Better than chocolate

I'm amazed by my husband at times.

He knows that healthy food has been my pursuit for quite some time now and to that end he gave me a very thoughtful Valentine's gift - a beautiful bouquet made out of fruit. With just a touch of chocolate on the strawberries!

Incredible Edibles

This gift is a close second to the toilet I got for Valentine's Day  ....which is also a great gift if you eat a lot of fruit!

If we have a thoughtful someone in our lives, we are reminded of our appreciation of them at Valentine's Day. I'm reminded that almost one year ago, my husband rode an ambulance to the hospital with some very scary symptoms and remained there for several very long days while every test in the book was run on him. We are so grateful he is fine with no residual affects. In those moments of not knowing, I wrote here about the starry sky I looked up into and pondered our mortality.

We dare not 'cling' to our loved ones but instead, love and cherish them each day we have.

Even if we think we are 'alone', all of us have a Special Someone in our lives whether we are aware of Him or not. I am grateful beyond words and amazed by a love that is so deep......so wide.......and so great.

No more

Now I ask you girls.....is there any better Valentine's gift than a brand new, sparkling clean toilet?
That works?

Look at this beauty.

No more leaving the lid off the tank indefinitely and pulling the chain to make it flush (maybe).

No more desperately mopping up the floor when the toilet decides to overflow instead of flush.

No more 'guests' choosing to go somewhere else to use the toilet rather than chance using ours.

No more.

I had one other little surprise on Valentine's Day. I saw a robin! I had heard him a few days earlier, and though I'm quite sure our robins don't leave us for the winter, I was still so encouraged to see him!

Soon there will be

no more snow,
no more ice,
no more cold,
no more short days.
No more.

Just warmth and spring bulbs and lilacs and toilets that flush.

Heavenly.

Toilets and Valentines

My Valentine's gift this year is a toilet. My husband is the king of romance.

Oh it might not thrill you, but I'm quite excited about a new toilet...I've wanted a new one for several years. But for the last month the crappy thing has not been behaving very well, and when you only have one bathroom in the house, that's not a good thing. So we hope to buy a toilet this weekend and install it soon. My husband and plumbing don't get along so well, but installing a toilet's got to be better than fixing an old one!

Actually, my husband is the king of romance. He's always been one to try to pull off surprises and he's gotten better at it over the years - I used to be able to read the hints, but he's learned not to drop them anymore. He walked in the house Thursday night with a dozen red roses and fresh chocolate dipped strawberries....to avoid the rush and the cost. I thought I had him trained not to buy expensive roses, but he promises me he got a deal.

Even so, it's not the surprises that I love most about him. It's the every day guy that he is. We have been married for 28 years (gee, it used to be really old people that would say that.....we got married when we were both 12), and honestly, this man has brought coffee to my bedside every morning of our married life. He used to bring toast as well until I finally requested that he not bring it anymore - too many crumbs in the bed and it got tedious when the dog joined our family. Now, maybe he has always brought me coffee because I'm not a morning person and it's his way of saying, 'Get out of bed you lazy bum', but he's never given that impression. He's just kindhearted and unselfish....right down to the bones. Even on mornings he's left for work extra early and warns me that there won't be a coffee for me because he doesn't have time....I've often heard him coming into the house anyways and sneaking my Timmy's coffee onto the kitchen counter.

I have had mornings I've slept in and am rushing around to get out the door for work, mentally deciding to buy my lunch that day....only to see that even though he's been rushed too, he has prepared me a lunch and there it sits all packed for me to take!! And that was after he cleaned the snow off my car and warmed it up for me!

If I start dreaming of a project or changes I'd like done around the house, or somewhere I'd like to go, I've learned not to say anything unless I really, really want it. Otherwise, even if he disagrees at first, I suddenly realize he's begun to plot it out in his mind as to how he can make it happen. Before I know it, the project or trip is under way.

He is faithful and steady in all he does, consistent in devotional time with God, and loyal to family, friends, and church.

I am a selfish woman married to an unselfish man. I don't deserve him and don't know how he puts up with me, but I am most grateful for him!

Happy Valentine's Day sweetheart!

Thank you for all the big and little things you do, and for being you.

I love you!

Everybody say awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Quesadillas, Candles, and Cheesecake

Valentine’s Day is one of those over-rated days. There’s so much hype to it that all of a sudden some females can suddenly get upset on this one day of the year if they don’t get what they expected from their man. He may be kind and sweet all year, but on this one day he is supposed to bow to consumerism and spend 5 times as much as he should on roses, dinner, etc. just because it’s expected. By all means, appreciation needs to be expressed, but this day has become way over-commercialized like Christmas. My husband and I dined on quesadillas and cheesecake by candlelight….and chanted, ‘we’re saving $50’….but then we’ve been married for 26 years! We save the restaurant meals for nights when we don’t have to stand in line for 2 hours in a noisy place and be miserable because everyone says we should do it on February 14th.

Singles have the hardest time with this day…especially females…. but to singles, I would say….CELEBRATE! This is a day when your peers might like you to believe you have not arrived…you are missing something…you are not complete. On the contrary, whatever state you are in, especially as a Christian you can be completely content. Unfortunately, too many complain no matter where they are in life. If they are single, they want someone. If they have a partner, they want to be single again, or they are miserably unhappy. Know yourself. Don’t compare yourself to another living person or give in to pressure to what others want you to do. Enjoy being with yourself! Singleness affords unique freedom and opportunities and builds a strength of character not found in those who ‘cling’ to relationships simply because they are ‘needy’…..(which has nothing to do with love and everything to do with ‘me’). Needy people are always disappointed people. They depend on others to be happy and to build their self-esteem, then they panic when things fall apart. They crave attention and if they are able to attract it, it boosts their ego. You do not ‘need’ someone to complete you. Needy people tend to control, manipulate, and often selfishly hold other needy people’s emotions captive. Break-up leaves everyone shattered, untrusting, and prone to 'rebound' in order to stifle pain. Emotional dependency is draining in every way. I can’t believe God wants us to live like that! The purpose of a relationship that is leading to marriage is for you to genuinely respect and build-up that person to the very best they can be….no room there for satisfying neediness.





Know who you are, live like it, and love it! You are complete in Christ, and if He has someone for your future, believe me you don’t want that person until Christ has made you into the person He wants you to be, as He works on that significant other to prepare him/her for you. You will very much need that strength of character if one day you enter into marriage, and you will be a much better partner than someone who carries heavy emotional and physical baggage into a lifelong commitment. Marriage counsellors state that it is problems within dating relationships that are the source of the problems that come up later in marriage. Freedom from all of this emotional stuff is freedom indeed. And it’s a freedom worth celebrating! Heck, why not go out and buy yourself a single rose and/or a little dark chocolate…that’s not too commercialized….and hey…you’re WORTH it!!!!

"This is your life yet somehow

They decide what you’re about

You learn your lines and take your cues

But who are you listening to
You change your clothes and how you speak

And place your hope in what they think

Before you know, there’s no more you,

Who are you listening to
Have you noticed how much ya fear

All those voices you choose to hear
Who are you listening to

Who tells you what to do

Who rules your thoughts at night

And whose rules define your life
Oh, ya know it’s up to you

So who are you listening to

Who are you listening to
This is your life you have no choice

You will rely on someone’s voice

And it’s alright to question who

Who are you listening to
Do the words that you believe

Set your soul and spirit free
Who are you listening to

Who tells you what to do

Who rules your thoughts at night

Whose rules define your life
Oh, ya know it’s up to you

So, who are ya listening to

Who are you listening to
There’s a quiet voice whispering in your heart

It’s been there all along

It believes in you, it will tell the truth

Can’t you hear it call
Who rules your thoughts at night

Whose rules define your life
Oh,ya know it’s up to you

So, who are you listening to
Who are you listening to

Are you listening?????"

Ginny Owens - Who Are You Listening To?