This is, of course, due to what some may call a “Hallmark Holiday,” Valentine’s Day. The origins of this holiday are well documented (for more information, please refer to the links at the end of this article), but how well do we understand love, itself? In “If You Love Me…” Robert Berendt explores how many misunderstand love to their own detriment and the detriment of others. He also explores how love, when understood and displayed appropriately, can be a powerfully uplifting force in our lives.

Many people in the world claim to understand God’s love and His plan for mankind. But fewer fully understand what God requires of us in return. In “Keeping the Old Man Buried,” Graemme Marshall discusses why baptism is an important step in our lives and why it is pictured as a form of death and resurrection.

For those who are just beginning on the road to conversion, our faults and sins and giving up the gratification of our fleshly desires can seem to be obstacles too large to overcome. Even though we know that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26), it is easy for us to become disheartened and discouraged. Certainly, we can, and should, pray for guidance in these times of doubt, but are there other things we can do as well? In “Overcoming Discouragement”, Hector Earle explores some of the common reasons why we become discouraged. He also explores how we can set goals to overcome discouraging times.

Getting in shape is a goal that many have set for themselves. The merits and health benefits of regular exercise are hard to deny. It seems hardly a week goes by without an article or news story reinforcing that fact. But it seems it can be easy to overlook what some call the biggest muscle in the body—the brain. Kathy Foster walks us through how the brain works and why exercise (both physical and mental) is needed for our minds in “Exercise Your Body, Exercise Your Brain.”

However, too much of anything can be a problem—even exercise. If we become too focused on one aspect of our lives, we can easily begin to let other areas go by the wayside. Sometimes, as we see in “A Trip to the Barbershop” by Dianne Carter, we just need to take a step back, slow down and take part in someone else’s life.

The articles in this issue cover a wide range of topics. We can consider them unified, however, by God’s love for us and His desire to see us grow as His children, walking the path that He has set before us. You can consider these articles as stepping-stones, leading into further personal study or further reading in other publications. You can take comfort that you are not alone as you “…walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).