Loving Well and Being Loved

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Loving Well and Being Loved

Welcome to Loving Well

January was all about beginning anew. Choosing a word, clearing a little room, taking brave steps. I hope your word is still with you, even if it’s been sitting in the background while life picked up speed.

School is back, work is in full swing, the heat is the kind that makes everything feel just a smidgeon bit harder. Right in the middle of this all, the shops are filling up with red hearts and roses. Valentines Day is such a commercial venture, as we are bombarded with all these hearts and roses, let’s focus on what God says about love. Let’s look at love a bit differently from God’s perspective. What does He want to share and show us this month. This love that holds us before we’ve done a single thing to earn it.

This month I’m holding onto this verse:

We love because He first Loved Us

1 John 4:19

I can’t pour out what I haven’t first received. Before I try to love anyone well, I want to sit in being loved.

This is my personal invitation to you to come and explore with me journaling prompts for this month

Setting the Vibe: My Intentions for the Month

This month, I’m focusing on love that feels honest and steady, not performed. Here’s what’s on my mind:

  • My Main Intention for February: To receive love before I try to give it. To let God’s love be the starting point, not the reward.
  • A Rhythm for My Body: Loving my body through the heat. Drinking more water, being a bit more restfilled and keeping up with my walks in the cooler hours.
  • A Rhythm for My Mind: Noticing how I speak to myself. If I wouldn’t say it to a friend, I’m going to practise not saying it to me.
  • A Rhythm for My Soul: One small act of love each week for someone who wouldn’t expect it. A note, a meal, a voice note just to say I’m thinking of you.

I’ll also be keeping a “love notes” page in my journal this month. Every time I feel loved (by God, by a person, by a moment), I’m going to write it down. Love is easy to miss when we’re only looking for the big gestures.

My Weekly Journaling Prompts

Here’s how I’m breaking down the month. Just a few minutes each day to receive love and to let it spill over.

Week 1: Loved First (1 to 7 February)

Before we love anyone else, let’s start where love starts. With God.

What would change in my day if I truly believed I was loved before I did anything at all?

  • When did you last feel completely, unconditionally loved? Describe it in as much detail as you can.
  • What do you find hardest to believe about God’s love for you? Be honest. He can handle it.
  • Write a letter to yourself from God’s perspective. What do you think He’d want you to hear today?
  • Where do you try to earn love? At work, at home, in your friendships?
  • Read 1 John 4:19 slowly, three times. Which word stands out to you, and why?

Weekly Reflection: How did it feel to sit in being loved this week, without having to do anything about it?

Week 2: Love in the Small Things (8 to 14 February)

Valentines Day is such a commercial venture. Let’s turn it around and look at what God says about love.

Where does love show up in my ordinary days, quietly, without fanfare?

  • List ten small things that make you feel loved. (The first sip of coffee counts.)
  • Who shows you love in quiet, practical ways? How could you thank them this week?
  • How do you most naturally show love? Words, time, gifts, help, presence?
  • Do one small, loving thing for someone today. What did you notice in yourself afterwards?

Weekly Reflection: What did you discover about the small, ordinary love in your life this week?

Week 3: Loving Myself Kindly (15 to 21 February)

Loving ourselves well isn’t selfish. It’s how we stay full enough to keep giving.

What would it look like to treat myself the way I’d treat a dear friend this week?

  • Write down three things you genuinely like about yourself. Sit with the discomfort if it feels awkward.
  • What is one harsh thing you often say to yourself? Rewrite it as something kind and true.
  • What does your body need from you this week? Rest, water, movement, a good cry?
  • Where are you saying yes when your heart is saying no?
  • Plan one small act of kindness towards yourself and do it. How did it feel to receive your own care?

Weekly Reflection: Did loving yourself kindly feel easy or uncomfortable? What surprised you?

Week 4: Loving Others Well (22 February to month end)

As the month closes, let’s let love spill over into the people around us.

Who in my life needs to feel loved this week, what is one way I can show it that feels true to me?

  • Think of someone who is hard to love right now. What might be going on beneath the surface for them?
  • What does loving well look like for you as a quieter person? (It doesn’t have to be loud to be real.)
  • Is there someone you need to forgive, or ask forgiveness from? Write about it here first.
  • Who has loved you in a way that changed you? What did they do?
  • Read back through your “love notes” page. Who could you pass some of that love on to?

Weekly Reflection: What did loving others teach you about how God loves you?

Wrapping it Up: End-of-Month Reflection

At the end of the month, take a moment to reflect, no judgement, just curiosity:

  • Where did I feel most loved this month?
  • When did I struggle to receive love, and why do I think that was?
  • What is one loving rhythm I want to carry with me into March?

I hope this gives you a gentle way through February, whatever this month holds for you. Here’s to being loved first and loving well.

With grace, Debbera