Scripture-Centered Valentine’s Day Countdown Advent Calendar

Looking for a way to countdown to Valentine’s Day in a more meaningful way? Use these Valentine’s Day scriptures to create a Valentine’s Day countdown advent calendar for your family.

Big thank you to my friend Loryanne Cox for this post!

I don’t know very many people who love Valentine’s Day. It seems that everyone has at least one story of a horrible Valentine’s experience.

The one I love to tell, that I can laugh about years later, is from my freshmen year in high school.

Our school did a fundraiser: buy carnations for your friends to be delivered in class. It was a teacher’s nightmare I’m sure. Each time the classroom door opened, everyone’s attention would divert to their rising hearts, hoping the flowers coming in were for them.

I was just as hopeful as all my classmates, but as the day went on not only did I lose hope, but I started to feel sick to my stomach. By the end of the day I felt so awful I called my mother to come to get me. But, by then, it was late enough she told me to stick it out and take the bus.

On the way to the bus, I cleared the contents of my stomach at least three times. As I was in the bathroom, vomiting, the bus drove away without me.

This was in the days before cell phones, so I figured I’d wait outside for my mom to realize I wasn’t on the bus and come get me. I waited for 2 hours holding my stomach, as I watched couples clear out of the building, holding hands, exchanging gifts.

I decided then that I’d hate Valentine’s Day forever.

After that year, my parents started giving each of us a little treat and a note to say they loved us, but it still wasn’t much of a holiday.

Becoming a mother made me wonder what I could do to make it special for my kids without all the candy and expectations.

I thought about what I wanted them to get out of Valentine’s Day.

First, I wanted them to know they were loved. Loved by their family, but most of all, by God.

Second, I wanted them to learn how important it is to love and serve others.

I came up with three ways we could celebrate which would teach them these things.

1. Valentine’s Scripture Advent Calendar

I found 14 Valentine’s Day scriptures (see them below) that tell of God’s love or teach us to love others.

I wrote each scripture reference on different sizes of hearts. Starting February 1^st and leading up to Valentine’s Day, we will read a scripture a day.

To make it a little more fun and exciting for young kids, I hide the heart first and have them look for it.

Biblical Valentine’s Day scriptures about God’s love or loving others:

1. Hosea 14:4
2. Deuteronomy 6:5
3. Jeremiah 31:3
4. John 3:16
5. John 13:34-35
6. John 15:13
7. Romans 8:35-39
8. Romans 12:10
9. 1 Thessalonians 3:12
10. 2 Thessalonians 2:16
11. 1 John 4:7-10
12.  Matthew 5:43-44
13. Ephesians 3:19
14. Psalms 116:1-2

I replaced the last 3 with scriptures from The Book of Mormon as we are Latter-day Saints (LDS):

1. 2 Nephi 1:15
2. Jacob 3:2
3. Moroni 7:47

If you like these Valentine’s Day love scriptures, you’ll probably love these Advent Scripture calendars for Christmas time!

I also have some tips for memorizing scriptures with kids if you want to try and memorize one or more of these verses during your Valentine’s Day advent.

2. Bedroom Door Full of Hearts

I cut out lots of hearts of various colors and sizes. Every day in February we write something we love about all the members of our family on a heart, then tape them to that person’s door.

By the time Valentine’s Day arrives, everyone has a door full of reasons they are loved.

3. Heart Attacking a Neighbor or Friend

On Valentine’s Day our family chooses another family we love spending time with or who may just need a pick-me-up. We cut out and decorate hearts, then go together and heart attack their front door, like Doodle Craft Blog did below:

You could also do some additional anonymous gifting with it as an additional family service idea (especially as Random Acts of Kindness Day is February 17!) You could even think about doing your own Random Acts of Kindness advent calendar.

My hope with these traditions is that my children will grow up knowing they are loved whether or not they have someone who is romantically interested in them. I want them to know that love is so much more than just chocolate, hearts, and bears; that the love of their family and of God is eternal.

For more scripture-based and faith-promoting posts, check out the following:

• Bring the Scriptures to Life for Kids with Scripture-Themed Carnival
• 12 Scriptures Worth Memorizing
• 12 Scriptures About God Worth Memorizing
• 12 Positive Scripture Affirmations to Memorize

For more faith-promoting posts, check out the following:

• 25 Christian Christmas Songs All About the True Nativity Story
• The Prayer That Changed My Life
• Curing My Depression Took More than what self-help books recommend
• How to Make Homeless Blessing Bags with a Group
• 5 Tips for Getting Kids Stoked to Go to Church
• How to Know What Jesus Would Do in the 21st Century
• How to Make Time for God Amid the Demands of Motherhood