Category Archives: creative ways to show love

Thirty Things to Do This Summer With Your Kids

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Posted by in creative ways to show love, Fun and Easy ways to Celebrate, Practical Help, Rest and Refreshment

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patrick hula hooping

Go to the beach or walk along a river in the sand.

Grow a tomato or sunflower plant.

Walk barefoot through the grass.

Build a sandcastle.

Play frisbee golf.

Grab a blanket, spread it out in the grass and cloud watch.

Bike five miles.

Go swimming.

Play with water balloons.

Soak in the bathtub with homemade summer bath salts.

Sketch a flower that is growing in your yard.

Bury a friend in the sand.
elkind2 child through sprinkler
Go fishing.

Sleep in your backyard, under the stars.

Visit the local library and sign your kids up for the summer reading program.

Swap a favorite book with a friend and read it.

Make a friendship bracelet and send it to your friend.

Have a watermelon seed spitting contest.

Have a high tea, only use iced-teas.

Make a root beer float.
images friends hands
Paint your fingernails with bright sparkly polish.

Watch the sunrise.

Learn to grill pizza crust.
Smores
Eat some fruit with fruit dip.

Make a collage out of old magazines.

Swing.

Skip stones at a lake.

Make your own popsicles.

Make a earring holder out of a branch.

Make peach lemonade.

Have a scavenger hunt.

Make a whirlpool in a kids pool or play Ice Cubes and Piggies Game.

Visit a flower garden and/or butterfly house.

Turn up the music and dance.

Play mini-golf.

Learn how to hula-hoop.

Create a sidewalk mural with chalk, use a tropical theme.
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Wake up at sunrise and take a picnic lunch to a park and watch the sunrise.

Look your kids in the eyes and tell them you are so happy they were born!

Miracles in the Mundane

20 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by in Changing the next generation, creative ways to show love, Holy Bible, Home Education, Sharing Jesus, Sticking through tough times, Strong families

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images.jpghelping hands

Sometimes in the midst of the mundane we discover a miracle.

I have been thinking of miracles as I make the one hour drive to visit my ailing and elderly mother each week. She needs me in the middle of the night and early and late and her need is a longed-for answer to prayer. She wants my help for the first time…ever. This is a miracle. And, like many miracles, it comes with hard work and inconvenience and letting important tasks go in order to accomplish the essential. Math facts and writing lessons get squeezed around the care of a little eighty-four year old lady who has independently and stubbornly refused our help…until now.

Because, for this season and time and place the miracle in our midst is my elderly mother who wants and needs our help, who welcomes a meal-time blessing and who recognizes her own need and allows us to meet it…and our help is where Jesus steps in. It’s been a long time and many years and we are witnessing a miracle.

Old age is the last great struggle for the soul who has run from the “Hound of Heaven.” Even though old age can bring such hardship and suffering, it is also God’s gift to those who are facing eternity. It is His reminder that the end is near. Oh, how He loves you and me.

“Christ is building His kingdom with earth’s broken things. Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed. Heaven is filling with earth’s broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious blessedness and beauty. He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and make it into a harp whose music shall be all praise. He can lift earth’s saddest failure up to heaven’s glory.”― J.R. Miller

Which Bible Verse Prompts You to Serve Others?

17 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Changing the next generation, creative ways to show love, Health, Holy Bible, Sharing Jesus, Thoughts and Prayers

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praying family hands

It’s a question that is being asked over at the Compassion International blog. I’ve joined the Blog Hop there and am just figuring out how to do it…so bear with me!

I’ve supported a child in Ethiopia through Compassion International for a number of years now and have decided that I want to participate as a blogger with this organization that does a pretty darn good job of helping children in poverty.

For He has said to me, “My power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I would rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

So, what bible verse? The verse I consider to be my “life verse” is 2 Corinthians 12:9. It’s a constant reminder to me that I’m weak, that I’m prone to all sorts of not-very-good tendencies and that there still lurks a little child deep within this middle-aged body.

I’ve never forgotten what it was like to be a child…have you? I hope not. I hope you remember that sheer terror you felt when you had displeased the special adult in your life or that over-the-top belief that magic could really happen and that the world was your oyster.

It’s important to remember what it feels like to be a child because when we look at a picture of a ragged little person in another country and of another race it’s easy to forget that that child is exactly the same kind of child that we once were. She still has hopes and dreams and fears and terrors. She still has that protective blindness of childhood and doesn’t really know how bad her life is because she is…a child.

I was sick a lot when I was a child because I was born with a heart defect. That was back in the Pleistocene age when doctors weren’t sure if they should operate on the hearts of infants so they waited until I was eleven to perform open heart surgery on me. The surgery and recovery were awful but I’ve gone on to live a healthy life and give birth to eight children.

Here’s the take-away lesson from that little story. I had no clue I was living a sickly, oxygen-deprived life up until I had the surgery because I’d never known anything different. Normal for me was sick so I didn’t expect much more than that.

The same goes for these precious babies and children struggling along in poverty. It helps me to remember that they are a bit blind to what they are experiencing, that their normal is simply, their normal. Their parents, however, may have much higher expectations for their life which must be sad. After all, isn’t that the ultimate pain for a parent? To know that they aren’t meeting the needs of their child?

That’s why I send a small amount of money off to Ethiopia to support a little girl named Miherit. I want to help her parents feed her and pay her school fees. I want to know that out of all we have, we haven’t forgotten the weak.

I want to please Jesus by becoming like a little child. I don’t ever want to forget what it felt like to be very weak and very sick and, yet, in love with life.

For He has said to me, “My power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I would rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ might dwell in me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

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Want to have the joy of sponsoring a child? Here are ten ways to choose a child to sponsor.

Of Nanny Goats and Carpet Shampooers

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in creative ways to show love, Inspirational Mama, Valentines Day

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images.jpg goat
The Day is almost upon us and a woman can hardly enter a grocery store or florist shop without bumping into a man with his arms full of flowers.

Have you ever noticed that a man holds a bouquet of flowers up and out from his body, kind of like an Olympic torch? Take a good look at the next man you see who has just purchased some Valentine’s flowers and see if you don’t catch a look of triumph and pride on his face.

That look of victory is there for good reason. After surviving the stress of Christmas, here come the Valentine’s Day ads. These ads are targeted at women but the pressure is on men. The message to men is clear, “Men, if you really love her you will buy her something…and that something will be very expensive.”

In the back of every good-hearted man’s mind there lurks that niggling question,
“Will flowers be enough? What if she is thinking jewelry?” Oh help me Lord!

Men have good reason to worry because, let’s be honest ladies, Valentine’s Day is a big deal for women. It’s a big deal for us because, way back in our minds we have this niggling little worry,
“Does he really love me? Is this love that we have ‘it’?”

We want that sweeping, swooning, love like we see in the movies (that’s why most marriage books are read by women and the chick-flick industry is going strong).

We also like foo foo and candy and sweet little nothings written on cards and carved into chalky tasting candy hearts and (if we’re honest with ourselves) we love the envious looks our friends and relations give us when the man in our life makes some crazy, creative, romantic gesture.

Valentine’s Day is fun. It’s romantic. And it puts a lot of pressure on our men.

As a younger woman, I put a lot of pressure on my husband.

I thought I knew what love looked like and the flowers he picked out of the New Mexico State University Agriculture garden for free did not look like love!

While I was busy getting my feelings hurt, I failed to notice all the ways that he showed real love to me.

He’s always defended me. He’s really good at that.

Over the years he’s worked at jobs he hasn’t particularly liked just to provide for us.

He gets angry and blows it…and apologizes.

He’s put his jeans back on in the middle of the night to go hunt up something at the store to make my pregnant stomach feel better and he’s done this more times than I can count.

He’s rented a carpet shampooer to clean baby vomit off the couches and ended up spending his one free weekend doing the entire house because I insisted.

He once brought home a pregnant nanny goat in the back of our mini-van because I got it into my head that our little acreage was The Little House on the Prairie except I forgot we didn’t have a truck or a trailer to transport the brainless mother-to-be. I’ve never forgotten the look on that poor man’s face as he drove up our driveway with the van full of excited children and a bleating goat. He had that what-has-she-gotten-us-into-now look…

He says those magic words to me, “What would you like me to make you to eat?” and then he makes it…better than a restaurant.

He thanks me, often, for giving him eight children. That really makes my heart go pitter pat.

My husband has also gotten really good at giving special gifts and beautiful cards. Those are fun and wonderful and sweet but they don’t really prove his love like all the other things he does.

We have that swooping, swooning, epic kind of love but it looks and feels different than the movies. It is better. Real love means commitment and forgiveness and sacrifice and being there.

So what if he buys you a new set of dish towels for a gift and doesn’t bring you a soppy card or a box of chocolates? I’ll just bet that the man in your life is doing an awful lot of things right.


“When over the years someone has seen you at your worst, and knows you with all your strengths and flaws, yet commits him or herself to you wholly, it is a consummate experience. To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved is, well, a lot like being loved by God. It is what we need more than anything.”
― Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriageimages.jpg old man kissing old woman hand

Give him a big kiss and tell him that out of all the men in the world, he is your hero.
Choose to have a wonderful Valentine’s Day.

25 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Couples from Family LIfe Today

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in creative ways to show love, Fun and Easy ways to Celebrate, Gifts to Make, Practical Help, Valentines Day

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25 Valentine’s Day Ideas for Couplesby Mary May Larmoyeux from Family Life Today
helpmeet_verseIs it more important to love … or to be loved?

Most of us would agree with George Eliot’s words, “I like not only to be loved, but also to be told I am loved.”

Valentine’s Day is the occasion when you can experience both. We asked FamilyLife Facebook friends and Marriage Memo readers to share some of their favorite Valentine’s Day ideas.

With a little help from our friends, here are 25 creative ways to tell your spouse, “I love you.”

1. On small pieces of paper, write down every kind of kiss that you can think of (examples: passionate, on the cheek, etc.). Then fill an inexpensive red felt bag with your “kisses” and give it to your spouse. Ask your spouse to pull several pieces of paper from the felt bag, and then give your sweetheart whatever kind of kiss is described.

2. Make a book about why you love your spouse and why you are thankful for him/her. The woman who sent this idea wrote, “He loved it! Said it was the best gift he has ever gotten. And it helped me to focus on the things I love about my husband and not his shortcomings.”

3. Take your sweetie on a scavenger hunt. Ask him/her to answer riddles to find the clues to items that you placed somewhere around town. The last item should give instructions that lead to your Valentine’s Day activities.

4. After enjoying a candlelight dinner for two at home, give your spouse a massage and watch a romantic movie. The woman who suggested this wrote, “Last Valentine’s Day when I got home from work, my husband … had our bedroom set up with a candlelit table for two. He is NOT a cook but he made an awesome meal … grilled steak, sautéed shrimp in lemon, garlic, and butter, a vegetable, and [he] bought a chocolate fountain that was flowing—surrounded by fresh fruit for dipping. After dinner he led me over to his homemade massage table. … We ended our special night with a romantic movie.

5. Surprise your spouse with a special getaway together. The man who suggested this made reservations at a bed and breakfast, arranged for childcare, asked for time off from work for himself and his wife, and packed his and her bags. When he asked his wife to go to lunch on Valentine’s Day she was in for a wonderful surprise. “The little bit of effort I put into that weekend paid off huge for weeks to come.”

6. Give your wife a dozen roses. On each stem attach a note for a future date—to do something that she would enjoy (example: Go to the symphony).

7. If possible, go on a date with your spouse to a restaurant that you enjoyed when you first met. After you order your meal, take some time to write down favorite memories from the past year. Then share your lists.

8. Have 11 roses delivered to your wife, and then give her a 12th yourself while reading her a love poem.

9. Fill a large box with helium balloons and special gifts for Valentine’s Day. The woman who suggested this said that her gifts included “new sleep shorts for him and a new nightgown for me, a box of chocolate-covered strawberries and red napkins … some new candles, and a romantic CD. He got the hint. And loved the weekend.”

10. Create an intimate Valentine’s Day evening at home, without the children. The woman who suggested this idea said that she and her husband “enjoyed planning the menu, shopping for the meal, and ultimately preparing the meal together. Cooking to soft, romantic music can really be a turn on! While dining, the same soft, romantic music is a wonderful mood-setter. Dinner was followed by just the two of us having the whole dance floor, our den, to ourselves. I won’t say what all this led to, but it was a truly romantic night that would not have happened at the local restaurant!”

11. Order food from a take-out restaurant and have a picnic for all the Valentines in your family on your living room floor. The person who suggested this said, “The kids look forward to this every year. When we tried to change it, they wouldn’t allow it … it has become a tradition. The kids see the value of family and a loving marriage.”

12. Privacy and weather permitting, watch a romantic movie on your deck or patio.

13. If you are separated across the miles, send a care package filled with things that are red.

14. Make a meal with symbols of love. Examples: Write I love you with string beans, make a tart in the shape of a heart …

15. Hide little heart candies in your spouse’s shoes, coat, car, etc. The woman who suggested this said that she’s been doing this for decades. “Now a couple of the grandkids help me with delight.”

16. Wives, show up at your husband’s office before lunch. Call him from the parking lot and tell him you are going to take him for a lunch rendezvous and that you will be waiting for him whenever he can take a break. Wear a nice outfit and tell him you have something sexy on underneath for when he gets home. Take him to a nice place for lunch and back to the office. Give him some great kisses telling him how glad you are to be married to him, and tell him you will be waiting for him when he gets home.

17. Fill a jar with Valentine candy and notes for your spouse. Examples of notes are: Good for a backrub, 10 kisses, etc. Notes could also express your love and respect: “I am so glad that God blessed my life with such a great husband like you.” Individually roll each note and tie it with a ribbon.

18. Surprise your spouse by taking a vacation day from work and enjoy Valentine’s Day at home. Have a relaxing morning together on the porch, deck, or patio. Then go to a favorite restaurant for lunch. The man who suggested this idea had also reserved a spa treatment and tanning session for his wife. “While she was doing that,” he says, “I went home and made her a special dinner.”

19. Write a poem for your spouse and frame it.

20. On individual note cards, write why you love your spouse. Insert these cards in a small photo album. The woman who suggested this idea began her album with a honeymoon picture and introductory note card, and ended it with a love note.

21. Surprise your husband when he comes home from work on February 14. Place a welcome sign on the kitchen table and leave a trail of red foil-wrapped Hershey kisses to your bedroom.

22. With roses in hand and permission from your wife’s boss, go to her workplace and read a love poem to her. The woman who shared this idea said, “I am a teacher in an inner city school. Last year my husband dressed in my favorite suit and tie, came to my school with roses in hand. He got permission and assistance from the office staff to open the speaker system into my classroom and proceeded to read a long and beautiful love poem to me. He then came to my classroom and presented me with the bouquet of roses which I received while wiping my tears of joy and love for this wonderful man whom I have been married to for just under 30 years.”

23. Make a special “14 Reasons I Love You” Valentine’s Day breakfast for your sweetheart. On his/her plate, leave a letter or card listing 14 reasons that you love your spouse.

24. If possible, send a card postmarked in a town that has a romantic name such as Loveland, Colorado; Valentine, Texas; or Romance, Arkansas.

25. After your spouse goes to bed, tape notes to his car’s steering wheel with reasons that you love him, or decorate the bathroom mirror with lipstick kisses or Valentine’s window clings.

Have fun on February 14, and remember: Love is not meant to be given and received on just Valentine’s Day. Instead, it’s to be practiced every single day of the entire year.

©2013 by FamilyLife. All rights reserved.