True love is cleaning the toilet without being asked

Yes, you read that title correctly. Yes, I just finished cleaning the toilet before sitting down to write this post. And yes, you can breathe easy. I washed my hands before beginning to peck away at the keyboard.

It's St. Valentine's Day and love is in the air.

Our Wedding Day, December 19, 1976

But what is this thing called love? Have we grasped its full significance? Have we grasped the implications of what true love means? Even for the mature, I dare say the answer is no. True love is willing to suffer some unpleasantness.

When I slipped an engagement ring onto the finger of the love-of-my-life, did I fully comprehend what I was getting into? Sometimes I think it is better that we don't know. A little blissful ignorance can carry us a long way. 😉

Real love means change—personal change. That's the toughest kind of change. We can change our physical location, our wardrobe, our demeanor, but can we change ourselves? That requires real effort. That's a work of the Holy Spirit active within us. I know I need a healthy measure of that kind of change every day. That's a bit of that toilet-cleaning change. Change on the inside.

By a grand fluke of the lunar calendar, today is not only Valentine's Day. It's also Ash Wednesday—the start of Lent. Lent is an annual reminder of the passionate life-giving love of Jesus.

The Son of God left heaven, so he could clean the toilet bowl this world finds itself in. He gives us beauty for ashes in that grand exchange that is love—true love. He suffered so we could be set free from sin. When we repent, we become participants in the great romance of heaven and earth. Heaven came to earth in the person of Jesus, so we could one day be with him forever.

With a freshly cleaned toilet bowl, I'm feeling romantic already. Love is in the air.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm about to head off for a lunch date with my wife—the love-of-my-life.

David Kitz is the award-winning author of 

The Soldier Who Killed a King 

a Passion of Christ novel 

that is an ideal read for the Lent/Easter season.    

Rising Love: A Valentine's Love Story - HIRD

By Rev. Dr.  Ed Hird

Prime Minister Lester Pearson’s wife Maryon once famously quipped “Behind every successful man is a surprised woman.”[1] Billy Graham, aged 98, was recently named for the 60^th consecutive year in a Gallup poll as one of the ten most admired people in the world, along with Bernie Sanders, Pope Francis, and Bill Gates.  It was Ruth Graham his devoted wife for sixty-three years who enabled Billy Graham to be healthy in the midst of relentless international attention.  Without Ruth’s loving care for their five children, it would have been impossible for Billy Graham to have taken part in 417 city-wide celebrations in 185 countries, speaking to live audiences of nearly 215 million people.  Billy and Ruth Graham were a Valentine’s love story that we can all learn from. 

Ruth, who lived her first seventeen years in China, never wanted to marry, intending instead to become a missionary in Tibet.  After going to school in North Korea, she moved to Wheaton College in Illinois.  There in 1940, she met her future husband Billy who instantly fell in love with her.  Ruth was slightly startled by his intense blue eyes.  As her biographer Patricia Cornwell put it, “Billy was unlike anyone Ruth had met....earnest, quietly confident, and personal. Clearly he spoke as one who knew God and knew him well...But what interested Ruth was that as Billy escorted her...,he seemed completely unaware of his uniqueness, his poignancy, his gift.”[2]  Billy was very nervous around Ruth, but eventually invited Ruth to hear Handel’s Messiah with him.  That night Ruth knelt on the carpet by her bed and prayed, 'God, if You let me serve with that man, I'd consider it the greatest privilege in my life.'  Ruth wrote to her medical missionary parents in China, saying: "Despite Bill's fearlessness and sometimes sternness, he is just as thoughtful and gentle as you want a man to be...he makes you feel perfectly natural and looked after without being showy or obnoxious. Sounds like I'm in love, doesn't it? Don't get worried. I'm not."[3] Both Billy and Ruth were independent and very determined people which led to some early challenges in their relationship.  It was normal in Ruth’s family for women to be strong and outspoken, something that Billy had to get used to.  In writing to her parents in 1941, she said: “(Billy) isn’t easy to love because of his sternness and unwavering stand on certain issues.  Many a night I have come in almost hating the man because I wanted my way in some little thing that was either unwise or foolish or something, and he wouldn't give in even if it meant losing my love...”  Sometimes Billy and Ruth could be the immovable object and the irresistible force.   Writing to her parents later in 1941, she said: "(Billy) has his faults and some people object to his fearless, uncompromising presentation of the gospel. But that was the first thing about him that commanded my attention and later my admiration --as I grew to know him better, my trust."

After accepting his marriage proposal, she visited her sister Rosa in a New Mexico TB Sanitarium.  While there suffering from exhaustion, she wrote Billy a crushing letter, telling him that she didn’t think that she was in love with him and that marriage was perhaps unwise.[4]  Her sister miraculously recovered, and Ruth went ahead with the wedding.  Cornwell commented: “What Ruth would do next, no one could predict, for she was as quietly stubborn as the sphinx and just about as inscrutable...She didn't necessarily do the practical or the expected.”[5]

One of the greatest challenges to their marriage was how much Billy was away. Ruth often said: "I would rather have a little of Bill than a lot of any other man."  Many of Billy Graham’s sermon illustrations came directly from Ruth’s voracious reading of biographies, histories, novels, books about art and foreign countries. It was Ruth’s deep faith in God that kept her going through many trying times.  One time after Billy unexpectedly went with his buddies to Chicago without Ruth, she tearfully prayed: "God, if you forgive me for marrying him, I'll never do it again." When he realized how much he hurt her, he was full of tender apologies.  Ruth often said: " Sometimes beautiful women develop from adjusting to difficult men." By all accounts, Ruth was a beautiful woman in body, mind and spirit. Her medical missionary dad, her evangelist husband Billy and her beloved prodigal son Franklin all helped her become more beautiful.

In 1963, Billy wrote to Ruth: "How can I find words to express my appreciation for all you have meant to me. Your love and patience with me in my ups and downs...have meant more to me than you will ever know. Your counsel, advice, encouragement, and prayer have been my mainstay....It seems in the recent months my capacity to love you has deepened...I love the wife of my youth more every day!...Yes, I am thankful to God for you...No child ever had a greater mother than our children.”[6]

Rev Dr. Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

Anglican Mission InCanada

 -an article for the Feb 2017 Light Magazine 

-author of Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit

---

[1] Maryon Pearson spoke her mind". Toronto Star, December 28, 1989.

[2] Patricia Daniels Cornwell, A Time for Remembering: The Ruth Bell Graham Story (Harper & Row, San Francisco), 60.

[3] Cornwell, 63.

[4] Cornwell, 72.

[5] Cornwell, 155.

[6] Cornwell, 149.

Ten Valentine's Day Tips - HIRD

By the Rev. Dr. Ed Hird

What is Valentine’s Day without love? Dr. Gil Stieglitz, author of Marital Intelligence, says that love is meeting needs.  We feel loved when someone else meets our needs.  They feel loved when we meet their needs. 

Without love, relationships don’t last.  The Great Physician taught that the greatest commandments are all about love: love God and love our neighbour.  Without loving people, we can’t really love God, because God is love.  All the commandments are fulfilled when we love each other.  We are called to do everything in love, to serve one another humbly in love.  Love is called the Royal Law.  Jesus taught that the Ten Commandments given us by Moses are about love.  When we keep the Ten Commandments from our heart, we are being loving. When we break them, we are being unloving.  The Golden Rule “Do unto others as you would have them do to you” is once again about showing love.  The greatest love, said Jesus, was to sacrificially lay down our life for another.   Because Jesus was so full of love, he gave us a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.   Love, says the Good Book, is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  The greatest is love.  Imagine how our world might be different if it was more about giving than taking, more about putting others first ahead of ourselves.  How might that affect Valentine’s Day?

How might love and God’s Ten Tips give us a better Valentine’s Day?  The first two of the Ten Commandments teach us to lovingly say no to idolatry.  When we put another person on a pedestal, they never stay there. They fall off.  On Valentine’s Day, love is about honouring and valuing another person without expecting them to be perfect.  Other humans make poor idols.  They will always disappoint you once the Valentine’s buzz wears off.  They are not God and neither are you.  We’re just human.  A key to a healthy Valentine’s Day is forgiving other’s imperfections.

The third of the Ten Commandments lovingly teaches us to not misuse God’s name.  It is interesting how easily we can be tempted to misuse God’s name when life doesn’t go well.  How we treat God shapes how we treat others.  We need to respect other people’s names, personalities, and unique histories.  Putting down others to make ourselves look better always backfires, especially on Valentine’s Day.

The fourth of the Ten Commandments teach us that workaholism kills relationship both with our spouse and our Creator. Busyness is often relational avoidance.  If we never fully stop, we can never fully be.  We just end up as restless and shallow.  Having a day of rest is key to Valentine’s Day breakthrough.

The fifth of the Ten Commandments teaches us to show love through honouring our father and mother.  Through forgiving our parents when they make mistakes, we are more able to show love to others on Valentine’s Day.  Disrespect is contagious.  So is honour and respect for others.

The sixth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that murder is not loving.  We can murder people’s reputations through gossip and slander.  Love rejects violence especially on Valentine’s Day.  Sadly video games and pornography are becoming more violent, desensitizing many of our younger generation to the importance of gentleness and kindness in our male/female relationships.

The seventh of the Ten Commandments teaches us that adultery is not loving.  We show love through rejecting sexual exploitation.  All humans, being made in God’s image, are of equal worth and value, regardless of background.  Faithfulness particularly in marriage builds loving families and healthy communities.

The eighth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that stealing is not loving.  On Valentine’s Day, we want to be people that can be trusted.  We will not take advantage of others.  We are here to bless and not to hurt.

The ninth of the Ten Commandments teaches us that telling the truth in love is the way to healthy relationship.  When we are deceitful and dishonest, everyone loses, especially on Valentine’s Day.  No one wants to marry someone who can’t be trusted. 

The tenth and final of the Ten Commandments teaches us that coveting destroys loving relationship.  As the Beatles sang, Money can’t buy you love.  Greed dehumanizes and destabilizes.  Love frees, releases, and strengthens.  My Valentine’s Day prayer is that those reading this article will choose the way of love.

The Rev. Dr. Ed Hird, Rector

St. Simon’s Church North Vancouver

http://stsimonschurch.ca

-an article for the February 2015 Deep Cove Crier

-The sequel book Restoring Health: body, mind and spirit is available online with Amazon.com in both paperback and ebook form. In Canada, Amazon.ca has the book available in paperback and ebook. It is also posted on Amazon UK (paperback and ebook ), Amazon France (paperback and ebook), and Amazon Germany (paperback and ebook).

Restoring Health is also available online on Barnes and Noble in both paperback and Nook/ebook form.  Nook gives a sample of the book to read online.

Indigo also offers the paperback and the Kobo ebook version.  You can also obtain it through ITunes as an IBook.

To receive a signed copy within North America, just send a $20 cheque (USD/CAN) to ED HIRD, 1008- 555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC, V7N 2J7, Canada.

- In order to obtain a signed copy of the prequel book Battle for the Soul of Canada, please send a $18.50 cheque to ‘Ed Hird’, #1008-555 West 28th Street, North Vancouver, BC V7N 2J7. For mailing the book to the USA, please send $20.00 USD.  This can also be done by PAYPAL using the e-mail ed_hird@telus.net . Be sure to list your mailing address. The Battle for the Soul of Canada e-book can be obtained for $9.99 CDN/USD.

-Click to download a complimentary PDF copy of the Battle for the Soul study guide :  Seeking God’s Solution for a Spirit-Filled Canada

You can also download the complimentary Leader's Guide PDF: Battle for the Soul Leaders Guide

Fruit of the Spirit – Love - Lawrence

St. Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the Galatians as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruit of the Spirit is the harvest that grows from the seeds that are planted within us at birth.

I first wrote on this subject in my meditations on my website, www.judithlawrence.ca  and I plan to use them in my TWG blog posts over the next few months. In February 2008, I meditated on the first of the fruit of the Spirit listed by St. Paul—the fruit of love. In that month, when we celebrate the feast of St. Valentine on February 14^th, it seemed appropriate to start with the fruit of love.

The love that I am talking about, however, is not the box of chocolates type of love—the overly sweet, heart-shaped gift of love that can be the cause of disappointment, anger or jealousy, when it seems that your partner appears to have forgotten the day, or forgotten you as being the meaningful recipient of that box of chocolates, or Valentine’s card, or engagement ring. No, the love that I am speaking of is the love that St. Paul speaks of in his first letter to the Corinthians:

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. 1 Cor 13:4–8.

Love that is the fruit of the Spirit is not conditional; it does not depend on whether my partner remembers to give me a gift on St. Valentine’s Day or not; it does not depend on my partner remembering our anniversary, or my friend remembering my birthday. Love that is the fruit of the Spirit is all the spiritual fruit combined; it is joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, generous, faithful, gentle, self-controlled. Love never ends, it doesn’t keep score of another’s faults, it only wants the other’s good.

This love of the Spirit is all we ever need and all we could ever hope for; it is God’s gift to us and our gift to God and to one another. This Spiritual love is indeed the basis of Christ’s gift to us and to the world, and the source of healing for all the world’s ills.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. Rom 13: 8

Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:13

Highway of Holiness is now available for sale on my website: www.judithlawrence.ca

The Ultimate Love Question - Laycock

There is a very old technique that has been used by teachers for centuries. Jesus used it skillfully and often. When he wanted to teach his disciples something, he asked them questions. The dialogue that usually resulted not only revealed the answers, but caused them to think. He asked questions that made them examine themselves, their motives and their true beliefs.

We can imagine Jesus asking those questions as they walked along the dusty roads of Palestine, along the shores of the Dead Sea, or up the sides of the hills around Jerusalem. The questions often seemed innocuous at first and easily answered. Questions like the one he asked His disciples on the road to Caesarea Philippi: “Who do the people say the Son of Man is?” (Matthew 16:13-15) The disciples were quick to answer. They’d been in the market places, in the synagogues. They knew what the people were saying and seemed eager to tell Jesus that he was well thought of.

The people were comparing Jesus to some of their greatest heroes, some even believed those heroes had returned in His form. “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” We can imagine Jesus stopping then and turning to face the men who followed him. “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?”

It was Simon who answered first, proclaiming his belief – “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v.16). Jesus responds by proclaiming Simon’s true identity. He calls him first by his biological name – he is Simon, the son of Jonah. Then he gives him a new name, a new identity – Peter, the rock, the one who will build the church, the one whose authority will reach into heaven itself.

It isn’t much later when that same Peter is asked another question, three times. “Hey, aren’t you a disciple of that Jesus?” Peter had a quick answer then too, but it wasn’t the right one. His denial of His Lord seemed to fly in the face of the new identity Jesus had given him. But that wasn’t the end of the story. There were more questions to come.

After the crucifixion, after the resurrection, Jesus came and ate with Peter and a few other fishermen. Perhaps Peter had gone back to fishing, doubting that all those other dreams would ever come true. But Jesus broke bread with him again, and asked him another question, three times. “Simon, do you truly love me?”

I wonder how quick Peter was to answer? I wonder what he felt when he realized it was three for three? No doubt that question rang in his ears for the rest of his life, right up until he too was crucified.

It’s a question that should ring in our ears too, a question that should make us stop, examine our motives and our hearts. It’s the ultimate love question.

Do we truly love Him?

**********

This post excerpted from Focused Reflections, Marcia's devotional book for special occasions.
Visit her website to learn more about her writing and speaking ministry - http://www.vinemarc.com/

February is like Christmas time around my house. There is snow on the ground. Damp snow suits, like stockings hang over the register, and everywhere I look I see bright eyes shining with joy and wrapping paper littering the floor.

My daughter's birthday is this month. She turns six and she's smarter than I could have ever hoped to be at six. Sweeter, too. She makes me want to put half of Toy R Us on layaway just to show her an ounce of what she means to us. She giggles when she gets presents. She picks at the tape because the wrapping paper is precious to her - beloved. She will fold it and keep it in her room for months.

Only a few short days after our daughter turns six, my husband will turn. . . oh dear, can I say in polite company? Alas, he will be 46. I like to remind him that he will soon be facing the business end of 50. I'm younger, so I get away with it. I peer at his face, count the crows feet, give him a poke in the belly and say, "Well, at least you're not losing your hair." He rips the paper in one swoop, wiggling a finger into the gap then his whole hand and then ZIP - the present is bared, exposed. He leaves the paper on the floor. Later he will notice it and ask our son to put it in the recycle bin for him.

Our son. A few days after his father turns his shocking age, our son turns eight. He likes large packages, the bigger the better. We can't find a Lego set with enough pieces to keep him occupied for longer than an afternoon. His mind is organized on levels I can only dream about. He tears the paper too, but not on the seam like his father. He grabs onto the paper just anywhere, scrunches it like a cotton towel and yanks hard, taking a piece (big or small) of paper, and sometimes dropping the gift in the process. He is noisy, hollering out the name of the gift. But soon he will pick up his favorite gift, and sit beside me. He'll snuggle in and read the instructions to me; bits of paper strewn around us.

It's like Christmas. But I like that this fury of gifts happens in February - the month of valentines and pounding hearts and love. It's fitting. It's exactly how I feel.

Bonnie Grove is the author of Talking to the Dead a novel (David C. Cook) available for pre-order at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, and www.amazon.co.uk

and the author of Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You (Beacon Hill Press) - a book that, with the help of Bonnie, a former program developer and trainer, will transform your life. . . and you'll have a wonderful time doing it. Order today at www.amazon.com, www.amazon.ca, www.christianbooks.com www.barnesandnoble.com

Visit Bonnie at www.bonniegrove.com

Valentine's Day Bliss - Hird

My wife and I are coming up to our 32nd Marriage Anniversary on May 21st. I love my wife dearly, but Valentine’s Day Bliss does not happen by accident. It takes real work and determination.

If you are looking for a good Valentine’s Day flick, I recommend that you pop over to your DVD stores to pick up the Fireproof DVD. So often we act as if our marriages never need tune-ups...that somehow they can look after themselves. Valentine’s Day is a great opportunity to put our other distractions aside and treat our spouses as the most important persons on earth.

Kirk Cameron plays the part in Fireproof of Captain Caleb Holt, a dedicated firefighter who gives his best at work, but needs to pull up his socks at home. His wife Catherine (Erin Bethea) becomes fed up with Caleb’s negativity, and files for divorce. What follows is a challenging journey of falling back in love as Caleb takes the forty-day ‘Love Dare’. The sub theme of ‘Fireproof’ is the old firefighter’s motto: ‘Never leave your partner behind.’

Caleb tries hard to change how he treats his wife, but often faces discouragement. Firefighters, especially since 9/11, have been put on a pedestal by many. "How is it that I get respect everywhere I go except in my own house?" Caleb complains. His fellow firefighter Michael says to Caleb, "You'll run into a burning building to save people you don't even know, but you're going to let your own marriage burn to the ground?"

Caleb finally turns to his father saying "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?" It seems to his wife Catherine that Caleb cares more about his new truck, new house, and future boat than Catherine herself. Caleb's dad wisely tells him that "whatever you put your time and money into will be what you care about."

Listening to his father’s wisdom, he finds an inner strength and faith that gives him hope to keep trying to change. "I am sorry," Caleb poignantly tells Catherine. "I have trampled on you with my words and my actions." It is often so difficult for us as men to humble ourselves before our wives and admit that we were wrong. But what a Valentine’s Day difference that can make.

Mitch Temple of Focus on the Family said that, "This brilliantly produced film radiates messages of authentic determination, faith and hope, even for those of us who have felt like giving up on our marriages” Joe Leydon of Variety Magazine comments that "Cameron is genuinely compelling as Caleb, a work-obsessed firefighter on the verge of divorce from his neglected wife.”
In its first weekend, Fireproof grossed $6,836,036, putting it in fourth place at the box office. As of January 2009, Fireproof has an estimated domestic gross of $33,351,975, more than tripling the lifetime earnings of its predecessor, Facing the Giants. The average Hollywood-produced movie costs more than $100 million to make. Fireproof, as an independent film with only a $500,000 budget, proves that the little guy can still make a big difference.

To check it out for yourself, just click on YOUTube at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5lSu6GkC2k

Fireproof, while not a perfect film, reminds me that marriage is worth fighting for. Marriage is a gift from God that can revolutionize our lives, when we put our spouses first under God. My Valentine’s Bliss prayer is that marriages across Canada will become stronger, healthier and more caring.

The Rev Ed Hird+
Rector, St. Simon’s North Vancouver
Anglican Coalition in Canada
http://www3.telus.net/st_simons/cr0902.html

-an article originally published in the Feb 2009 Deep Cove Crier

Valentines Day - Aarsen

I have a box of chocolate hearts in my house that I bought for Valentine's Day. I love my husband and I know he loves me, but I also know that purchasing flowers or chocolate for a day that falls, this year, in the middle of a working week falls below buying an orbit motor for his maintainer but barely above buying bottled water. I learned this after many years of marriage. I also learned not to turn Valentine's Day, or my birthday, or Christmas or our anniversary, into a test of his affection for me. He is a pragmatic man and the purchase of yet another consumable that usually comes over packaged is just such a waste for him. If I want chocolates or flowers, I buy them myself. This system works for both of us. I have the things I like and he's off the hook. I have had it said that maybe that's why I write romances as well as women's fiction. So I can live out my fantasies and create the kind of man I would like to be married to. Possibly. However, I also like to think that in my books, my hero is a man much like my husband. Pragmatic and yet with enough romance in him to satisfy my readers. My heroes are the kind of men who buy garage door openers for their sweetheart's birthday. My heroes are the kind of men who are baffled when faced with women's tears, but will learn, like my husband has, to simply hug, pat on the back and keep the questions to a vague, "How are you doing?" Maybe they'll buy flowers, if I let them. But the most important aspect of my men is that their heart might not be on their sleeve, but like my husband, it is in the right place. And every time I push that button on my visor and that door to my garage magically opens, I love my husband just a little bit more.

Carolyne Aarsen

Love and Chocolate

Love and chocolate—I can’t think of a better reason to declare February 14 as an official winter holiday. For the moment, I’ll skip over divulging details about those whom I’ve loved and my weakness for chocolate to talk about some of the people who came to my mind when I thought of Valentine’s Day.

The valentine that brought me the most smiles was sent by a lady named Maizie to her husband who was a construction worker. I can still remember this gentleman’s face when he came to our home to pick up his mail that day. “Oh, a letter from Maizie!” he exclaimed as a slow grin spread across his weathered face. His tall frame blocked out the light from the winter sunshine as he stood in front of the kitchen window in order to see the words. Much to the amusement of this nine year old, he read his card out loud, “Are you my little pigeon? Are you my little dove? Are you my little sweetheart I’m always thinking of?” His smile grew broader and broader with each line but when he turned the page the smile disappeared. He started to shake and within seconds his smile was replaced by a thunderous belly laugh. “No, you old crow,” he choked out the words as he tried to read what was written on the second page.

The valentine I wish I was able to send would go to my first teacher, Mrs. Richardson. While demonstrating her care and patience for her first graders, she helped every small boy and girl in her class decorate large envelopes in which to put their valentines. When I look back on our classroom celebrations I can’t help but have a strong suspicion she was the person who stuffed our envelopes to overflowing after one youngster boasted, “I’ve got more valentines than you have.” His taunting remarks caused one of the less popular children to cry but the day we opened our envelopes, no one child had more valentines than their classmates.

Of course I’ll give a special valentine to the person who became a lifelong friend after seven of us took a road trip in a Volkswagen in the days before mandatory seatbelts. Three years later this friend became my husband and we’ve celebrated by sharing many valentines ever since.

But besides sending out messages, I’ll spend some time to look at a few I’ve received over the years. One I treasure is a little note written by my great grandmother on the back of a yellowing church envelope. In it she tells us she is leaving her bible as the best heritage she can give and she urges her children and grandchildren to look to it to find guidance for their lives. In following her advice I have found words that express the greatest love of all. Today I join in prayer with St. Paul and use his words to express my wish for each of you on this Valentine’s Day.

And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:18, 19 NLT)

Elaine Ingalls Hogg - author, speaker
http://elainehogg.tripod.com/