The Language of Love 

February, the celebration of Love month. 💕 Isn't it fun?!

Our first celebration of love in this month is my husbands birthday. Food is one of the biggest components of any celebration, so whatever food is the favorite of the 'celebratee' is the food that is prepared & served with much pomp & ceremony accompanied by a variety of candles, streamers, balloons & birthday decor. My husbands birthday menu rarely varies. Steak, Scampi Shrimp, baked potato with sour cream, asparagus,  garlic cheese biscuits, & the cherry-on- top, Coconut Cream Pie.

Following the birthday dinner is the entertainment of choice for the Birthday Boy which is usually a war movie to blissfully fall asleep by 😴 most happily while clasping birthday presents of different coffees, cheeses, chocolates, & possibly a gift card or two. "These are a few of my favorite things...🎜" It's a language of love to give what you know the recipient will love, especially when sacrifice, time, thought & energy is put into it.

 A few days following my husbands birthday comes a favorite February Jubilee. Valentines Day! As a child it was one of my favorite days of the year. How exciting to create our little boxes to hold all the valentines cards we couldn't wait to give & receive. & at the end of the school day before the last class, we would have our Valentine party with usually special cupcakes or cookies made by our homeroom mothers, with pink Kool Aid. & just maybe, there would be a certain valentine that spoke a sentiment of secret affection or included a candy sugar heart that said "Be Mine" or "Cutie-Pie", or maybe even bolder "Kiss Me"! It was so much fun to try to guess who the secret admirer was although it was hoped to be that cute boy with the gray eyes & dimples. But it's nice too, to have one single rose & a homemade card with a personal, intimate sentiment from my Valentine of 42 years. Now that's Romance with a capital R! 💏Love THAT love language! 

Showing or giving an extra little more intimate love gift doesn't have to be just in giving candy, balloons, or beautiful bouquets of flowers although I do love roses, pink especially!

Cooking & baking is a wonderful expression of love for the people you love. Our youngest daughter has insisted over the last several years to make our Valentines Day dinner, which is her own recipe of Chicken Parmigiana with bread sticks & a salad. I usually make a cheesecake for dessert.

Ahhhh, food...another love language.

which includes for the celebration of Washington's birthday...

!!!!!!!
Cherry Pie!! I just had to put this picture in large! Isn't that just yummy?? Thank you Mr. George for cutting down that cherry tree which makes cherry pie synonymous with our first President, not the crossing of the Delaware or Valley Forge, or even his Presidency. Nope! Whenever I see Cherry pie I always think of George Washington. That delectable confection over history for sure! Perhaps after the chopping down of the cherry tree, so as not to waste any of the cherries, George's mother made a cherry pie & thereafter little George associated cherry pie with that offense & never did it again.  But, in truth, I don't think George Washington, as a little boy, ever chopped down the proverbial cherry tree or said "I cannot tell a lie". However, he was a true, honest  & humble Christian man deserving of honor. In my children's growing up years, we would have an extra time of studying about the life of George Washington on his birthday & finish our study with, of course, a piece of homemade cherry pie. 😋 So, you see, my affinity for this tasty pastry is noble after all. & even educational! I made sure though that the kids' knew I got my cherries at a store so no cherry trees were ever decapitated at the stump. 🪓

So even if George's mother never made him a cherry pie for his birthday, I always do. Happy birthday to you President Washington, February 22nd! 🥳

George Washington = 🍒π  
& just as an aside, did you know that George Washington:

1. Was the first to sign the Constitution

2. Was mostly self-educated

3. Was a true agricultural pioneer

4. He loved dogs.

5. He loved hunting, camping & horseback riding

A few interesting facts.

Now, after our little intellectual repast, back to our original subject, which is about the language of love, & the question that comes to my mind, is how fluent are we in the language? What is our knowledge & 'putting into practice' this word that demands action. & even, what's the definition of love?

I think the only one who would qualify to give the true definition of love is the only One who loves perfectly, who in fact IS love. 

GOD

How do I qualify that? The Bible, the only source of absolute truth, tells me so.

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God;....for

GOD IS LOVE." 1 John 4:7

Verse 10 says,

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation (meaning the reconciliation of God & humankind through Jesus Christ) for our sins."

Herein is the perfect love language expressed.  

Now, let's take a little test to see how far along you (me too) are in the quest of expressing the love language in & through your (& mine)

 life. 

Do you express gentleness, kindness, patience & humility to others, whether family, friends, co-workers, even those you may not like?

(Those are positive.)

Are you rude, puffed up in pride, selfish & want your own way,  easily provoked, or speak cruel or hateful words? Are you envious, jealous or covetous of others?

(Uh-oh. Definitely negative.)

Do you rejoice in iniquity or truth?

Do you bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you? ( Ouch! Now we get to the nitty-gritty, get your hands dirty kind of love.)

Do you love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your strength, all of your mind? & here's the kicker.

Do you love your neighbor as yourself?

Am I meddling now? Well, every one of these questions is taken from the Bible.

So, in this 'love language expressed' test what's your score?

What grade would Jesus give you? I'll tell you this, our grade from Jesus would be true because He has no teacher's pets. & He has the right to judge our grades because He passed the 'love language expressed' test in perfectly flying colors! 

 But, no matter if we get an 'A' or 'F', the thing is, there's always tomorrow.  We get another chance to do better. & with His grace, we can.

"Come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy & find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

It needs to be our goal to practice fluency in the language of love. 

Definition of fluency:

"The ability to speak a foreign language easily & accurately." 

Except, let it not be a foreign language. Let it be beautifully articulate, just like Jesus, as we live the Language of Love.

Raintree Perk of the Day:

& for extra grade points, how do you score on these?

"Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love NEVER fails."