VALENTINE'S DAY IN ADVANCE

Welcome, doxie lovers. I want to kick off the Valentine's Day season a bit early, because I have so many cute doxie valentine-related images I want to share with you. Also, if you're thinking of what to get that sweetheart of yours, might I humbly suggest THE DACHSHUND ESCAPADES books?? Oh, of course include the red roses and chocolates in a heart-shaped box, but the centerpiece to express your enduring and undying love will be these delightful books! Click on the BOOKS tab above for more.

Here are some cute doxie valentines:

And don't forget about Sarge's heartwarming tales:

HAPPY TUESDAY, DOXIE LOVERS!

TODAY'S THE DAY!

Happy Valentine's Day, doxie lovers! Hope you're having a very "sweet" day.

My wonderful hubby Clark gave me my favorites: long-stemmed red roses and a box of chocolates. I'm not hard to please at all, lol. 

And here's a very sweet doxie for you today:

Such a sweet English cream doxie ~ sweet as candy!

Have a wonderful day, doxie lovers!

VALENTINE DOXIES

In searching for dachshund photos, I've found an overabundance of Valentine pictures and cards featuring doxies. Well, we all know how "loving" doxies can be, don't we? It's only fitting that they should grace Valentine cards and photos. Here are some of my favorites. Enjoy!

"Can't help it - kissing is in my DNA"

"I love hearts as much as the next dawg,
but what's with the X and O?"

"Nuttin' like a Valentine box full of treats to make my day!"

Vintage Valentine card featuring a doxie

Dachshunds . . . you gotta love 'em, especially on Valentine's Day!

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FOR DOXIE LOVERS

With today being Valentine's Day, I sincerely hope you have a great one!  My hubby gave me a nice box of SUGAR FREE Whitman's chocolates (which I prefer).  So yummy!  And, we're going out to eat for lunch when our oldest daughter Holly and family arrive in about an hour.  We love being with family.

Which reminds me:  in a little over a week, we're flying out to Arizona to visit our daughter Bethany and son-in-law Kurt.  We'll spend a week in the warm sunshine; it's supposed to get really cold here in Georgia next week with the possibility of snow, so we'll be glad to get to a warmer climate for a few days.  Duke with stay with Holly & family--the grandchildren love him, and he loves them, too.

Many blessings to all out there, and here's the best valentine of all:

A DOXIE VALENTINE FOR YOU:

DOXIE LOVERS: WE "HEART" YOU!

Dogs are the perfect valentine, because they exhibit unconditional love toward us just like God does :).

That's what my late father, Robert "Papa" Duke, said in I AM SARGE:
"A dawg loves you no matter what. You can be ugly, old, even dumb--but a dawg don't care. All he wants is your love and some food now and then. I think dawgs represent the unconditional love God has for us--maybe that's why He created them, to show that to us." 

So--Happy Valentine's Day, doxie lovers.  Be sure to hug your dawg today :).  Even a treat would be appropriate.
 

VALENTINE'S DAY: THIS IS TRUE LOVE

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, when hearts, love, flowers, and candy are prominent.  Those are all fine, even enjoyable, but for those who are searching for something more eternal and lasting, your free gift is waiting: 

believe Him, accept Him, and turn your life over to Him.  This post is not about embracing a religion, but accepting a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.

And, just like any other gift, one cannot earn it, nor can one lose it, once an individual has accepted Jesus Christ as personal Savior, thus receiving God's free gift of eternal life.  

"For it is by grace are you saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast."  Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.  My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and the Father are one."  John 10:27-29 NIV

He is the way through which one can obtain eternal life:  "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6 NIV

I turned my life over to Him on December 9, 1975, and have never regretted it.  Have I had problems or difficulties in my life since that night?  Of course.  But the difference is that He is always with me, guiding and uplifting me.  I don't have to go through the valleys alone.  And I know that my eternity is secured, so I am not fearful of what tomorrow brings.  This fact puts everything "down here" in proper perspective:  "I don't know what the future holds, but I know WHO HOLDS THE FUTURE."

On this Valentine's Day, may yours be full of blessings and joy.

VALENTINE'S DAY AND TRUE LOVE

With Valentine's Day approaching, we hear all this talk about love, Cupid, roses, chocolates, and teddy bears (there's nothing wrong with any of that, mind you!).  We all enjoy giving gifts to those we love.  But let us remind ourselves about true love, that eternal love that God exemplifies toward His children:

Now that is true love to emulate!

VALENTINE'S DAY? BAH, HUMBUG!

Call me the Scrooge of Valentine's Day.  Declare that I'm lacking something.   Wait!  I'm not against love and giving gifts; I'm just against all the over-the-top hoopla for Valentine's Day.

I plan on giving my hubby a gift for Valentine's Day, and he'll give me one, too.  TV commercials suggest giving pajamas, teddy bears, and the usual chocolates and/or flowers.  All of those are just fine, but why limit "it" to one day a year?  I mean, shouldn't we demonstrate our love in ways other than just candy, flowers, or the like?  True love is with you at your worst moment, worst illness, worst event, and even your worst behavior.  There isn't anything superficial about true love. 

Do  you know the best Valentine's Day gift I ever received?  Decades ago when my hubby was in college, we didn't have money to buy each other anything for Valentine's Day.  For my present, he washed, waxed, and detailed our one car for me.  He spent hours doing that, and it was done out of love.

The Bible puts it this way:  "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking:  it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails."  (I Corinthians 13:4-8a NIV)

I always want to display that kind of love to my family and friends.  I fail sometimes, as we all do, but what a wonderful example the Bible gives us to follow!  I wish each of you a Valentine's day filled with blessings, joy, and fulfillment.