Love on the Day for Lovers

I've been spending this week reading about the trip in Uganda.

Everyday, I've felt my heart feel a little heavier. Every time I buy something, I think about how much this money could give someone else.

To top it off, I'm reading another excellent fiction book about a teen mission trip that goes very wrong in Indonesia. It explores all sorts of deep themes on justice, suffering, God's will, etc.

It's really hard to think about yourself when you're busy thinking about others.

I read that people will spend 17 billion dollars on Valentine's Day this year.

Reading that made my heart ache and I even felt a little guilty for the 20 dollars or so I spent on little Valentine gifts for my nieces which I didn't mail until yesterday. Since they're going to Costa Rica they probably won't get there until St. Patrick's Day.

It may be too late, you may have already spent your average of 123 dollars on Valentine's Day, but here are a few suggestions to show love in a different-than-normal way:

*write to your sponsored child.
*give freely to the next person who asks of you
*spend some extra time in prayer for the persecuted Christians of the world
*skip the romantic movie and look over photo albums and share memories with your loved one

What are your ideas?