I hope you had a “lovely” Valentine’s Day yesterday!  Sometimes it can be a day of pressure for everyone involved.  So, I highly recommend using good communication with your spouse and letting him know what you expect and want!

{This year, I decided to make all the plans so Scott wouldn’t have to think of a thing.  I made his favorite dinner, set the table with candles and tried to convey to him, in his love language, how special he is to me.  These love languages really do work!}

I also hope you are beginning to study these love languages so that you will know what your spouse’s (and your children’s) are.  It can change your marriage and family.

Love Language #3:  Receiving Gifts

Gift giving is a fundamental expression of love that transcends cultural barriers.  You see people giving gifts in every culture.  However, it doesn’t have to cost money.  A gift is something you can hold in your hand and say, “Look, he was thinking of me,” or, “She remembered me.” You must be thinking of someone to give him a gift for the gift itself is a symbol of that thought.

Gifts are visual symbols of love, as wedding bands.  And these visual symbols of love are more important to some people than others.  That’s one of the reasons why some people won’t take their wedding ring off while others do.

 Action Plan

1. If receiving gifts is your primary love language, you will place great value on the items, as a wedding ring, you receive.  You will also be greatly moved emotionally by other gifts that you give and receive through the years.  You will see gifts as expressions of love and without gifts as visual symbols, you may question that love.
2. Giving gifts is one of the easiest love languages to learn.  Remember as a child you would bring your mother a flower found in the yard?  We just naturally want to give to others.
3. If giving gifts doesn’t come naturally to you and this is one of your loved ones’ love language, you can learn.  Make a list of all the gifts your spouse has expressed excitement about receiving through the years.  Get help from family members as what to give.
4. Remember, you don’t have to buy a gift.  You can make one, as a card, or find one, as shells from a beach!  And don’t wait for a special occasion.  Jump right in with a gift.
5. You can also give the gift of yourself.  Being there when your spouse or child needs you, especially in a crisis, speaks loudly to the one whose primary love language is receiving gifts.  I knew of a husband who, as soon as his baby was born, left to go play softball.  Yes, he could have bought a dozen red roses, but his wife wanted him to be with her and share the new experience.

 Manna from Heaven

For God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16 The Living Bible

   Emotional Check-Up

As we continue to learn these love languages from Gary Chapman’s book, I hope you really study and come to understand your loved ones.  Learning the right love language is the key to helping another person feel loved.

Our emotions are powerful.  They can make or break relationships.  Taking the time to know what their love language is and follow through with it can also fill you up with love.  It can be a blessing for everyone.