Love Slave

February is the month of expressing love. What a fun opportunity we have to tell that very special someone in our lives just how much we really care. Hard as it may be, we try to find the just right gift and card that says "I love you, I am committed to you, you are all I want and need." And, "I really appreciate you!"

          I found that card a little while back, at the Senior Citizens Center nonetheless, while having lunch with my 74 year old mother. For reals, as today's young people would say. We were in the food line and I decided to pick through the card rack while we waited. There it was! It had all the right colors (even though it didn't mention Valentine's Day), a bouquet of roses (my husband's favorite flower) and some pretty fun words that included "hitting the thack and doing it til we're thore." (A very important expression of love and respect.) Did I mention there was a duck on the front?

          I have a tendency to be way to serious, especially in my writing. Lightening up is something that I have to work hard at. Although living for Jesus is what life is all about, I'm sure you all would like to have a few more practical applications to life's situations and circumstances. Because after all, practical application is of God. The book of Proverbs is mostly, quite nearly, just about totally nothing but practical application. So for February's Beauty Tip you get to see a little bit of me that struggles to come out.

          Feb's Beauty Tip consists of a month's worth of love expressions for your mate. I want you to have fun with the one you love. Pray that God would enable you to live, laugh and love in new ways; really enjoying each other. And remember, your Valentine celebration does not have to be on Valentine's Day. Be flexible.

          I've listed several love expressions that are inexpensive, practical and shout out, "Hey Babe, I'm glad you're mine!" If you don't find a few that will fit your relationship, then perhaps these listed will at the very least get you thinking about ways that you can say, "I love you."

• Write your spouse a playful note. (If it is sexual, be sure to follow through).
• Make his/her favorite dessert. If there is no expressed favorite, chocolate anything is usually good.
• Light some candles at bedtime; this always says, "I'm ready."  
• Prepare a romantic Valentine meal for the two of you. It doesn't necessarily have to be what you eat as much as the mood that you set.
• Buy a new nightie and give it to him as his Valentine gift. And then be sure to put it on!
• Spray your pillows with a fragrance he/she loves.
• Watch a favorite movie of his/hers together.
• Leave a special message on the bathroom mirror. (Lipstick,  melted chocolate or window chalk work great. When it is time to clean the mirror, you be sure to be the one to clean it.  
• Hire a babysitter (or recruit a family member or friend) and go out. Even one hour makes a big difference in a marriage.
• Give your sweetie some sweets. Kisses, Hot Tamales, Slow Pokes (ha ha, pun intended).
• Do something together that is very special to the other. (Go for a walk, read a book out loud, sit side-by-side, sit face-to-face, say the other's name followed by "I love you", lay on the couch together and do nothing.
• Find a good book that gives 101 ways to say I love you. Tell your significant other to pick out ten of those expressions and then get creative in your execution of them.
• Speak kindly, be supportive of, and refuse to complain.
• Offer to do a chore for the other; make dinner, empty the trash for a week, give the dog a bath.
• Find some good 70's love songs and dance in the kitchen together.
• Hold hands.
• Engage in conversation.
• Refuse to be offended.
• Laugh with your mate. People enjoy laughter; it works like good medicine for the soul.

          Throughout Scripture we are commanded to love: love God, love others. Valentine's Day is a day set aside for the express purpose of showing love. But what many of us miss is that we need to express love everyday; selfless, unconditional love. If we're waiting to say "I love you" on February fourteenth then we have missed the meaning of love. We should become love slaves; servicing those we love with perseverance, passion and purpose. Never giving up, no matter how our love is received or perceived and never giving in to the ever taunting demand of self. A pure heart with pure motives will always reap a great reward if it does not give up.

          I hope that you will put this Beauty Tip into practice. Use the month of February to say "I love you," in very special ways all month long.

Sweet blessings to you and your God given, significant other,
Amanda