Wednesday, August 15, 2007

What I'm done reading

I'm not sure how to describe my feelings about this book. It's the only of the "Love Languages" books I've read to completion. It was not my first choice for a book to read at the time I started it, but I ended up reading it because I was following my wife's advice and hoping to gain some insight into my children's emotions.
I would definitely say I gained the desired insight, although I'm not sure it applies to my children yet - which is a good thing. I learned that children don't start showing clear signs of a preferred love language before they are 5 years old. My oldest child just turned 5 so I read this book at a perfect time. My youngest is soon to turn 3 and it should help me watch for signs from him of leaning toward a particular love language.
While I'm not entirely convinced that Chapman has nailed down the only 5 love languages known to man, I do buy into the theory that each person receives love in different ways. Some people are more sensitive to certain expressions of love than others. That's easy to see when I look at myself, my wife and my kids (although they haven't chosen their top language yet!).
With that in mind, I feel this book has helped me evaluate people differently - especially people I care for. I now look for signs of love language preference. As my children mature, I think I will be more aware of the ways they sense and accept expressions of love.
I know this has been a vague book review, but the big picture stuff is about all I can recall clearly. Having a few other books in mind, there were times when it was tough for me to push through to the end of this book. Although, I do think it was a valuable read.
If anybody reading this wants to read this book (despite the glowing review I've just given) don't buy it - borrow it. I'll lend you my copy.

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