Topic: Love Languages

Challenge of the Day:
Ask you spouse what their love language is. Literally ask him/her. (You may be surprised by the answer.) And then DO something for them this weekend that falls within their love language and watch their face light up and that love begin to brew.
And if you have kids, start learning each of their love languages too!

Quote of the Day:
"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." -- 1 Corinthians 13:13

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Last year I was reading a daily devotional for moms and one of the devotionals was GOLD. You know it's funny because everyone says that their kids could not be more different than each other but I never really thought about it until then.

Love Languages

If you've never heard of Love Languages, they are the ways in which we feed loved or the things that make us feel loved.

- Receiving Gifts: This doesn't have to be an expensive watch every day but little things like notes on their pillow or the bathroom mirror are great too!
- Quality Time: Doing things together like going out to coffee, out to eat, going for a walk together or just sitting on the couch with no cell phones present and snuggling up for a movie night.
- Words of Affirmation: Tell them why you love them, why you're thankful for him/her and what you appreciate about them.
- Acts of Service: Cleaning the house or taking out the trash or doing the dishes are all acts of service.
- Physical Touch: Kissing, holding hands and really anything intimate.

Take a second to think about your love language. Which one of these make your heart just so happy when your spouse or a friend or really anyone does one of these for you?

For me, it's acts of service. When my husband does the dishes or vacuums or does my laundry, you'd better bet I find that sexy. In those moments, I feel loved and so appreciated.

So often times, I do those things for him. But in reality, he could care less about acts of service. He could care less if his laundry is folded or if the living room is clean or if the dishes are done. His love language is very than mine and that is something I didn't really think about until about 2 years ago.

And then last July I was reading that daily mom devotional and it struck me like a ton of bricks:

Love languages apply to your kids too.

So instead of re-writing what I wrote last July, I'm going to just paste it right here:

I've always thought that snuggles and kisses and verbal cues were the best way to show her my love for her but after I read this I realized I was doing it all wrong. Sitting with her in her pink princess tent playing with her stuffed animals is what she currently views as love. And the snuggling? She could care less at most points during the day. So with that, I think that learning Ava's love languages as she grows will be huge factor in determining how our mother-daughter relationship grows and forms from here on out. And of course this will change as she grows up so it is my duty as her mom to listen to her cues and act on them. Telling her that I love her is one thing but SHOWING her is what will make the difference.

"DO YOUR CHILDREN FEEL LOVED? I didn’t ask, “Do you love your children?” I know the answer to that. But if you want to make sure your children feel loved, it is not enough to be sincere. You also need to speak your child’s love language. For some children, quality time is their primary love language. If you don’t give them quality time, they will not feel loved, even if you are giving them words of affirmation, physical touch, gifts, and acts of service. If your children are begging you to do things with them, then quality time is likely their love language. It’s easy to get frustrated with the endless requests, but we need to respond with gentleness and patience, as Ephesians 4 reminds us. Bear with your kids, make allowance for their faults, and look for the need behind their behavior. Give them some focused attention, and watch their behavior change." -- Gary Chapman

Now scroll on up to the top to complete today's challenge. I promise, it's going to change your life.

<< Photos by Briana Lindsey Photography >>

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