Today, for this special Monday post on You Me Serendipity, I'm kicking off a new series: Giving with Meaning! Finding meaningful gifts is something I truly love to do. However, budgets, timing, and distance often impact how I celebrate those I love. In this new series I'm going to share how I've kept each of those things in mind as I assemble meaningful gifts for my friends and family. 

When Kurt and I were still engaged, one of the things we read together was The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman. This book outlines the five ways in which people prefer to give and receive love - through words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service and physical touch. It was fascinating for Kurt and I to learn more about what each of us prefers, and I can see how we have remained aware of these preferences more than a year later. That's not so surprising given our relationship. The surprising impact it's had is how I've been able to apply this knowledge to the other relationships in my life as well. 

My top love languages are quality time, receiving gifts and acts of service. When I review the explanations of each of those three, I can see how they are represented in my daily thoughts and actions:

• I crave conversation with my closest friends and my family all of the time. I want to hear how they are doing and I want to know how I can encourage them. Even if we cannot be in the same place, speaking over the phone or seeing each other over a video chat fills my need for quality time.

• I love receiving notes and cards in the mail. It makes me feel like I'm not forgotten by my extended community. Those little notes are often some of the best gifts can I receive.

• I feel sending a friend a surprise gift is one of the greatest acts of service I can give. Just like I enjoy knowing my community hasn't forgotten me, I want to make sure others don't feel like they are forgotten either. A surprise note or small gift helps me achieve that.

This series will dive a little bit deeper into acts of service and share with you how I approach selecting and giving gifts to those in my community. It's my hope that by sharing my approach, I'll help you find confidence in sharing your love with others in this way as well! 

The set of gifts I will introduce this Thursday are the keepsakes I gave to my bridesmaids. The thought process behind them, the decision-making process, and the items themselves will be on full display. I look forward to sharing this with all of you!