Happy Valentine's Day

Tuesday, February 14th, 2006

Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

AAAHHH!!! Spring Training starts tomorrow… It seemed like forever ago a game of baseball was played. I am so excited… win-loose-whatever, I simply love the game of baseball. It’s a wonderful thing.

A legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men -- his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death. While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial -- which probably occurred around 270 A.D -- others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'Christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. (historychannel.com)

Well, what I do know for sure is that Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, which is really why I wanted to focus on love to start the year. And if it is to share about love… to give gifts to those I love, then I need to see what God says about love.

I'll sing it one last time for you, and then we really have to go. You've been the only thing that's right in all I've done. And I can barely look at you, but every single time I do I know we'll make it anywhere, away from here. Light up. Light up as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. Louder – louder – and we'll run for our lives. I can hardly speak. I understand why you can't raise your voice to say. To think I might not see those eyes makes it so hard not to cry. And as we say our long goodbye, I nearly do. Light up. Light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. Louder – louder – and we'll run for our lives. I can hardly speak. I understand why you can't raise your voice to say. Slower – slower – We don't have time for that. All I want is to find an easier way to get out of our little heads. Have heart, my dear; for we're bound to be afraid, even if it's just for a few days, we’re making up for all this mess. Light up. Light up, as if you have a choice. Even if you cannot hear my voice, I'll be right beside you dear. (Snow Patrol – Run)

Now, some may see this song as a drug use song, because of the words “Light Up.” I, for one, don’t see it like that. And if you actually listen to the song, I don’t necessarily think the artists mean for it like that either. I see it more as a love song. I see it as the couple going through a difficult time. One person turns to another and says light up, things will be better, just right now stinks. We are running for our lives now, but later, maybe we can rest. And isn’t that the way it is with friends we love? Maybe no one else can relate, but with relationships with me, it’s work… like running a race, and not sure where the finish line is…

Proverbs 18:9-10
9 One who is slack in his work is brother to one who destroys. 10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Isaiah 40:30-31
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Amos 6:11-12
11 For the LORD has given the command, and he will smash the great house into pieces and the small house into bits. 12 Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness…

Matthew 6:25-34
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Luke 12:22-34
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

1st Corinthians 9:24-27
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Galatians 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?

Philippians 2:12-18
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

Hebrews 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The Olympics… the sport of sports, they all come together every four years to prove who is the best and who isn’t all that great. Cross Country skiing… the next sport to be added: cross country hiking. Let’s throw on 100 pounds of gear and walk across a country to see who doesn’t throw up. Anyway… the race marked out for me is this: Run to the strong tower of the Lord, and let no one cut in front of me… to make sure that my running is for nothing. Run to finish in first, to get the prize that I seek. I need to not run in such a way that I end up searching for the things that pagans do… Run in such a way that it makes sense and not like a horse on rocky edges. And when I find my hope in the Lord and not in man, I find that my running will not be wearisome, and my heart will not grow faint. Spring training begins tomorrow for baseball. When does spring training start for me? Johnny Out.