailing love, O LORD." Psalm 85:7
"Great is your love toward me." Psalm 86:13
"The LORD is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 100:5
"The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love." Psalm 103:8
 "I love the LORD, for He heard my voice." Psalm 116:1
"May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love." 2 Thes. 3:5

One of my biggest prayers for these boys is that their hearts would be full of love for our great and mighty God. And that they would know that His love for them – for all of us – is a "Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love" (from the Jesus Storybook Bible).