info @ the P.Pole 08.20.06

So I've been away at Hosanna Camp/Retreat for the past 5 days or so, and it was really quite fun and meaningful if you ask me. I finally got some quiet time where God could sit me down and very openly and honestly, though always gently, rebuke me. I needed that. I still do. I take it as a blessing to receive correction and discipline, since God only disciplines His own (Deut. 8:5). It wasn't all rebuking though; there was also a lot of encouragement and understanding as I was given lots of time just sitting and chatting with the best of friends. All in all, it was a good time of renewal and growth.

5 love languages in order of most to least preferred by me:

• Quality Time: As I had suspected, this one ranked the highest, meaning that I value spending time together ("together" always reads as "to get her" to me for some reason...) with my friends/special someone the most. It also means I enjoy and seek out deep discussions with my partner/friends. Flip it over and it can be read as I feel the most unloved or unappreciated when loved ones don't seek to spend time with me. I think that's pretty true.
• Words of Affirmation: Apparently, I like to express my feelings for others verbally. I think that that's not too far off as I always try and make it a point to ensure others know exactly how I'm feeling towards/about them (unless I think it would be foolish or rash to be totally honest). Conversely, this means that I need to hear that I am hearted, be encouraged, and be [re]affirmed frequently (which i think would be very nice actually). The test also says that hurtful comments or criticisms or whatever are the kind of things that would hurt very much. I'm not too sure about the last point, since I think hurtful words would hurt everyone, and not just people like me who value Words of Affirmation. But yeah, that's that.
• Touch: So this one is my middle-ground love language, and rightly so. I personally don't believe in basing a relationship between physical, spiritual, emotional, and all-round human beings on physical contact. However, I contend that it is in our God-given nature to seek out intimacy in terms of physical closeness with others. It's not the foundation or primary characteristic of any relationship in my opinion, but it does have its proper place and can be quite a -- dare I say -- touching aspect of a love life. A warm hug or well placed peck can speak volumes in my opinion. This love language is definitely not for n00bs though and should be used sparingly/with great care.
• Acts of Service: The test says that I don't really value help from others as a form of them showing me love. That's probably because I'm a proud person who likes to shrug off advice or help from others. On the other hand, this means helping others is not one of my preferred ways of showing my love for others. Even though I'd like to say I eagerly offer my help to others, I rarely do. Honestly, I am quite reluctant to help out, even just around the house. I will only help out or take initiative to go that extra distance if I am really out to impress someone. And by "go the extra distance" I mean doing the tiniest things like helping them to do [home]work as best I can, getting an extra tissue for them, or cleaning up after them. That kind of stuff I can always do, but I'm not always motivated to.
• Gifts: Lastly, I do not prefer to give/receive gifts to show/receive love. This one placing last might have seemed a little bit bogus around this time last year, but I think it really does belong near the bottom of the list. I'm not particularly big on giving or receiving gifts. Of the things I do receive from her, I notice that I treasure the fact that it's from her much more than whatever it may be. Hell, she could give me a rock with her name on it and I would love it. In fact, I remember a few occasions where I've received what others would deem as "random crap" from Crystal, and have loved (and kept) the "random crap" just because it reminds me of her/something to do with her. So yeah, I'm not really materialistic (Haha! I can't believe I just said that!) but I do kinda enjoy giving "inside joke"-like stuff and getting it too.

So yeah, those are the five love languages and how I scored. I was actually thinking a little bit about this topic throughout the camp/retreat to try and pin point exactly why I felt a certain way about certain things. Anyway, I think I might post some other things about camp/retreat later on, so keep your eyes peeled.