Love is everything I am not.

I am impatient & unkind. I am jealous and boastful and proud and rude. I demand my own way, rejoice about injustice and do not rejoice when truth wins. I give up, lose faith and am never hopeful. I know nothing of endurance.

I’m a broken, wrecked guy who, on my own, can do nothing remotely close to love.

Thankfully, God knew this when he formed me. He had a plan for my life. He ultimately sent his son Jesus to pay for the penalty of my sin (John 3:16). And it is only through my relationship with Jesus that I am able to love. The very nature of love comes from God. (1 John 4:16).

May God pour his love on my life. I need it desperately. May He become so much more in my life and me so much less. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

On Sunday mornings, I teach a bible study to a group of married couples. Our class is called Marriage Matters. They are a wonderful group of people who faithfully attend to learn more about their relationship with Christ and with their spouse.

For the last couple of years, I’ve issued a Valentine’s Challenge. We alternate challenging the husbands and wives. Here’s the premise:

Do something extra special for your spouse for Valentine’s Day. It has to be special enough for your spouse to send me an email with the details (G rated, of course!). My wife and I take all of the emails, compare them and determine a winner.

Sounds easy, enough right? It has been a joy to see husbands and wives get outside of their comfort zone and do something fun & exciting for Valentine’s Day. Flowers & candy won’t get the prize. Neither will a mushy card. Here are some examples (and winners):

A husband went through the photo albums of previous vacations. He selected several photos and made a slideshow for each vacation. Then over the course of several nights leading up to Valentines, he prepared a meal centered around an enjoyable meal from the vacation. While eating, they watched the slideshow on the TV and reminisced about the vacation. So while they were eating steak, they talked about the great steak they had in New York several years ago and looked at pictures from their time in New York. Fun, huh?

One husband started 26 days before Valentine’s Day and gave his wife a handwritten note each day using a letter from the alphabet. A for adore, B for Beautiful, etc. No money spent, but the wife was ABSOLUTELY blown away. This husband was not a “writer” by nature. He went outside of his comfort zone and that decision benefited his marriage.

So today is Thursday, February 12. You only have tomorrow & Saturday. But I want to encourage you to get outside of your comfort zone and do something extraordinary for your spouse.

Also, I’d like more examples. What have you done, or heard about, that was extra special on Valentine’s Day?