Thursday, November 22, 2012

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Speaking the Love

Hello World,

I hope you're doing well from wherever it is that you read my blog.

It's been a wonderful thing to be blessed as much as we. I realize it a little more each day. In God's sweet mercy, in how I feel- somehow, in some small or great way every day- God's intimate love for me. In my remarkably beautiful marriage to the man who I am so thankful to have. In our children, who give me many reasons to smile every day and allow me opportunities to grow in virtue :) In the way my parents LOVE me and my little family.
In the way my heart grows more thankful to my Creator for all He does for me, and in the way He gently guides my heart to desire His will more with each passing day.

Praise be God!!

It is a wonderful thing in itself to be joyful and content in resting in God's unique love for me. I think about it and am overfilled with humility, knowing I am not worthy to be carved into His hands but oh so thankful that I am.

I love you, Lord!

So, I didn't sit down with the intention of starting my post with everything I'm grateful for, but alas, it spilled out of me, because I am constantly mindful of it.

I hope all (hundreds and hundreds ;) of my readers are at peace this very moment, in your thoughts and in your spiritual lives. And in your family lives- that's important too!

In thinking earlier about how my parents LOVE me, my family, and my sisters so abundantly, I lead me to another thought: How do we show that we love the important people in our lives?

Several years ago, some good friends of ours introduced Sam and myself to a book,
The 5 Love Languages. The concept of the book is to realize that each person speaks a different "love language".

The languages are as follows:

1) Quality time
2) Words of affirmation
3) Gifts
4) Acts of service
5) Physical touch

The idea is that a person's love language is that by which they feel loved most. It's important for people to realize that others may have differing love languages, because when we speak to our spouse in our own love language, and not the one that speaks most to them, we may become discouraged at the lack of response or appreciation.

My love a languages, for example, are first, acts of service and second, quality time.

It means so much more to me when Sam cheerfully does the dishes or volunteers to get the kids ready for bed than if he bought me two dozen roses. His, on the other hand, are quality time and physical touch. (I haven't spoken to one girlfriend to hasn't included physical touch in her husband's top two love languages! :)

What's really neat, I think, is that my mom's love language is acts of service also, so she shows her love for her children by cooking great big meals and having all of us over, or happily offering to watch grandkids so we can all have a date night... yay!

Anyhow, I've just been thinking about that lately and really reflecting on whether or not I do my best to speak Sam's love language and that of other family members. It's a constant effort to not necessarily do/say what I would like to have done for me, but to take a moment to think how how that person might best appreciate a kind gesture.




Hope everyone has a lovely weekend with their families!