By Kim Jessie
In Philippians 1:3, Paul expresses his appreciation to those serving the Lord in Philippi: “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you.” Like Paul, we need to thank the people who are meaningful to us. For us, November is a great time to recognize those who are important to us and have helped us along the way.
A simple way to thank others in a way that is meaningful to them is through their love languages. The five love languages (http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/) are: Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts and Words of Encouragement. Every individual recognizes the love and appreciation from others in one of these five areas. We need to remember that not everyone speaks our love language; so, we need to be fluent in all five languages to make sure we speak to others in ways they can understand our love and appreciation.
When you say, “thank you,” you can also express love and appreciation through specific love language actions. Some helpful ideas for each of the love languages are below:
Acts of Service: Bring someone a cup of coffee or a drink, prepare a snack or a meal, take care of an expressed need
Physical Touch: Handshake, high five, fist bump, hugs (when/where appropriate)
Quality Time: Meet for coffee, breakfast, or lunch; take a walk together; work on a project together; hang out
Receiving Gifts: gift cards, flowers, thank you notes,candy bars or snacks, something you know the other person would appreciate
Words of Encouragement: tell them you love/appreciate them, tell them something they did that was helpful, tell them how great they are and mention something specific, send them a text, card, message or email telling them something you appreciate about them.
Once we realize how others receive love and appreciation, we can truly thank them.
Thank you for how you share God’s love with others.
Comments