How do you show love to your spouse? How do you like your spouse to show love to you? If you are single, don’t quit reading. This applies to you too. Slowly lift your hand off of your mouse, and continue to read.
Gary Chapman’s book, The Five Love Languages (http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/), is an interesting explanation of the different ways people show and receive love. The categories that Chapman has defined are Words of Affirmation, Acts of Service, Quality Time, Gifts and Physical Touch.
Now before I go on, I have to admit I have not read the book yet, I have only read a little bit. I will finish it. However for those who know me well, they know it can take a long time for me to finish a book. However, I have before. It’s pretty cool. Although I have not read the book yet, I do like how this book identifies people’s primary love language. I have taken the assessment (located in the back of the book) and have, according to this book, confirmed my primary love langu
age. That is, the way I receive love. I would encourage everyone to at least take the assessment.
It is interesting to consider that one may focus great efforts in doing something to try to show their significant other that they love them, however, the other person may not receive the message as effectively because it is not their primary love language. Huh? Let me explain. If I as a husband, want to show my wife that I love her, I may say to myself, “Self, I’m going to write the wifey a long love letter letting her know how much I love her.” That would be an example of words of affirmation. While I’m sure any wife would welcome this, words of affirmation may not be her primary love language. It might be quality time, thus surprising her with a romantic dinner and snuggling her up on the couch as you watch a sappy romantic movie or something, would be more effective because it is the way she receives love, primarily. Or, it may be acts of service. So, offering to do the dishes, laundry, running to the store, etc. would be more meaningful to your loved one, than watching a movie together. So on and so on. Now, of course these overlap and like any assessment, there are no absolutes. I’m sure to some degree, all the love languages have effect, because you can’t go wrong in trying to show someone love, but there is something to be said about everyone’s primary love language.
Discover what your primary love language is. Discover your spouse’s primary love language and feed it daily. You won’t be sorry.
By the way…I love all of you.
Excellent recommendation. I too have never read it, but I think Anna is reading it off and on. I love the theory, and it makes a lot of sense!
Love you too my friend.
A song writer wrote: “Love in any language, straight from the heart, pulls us all together, never apart. Once we learn to speak it, all the world will hear, love in any language, fluently spoken here.”
Nice job Simon!
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