Will you be my Valentine?

Valentine's Day was this past Tuesday.

I think it was one of my favorite Valentine's EVER!

I got to sleep in that morning, and got started on the decor and food for Valentine's Dinner with our youth group girls that night.  Steven got home from his weekly "staff meeting" with a dozen roses for me!!

In the Valentine's vase he gave me for V-Day the year we got married.  :)

I am so happy he is my Valentine!  We usually keep Valentine's to just exchanging cards, and go out to eat the night before or after, but it was so special to get roses from him this year, too.  :)

I had planned this day for the girls for a few weeks.  It is the one thing I told Pastor Dan I wanted to do with the girls the first day we interviewed with him.  I know Valentine's can be such a hard day for high school girls if they feel they have no one to share it with.  I want our girls to know they do NOT need a boy to feel special or beautiful!  I saw the idea to make paper fortunes like this... and printed out Bible verses I found that said what our girls (or any Christian) is in Christ. 

They say...

You are... Beautiful
So shall the king greatly desire thy beauty: for he is thy Lord; and worship thou him.
Psalms 45:11

You are... New

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17

You are... God's Workmanship

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

You are... Chosen

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

1 Peter 2:0

You are... Wonderfully Made

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
Psalm 139:14

You are... Loved

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
Song of Solomon 2:4

You are... Delightful

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

You are... Capable

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Phillippians 4:13

You are... Here for a Purpose

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Jeremiah 29:11

You are... Important

But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke 12:7

You are... Understood

O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

Psalm 139:1-2

This is how they turned out!

The other thing I made ahead of time was felt-hearts.  Easy hand-sewing project that I think turned out cute and they each could take one home to remember the night...

I bought some super fun "champagne flukes" from the Dollar Store for us to have sparkling grape juice.

Lastly, I bought a dozen roses so each girl could leave with a rose.  I have come to believe that every girl should get a flower on Valentine's Day, and wanted to do my part for our girls.

Steven had brought up our old dining table (now my craft/sewing table) so that we could fit everyone in one "space".  My mom was so sweet to mail me several table-runners from our wedding reception so I could use them to decorate!

This is what each table setting looked like.

The finished product!

notice our Valentine's garland on the fireplace.  :)

For dinner, we had Chicken Fettuccini Alfredo, Ceasar Salad, and Fresh Bread.  Our desserts were Sugar Cookies with Icing, and Chocolate-Covered Strawberry "Pies" (found here).  A lady from our church, Sandy, was so sweet to come in to help me "chaperone" when I asked her last minute because my other girl had to work.  :(  She was so sweet and great with the girls!

We had a short devotion where I asked the girls to all read the verse they got in their fortune.  We talked about how all of them were all of these things in God's eyes.  We talked about how there is one more thing that they could be, and that is... 

You can be.. satisfied
Psalm 107

 1O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
 2Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
 3And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north, and from the south.
 4They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in.
 5Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.
 6Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses.
 7And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation.
 8Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
 9For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

At the end, we chatted about prayer requests and it was so encouraging to me to watch the girls open up with one another!  I really think a girls Bible study would really benefit everyone, and am hoping we can get one started during the summer.

I had planned on watching a Chick Flick together, but the girls decided on an impromptu Dance Party instead which I think was much more fun!  (It is amazing what the gals will do when there are no boys around. :)  )

A very special Valentine's Day, indeed!