Here it is: February, the month of love. I started February by calling it 28 Days of Love. The reason I was thinking along those lines is partially based on the fact that I have some issues with holidays. When I was a child holidays were times that you got together with people you didn’t know and didn’t particularly like, pretended that you liked them, and… well, you know the rest! So I grew up having an incredible hatred of holidays because they made me feel I had to be insincere and dishonest.
So, when I got older I would just about lose my mind around any of the holidays. I wanted Brenda to feel special but I didn’t want to do anything out of obligation! Yes, you’re right… I had real issues. Of course, this was nothing compared to my problems with Christmas; but that’s another issue.
I have worked through many of my extreme issues but I still hate any form of insincerity! I would prefer to buy Brenda a gift before or after Valentine’s Day than on Valentine’s Day! That’s a real problem when you consider that she likes to celebrate on the actual day! I know you’re thinking, “How did they ever make it?” What’s worse, when I was young I could spiritualize my dysfunction and make it sound rational.
At some point I realized that if I expressed love the way that made me comfortable then I was obviously not doing it for her, I was doing it for me. So I’ve had to look for creative ways in expressing love. I wanted to stay sincere but I wanted to do it the way she would enjoy! That’s what 28 Days of Love is about: finding a way to express my value for her every day. Yes, we can still make Valentine’s Day something special; but even better, we can make the entire month special.
Please go to Facebook and enter our Month of Love Contest. Every day you can express your love to your mate. You’ll post what you did for them and at the end of February we will choose the most romantic and authentic entry and you will receive an all-expense-paid dream date! So you could get paid to learn how to be more romantic… how great is that? Honestly, my real reason for doing this is to find a creative way to encourage you to express your love and have a great marriage.
Yesterday I realized that I had become resistant to ministering to people one-on-one. What’s crazy is this has always been one of my strong points. I still wanted to engage with people one-on-one but something in me was just becoming resistant. So I did what I always tell you to do; I did Put Off – Put On exercises. I realized that part of my reluctance was that I lost confidence that people would put into practice what I shared with them, resulting in no positive outcome for them.
I have always known that I can’t give people what they don’t have. I can’t teach them to know the Lord. So I went back to my roots. I don’t want the high point of a person’s week to be when they meet with and talk to me; I want it to be when they meet with and talk to Jesus. But most people need some basic motivation and instructions or they won’t sort things out by themselves. So I created this contest wherein I will give you daily motivation and a prize to take this and put it into practice.
You may not want to enter the contest but I hope you do want to put 28 Days of expressing Love into practice. And please, if you have friends who need help with their marriage get them involved. It will be your ministry to them.
Have a great month of love! I hope to see you in some of my meetings across America and Canada this year. And remember, saving marriages is just one part of changing the way the world see God!
Blessings,
Jim