Happy Friday, friends!
I am super excited today because my youngest daughter and her hubby are on their way to our house for a visit,
driving across Texas as I type. I have picked up around the house and baked her favorite cake which fell apart as
I took it out of the pan but I am going to slap some icing on that puppy and hope no one can tell that
it is being held together by a thick layer of frosting.
That brings me to our topic today…The 5 Love Languages as identified by Gary Chapman.
We talked about the 5 love languages last week and I invited you to take
the survey Chapman has created to help you identify your love language. If you haven’t done that yet and would like to, please click here.
Once you have identified your own love language, you might want to encourage those you love most, those with whom you
have the most contact to take the survey and identify their love languages. Once you know how your loved ones best receive love
you can begin to show them love in their language. I mentioned last week that I think I remember both of my daughters
using the same love languages I do…words of affirmation and physical touch. But as I began preparing for Lauren’s
visit, I washed her favorite towels with lots of fabric softener and dried them with lots of dryer sheets
because she doesn’t like the feel of the traditional terry cloth towel. I set out cat bowls for Doughnut, her kitty,
who is also coming to visit. I have decorated her room at our house in Lauren’s favorite color, orange.
And used a middle-eastern Indian theme because Lauren has always like the colors and textures and designs common to Indian culture.
These little things I do really speak to Lauren, probably more so than they do my older daughter Brennyn. So I am
going to ask Lauren to take the survey again just to see if her predominant is acts of service.
Quite possibly I was projecting my languages onto my daughter.
Gary Chapman wrote a series of articles on the 5 love languages for the Focus on the Family webpage. In the
article entitled “Meeting Your Spouse’s Need for Love”, the author talks about replacing obsessive love with intentional love. He explains that
by making the effort to use the language our spouse, our children, our friends “hear” as love, we make the conscious
choice to shift the focus from ourselves to our loved ones. We begin communicating in the language our partner best understands.
If you have taken the survey, will you share your results with us here? Not only can we learn more about those we love by taking this survey,
we can also get to know ourselves a little better, too.
You can read Gary Chapman’s article on fulfilling your partner’s need for love here. The Focus on the Family webpage has
much good information on growing healthy families.
Jimena
Hey Miss.Roberts!I miss you 6th Grade IS challenging but i learned from the best teachers and from the best librarian EVER!Well i miss you bye!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Hey baby girl!! So glad to hear from you. I know 6th grade is a change but you are up for the challenge. Thank you so much for your sweet words and for stopping by to say hi. Love you lots. Come back to visit again!
Silvana
You are such a great mom!! I am going to take the survey – thank you! I meant to do it and never did!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Oh, Silvana. You could say a lot of sweet things to me but that is about the most meaningful sweet thing of all. I have made many mistakes in my life and many mistakes raising Brennyn and Lauren but they are my best successes. I love them so much. Thank you for stopping by and for your kind words. Did you take the survey? What are your love languages?
Silvana
You are very welcome! I did take it. My highest was physical touch and a close second was words of affirmation! Now I am waiting for my husband (coincidentally also named Paul) to take the survey. I’m really not trying to be your twin! Have a wonderful day!
Leslie Roberts Clingan
Isn’t hugging just THE BEST thing ever? I try to softy or touch all of my students on the shoulder or back when I am working with them – probably because touch speaks so much to me. I probably need to be more aware of those students for whom a touch might not speak positively! Did hubby take the survey?