Monday, February 13, 2012

things He loves.

last night in my “race to the last minute” kind of way i was in the kitchen pouring chocolate over pretzels for the littlest blessings class today. i was almost tempted to pretend that she had slept in and not send her to class at all. all to avoid the dreaded valentines sugar up my child day party. i was willing to forego the “mom of the year” award and pretend like this day never happened. this isn’t a new feeling. valentines day and i really have never seen eye to eye. like i would rather pet a cat then celebrate it. (thank you francis chan) but as i was signing her name to all of the bags of sugared pretzels i realized how sad it made me.

you see thousands of miles away there are little brown eyes that have never known a valentines day. and my heart aches at this reality. but not because of a broken heart. but because my heart has learned to be broken for what breaks HIS. this year as i sit down to write my love letters to my four blessings i know that some are missing. i want so desperately to be writing more letters to more little blessings. until then. i will fight for you. i will pray for you. i will ache for you. i will cry for you. i will love you. i will defend you.

one of my closest friends is also in the waiting. she has been waiting way longer than we have for her daughter to come home. there is not a day that goes by that my heart does not break for her. break for the space she feels inside. break for the passion and fire she conveys in her faith. break for the child that she needs in her home. and this valentines day too means something different for her.

so this dreaded day has actually made me realize that i want to celebrate. celebrate and pray for what breaks Christ’s heart. to share the love that only He can give.

in honor of this day i have some huge. i mean huge giveaways….

1.crazy love- by francis chan ( how can i not give this book away. it rocked my world. so only read if you are ready to have your life turned upside down.if not go ahead and keep reading books that tell you that you are amazing.)

2. ugandan beaded necklace….gorgeous!!!!

3. a signed copy of love you more by jennifer grant. ( this is a heart tugging story of adoption,parenting, and motherhood.) love this girl!

to enter either leave a comment below or leave a comment on my facebook page. I am blessed to have this opportunity to share with you how we have decided to celebrate valentines around here….

love to you.

4 comments:

Sue Humes said...

Sheli, Praying that your other blessings can come home. Thank you for the bigger perspective on Valentines Day.

Kori said...

Will be praying!

amy wolgemuth bordoni said...

You have a beautiful heart, Sheli. Praying with you that you will soon have more love notes to write. xo

Thea Bradford-Lesnik said...

You are a special woman! :)