With Love from Chronic Joy

VALENTINES, LOVE, AND KINDNESS

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)

Do you remember exchanging Valentines when you were young, choosing a brightly colored card for each classmate? There was something exciting about placing each little card in a heart-shaped envelope or a decorated shoebox. Those shoeboxes (just bursting with cheery cards) provided such a fun read—one that was even better when a card had a candy treat attached.

What a sweet, simple concept—saying something kind to others and accepting kindness from them! Fred Rogers famously said: “There are three ways to ultimate success: The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind.”

Jesus chooses each of us as His everyday Valentine, pouring intentional kindness and everlasting love into our souls, enabling us to love others with His love. Let’s be intentional this Valentine’s Day and express His love to others!

Color Your Own Valentines is a set of printables for our Littles. Why not print them out, tap into your creative side, color the Valentines, and enjoy the delight of sharing them with children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, or neighborhood children? (Don’t forget the candy. It makes each little Valentine even more fun! 😉)

LOVE FROM CHRONIC JOY ❤️

Chronic Joy is like an everyday Valentine. From the beginning, our heart’s desire has been to share God’s love and kindness through:

• our website, chockful of inspiration and tools.
• hundreds of encouraging blog posts and devotionals.
• Chronic Joy publications and Books We Love—hand-curated to make this journey a little easier.
• more than 250+ FREE printables (with even more in the works!).
• flat cards, Service-in-a-Box, and Gifts for the Soul in our store: gift-giving and serving made simple!
• You Get Mail!—thousands of #PenToPaper packets winging their way into mailboxes worldwide several times a year.

SELF-CARE FOR YOUR SOUL

When chronic illness, mental illness, or chronic pain is a constant companion, life can feel overwhelming. We can doubt our value, worth, importance, or necessity. That’s why it’s important for us to care for, be kind to, and be generous with ourselves. When we care well for our souls, we discover the beautiful ways God infuses His everlasting love into every breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

AN INVITATION

Although we may struggle to spend time with God, we pray that our free printables will kickstart your adventure of deeper connection with Him, reminding you of how deeply God loves you and how very precious you are to Him. If we begin to practice sitting in the shadow of God’s wings, being filled with His peace and presence, our hearts will be filled with His everlasting love.

God’s words in Jeremiah 31:3 (I have loved you with an everlasting love.) are among the most comforting in Scripture. His love has been described as a stream that never freezes, a fountain that never runs dry, and a sun that never sets. If God’s love for us is an everlasting love (a love that has no beginning and will have no end), do we allow that astonishing truth to amaze our hearts and transform our lives—or is our relationship with God a duty, a list of boxes to check off our to-do lists (pray, read the Bible, go to church, gossip less, love better, serve more)?

TRANSFORMED BY LOVE

God longs for us to delight in Him, rise eager to be with Him, open the pages of Scripture thirsty for His presence, and pray out of genuine and sacrificial love for others. God invites us and transforms us because we are His beloved.

We are made new by learning to live as His beloved. God’s love outlasts our hardships and suffering, endures beyond our pain, and remains faithful even when we doubt ourselves. No matter what we experience, how far we wander, how often we question, how angry we get, or how desperate we become, God’s love for us is deeper still.

Jeremiah’s words remind us that even when we feel far from God, He is the God who restores, rebuilds, redeems, and draws us with unfailing kindness. He is the One whose rich and abundant mercy streams from His immeasurable and unconditional love for us. We are the beloved, Friends. What an astonishing thing!

FREE PRINTABLES

PRINTABLES FOR OUR LITTLES

Is there a Little in your life? A grandchild? A neighbor? A Sunday school class? We have dozens of printables featuring CJ Star and the Sonshine Squad, who share God’s love and kindness with children. Our Kids Get Mail! envelopes are filled with coloring sheets, games, cards, jokes, stickers, and (this month) Color Your Own Valentines.