Some of you are waiting to the last minute to go out and buy that perfect card for your sweetheart on Valentine's Day. Wait no longer for I have the perfect card for you, it's called a hand written note. No, I am not talking about being cheap or really waiting to the last minute and not having time to go  out and pick up a card. I believe the perfect card for your sweetheart is a handwritten letter from you.

For the past several years I gave up on the Hallmarks, American Greetings (a great Cleveland company BTW), and other card makers because the content was not mine. I began to write letters to my wife Julie for major celebrations in our lives such as first date anniversary, Valentine's Day, her birthday, and our anniversary. Ever so often, I will write a letter randomly just because I love her.  I have also done this with my daughters on special occasions as well.

Read below to find out why I really write letters to Julie.

1. It Allows Me To Express How I Really Feel

Some cards really do have great content, but they are not my words and feelings expressed in a personal way to my wife. For years I would go in search of the perfect card and spend whatever it cost to buy that perfect card that I thought would impress Julie. What I was really doing was impressing myself. I began to write letters to Julie, whether the content was good or not, I wanted Julie to know how I felt about her.

2. It Makes Me Think and Remember

When you sit down with a pen and blank sheet of paper you have a canvas ready for words. Words that you do not have to conjure up, but words that flow from your past experiences and from your future expectations or hopes. When I am writing a letter to Julie, I begin to think of our thirty-three years together and the wonderful life we have experienced. I also begin to think of  the remaining time we have together, which I am praying for at least another thirty-three years and write to her from that perspective.

3. It Makes Me Appreciate Her More and More

Writing these letters to Julie brings to mind things that I take for granted on a daily basis. The things she has done for our family, our daughters, our grandchildren and the countless number of people we have been able to serve in ministry is staggering. She is truly a phenomenal lady that I am blessed to have as my bride.  I am in awe of the goodness of God that He has shown to me in my wife.

4. It Leaves A Legacy For Our Family

If something were to happen to me and I pass from this life to the eternal one waiting for me with Christ in heaven, I want to give Julie something to remember me by. Our home, financial stability, photos, a good name are great things to leave your spouse. I want to leave something special for Julie to have that when she reads these letters she can hear me, see me, feel me, and remember me in them. I know they will be passed down to our daughters, to our grandchildren and their children. It is my hope that those generations will see the love we have for one another and start to leave their legacy footprint on their spouses  and children.