Valentine's Day . . .

Well, Ladies, like it or not Valentine's day is upon us. My to-do list this week includes helping my daughter make 21 little valentines for her classmates and finding my sweetie some little something that says I-am-still-glad-your-mine, without causing him to gag. The holiday is very commercialized, but it doesn't have to be something that we as Christians can't redeem and use to highlight the glory of the Lover of our souls . . . 

So I thought I would take my turn blogging this week to throw out some ideas and, hopefully, get some from you too!

First, I want to challenge you to take some time -not just on the 14th- but to really value your spouse. While all our husbands like to feel loved, they really need to feel respected. So gals, how do you do that? I must confess I am not as consistent in this as I would like to be. But here are some things that I try to do:

• Keep a fresh pitcher of sweet tea in the fridge
  
• Write little notes in dry-erase marker on his bathroom mirror
• Tuck a little note and "surprise" goodie in his overnight bag when he must travel
• At least have a plan for dinner, if it is not already started when he comes in the door
• Try to look "decent" when he comes home for lunch, even if I have been scrubbing and cleaning all morning long
• Watch for his favorite chips to go on sale, buy them and pull them out after my daughter goes to bed so he doesn't have to share them if he doesn't want to

Your husband might not appreciate any of these things, or he might. There might be other things that he would appreciate more. He might not say thank you or give any kind of reciprocal show of affection, but that shouldn't be your motivation. I try -sometimes better than others- not to make it mine. 

So, what are your ideas? I am always looking for new ways to let him know I love and respect my sweetie. Let's see if we can help each other out and come up with some great ideas for our husbands for Valentine's Day.