So, one of my favorite all time books is The Five Love Languages.
When I worked at Lifeway, they called me the Love Language Gal because I was seriously selling this book constantly because I couldn’t get over how true and accurate it was! And it helped Chad and I understand each other so much better.
It literally helped me out in my relationships so much! It is a book for couples but you can use it for any relationship. So for all yons (yes I said yons my mother is a hillbilly! What can I say?) that want to communicate better in your relationships and learn how you receive love and give love here they are:
1. Words of Affirmation: If this is your love language then you really appreciate and enjoy affirming words and to hear how much your loved. You are typically a words person. You not only like to receive words of affirmation, but you love to give them out!
2. Acts of Service: You are a doer! A workhorse! When you love someone, you will do and do for them and then some. Also, instead of someone giving you flowers or gifts, you’d rather them just help you out with some chores or a project.
3. Gifts: You may not be the greatest at showing your feelings but, you sure will take someone to lunch or surprise them with a beautiful card just because. Or you simply just love giving gifts, money or something special just to say I love you and your appreciated. You are a giver through and through and usually very generous.
4. Physical Touch: You are a cuddler, lover, and pretty much can’t stop touching the people you love. When people see you coming they know they are going to get a great, huge hug!
5. Quality Time: When you spend time with those you love you don’t want the television on you want their full attention and to be with them completely. You are all about just spending time talking, sharing and just being together.
So, that’s the Five Love Languages. You can have 1 or 2 and maybe a little bit of each one, but usually you have one or two that are dominant than the rest. So would you like to know mine? 🙂 For those of you that really know me, you already know or have guessed. 🙂 Mine are words of affirmation and quality time. My friend Cope always teases me because when someone is over I can’t even stand the lamp to get in the way of me seeing someone when I’m talking to them!
Chad’s main one is acts of service. Surprising eh? LOL My husband is the biggest servant I know! 🙂 So, let me tell you how this has helped Chad and I understand one another better. I couldn’t quite figure out why when I was always giving Chad cards and saying such sweet things to him it really wasn’t doing anything for him. But, every time I was cleaning or cooking him a meal he was wanting to kiss me and hug me. Because his love tank was getting filled!
The key to understanding your love language is how you give love is also how you receive love. So, Chad is acts of service and so when I am doing things that involve serving, he feels loved. And when I overhear him saying something nice about me or brings me a sweet card, I feel loved.
Another hint to figuring out your love language is, it is usually something that when you don’t get it from your spouse or someone close to you, you get hurt or bothered by it. That will give you some clues into what yours is.
One important thing to remember- sometimes when we get hurt by others we feel like they just don’ care or we don’t understand why they don’t do this or that for us etc. But, one thing to consider is maybe it’s not they don’t care, maybe it’s just they don’t understand how we receive love.
And the cool thing is you can pretty much think about those you are close to and realize their love language if you really give it some thought. And it’s really cool to love on them in a way that makes them feel not only loved but valued!
So, not that you know all about the Five Love Languages, get busy loving! 🙂
