2/4/05 SPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY EDITION
Posted by: jhbreneman <jhbreneman@...>
ENCOURAGEMENT TO WOMEN
Compiled especially for YOU with LOVE by Lois Breneman
PORTRAIT OF LOVE
ROMANTIC SURPRISES, VALENTINE AND DINNER FOR YOUR SWEETHEART
E-Z SAVORY ROAST BEEF
E-Z HEART-SHAPED VALENTINE CAKE USING SQUARE AND ROUND PANS
BAKED RANCH 'N CRUMB CHICKEN
DAMIENNE'S CHICKEN CASSEROLE
MORE CREATIVE RECIPES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
That He gA ve
His onL y
BegottE n
SoN
T hat whosoever
Believeth I n Him
Should N ot perish,
But have E verlasting life." ~ John 3:16
PORTRAIT OF LOVE
Copyright © 2005 by Linda J. Stevenson
A portrait of love God painted
So everyone would see
Unveiled in unmatched clarity
What love should truly be.
With each stroke upon His canvas,
Brushed with amazing grace,
God's masterpiece revealed glory,
Etched clearly in Christ's face.
Dark tints of grueling sacrifice,
Contrasted with pure light,
Disclosed love's stoke of God's mercy
Like stars revealed at night.
Framed with forgiveness freely giv'n,
Carved from a rugged tree,
Produced a portrait of God's Son,
His love for all to see.
ROMANTIC SURPRISES, VALENTINE AND DINNER FOR YOUR SWEETHEART
By Lois Breneman, © 2003, Revised 2005, Heart to Heart Newsletter, [email protected]
Write out reasons why you love your husband or "I remember when..." (remembrances of your special times together). Cut strips of paper (about 2x3") or small valentines from red or pink card stock or construction paper and punch a hole in each one. Buy a bouquet of roses or other flowers and arrange in a vase. Then tie your love notes to each flower stem with ribbons.
Another way that you could use this same idea is to tie "Heart-shaped notes" everywhere around your house, so your husband will find them throughout the day – on his socks, toothbrush, toothpaste tube, in his drawers and closet, to the stem of an apple in his lunch, to the doorknob, to the steering wheel (after he comes home), to his car keys, to his silverware, around his glass at dinner, to his coffee mug, under his plate, etc. Examples for notes:
- I first knew that I loved you when...
- I respect you for ...
- Tell him what a wonderful provider he is.
- I remember our first date...
- I remember when you asked me to marry you...
- I love you because …
- One of your greatest talents is ...
<3 A Handmade Valentine <3
Rather than going out and buying a valentine for your husband this year, try making one. Fold a plain 8 1/2 by 11" piece of paper in half, then in half again. On the front, you could use a rubber stamp of a heart or flowers, paste a floral picture from an old card, paste a cut out heart, or use a paper doily with the words, "How do I love thee?" (Or "you").
On the inside write, "Let me count the ways." Then list for your husband the things you like about him - (1) His character (honesty, integrity, dependability, godliness, faithfulness, hard working, kindness, sensitivity to your needs, the way he treats his parents, the way he spends time with your children, etc.); (2) His talents (being able to fix things around the house without calling a handyman, his organizational ability, his singing ability, his ability to remember names, his ability to plan for the future, his financial ability, etc.); (3) His looks (his nice smile, gorgeous blue eyes, broad shoulders, tall, his strong muscles, handsome, etc.); (4) Etc., Etc. Etc. Also let him know how much you appreciate his going to work every day to support your family. If you have trouble thinking of many good qualities, just think of the things that attracted you to him in the first place.
On the back of the card, draw a simple flower or a heart and write, "Made in (name of your city and state)." Write the date too. I guarantee that your husband will appreciate your handmade card much more than any $3 card, because part of your very self has been put into it.
Another idea is to make a giant card out of a big cardboard box. Or make a booklet, telling about your courtship ( places you've been and things you've done together). You could use characters in the Peanuts cartoon with your own captions, by drawing or tracing the pictures.
With computers these days, the possibilities are endless!
<3 A Romantic Dinner at Home <3
You've heard the saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." For Valentine's Day (or any other day), try cooking a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner for just the two of you and see how happy your husband will be at the special attention and the thought that went into this "gift to him." You may want to barter with a good friend, by having her babysit your children at her house and you can do the same for her at another time. Set the atmosphere as warm and romantic as possible, using soft romantic music, only candlelight, a pretty centerpiece, good food, conversation and listening. If you were hoping your husband might take you out for dinner rather than cooking at home, why not take a rain check for another less hectic time at a restaurant, and enjoy a quiet dinner at home with relaxing music instead - as your treat to him or the entire family!
Here are two E-Z recipe ideas to begin planning your Special Valentine's Day dinner - a delicious roast beef or turkey breast and a Valentine cake to end your meal:
E-Z Heart-Shaped Valentine Cake Using Square and Round Pans
Using a 9" square baking pan and one round 9" pan, bake your favorite cake. This will take more than one cake mix, but less then two, so you could make a few cupcakes for lunches with the extra batter. Try to have the cakes end up being the same height when baked. Cool the cakes. Place the square cake on the tray, diagonally. Cut the round cake in half. Fit the two cut edges of the round cake to two adjacent sides of the square cake and you will have a big heart-shaped cake! Frost cake and place clean silk red or pink roses along the top left of the heart. You could also write "I Love You!" with frosting or chocolate chips.
MORE RECIPES:
1 envelope Ranch dressing mix Combine Ranch dressing mix, bread crumbs and
1 cup Italian bread crumbs Parmesan cheese in shallow bowl. Dip chicken in
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese butter, then roll in crumb mixture. Place in a
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted greased baking dish and bake uncovered at 350 º F
(Note: A substitute for Italian bread crumbs - 1 cup bread crumbs, 1/2 tsp. crushed oregano, 1 tsp. sweet basil)
MORE CREATIVE RECIPES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
Whether you make these from scratch or out of the freezer, use your imagination. You can add a little extra special Valentine's Day touch simply with strawberries and whipped cream.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Another easy Valentine's Day lunch idea is a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich cut out with a heart shaped cookie cutter.
Heart Shaped Homemade Pizza
Pizza or biscuit dough (sold in tubes the refrigerator section)
Pizza, spaghetti sauce
mozzarella cheese Shape your dough into a heart shape,
your favorite toppings add sauce, cheese and toppings and bake.
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries
Ingredients:
2 dozen large strawberries (cleaned with stems)
12- oz bag of white or milk chocolate chips
In a microwave on the defrost setting or ten percent power, melt one 12-oz. bag of chocolate chips (white or milk chocolate). Stir well every minute or so until completely smooth.
Dip strawberries into the chocolate by holding the stems. Cover about ¾ of each berry and let excess chocolate drip off. (If you want to add miniature chocolate chips or candies as decoration, add them immediately after dipping.)
Place the strawberries on waxed paper in the refrigerator to allow chocolate to set. Additionally you may want to melt a contrasting color chocolate chip and drizzle diagonally onto the already made and set chocolate covered strawberries for an added touch of elegance. Refrigerate and serve the same day they are made for best results.
About the Author: Christy Camburn is a busy mom of three and the editor of ChildCareFinders.org- A website dedicated to parents and child care professionals. For information, ideas, resources, and support Visit Child Care Finders at http://www. ChildCareFinders.org
GREAT VALENTINE'S DAY TIPS FROM DOLLAR STRETCHER READERS
http://www.stretcher.com ~ Used by permission
From Tami: One year my husband bought a box of cute valentines (for kids) and he put a Hershey's Kiss with each one and hid them all over the house, I was finding them for weeks. It was a very long Valentine's Day for me that year!!
From JCole: Last year I made my husband a coupon book. It had coupons for things like: back scratches, video night (his choice), breakfast in bed, wash his car, etc. You know what your husband would like. I used brightly colored index cards with heart stickers (my 7 year old daughter helped with this), punched a hole in the corner, tied with pretty ribbon. It was hit.
From Ron: Make a homemade candy kiss: get a large package of chocolate chips and melt them, wrap a funnel in aluminum foil, set the wrapped funnel in a cup or glass and fill the funnel with the melted chocolate. Let it harden and slip it out and wrap it in a fresh piece of aluminum foil. (Note: Place smoothed out foil inside the funnel, and lift out chocolate when completely hardened).
From Corinne: My all-time, best ever Valentine's Day idea was to take a pad of large post-it notes and write "Thank you" notes to my husband which I then posted all over the place after he went to sleep on February 13th. He woke up to "Thanks for getting up so early to go to work everyday" posted on the shower door, "Thanks for smelling so nice" on his after shave, "Thanks for staying in good shape" on the weigh scale", "Thanks for caring about how you dress" on the clothes that he had laid out for work, "Thanks for leaving me the last cup of coffee" on the coffee machine, "Thanks for buying me this kitchen table" on the table that he bought about 5 years ago,.... and on and on.... even in the garage where "Thanks for taking care of the van" was posted on the hood, "Thanks for all those yummy summer barbeques" was on the barbeque, "Thanks for taking care of our yard" was on the lawnmower, "Thanks for taking care of our bikes" was on the kid's bike stand. The possibilities are endless! I took three days to think of as many things that I could think of but I think it took him about 3 months to find them all. Start with an empty notebook sorted by rooms in the house and post each note on the page that corresponds with where the note should be posted on Valentine's Day. It will save time as you run around the house to put them up.
From Terri: Plan a heart shaped meal. I've put heart shaped cheese on top of lasagna or cut meatloaf slices into heart shapes with a big cookie cutter. Heart shaped biscuits, heart shaped pats of butter (use candy molds to mold melted butter or cut in slices and use a small cookie cutter).
From Sarah-Ann: (Heart Attack!) Budgets have always been the bane of my helpful existence. I love making people smile and raising their spirits but money is usually too tight to buy even little special things. My church sisters came up with the "Heart Attack" idea years ago and I thought some of you might like it as well. What you do is use whatever paper you have on hand: construction paper, wrapping paper, typing paper even works. You cut out as many hearts in as many sizes as you want, maybe writing little uplifting messages on some or all of them, coloring them, painting them....whatever strikes you as good. Then you go to the person's house and tape the hearts all over their door, porch railing, car, mailbox....wherever you can put them without getting 'caught'. You can also go to their job if you know where they work and 'attack' just their car, if you can do it without getting in trouble. Then leave. Late evenings at their home always worked for us. The hardest part was trying to keep a straight face when they call raving about the sweet thing that someone did to/for them. Oh, masking tape is usually safer for house and car paint than even cellophane tape.
VALENTINE'S DAY FUN FOR KIDS
By Angela Billings ~ Used by permission
Share some family fun and get started on the projects listed below and have them ready in time for Valentine's Day.
* Help kids make their own Valentines using construction paper, lace, ribbons, sequins, buttons, glitter, glue and anything else they or you can think of to add on!
* Cut a heart shape from a household sponge and sprinkle with wheat grass seeds and keep the sponge wet so the children will have a growing heart. They can even give the hearts "hair cuts!"
* Make a decorate cookies or cupcakes. Use your favorite cake mix and icing and decorate with candy hearts, red hots, sprinkles and anything else you can think of.
* Make a Valentine Box by decorating a shoe box with construction paper or wrapping paper and adding on lace, ribbons, paper cutouts, heart doilies and anything else in your craft pile. Kids can then put their Valentine cards in the box!
* Use paints or food coloring to make Thumbprint Valentines by making two thumbprints into a heart shape and then add facial features. The child then can add the following - "Thumb Body Loves You!"
* Play Cupid Chase by putting blindfolds on all but one (He will be Cupid) Tie a small bell to the child's shoe strings or on a string for a necklace. Then Cupid runs around the room anywhere while the blindfolded kids try to catch him by listening for the bell. When Cupid is caught the catcher then becomes Cupid! Have a Happy Valentine's Day!
About the Author: Angela Billings is a stay at home wife and mother who publishes an online newsletter Home and Family Ezine. http://w ww.homeandfamilyezine.com
OBJECT LESSON: WHEN YOU PASS THROUGH THE WATERS, I WILL BE WITH YOU!
By Lois Breneman, © 2005, Heart to Heart Newsletter, [email protected]
This object lesson will show how much Jesus loves you as it makes Isaiah 43:2 come alive! Take the time to do this with your children or delegate it to one of your children to demonstrate to your family. Stuff a paper towel all the way to the bottom of a glass (one you can see through), so it will remain there, if turned upside down. Fill a large mixing bowl or sink with water. Now completely immerse the glass, upside down, into the water, keeping the glass straight (no tipping to the side). You will see that the paper towel remains completely dry, even though the entire glass is immersed deep in the water. The paper is totally shielded, even though there is no lid on the glass! Now pull the glass straight out of the water, without tipping, and you will see it is completely unaffected by the water! The Lord is L"QQ"KING after you!
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze. ~ Isaiah 43:2
MOO JUICE SCIENCE ~ Try this activity that I like to call "Moo Juice Science." Spill milk into a pie tin until it covers the bottom. Add a few drops of food coloring for added visual effect. Watch the colored milk closely as you add a drop of dishwashing liquid. Can you believe your eyes? The dishwashing liquid broke the surface tension of the milk.
By Deborah Shelton ~ Visit The Five Minute Parent for fun rainy-day activities, family links and our free bi-weekly email newsletter filled with craft ideas, guest articles, contests and so much more! http://www.fiveminuteparent.com
Robbie Castleman, in his book, "True Love in a World of False Hope," breaks down First Corinthians 13:4-8, going back to the Greek.
"Christians need to depolarize the 'meet-my-needs' competition that defines relationships in our culture today. We must look at our feet, washed by the Lord Jesus, and follow His example of love in how we seek to serve one another. As we submit to one another, our independent barrenness gives way to a fruitful life of love and purpose."
LOVE IS PATIENT: Gk. meaning - great, long, suffering; It means to be generous in waiting, serving, and giving someone time and enduring attention; being expectant without being in a hurry; having hopes for one another without imposing your own agenda.
LOVE IS KIND: gentleness in handling something; wants a person to perform at their best- enhanced; thoughtful, observant; notices strengths and gifts of others; builds up.
LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS: Jealous - striving - tries too hard to get what it wants - wants what it doesn't have, or can't have; it is spiteful; in jealousy, 'now' is all that is important - out for its own good.
LOVE DOES NOT BRAG: not self-promoting; love doesn't gain attention at the cost of others; love is humble and self-forgetting; there should be no need to boast, because true love casts out fear.
LOVE IS NOT ARROGANT: a person 'full of himself' - inflated with the pride of his own importance- prideful vanity; a person full of himself has no room for another.
LOVE DOES NOT ACT UNBECOMINGLY: it is not rude, or behaves disgracefully; doesn't embarrass those loved; instead, love is considerate and courteous; love doesn't jest, but publicly praises those loved.
LOVE DOES NOT INSIST ON ITS OWN WAY: love isn't out for its own sake, agenda, or welfare, or it own ends; love is the opposite of self-seeking and self-serving; searches for a way to serve and not be served; love adopts the agenda that is best for the other person; gives way, creates a comfort zone for the other's life; love is not insistent, except in its persistence to love the other.
LOVE IS NOT PROVOKED: irritated/ touchy; assoc. with fits of temper and anger; 'suddenness' breeds insecurity and robs a r'shp. of rest and joy; love is dependable and steady.
LOVE DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT A WRONG SUFFERED: love does not, essentially, store up memories of being shortchanged, wronged, sinned against or misunderstood; love doesn't store up ammunition, and 'drag' out stuff from the past; love is not resentful.
LOVE DOES NOT REJOICE AT WRONG, BUT REJOICES IN THE TRUTH: love celebrates the other person; "win, lose, or draw, the loved one is the one you cheer for"; love doesn't grow from fair-weather friendships, it is persistent; there is shared joy, pain, disappointment; love hurts for the other; love supports; love rejoices and is glad for the other person's joy, even when it seems foreign to them; love rejoices in what is right and true.
LOVE BEARS ALL THINGS: "something designed to hold out/or hold in something else"; a protective covering; endures through the ups and downs of life; faces disappointment without panic; 'love covers a multitude of sins'; love offers an acceptance that provides an emotional covering from the criticism and harshness of others; love doesn't publicly criticize; love protects what is vulnerable in the loved person from all that might be wounding.
LOVE BELIEVES ALL THINGS AND HOPES ALL THINGS: love is for the other person; true love responds in faith to the character and intention of the one loved; supports and encourages; love believes when doubt is a threat; wants the best, watches for the best; love that hopes is love that watches for love even when it is unseen and continues to hope when disappointment is a reality.
LOVE ENDURES ALL THINGS: "under" "wait" "abide" a love that stays put; immovable; endures until it is victorious; does not give up; it overcomes and is not overwhelmed; love like this lasts because it does not entertain another option.
LOVE LIKE THIS NEVER FAILS: Love is serving the other person; doing what is good for them, wanting the best for them; "This love kneels with Jesus at the dusty feet of tired and needy people and does what needs to be done. This love does not fail because it bows, instead of brags. This love does not fail because it is not trying to succeed, but to serve. True love will not fail.
IS ANYONE ABLE AND WILLING TO HELP WITH COMPUTER QUESTIONS?
Is there anyone who might help me with some computer questions for "Heart to Heart?" I'd be so grateful if you would reply to this newsletter and offer your help. Two immediate questions pertain to spacing and whether or not Juno files can be transferred to another e-mail address with a new server.
<3 Happy <3 Valentine's <3 Day ! <3
<3 Love from your "Heart to Heart" friend,<3
Lois
The purpose of the Heart to Heart Newsletter is to bring godly and practical encouragement to women through creative ideas for the Christian family – regarding homemaking, marriage, children and much more. You may receive this bimonthly newsletter by sending your name, city, state, country and the name of the person who referred you to Lois Breneman at [email protected].
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