Free The One Year Love Language Minute Devotional by Gary Chapman

know 1 also need to extend special patience and grace to my spouse when he or she becomes defensive. Help us to avoid each other's hot spots rather than triggering them.

    Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.
    SONG OF SOLOMON 1:2
    KEEPING EMOTIONAL LOVE alive in a relationship makes life much more enjoyable. The husband or wife who feels loved is less likely to stray. How do we keep love alive after the "in love" emotions have evaporated? I believe it is by learning to speak each other's love language. In the next few days, I want to focus on the love language of physical touch.
    When some husbands hear the words physical touch, they immediately think of sex. But sexual intercourse is only one of the dialects of the love language physical touch. Holding hands, kissing, embracing, giving back rubs, putting an arm around the shoulder, or gently putting your hand on your loved one's leg are all ways of expressing love by physical touch. The Old Testament book Song of Solomon makes it clear that physical touch between a husband and wife can be beautiful, intimacy building, and celebrated. The verse above is just one example of the book's poetry celebrating physical expressions of love.
    For some people, both men and women, physical touch is their primary love language. If you don't give them tender touch, they may not feel loved even though you are speaking other love languages. If this describes your spouse, make sure you work on meaningful touch.
    Father, thank you for the gift of physical touch. Help me to communicate my love to my spouse by the wayl touch him or her.

    His left arm is under my head, and his right arm embraces me.
    SONG OF SOLOMON 2:6
    TO THE PERSON whose primary love language is physical touch, nothing is more important than tender touches. To touch my body is to touch me. To withdraw from my body is to distance yourself from me emotionally. In our society, shaking hands is a way of communicating openness and social politeness. When on rare occasions one person refuses to shake hands with another, it communicates that things are not right in their relationship. The same principle applies in marriage. Withdraw from your spouse physically, and you are withdrawing emotionally.
    Touches may be explicit and call for your full attention, such as a back rub or sexual foreplay. Or they may be implicit and require only a moment, such as putting your hand on her shoulder as you pour a cup of coffee or rubbing your body against him as you pass in the kitchen. Once you discover that physical touch is the primary love language of your husband or wife, you are limited only by your imagination. Kiss when you get in the car. It may greatly enhance your travels. Give him a hug before you go shopping, and you may hear less griping when you return. Try new touches in new places and listen for feedback on whether or not it is pleasurable. Remember, your spouse has the final word; you are learning to speak his or her language.
    Lord Jesus, please help me to learn how my spouse wants to be touched. My love is so strong, and 1 want to communicate that.

    For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.... A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. ECCLESIASTES 3:1, 4-5
    ALMOST INSTINCTIVELY in a time of crisis, we hug one another. Why? In a crisis, more than anything, we need to feel loved. We cannot always change events, but we can survive if we feel loved.
    All marriages will experience crises. The death of parents is inevitable. Automobile accidents injure thousands each year. Disease is no respecter of persons. Disappointments are a part of life. The most important thing you can do for your spouse in a time of crisis is to love him or her. Especially if your spouse's primary love language is physical touch, nothing is more important than holding her as