by Chris Jones

Love is the greatest thing we can teach our children and Valentine's Day is the right vehicle to do it. Their hearts are primed for it. And as a husband and father, I take it upon myself to be the love leader in my family.

I know that when I display affection towards my wife in my children's presence, they treat her as I do. I have boys; they want to be like daddy. Part of that involves loving what daddy loves—be it an activity, sport, or in this case, mommy. They kiss mommy on the cheek, they cuddle with her, supply mommy with endless amounts of hugs, and our 6-year-old walks around the house telling her that he loves her. It makes me proud since it is a reflection of how they see me.

One goal I set daily is to touch my wife and children—a hug, a kiss, a pat on the head, holding hands, a massage, a fist pound, wrestling on the floor, cuddling while reading or a high five. I've taught my kids through this that connection and affection are important. Right now, we're teaching Quincy how to love with his time and money. This is challenging for him because giving financially cuts into the money he's saving for games and toys. My goal with him now is to prime him to not love money, but to love giving a portion of it away to worthy causes like ministry, needy families, acts of kindness or charities.

In the season of love, I hope you will find opportunities to teach your children how to give love as opposed to just receiving it. Commercialism can taint our hearts. But as Jesus put it so simply, "Freely you have received, freely give."

May love never leave your home.

Chris Jones has been shown a lot of love in his life and strives to love others in the same way.