Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is almost here!

If you are like most people, you have one of two opinions about this holiday - either you LOVE IT or you HATE IT.

You either love Valentine's Day because you have someone in your life with which to share this holiday with. This could be parents, bf/gf, best friends, whatever. But regardless, you find this holiday awesome. It could be that you simply love candy.

Or, you hate Valentine's Day, or "Single Awareness Day," as you may call it. Valentine's Day is just another day that reminds you that you have no bf/gf. Perhaps all your friends have someone special to celebrate with, but you do not. For you, its a really tough day.

Whether you are in the first camp or the second camp, I want you to think about a new reason to celebrate Valentine's Day. Sure this holiday about showing your love to others , and there is nothing wrong with that. But, I think that we need to focus on V-Day being about something much more significant - God.

I always like to think about Valentine's Day as a day for me to truly appreciate the love around me - from my parents, my brothers and sisters, my friends, my husband, etc. But mostly, I like to focus on the love that God gives me.

Most people get that God loves them. But, I don't think we get HOW MUCH God loves us. So, I like to encourage others to spend the 14th of Valentine's Day trying to recognize all the ways that God shows his love for us. I walk around all day waiting to see it.

This isn't an uncommon thing to do on Valentine's Day, you know. Most people look for signs of love all day. For example, you see flowers delivered and (especially if you are a girl) you wonder if they are for you. Perhaps you see a bright red envelope in your mail box. You quickly check to see if its for you. Most people tend to look for signs of affection on Valentine's Day.

So, why not look for signs of affection from God? They are much more common than the random vase of flowers or box of candy. They are all around us. All we have to do is open our eyes! It could be a particularly beautiful sunset or a comment on your myspace from an old friend. It could be something out of the ordinary that happens or your favorite food for dinner than night.

Whatever it is - I hope this Valentine's Day you will open your eyes to the love that God wants to share with you.

Ashes to Ashes

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Can you believe it? Its been a little crazy around the church lately. We've gone from preparing for Jesus birth, to celebrating the Christ child, to seeing the magi come for a visit, to the baptism and beginning of Jesus ministry, to the beginning of the end...and all in the matter of a month and a half.

This may seem a little insignificant to you, but for pastors who keep up on this stuff, its been a whirlwind. Lent definitely came out of no where this year. Ususally, there is more time to prepare for this season, but this year it just landed in my lap, ready to go.

Lent is the time of year in the church that we really look at the end of Jesus' ministry. There is a big focus on his teachings, his miracles, his death, and ending on Easter morning with a big celebration of the resurrection. As Christians, we set aside the time of Lent to get ready for all the emotion of Jesus death and resurrection.

What I love about Lent is that its a time of spiritual discipline....which may sound scary, but really just means that we as Christians set aside some extra time to spend in our walk with Jesus. Its one of my favorite times of the year, actually. Its a time that I feel like Jesus is so close. The emotions are so real and there is nothing (such as Christmas shopping and baking) to distract me from this time with God.

Each year I like to do something for Lent. Most people give something up - like pop or red meat or something like that. Not only to I like to give something up for Lent, but I also like to do something for Lent. In other words - start a practice that will make me a better person. Usually, this entails spending more time in the Bible, volunteering to do a service project, something like that.

Some other cool things you can do:

• Give up pop and donate all the money you would save to a food pantry


• Give up TV to spend more time with your family


• Read your Bible EVERY day...and maybe even do a cool youth devotional


• Pray for someone in your life every day (can be the same person for the entire Lent season, or a new person every day)


• Make it a point to take notes during sermons Sunday morning


• Listen to only Christian music


• Promise to not argue when your parents ask you to do your chores, or better yet, just do chores without being asked


• Offer to help an elderly neighbor scoop their driveway after a snowfall or rake their yard

There are a ton of things that you can do. I've always heard it said that it takes 40 days to establish a good habit or break a bad habit...and guess how long Lent is? 40 days, my friends. Its the perfect time to grow closer to Jesus while making yourself a better person.

So, maybe this year you can think about giving something up. Or think about adding something to your routine. Or maybe both. Whatever it is, I really hope that you will take these 40 days to walk a little closer to Jesus.

What are you going to do for Lent? Leave a comment and let me know!