It’s Valentine’s week and we are super excited to celebrate love! We hope this Valentine’s Day edition of the LoveNote2 includes something fun and romantic that you will try this coming weekend or sometime this month. We pray that Valentine’s Day will find you feeling refreshed and ready to extend grace to one another, look over each other’s quirks and habits (that usually get on your nerves). Pray for the spirit of kindness and caring, then go purchase a nice gift (gifts) for your love; remember to give each other compliments (words of affirmation) this weekend; help with household tasks, so that everyone is in a good mood (acts of service); be intentional about setting aside time just for the two of you (quality time); and, last but not least…..lots of physical touch (physical touch)…kisses, kisses, kisses, to cover all the Love Languages and ensure you have an amazing Valentine’s Day.

Those of us hard at work, building and maintaining real love can attest that it is WORK! Let’s put in the work, especially this week, then commit to keeping up what you start.

Choose positivity, choose joy, choose forgiveness and choose grace. Sometimes resentment can creep into marriages and one spouse gets jealous of the other’s job; jealous that their spouse has more friends; jealous that their spouse appears to be enjoying life more than them; jealous that they have fewer commitments and responsibilities and more down time. This last one is me….Paula (LOL)! But, let’s hit the “dismiss” button on this and intentionally focus on the gift of our marriage, the fact that we have been blessed to have someone so incredible on this journey with us. When you only have one sandwich, agree to cut it in half and each of you eat a half; when you only have $10.00, agree to each take $5.00. This is the fun part! Real love requires that we surrender our preferences (it’s not about what we want, but what God wants) and surrender our pride. It may make you feel good to point out your strengths, but your pride can steal the joy from your marriage. So, let’s avoid pointing out how terrific we are as a parent, how good we are at keeping the house clean and organized, how well we are doing with managing our money. Let’s spend time praying to recognize our spouse’s strengths, respect the fact that they are different, and ask God to continue to give us a heart for one another and a heart for Him!

We know you going to have a great time celebrating LOVE! Happy Valentine’s Day!

Feeling like seeing a movie? You can go to the drive-in movie this Valentine’s Day weekend! Check out Raleigh Road Outdoor Theater, 3336 Raleigh Rd Henderson, NC 27537, http://www.raleighroaddrivein.com/

Thursday, Friday, February 11^th

6:00 p.m.- Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery

8:15 p.m.- The Little Things

Friday, February 12^th

6:00 p.m.- 50 First Dates

8:15 p.m.- Sleepless in Seattle

Saturday, February 13^th

6:00 p.m.- Grease

8:15 p.m.- Ghost

Sunday, February 14^th

6:00 p.m.- Casablanca

8:15 p.m.- The Notebook

Prep: 10 minutes

Cook: 25 minutes

Total: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

 1.                  Heat oven to 400°F | 200°C. On a large- rimmed baking sheet, toss together potatoes with the oil, 1/2 tablespoon of garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Spread out in an even layer and roast for 15 minutes until they're just starting to soften and brown.

4.                 Return to oven and continue baking until the potatoes are golden and fork-tender and the salmon is opaque throughout, (about 10 minutes). Optional: broil in the last 2 minutes for charred edges. 

Brian McKnight's, Love Of My Life

...you're more than wonderful, more than amazing....the irreplacable love of my life...

·        Romantic Dinner In or Out (Out? See list of restaurants; In? See recipe)

·        Exchange Gifts (see gift ideas list)

·        Breakfast in bed

·        Go hiking at Umstead Park, https://www.ncparks.gov/william-b-umstead-state-park/home or Eno State Park, 4390 Old Cole Mill Road, https://www.ncparks.gov/eno-river-state-park/home

·        Game Night- Catch Phrase, Jenga, Taboo, Pictionary

·        Enjoy a Movie Marathon on Netflex: Bridgerton, Queen of the South

·        Cook Together (see the recipe for salmon, below)

·        Take a bath together (warm water, bath bombs, rose petals, essential oil, candles, music)

·        Rent a cozy log cabin, https://glampinghub.com/rentalsearch/rustic-cabin-rentals-north-carolina/

·        Enjoy an indoor picnic: order pizza, sit on a blanket near the fireplace, turn on some music

·        Recreate your favorite date

·        Go camping: Eno River, Jordan Lake, Occoneechee Campground, etc.

·        Take a virtual painting class

·        Go to a museum or go on a virtual tour

·        Go Ice Skating- Polar Ice Raleigh (Iceplex), 2601 N Raleigh Blvd, Raleigh NC 27604

·        Book an At-Home Massage: https://www.massagebymichelleg.com/services-price-list or https://nclisteninghands.glossgenius.com/ (not a recommendation, just information)

·        Enjoy some Zen time together……YOGA, https://youtu.be/ptKO_Md_CWY

·        Play some mini golf at Frankie’s Fun Park, https://frankies.com/raleigh-pricing-attractions/

·        Make and listen to a playlist of love songs…Spotify, Amazon Music…

·        The Dinner Detective Interactive Mystery Show - Raleigh-Durham, Embassy Suites by Hilton- Raleigh Crabtree Hotel, Sunday, February 14^th , 6-9 p.m., 4700 Creedmoor Road, Raleigh, NC

·        Carolina Skies: Valentine’s Day Edition, Saturday, February 13^th - the most popular show gets a date night twist with ancient legends of love in the night sky. Morehead Planetarium and Science Center

·        Valentine Adinkra -Sip and Paint Workshop, Saturday, February 13, 6pm-7:30pm; Triangle Cultural Art Gallery, 8320 Litchford Road, Suite138, Raleigh, NC

·        Valentine’s with Goats- Love is in the air! Take your Valentine to Spring Haven Farm. They will be overflowing with love, and snuggly animal hugs - and promise there are plenty to go around. Spring Haven Farm, LLC, 5306 Homer Ruffin Road, Chapel Hill, NC

·        Your Love is King by Sade

·        All My Life by K-Ci and JoJo

·        I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston

·        Best Part by Daniel Caesar featuring H.E.R.

·        Because You Loved Me by Celine Dion

·        Love by Music Soulchild

·        Spend My Life With You by Eric Benet

·        All of Me by John Legend

·        U Move, I Move by John Legend ft. Jhene Aiko

·        Cupid by Sam Cooke

·        You and I by Avant

·        Find Myself in You by Brian McKnight

Union Baptist Church Couples' Ministry invites members and friends to join us for our Annual Valentine's Celebration. The event is FREE, but you must register to receive a link to the event, so that we may track the number of Zoom 'slots' available for attendees. 

You must register via myubc.org/union/couples-valentines-event/

Contact Sherman Newman at (919) 971-7946 or at ubccouples@yahoo.com, for more information or to send pictures and messages to be shared during the event