1. Give him Valentines by the Dozens:

Buy a box of cute kid’s valentines–Mickey Mouse, Buzz Lightyear, Cinderella, or whatever. Sign the back of each valentine. Place them where your sweetheart will find them throughout the day—on the mirror, in the fridge, on dashboard of the car, in a briefcase, tucked in a Bible, etc. Hide a few so your loved one will keep finding valentines cards for days.

2. Pack a Valentine’s Picnic:

Pack a picnic lunch for your sweetheart. Throw in some candles, a red table cloth, and some beautiful wine goblets. Have a picnic with him in his office, at a park, or on a roof top … use your imagination.

3. Burn a Personal CD:

Compile and burn all your favorite tunes and love songs on a CD. Create and print a customized cover from a kit you purchase at an office supply store.

4. Make a Romantic Jigsaw:

Write a love letter, poem, or song on one side of a heavy piece of cardstock.  Paste a favorite photo or collage of photos on the other side. Cut the message into jigsaw puzzle pieces that he needs to put together before he can read it.

5.  Create a Crossword Puzzle:

Make a crossword puzzle of your history together as a couple. For example, you could include the place you met, the name of a favorite song, a restaurant you often dine at, memorable events and occasions, gifts you exchanged, favorite activities, etc. To help you put the crossword together, visit http://www.supercrosswordcreator.com

6. Name a Star:

Name a Star after your sweetheart and then view your star online using a robotically controlled telescope at   http://www.nameastarlive.com/

7. Leave a Message on the Lawn:

Let the whole neighborhood know how much you love your guy. Stamp a message in the snow and tint it with red food coloring. No snow?  Purchase some Athletic Field Marker Spray in red or white for about $7 a can and paint a big valentine message on the grass.

8. Celebrate 12 Days of Valentine’s:

We have 12 days of Christmas, so why not 12 days of Valentine’s? Starting on Valentine’s Day, give your sweetheart 1 small gift.  On day 2, surprise him with 2 small items. For example: 2 coupons, 3 love songs, 4 heart-shaped cookies, 5 love poems, 6 car fresheners, 7 balloons, “I Love You” in 8 languages, 9 message heart candies, 10 reasons why you love him, 11 Hershey kisses, 12 cupcakes. You get the idea.

9. Hang some love on a Valentine’s Tree:

Gather some branches and put them in a jar.  Cut out heart-shaped notes and hang them from the branches.  Also hang chocolates and other treats from the tree.

10.  Jar of Affection:

Decorate a large jar with valentines. Fill the jar with folded pieces of paper—coupons—for “treats” such as a kiss, a back rub, breakfast in bed, coffee at starbucks, candles with dinner, etc. Your sweetheart gets to draw one coupon out each day until they are gone.

 Celebrate Valentine’s Day All Year

Why confine the celebration to one day? Take advantage of Valentine’s season by heading down to the dollar store and stocking up on inexpensive wrapping paper, valentine’s décor and heart-emblazoned trinkets so that you can show your sweetie how much you love him throughout the year.

Do you have any great low-budget Valentine Ideas to share? I’d love for you to leave a comment and add to the list.

Related posts:

1. Whole Woman Day – Raleigh
2. Calling all Men on International Women’s Day

Recently, I hit the street near Notre Dame University, and asked college-aged girls what they thought about flirting:

[If you cannot see the embedded video, you can click here to watch it]

Is flirting really just a game? Everyone’s doing it! Our culture upholds it as innocent fun—even the five-year olds in the toddler beauty pageants are taught how to playfully writhe and pose in a seductive way.

More than Just a Game

The Sage Father warns his son about women who try to capture guys with their “eyelashes”—that is, with their flirtatious, coy glances. (Prov. 6:25) And in Isaiah, the Lord soundly rebukes His daughters for their provocative body language—outstretched necks, wanton looks, wiggling hips, and mincing feet. (Isaiah 3:16)

The New Testament repeatedly identifies “sensuality” as a sin (Gal. 5:19, Rom. 13:13, Mark 7:21-23, 1 Pet. 4:3). It’s a behavior that Christians are to repent of and turn from (2 Cor. 12:21). Seductive body language could have been one of the sins Paul had in mind when he told the believers in Ephesus, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality or of any kind of impurity… because these are improper for God’s holy people.” (Eph. 5:3)

What’s the big deal? What’s the problem with flirting and showing off your womanly wares? You might defend your flirtatious behavior by claiming that you don’t intend to seduce a man to have sex—you’re just playing and are not really serious.  But suggestive body language implies or hints at something improper. A woman who gives any man (other than her husband) a “come-and-get-me” look is effect telling a lie. She is thumbing her nose at God by hinting that illicit sex is desirable and exciting.  She is sinning by willfully enticing a man’s thoughts away from the path of virtue.  Body language that implies or hints at a wrongful sexual act is just as offensive to God as performing that sexual act.

Not Even a Hint

The Bible’s perspective on the sin of sensuality includes more than just the type of seduction that leads to illicit sex. Seduction is ANY behavior that purposefully leads another person in the wrong direction.  It’s any behavior that falsely hints that evil is desirable or exciting.  It’s any behavior that entices someone to think about something improper. Even if she’s just playing, the woman who turns on her sexual charm clearly wants men to think that sex with her is an alluring idea.  That’s seduction.  And that’s sin.

Nowadays, Christian teachers routinely address the problem of sexual sin in regards to men looking at porn and lusting after women, but they rarely address the problem of women inviting men to lust with flirtatious, provocative body language.

The disciples were aghast at the seemingly impossible standards Christ upheld. Jesus told the guys that looking at a woman lustfully was just as sinful as having sex with her.  So I’m sure He’d tell you that giving the look to the stranger across the room is just as sinful as jumping into bed with him.

There’s no getting around it.  The woman who deliberately sends the invitation to look and think about sex is just as guilty as the man who accepts it.

Keep Your Body Language Holy

But is ALL flirting wrong?

Body language is part of the romantic “dance” between a couple.  The glances, the smiles, and the playful interaction are important elements that signal interest and move the relationship along. Nonverbal communication is an important part of all face-to-face interaction. Some psychologists say that it conveys 55 percent of the overall message.  The point of paying attention to our body language is not to get rid of body language, but to make sure that what we say with our bodies is just as holy as what we say with our mouths.

What do you think?

• Is the idea that women should be careful about flirting outdated and prudish?
• How can you tell when your body language crosses the line from sending an “I’m interested in you” message to sending a “Wouldn’t it be fun to have sex with me?” message?
• Do you agree or disagree that “the woman who deliberately sends the invitation to look and think about sex is just as guilty as the man who accepts it.”?
• Is flirting ever okay?

(The video above is one of the dozens of sh0rt “conversation-teaser” videos on the Girls Gone Wise DVD)

Related posts:

1. Book Blog 8: Flirt to Convert
2. Wild vs. Wild Contrast #8: Body Language
3. Book Blog 10: How Far is Too Far?

[If you can't see the embedded video, you can watch it by clicking here. You can find more video clips like this on the Girls Gone Wise DVD.]

It’s Your Turn

I’d love to hear from you. Leave a reply and tell me. . .  Have you ever seen (or been) a boy-crazy girl? What causes boy craziness? And how can girls get over it?

Related posts:

1. Book Blog: Happily Ever After
2. Book Blog Intro: A Tale of a Girl Gone Wild
3. Protecting Girls from Boy-Craziness

I say “apparently” because I didn’t watch the show. I’m not a big Bachelor fan. But it’s tough to go anywhere these days without overhearing girls rehashing the program, and arguing over who should and shouldn’t be the next to be denied a rose.

The guys aren’t as crazy about the series.

Besides the fact that there are no guns, car chases, or buildings blowing up, they have a hard time tolerating all the drama. Each episode documents how Ben’s hopefuls pull out all the stops to “catch” him. They bait and scheme, and use all their wiles to reel him in. He is party to the game, and takes advantage of their seductive efforts. The drama, manipulation, behind-the-scenes back-stabbing, and bait-and-reel is admittedly what makes the show so entertaining.

Fly-Fishing and Man-Fishing

The fly-fishing/man-fishing analogy is actually quite apt. The bachelor thinks he’s the one doing the fishing, but in reality, it’s the women baiting their hooks and throwing out their lines . . .  They use sexual manipulation, emotional manipulation, verbal manipulation, and circumstantial manipulation to snag and reel him in.

A wise father once instructed his son to avoid crafty women. He told him that being snared by a wily woman, (“whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains”), is a fate “more bitter than death.” He warned him that “The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.”  (Ecclesiastes 7:26)

The Problem with Bait-and-Reel

The problem with a manipulative approach to male-female relationships is that it ultimately backfires. Dangling yourself out like bait to hook a man isn’t just bad for the guy who gets caught in your trap; it’s also bad for YOU. It’s a foolish strategy. In the end, it doesn’t deliver. You’ll end up selling out to sin and having a partner that you have to restrain like a dog on a leash. He’ll become immune and resentful of your attempts to manipulate and control his behavior. The relationship will inevitably deteriorate.

A Wild Thing uses a fly-fishing approach toward relationships, but a Wise Thing rejects the worldly idea that in order to get a guy, a girls needs to manipulatively toss out the bait and reel him in. She seeks to be godly, above-board, unpretentious, and without guile in her relationships with men.

Watch this short video to see how young Christian men feel about a woman hanging out the bait:

(If your browser doesn’t display the embedded video, click here to watch it.)

This video clip is one of dozens of short discussion-provoking videos on the NEW Girls Gone Wise DVD.

What do you think about the bait-and-reel method?

I’m giving away a free video!  To enter the draw, leave a comment about what you think about the bait-and-reel method of catching a guy or what you thought about what the guys said on the video.

You could also Facebook, tweet, or share  your thoughts on social media. (@GirlsGoneWise) We’ll collect all the social media buzz  and make a Draw on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 12 noon PST)

Related posts:

1. Man Whisperer vs. True Woman
2. Book Blog 3: Are you a Wily Coyote?
3. God Created MAN

The NEW Girls Gone Wise Companion Guides and DVDs hit store shelves this month! I’m excited about these new resources because they’ll help women study the book in a more intensive way–and help even more women go wise in a world gone wild! Just this week, I heard of a small group, a Sunday School class, a high school, and a women’s prison that are all using the new materials to launch Girls Gone Wise studies.

The video team and I had a lot of fun shooting the footage in Canada, Michigan, and Indiana. Here’s a look at the promotional video we put together:

(If the embedded video doesn’t display on your browser Click Here to watch the promo )

Over the next several days, I’ll be posting some sample content from the Companion Guide and DVD, and giving away free copies of these new resources. Help me spread the word by commenting, Tweeting, and Facebooking your friends about the new resources. Everyone who joins the “buzz” will be entered in a daily prize draw.

We’ll announce the first winner tomorrow.

Related posts:

1. Conversation Peace on DVD
2. Girls Gone Wise Video Shoot
3. Official Girls Gone Wise Release Date Today