This Giving Of Gifts

Joyce Meyer: Welcome to “Enjoying Everyday Life.” I’m glad you’ve joined us today because i think we have an excellent program that’s really going to help you in all your relationships with people. Frequently on our program we do things about relationships because, to be honest, the bible talks a lot about relationships. It’s about our relationship with god, our relationship with ourselves, and our relationship with other people. Today we’re talking with Dr. Gary Chapman who has written an awesome book on “the five love languages.” he actually discovered in his counseling ministry that people give and receive love in different ways and if you never learn what that is, you may spend your life trying to give somebody something that they don’t really want or never receiving yourself what you really need.

So, Dr. Chapman, good to have you back with us again today and we’re going to wrap some of this teaching up today so any good stuff that you want to give us today, we’ll be glad to have it. Yesterday we were talking about the giving of gifts. Once again, just to get us started, what are the five love languages?

Dr. Gary Chapman: one is words of affirmation: affirming the person verbally. One is gifts. That’s universal, giving gifts. One is quality time: give them your undivided attention. One is acts of service in which you’re doing something for the person.  And then there’s physical touch which is a deep emotional communicator that I love you.

Joyce Meyer: today we’re going to talk a little bit more about this giving of gifts because I think all too often we may give a gift out of obligation but it doesn’t really minister to the person because we have not taken the trouble to even find out what kind of gift they would want. An example that I’m thinking about is I ministered at a church here in my city sometime last year and I was so blessed with what the pastor gave us when we left because he had heard that we were moving into a new house and he took the trouble to go to a local store and get us a gift certificate where we could get things for our new house.  So often, people give you things but you can tell it’s just kind of a routine; this is what we give every speaker that comes in. It really meant a lot to me that he took the trouble. He had to call somebody and say, “what would Joyce like? What’s going on in her life right now?  How can we minister to her?” and he also found out what kind of coffee I drink and he gave me a gift certificate for that.  So, I just think that if we would really take the trouble to find out what people need and like or even want… I found out if you listen to people, it doesn’t take very long and they tell you something they want.