Author: Katie Ganshert

It’s that time of year when love is in the air. Whether Valentine’s Day makes you giddy or makes you nauseous, there’s no stopping it. Flowers. Chocolates. Mushy, gushy Hallmark cards. They’re everywhere this time of year.

And whether you like that sort of stuff or not, I think we can all agree that underneath all the frills is something we can all get behind.

Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love.

To do just that, I’ve joined forces with some awesome romance author friends to do a special LOVING WELL giveaway.

I was trying to decide which aspect of LOVING WELL I wanted to cover on my blog, and I think the one that hits home with me the most right now is LOVING WELL when life is distracting.

Can anybody else relate to that?

I don’t know about you, but life is hard. Not only are we going through some personal things that leave me wrung dry and distracted most days, my to-do list has grown into this unwieldy, frightening thing.

And I was thinking the other day, am I loving well in the midst of this season?

You know, I wish I could say that I was. But honestly, I think I fail more times than I succeed. To which all I can say is thank the Good Lord for His grace. He truly lavishes it on me.

My point?

This post is every bit as much for me as it is for any of you on the other side of the screen.

So without further ado, here are three super simple things that can help us all love well when life is distracting:

Selah

This word shows up 71 times in the Bible, and many theologians agree that the word means To Pause. I just love that, don’t you? It’s such a great and simple thing to do, and believe it or not, I’m a strong believer that pausing helps us love better. It gives us a chance to take a  breath and consider the people God has blessed us with. Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life, we forget. Sometimes, the first step to loving well is simply remembering that we aren’t alone in our busy bubble. As we pause, as we selah, why not take a moment to think of one or two simple things we can do to show our people love?

Eye Contact

Oh, you guys. I need to remember this! My six year old son grabbed my face the other day and said, “Mommy, just look at me!” Talk about a knife to the heart. I had been staring at my computer screen, trying to squeeze in a few more things. He was in the room talking and I was nodding and making all the appropriate “I’m listening” sounds. But I wasn’t really. There’s a time for multi-tasking. And then there’s a time to stop. Let’s remember to carve out small moments throughout the day to give our people our full, undivided attention.

Look Out

And I don’t mean, “Look out, there’s a ball flying at your face!” I mean look outside of yourself. This goes along with taking a pause. I don’t know about you, but in the midst of  stress and consuming life circumstances, I often forget that other people are struggling too. We can get so introverted in our hardship, can’t we? There is something so freeing about taking the focus off ourselves and our problems, and looking out. Realizing, as you selah, and as you make actual eye contact with people, that they have hurts, too. They have stress. They have burdens. Offer a hug. A hand squeeze. A prayer for a friend you  haven’t seen in or talked to in awhile. If you have the time, offer a listening ear. It’s one of the best ways to love well.

What simple things do you do that help you love well?

Be sure to visit each of the Valentine’s Giveaway blog stops and you’ll be able to collect a word on each page that will add up to a ‘secret sentence’ by the final stop.  Enter the sentence into the entry box at the final stop and be entered to win a special prize.

My word is WELL.

 Upcoming Blog Hop Stops:

Feb 5th visit Dani Pettrey by clicking here

Feb 6th visit Rachel Hauck by clicking here

Feb 8th visit Lisa Wingate by clicking here

Feb 10th visit Susan May Warren by clicking here

Feb 13th visit Becky Wade by clicking here

To enter the giveaway, simply complete the form below:

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