February is the month of LOVE, according to Hallmark, yet it is a great reminder to help us focus on love in our home and relationships. Here are a few great ways to share Love as well as promote a healthy and peaceful atmosphere in your home.
Consider creating an inviting and loving environment in the safe haven of the walls of your home.
- This is a great time of year to clear clutter and get organized. Start small , with one room or closet at a time, so as not to add to your overwhelming schedule. I find that I have great peace, joy and am able to be more “creative” when I am not surrounded by chaos and clutter.
- Bring a splash of the Love colors, red/pink, to your home by adding a flower arrangement to your table, a string of paper hearts across your window, or red berries to your meals (sprinkle across salads, your breakfast or on top of cupcakes etc…)
- Light the fireplace or candles and have a family night by the fire: enjoy dinner there, play a game, talk about what you love about each member. Even if your kids don’t chime in or think it’s cool - do it anyway, they will remember your words of affirmation! You are building positive memories for them to use in the future when they begin building their own families.
- Date Night by the firelight with your spouse: make a dinner that is a favorite of the two of you, something you don’t make often because the kids don’t enjoy it. Set up a sleepover for the kids or let them watch a movie with their favorite treats in another area of the home. And by all means turn off the TV! Listen to your favorite music, dance to the tunes of your youth, laugh, reconnect… Remember why you “fell in love” in the first place.
- Focus on what you LOVE each day: Instead of your complaints, seek 3 to 5 things you are grateful for and PRAISE GOD, as well as your loved ones!
- Send a LOVE note, complete on a paper heart, in your children’s and spouse’s lunches. Or leave it on their pillow or bathroom mirror.
- Seek to find something new that you LOVE about your family members and TELL them.
- Be kind to yourself, instead of seeing all your faults, look for the things you LOVE about yourself. Write them down, so you can ponder them when you have a bad day.
- In your daily devotion time focus on LOVING GOD and Praising HIM before your time of supplication and intercession. Daily, write down the attributes of God and the ways HE Loves and shows HIS Love for us
- Start a Prayer Circle of LOVE around something that is heavy on your heart: an unfulfilled dream/passion; a loved one that is walking astray from The Lord or is unsaved; ask HIM to give you passion for the plan that HE has for you, etc…
February may be a short month on the calendar , but in Michigan it can be long, cold, dreary and grey… All the more reason for us, as Christian women, wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends to focus on and create an atmosphere of LOVE in every area of our lives!
LOVE & BLESSINGS!
-Heidi Wilt
