I Love You
I grew up in a family where we said, “I love you,” often. No matter if we spoke on the phone ten times a day, we always ended every phone call this way.
Parting ways for a short while? Yep, a hug and the words “I love you” were necessary.
I have carried this over to my own little family now, and I make sure to tell my family this often.
They are only three small little words, but oh the meaning behind them!
It has always been important to me to say those words, but it goes further than that. I hope that those in my presence feel my love for them; in the things I do, the way I carry myself around them, and in how I care for them. That, to me, is one of the most important things in life is to make sure your loved ones know without shadow of a doubt how important they are to you and how much they mean to you!
We never know what will happen in the seconds after our loved ones close the door and begin to walk away from the car or the house. Will it be a regular, normal day when they will return home at the same appointed hour they usually do? We hope so! But then working in the line of business that I do, we see tragedy strike at any moment. No one is immune to it. Our loved ones could be snatched right from our lives so fast, and nothing will ever be the same again. That is why I stress to EVERY one around me to be certain you speak those words straight from your heart and show your loved ones how you feel!
Don’t reserve those words or your actions for a special occasion. Every day we wake up in the morning, open our eyes, and breathe in … that’s when you should begin your day by striving to ensure your loved ones know how you feel about them.
Friends that say, “I love you,” before they hang up are also so very important. This isn’t just reserved for family members. Oh no. I have a friend in Arizona that ALWAYS makes sure to tell me, as well as a friend in California that will say it each and every time as well. These two ladies are so dear to my heart, and I smile each time they say it. We are always so happy to hear from the other, so our conversations begin with joy, yes … and then they end with joy in our hearts as well when those words are spoken.
My daughters, no matter how old they get, will be told repeatedly how much they mean to me … whether it’s “cool” for their friends, coworkers, or strangers passing by to hear or not. (Flash back to my teenagers seeming mortified in front of others, but I didn’t seem to mind. I did it anyway!)
“I love you.”
Three powerful words that have the ability to improve someone’s mood immediately, have a smile plastered on the recipient’s face, create butterflies stirring in their very soul, and/or at times may send tingles down to their toes.
Speak those words often, but make sure to show it as well!
Journaling
My oldest daughter has a wide variety of Sharpie pens in the prettiest colors. She also has gel pens, calligraphy pens, and quite frankly, a pen obsession!
She loves doodling on any scrap piece of paper, and just recently she started writing cards with her calligraphy pen set.
She has always had an obsession, but now there is a full drawer of her nightstand dedicated to nothing but pens! I kid you not!
With Bible journaling being the latest trend, she is the first person I thought of when I saw these beautiful art journals! I smiled thinking of the fun she would have writing in the prettiest of handwriting, with the determined look she always gets on her face when she’s striving to get every letter just right!
She has always been artistic, as is my youngest daughter as well.
Perhaps they will share the journals together? Or, maybe we will choose which of the three is our absolute favorite, that way we can each have a journal to write our deepest thoughts in as we feel lead to do so.
OR
Wouldn’t these journals make the perfect Christmas gifts?! YES, THEY WOULD!
If you have someone on your Christmas list just like my daughter, let me assure you, your friend or family member will be in writing/doodling heaven with these art journals!
I loved running my hand over the hard cover of these journals, feeling the indentions of each word as I looked at the array of colors on the front. One journal in particular has a turquoise rubber band type closure on the right end, which I took great pride in slipping off and running my fingers through the pages. There are pages within this journal with samples of art, with instructions and places in which to try your hand at illuminating your journal with art!
The second journal I picked up is a coloring Bible journal. Oh, the fun one could have with that. Like a little child that sits before their coloring books, determined to color within the lines and have the colors jump off of the page at you. I can see us relieving stress by coloring as we once did when we were young. Who doesn’t need a little childlike fun in their lives?!
The final journal that I waited until the very last to admire was Faith & Lettering. And it did not disappoint! The hot pink spine of the book also matches the hot pink FAITH banner across the cover. That is what first caught my eye, but as I looked further, I noticed it also has an elastic black band at the top of the spine to secure your finest writing pen. There are pages within this journal that remind me of graph paper with the dots, which allows you to unleash your creative talent within those very pages. They have styles of lettering you can copy, with places for you to practice until you perfect the creative writing style. You can choose bible verses to write as creatively as you desire, or letters from a poem to make them look so elegant on the pages of this journal. I can see hours of meditating on God’s word and just being One with Him, as you write out bible verses.
I’ll never forget my grandmother’s bible. Although the cover was worn, you knew it was because she carried that bible faithfully to church with her, and she used it throughout the week studying her bible lessons. While she didn’t doodle in her bible, she did write dates of sermons that she loved based on particular bible verses. She’d also write little prayers for her family in the margins. These things came to mind when I saw these journals.
To me, my bible was sacred. I feared I would tarnish it in some way if I wrote in it. Highlighting with pink seemed to be disgraceful, too, so I stayed safe with the yellow highlighter, if I dared to take anything to the pages within my bible. Now I don’t have to feel this way at all with the freedom these art journals provide!
Be sure to check them out at EllieClaire.com – they would be just PERFECT for the creative one in your life!
Burden
“I feel like I am the cause of all of this, and I don’t like it. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”
Someone spoke those very words to me just yesterday. I stopped for a moment because there have been times, I’m sure, in all of our lives when we’ve said or thought similar things.
Burden.
Typically a heavy load.
That’s the definition.
Are you carrying a heavy load, yourself, right this minute? Do you feel like you have this large suitcase full of burdens that you carry around with you every where; “baggage,” if you will. It really is hard carrying all of that around. It weighs so heavily on our shoulders, and we just want relief.
Someone, anyone, take this burden from me … relieve the burden on our hearts and minds.
And I know just the One that will do this; JESUS CHRIST.
If you pray and ask, God will reach down His Mighty Hand and calm the storms in your life. It may not be with immediate relief, but you will be strengthened while the storms in your life are weakening. He will make sure you are protected and safe, and He will lift the burdens you feel in your life.
Psalm 55:22
Turn your burdens over to the LORD,
and he will take care of you.
He will never let the righteous person stumble.
