February 1

At some point late last year, one of the Little Boys learned how to make paper snowflakes at school. In a nutshell, we now have a lot of snowflakes in our house, but that didn't stop them from making even more of them this afternoon after they'd finished their homework.

I was busy when one of them thrust this into my hands, so I put it down and said I'd take a look later. When I did, I was touched to see that they'd moved from paper snowflakes to paper hearts.

This may sound hokey when it's all said and done, but I'll go there anyway: we desperately need more love in this world. Not lip service. Not "I'll love you if you agree with me" love. Not hypocritical love that demands more from someone than we're willing to give of ourselves. Not those faux loves, but the real, honest, unconditional kind that looks beyond flaws and sees the redeemable qualities in everyone -- even those we're inclined to scorn. That's what we need. And I'm praying that more people will open their hearts and accept that love, because God offers it up to all of us, every second of every minute of every hour of every single day. We just have to soak it in.