A Valentine's Day Challenge {FREE Printable}

The Dreaded Pink Day

Quick: what comes to mind when you hear “Valentine’s Day”?

Roses?
Pink balloons?
Awkward valentine exchanges in 5th grade?
Candy hearts?
Warm fuzzy memories of romantic dinners?
High expectations of how your husband will (should?) surprise you?
Aching grief because you have no husband to surprise you?

I have yet to meet someone who absolutely LOVES Valentine’s Day. Most men I know strongly dislike it and associate the day with big spending and lots of guilt-tripping. Many women I know also dislike it because they get their hopes up only to be let down in one way or another.

What if we redeemed Valentine’s Day from the sappy greeting card aisle and instead used it to show Jesus’ love to the people surrounding us?

Because in the end, life (and Valentine’s Day) is not about us. It’s about loving people into the Kingdom of God.

Photo credit

In fact, that’s the point of Jesus’ last instructions before He showed us Ultimate Love by dying on the cross:

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
~John 13

A Valentine’s Day Challenge

Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be a dreaded holiday. It can actually be an opportunity to minister to people around us.

Here is my challenge to you:

Every day for the next 7 days, affirm the people you meet.

If you know me, you know I’m not a warm-and-fuzzy person, so this is something I really need to work on. To help me be more intentional,I created these {FREE} Printables for myself (and you!) that we can use to build people up.

“What I LOVE about you” cards–simple

“What I LOVE about you” cards–with lines

I’ve included two options: cards with lines and cards without lines, so you can write, doodle, or even sketchnote!

How can I use these cards?

I’m glad you asked! Fill out a card and surprise someone with random words of kindness!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

post some on the fridge for your kids
tuck one under your friend’s windshield wiper
hide one in your husband’s coat pocket
tape one to a coworker’s lunch box
place one in a neighbor’s mailbox
leave one in your mailbox with cookies for the mailman
drop one in the offering plate for your pastoral staff
send one to your mom in the mail

As you can see, the sky is the limit (or your ink cartridge–whichever gives out first).

I’m a big believer of speaking words of affirmation into the lives of my loved ones, but sometimes I forget. So this Valentine’s Day Challenge is for me just as much as it is for you.

What if this Valentine’s Day was less about me and what I want and more about how God can move through me to show Jesus’ love to the people He places in my life? That’s my prayer for this Valentine’s Day.

Now It’s Your Turn

To download the {FREE} Printables I’ve provided, simply click on the images above to go to the printable pdfs.

Don’t have a printer or you’re more of a hands-on person? Do something else–bake cookies for your kids’ teacher, leave an extra-large tip for the waitress, shovel your neighbors’ drive. The idea is to show love every day.

Are you in?

Let me know in the comments section below, or shoot me an email at onethingalone@gmail.com to tell me what you’re doing to show Jesus’ love this Valentine’s Day.

Please feel free to download these printables, share, and redistribute. You can use the social media buttons below or just email a hyperlink to this post.

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