A Heart of Gold

Hi everyone!

Wow, I cannot believe it has been a year since I last posted something here.  I have spent the last year writing and doing so many other creative things, and I think I was also waiting for just the right piece to come to me before I posted again.  

This post really has been a year in the making, but after all, good things come to those who wait. I think the post precious gift that I have been given this Valentines is that I now know what a heart of gold looks like.  

Don’t get ahead of yourself, no, I haven’t found my knight, and no, the man on the white horse has not shown up.  What has happened though is that I have been able to witness what someone with a heart of gold truly looks like.  It’s kind of funny actually.  

I have decorated with hearts for as long as I have been keeping house, and last year I added these precious gold ones to my home.  But it wasn’t until this morning as I drank my coffee that these beautiful pieces seemed to help my post fall into place. 

Over the past several weeks I have been putting together a surprise, or “happy” as my mom use to say.  A “happy” is something that you send to someone for no reason; something unexpected, just to make them smile.  Simultaneously the sermon series at church has been on speaking positive or life into our own lives and into the lives of other people.  

As different people have come to mind, I have mailed off “happy” gifts far and wide in the past couple of weeks, but the remains of one still laid on my desk.  And as I looked at the little map note-cards and the positive words that I knew my hurting friend needed to hear, what I also could see was a map that clearly pointed to a heart of gold.  It’s funny how those with the most pure hearts never see it for themselves. 

So I would encourage you this Valentine’s Day not to just focus on the candy or the flowers, but to look at the hearts of those around you, the hearts that are hurting; the hearts that bless you; and the hearts that do not realize that they are made of gold and tell them.  You never know, you may just be someone’s ray of sunshine on a cold and rainy Valentine’s Day. 

However, if you are the one that fits that description…if you are the one that needs positive reassurance, then by all means don’t be afraid to make you own little set of note-cards to adorn your own home with…I did!  After all, as a wise friend recently said, “Sometimes you have to be your own cheerleader!” 

Happy Valentine’s Day dear ones!

What's Your Word??

Hi everyone!

This is one Valentine's Day that I couldn't wait to get here!!!  Not because I have any earth shattering news or new love in my life, but because this holiday just seems to totally embody the whole essence of my little cottage.

For years I dreamed of her; for months I wrote of her; and then the pieces of the puzzle all fell into place YEARS sooner than I ever dreamed possible.

As I went about writing my favorite bible verses on the studs of her walls I felt such peace. I wanted this to be a place where when I create I am just wrapped in God's Word.  After I got the tin ceiling home, I also learned that it was approximately 100 years old and came out of a friend's great-grandfather's barn. If that tin could talk, oh the stories it could share with me as I write my own.

So in the middle of the entire process of finishing off the inside I took a break one night to watch Eat, Pray, Love for probably the 20th time.  Hey, what can I say, I love chick flicks!!  However, in the movie they ask Liz what word would she use to represent herself - not what she did for a living, but word embodied her as a person.

For weeks I had been gathering things to go inside my cottage and one of the elements included three little signs that had the saying my kids told me related to love.  I have always collected hearts an signs that say love over the years too. After watch that movie though it hit me - my word is LOVE.

This isn't just romantic love, it's the love I feel toward my children & friends; toward my colleagues & my students;  toward the things I create & the gifts I give to other people.

No, my life has not been easy, but NO matter what is thrown at me, I ALWAYS have LOVE.

So why some singles despise Valentine's Day, I embrace her, cherish her, and use the day to create things of love that I can share with the world.

Until tomorrow...

Helping a Heart to Heal

Hi everyone,

As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches several things have come to mind.  While some fellow broken heart-ed souls dread this day, I cannot help but want to search for something more.  A Hallmark Channel addict, I am just not one to let my broken heart become a bitter heart.  So as usual I set out on my quest to research and find out more about The Day!  

Our Lady of the Rosary Library shares with us the Story of St. Valentine.

"The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian Martyr.   The emperor was Claudius II.   The Christian was Valentinus.

Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods, and had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians.   But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ; not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs.   He was arrested and imprisoned.

During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened.   Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons.   She had been blind since birth.   Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind.   Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her.   He described the world of nature to her.   He taught her arithmetic and told her about God.  She saw the world through his eyes, trusted his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.

"Yes, my child, He hears each one."

"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night?  I pray that I might see.   I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.

"Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!"  She knelt and grasped his hand.

They sat quietly together, each praying.   Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell.   Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see!  I can see!"

"Praise be to God!"  Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer.

On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God.   He signed it, "From your Valentine."  His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory.   He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome.   It is said that Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave.   Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.   On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world."

By taking the time to research the story behind this day I now come away with something so much sweeter than chocolate and so much more beautiful roses.  For what I have learned is that Saint Valentine was not trying to make a name for himself or become a saint.  This was a humble Christian man who listened to The Lord’s calling on His life and was willing to go where the Holy Spirit led him, even if it meant death.  How many of us are willing to truly listen to the gentle whisper of the Lord and follow it, even if the end result could possibly mean death.  Kayla Mueller was also willing to listen to The Lord and wanted nothing more than to help others, even though it meant that her young life would be cut short. 

How many of us are willing to help others at any cost?  How many of us love our fellow man, even to the point of death?  How many of us are patient enough to listen to The Lord's answers to our prayers?  And how many of us have the faith of Julia?  The kind of faith that Matthew 17:20 tells us about:

"if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."  

So as Valentine’s Day comes near I encourage you not to focus on the flowers and candy, but rather on what do you have to offer those around you that are hurting and need to know you care.  A note to let someone know that you are praying for them may be the only Valentine they receive, but you never know, it just may be what The Lord knows they need in their life - it may be their "mustard seed."