Celebrating Love!

Valentines Day: most people are thinking about, talking about, celebrating or wishing for love....Some single people get depressed around this holiday, some have "singles parties"  or "I hate Valentine's Day" get togethers. Some "ignore" that it's a "holiday" Etc...However, I have decided to enjoy the day, even as a single person - because it's not just about having a Valentine, or eating chocolate, or getting flowers - it's a reminder for each of us to celebrate the people and things that we LOVE!

I realized lately that I say "I hate..." a lot - usually being dramatic, "I hate pull-ups," "I hate doing payroll," "I hate wearing shoes" etc... but there really are a lot of things I LOVE about my life and since I am 30 and single (not complaining - really), I thought this Valentine's day, I would celebrate some things I love!

Just a few things I LOVE:
I LOVE my friends. I have some pretty amazing friends - near and far, young and old - God has given  me incredible friends.

I LOVE my car - it's not pretty, it's not fancy, it's not clean - but it's MINE.

I LOVE coffee. Every thing about coffee! Mmmmm, I LOVE it!

I LOVE Disneyland! Especially at night - and at Christmas it's even better! There is nothing like getting a cup of coffee, sitting on the bench and watching Tinker Bell fly across the sky. *magical*

I LOVE CrossFit!....more than that, I LOVE getting fit. I LOVE the feeling of pure and utter exhaustion and pain after a WOD. I LOVE lifting heavy weights and I LOVE dropping the bar in "victory" and falling to the ground in a pile of sweat when the WOD is over.

I LOVE being outdoors. Whether it's 100 degrees and humid or 40 degrees and windy, I would almost always rather be outside. 

I LOVE Texas...yep, I do. I really do - it took me awhile, but it's true. I love the rodeo, the cowboy hats, the culture, the values, the "yes ma'am" and "y'all"

I LOVE avocados. I used to hate them, but now I LOVE them - a lot!  

I LOVE music...and dancing to music. I LOVE that every time I dance I realize that in a lot of ways I am like my mom....and I LOVE that I am like my mom in those ways.

I LOVE kids. I LOVE their laughter, their simplicity, their innocence, their honesty.

(I especially LOVE these kids)

I LOVE trying new things (unless it's weird food).

I LOVE going to sporting events - any sport, any team!

I LOVE being an aunt. I didn't realize how amazing it would be. I have some incredible nieces!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE traveling - long flights, road-trips, adventures and new cultures! 

I LOVE pedicures, especially when the chair is a massage chair!

I LOVE my family! Every single one of them. I would not want to be related to any other crazy group of people! I LOVE them so much it hurts sometimes!

But most of all, I LOVE love! Not the mushy gushy feelings (although I'm sure those aren't bad either), but LOVE, pure, self-less, honest LOVE. I LOVE that God has given us the greatest example of what LOVE really is and that if we accept that love we are able to also love others in the truest definition of the word.

"Love is PATIENT, love is KIND and is NOT JEALOUS; love DOES NOT BRAG, and is NOT ARROGANT, does NOT ACT UNBECOMINGLY, it DOES NOT SEEK IT'S OWN, is NOT PROVOKED, DOES NOT TAKE IN TO ACCOUNT A WRONG SUFFERED, DOES NOT REJOICE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, but REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH; Love BEARS ALL THINGS, BELIEVES ALL THINGS, HOPES ALL THINGS, ENDURES ALL THINGS. Love NEVER FAILS." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

"God is love."  1 John 4:8

"We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." 1 John 3:16

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, not things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

The ability to love is an incredible gift we have been given. "We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19. .... Single or not, this Valentine's Day, I challenge you to take some time and celebrate the people and things that you love!