Hello everyone on this sunny, winter morning in the beginning of a week with the promise of more winter storms. I talked about February being known for having bad weather and it is starting to happen. As we go thru this week, we are going to have to keep our winter coats and hats and snow shovels ready. Or maybe, just stay home and read a good book or watch a good movie.
Friday is Valentines Day. Here is a little information I found while doing some research. Formal messages, or valentines, appeared in the 1500s, and by the late 1700s commercially printed cards were being used. The first commercial valentines in the United States were printed in the mid-1800s. Valentines commonly depict Cupid, the Roman god of love, along with hearts, traditionally the seat of emotion. Because it was thought that the avian mating season begins in mid-February, birds also became a symbol of the day. Traditional gifts include candy and flowers, particularly red roses, a symbol of beauty and love.
I never thought of Valentines Day as being celebrated anywhere but here. But, I found out that this day is popular not only in the United States but in Britain, Canada, and Australia, and it is also celebrated in other countries, including Argentina, France, Mexico, and South Korea. In the Philippines it is the most common wedding anniversary, and mass weddings of hundreds of couples are not uncommon on that date. The holiday has expanded to expressions of affection among relatives and friends.
What does the bible say about love? Most of the verses below are familiar ones. We learned some of them in Sunday School when we were young.
John 4:8: "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love".
1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud".
Romans 13:10: "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law".
1 Corinthians 13:13: "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love".
Colossians 3:14: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity".
Let’s sing a simple song of joy! “Jesus Loves Me, This I Know” – what else do we need to know?
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=RE9yOawWb3o&si=N8-Pbg-PNbDfTJUy
Preview YouTube video Jesus Loves Me This I Know
Here we are in February, the coldest, stormiest month of the winter. There are a couple of winter storms forecast in the next week, so off we go to the “real winter”. As most of you know, my favorite season is the fall with the beautiful colors and crisp nights after a long hot summer. My favorite holiday is Christmas with all its meaning of Jesus’ birthday. It is just a happy holiday with so much promise. Then comes winter with the “I am not going out in this weather” feeling. “It's too cold, too damp and too icy”. What is good about winter? Last week I mused about what the bible says about winter. It says “winter symbolizes waiting, preparation, and anticipation, pointing to the arrival of something significant.” How does that help us when we are sitting inside looking out at snowy and icy weather? Hopefully, it reminds us that while we are waiting, we all know spring is coming with its beautiful green grass and buds that bloom into beautiful flowers. The “arrival of something significant” means (to me) we get to see God’s work in the change of the seasons. Spring is always beautiful after a long, cold winter. But…along with getting prepared for spring we are going thru Lent and learning more about Jesus’ life during that time. Then we all celebrate Easter. There is such joy on Easter morning that we all get to celebrate every year. More about that in the coming weeks as we travel thru Lent.
The Thrift Shoppe ladies have been working and getting ready for our first sale in 2025 which is this coming Saturday. We always look forward to seeing our friends and see how they are doing during the winter. We meet new friends that are excited to come and visit with us. We try to make each sale special and this one is no different. We are having the Art Honor Society Students set up their artwork in our Annex for everyone to see and possibly treat themselves to original artwork. The students who volunteer to help us at our sales offered to do this sale for the Thrift Shop and the benevolences Old North supports. I am meeting them later today so they can start setting up and I can’t wait to see what they have to show us. I may be posting some pictures on the Thrift Shoppe Facebook page for a preview later on this week.
We also have a special area in our Crystal Room with items that have been donated that you can’t find anywhere else. Some of the items are valuable antiques, some are considered “collectible” and some are just different. We never know what donations will be coming in and we thank everyone for thinking of us so we can continue Old North’s Benevolences. We have a list of the charities we help for anyone to see.
As February starts with cold, snowy weather and the Thrift Shoppe has their first sale of 2025 let’s enjoy singing “I Love to Tell the Story”. This hymn was written by Catherine Hankey.
“I Love to Tell the Story “Was part of a lengthy fifty-stanza two-part poem, The Old, Old Story. If you know this old hymn, you may have been captivated by its simplicity as it declares the composer’s faith in Jesus. The words, full of evangelistic zeal, carry the hearer to the heart of the gospel. The full poem was originally set to music to create another well-known hymn, “Tell Me the Old, Old Story.” Later, “I Love to Tell The Story” was born by taking the second part of the poem and making it into a separate piece. The beloved hymns were composed about 10 months apart. When I did a search to find out information about the author of this hymn, I found a lot of interesting information on Christianity.com just by typing in her name. There is too much there to include in my musing but I would suggest you take a minute to read it.
Let’s enjoy singing on this beautiful sunny day the story of Jesus and love doing it.
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=g5xjVV6nsR8&si=Y8LzyQUakMtsIUth
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