Breaking news…NEWS FLASH – we as human beings miscommunicate! We do - we are all guilty, the verdict is out! Communication is essential to any relationship, especially in the Christian Life! How we talk to people, listen to people, encounter people is all about communication and we are called to do it with authenticity and heart. Communication is used through a plethora of methods these days: facebook, twitter, emails, blogs, etc – my question for myself for reflection and for you is how well do we do communication authentically? Do say I love you enough? Do we communicate trust, grace, and forgiveness? Do we communicate that it is okay to mess up because we indeed are all broken by sin? Do we communicate when we are hurt, lonely, sad, and anxious – or do we cover it up with a smile and a cheerful greeting? How well do we authentically communicate in our marriages, our family relationships, in our work place, in our churches, in our friend circles – do we show up authentic and transparent or do we hide and hope all will magically fall into place? I ask myself this question many times when I sit and ponder how well I communicate - my strengths and my working points. Today I was reminded of how we communicate love! You know, the five love languages of God! (Great book if you haven’t read it!) So I thought, does my family, my peers, my siblings, - do they know how I give and receive love? The good news is that our God made us all unique but God called us to work as the body, to be united as a community of believers to share in the gospel – so we have to learn to speak – to communicate in love – What love language do you speak?– in giving and receiving. The five love languages include: giving gifts, quality time, physical touch, words of affirmation, and acts of service. So I ask you – How do you give love? How do you receive love? Rate the five – 1-5 – 1 being your top way of either receiving or giving love! And if you are wondering in light of being authentic and transparent here are mine:
Ways I give love: 1. Quality time, 2 giving gifts, 3 physical touch, 4 words of affirmation, 5 acts of service
Ways I receive love: 1. Physical touch 2 quality time 3. Giving gifts words of affirmation 5 acts of service
It is important for us to know each other’s love languages as we strive to live in community – to embody the Christian life in love. Reality check – we all need love and strive to give love! For God says to love God and love neighbor!
Recent ways I have felt love in the past 8 hours!!
A gift from a dear friend in the mail! A reminder of the gift of love in friendship!
A gift from heaven! A baby Dibiase on the way! the love of creation!
A gift of new blinds from my companion!!! the love of a spouse!
The gift of quality time with our ba! the love of a dog!
okay i had a bailey photo shoot! guilty! love this precious pup!
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