When it comes to communicating with your spouse or anyone you are close with, the five love languages are a great place to start. If your spouse feels loved then communication tends to be better and easier. If they do not feel loved, communication will breakdown.
So let’s take a look at the five love languages. You can read more about these in Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages
- Words of Affirmation
A compliment speaks a Thousand Words! – It’s nice to get compliments from your co-workers, your boss, your friends, your parents or your children, but nothing compares to a compliment from your spouse.
- This love language helps encourage and give courage to your spouse.
- If it’s their main love language a simple compliment or word of encouragement can fill a tank for days.
Control that Biting Tongue – Words can kill, damage and destroy.
- Proverbs 12:18 Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
- Proverbs 12:25 An Anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
- Proverbs 15:4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
- Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.
- James 3:8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. Read that whole chapter!
Dispel Dominance – Real love makes requests, not demands.
- When you tell your spouse what needs to be accomplished and do so by lashing out over-assertive words, even if you mean well, you will make your spouse feel Stupid and your words seem to belittle their know-how.
- But if you make a humble request to your spouse, you are affirming their worth and abilities.
- Quality Time
- Being close does not mean being together.
- Togetherness involves more of a connection than just being in the same room or the same house.
- Togetherness is when you are paying attention to each other while your together. Your giving your full focus, your fully present and engaged and listening.
- Being close does not mean being together.
- It doesn’t mean you have to always be talking, it could be having a conversation and then going on a walk together, or watching a favorite TV show together or wash the dishes together or prepare food together.
Talk less, listen more
- Ask questions and make sure you are paying attention. For men, don’t try to fix things, just listen repeat back some of the things she is saying and ask some questions if needed.
- A great way to allow for this to happen is to ask your spouse how their day was and then shut up and listen.
- Your spouse needs to be able to talk to you about what’s going on in their world – at work, at home with the kids, with family or friends.
- Just 5-10 minutes of this can change the entire evening and atmosphere of the home.
- Receiving Gifts
Gifts: a Remembrance, a Symbol of love
- Gifts can make a spouse feel important, cherished and sweetly remembered.
- If this is a primary love language this will make his/her day and make them feel special, loved and secure.
- It’s not as much how much you spend, it’s the fact that you thought about them and took the time to get them something.
- It’s knowing your spouse well enough to know what they really like
The Gift of Self
- Sometimes you need to give the gift of yourself by being fully present for your family.
- Acts of Service
In Everything you do, do it for Love
- A husband helping with household chores like laundry, doing dishes, cleaning the house, taking care of the children etc or a wife fixing a leaking pipe, mowing the yard, fixing an appliance.
- These need to be things that are not you normal household duties that you have agreed on.
- Again it is when you notice something that needs done and do it without being told.
- It sends a message that you are important to me, our home is important to me, our children are important to me.
- Physical Touch
Hold her when she cries
- This can be hard for most men as they don’t know what to do when she is upset.
- A loving husband will not turn and leave, go smoke, get a drink or give a lecture – he will hold her in a tight embrace, run his fingers thru her hair, maybe kiss her head, stroke her hand and make her feel safe in the power of his arms.
- A physical touch can make or break a relationship – It can communicate love or hate
Touch as if it’s always the first time
- Touch gives an emotional boost
- It keeps the fire ablaze – is soothing and healing
- For men physical touch includes sex but more than just the act of sex it’s the touching by both along the way.
- Slow down and enjoy each other.
- Just like a child needs physical touch in order to develop, adults need touch to stay emotionally and mentally healthy.
Talk to your spouse about what their love language is and what yours is
Tell your spouse what is most meaningful to you – don’t make them try to figure it out – (Women)
All of these are important even if it’s not a primary language
Start today, tonight before you go to bed.