A Spring Retreat for Couples

This time of year simply swells with busyness.

New life bursting forth means cleaning out closets,

preparing for church drama productions, school field trips, 

spring cleaning, fresh energizing decorating,

spring break plans, and birthdays!!!

Several years ago, my husband and I incorporated a tradition 

of attending the annual couples retreat

at Southland Christian Camp in Ringgold, LA.

We have never regretted intentionally carving out the time

to invest in our marriage with this annual weekend get-away.

We always enjoy the delightful fellowship with other couples from our church,

and it is a wonderful way to get to know these other couples better.
We have several friendships from our church

 that have deepened because of the time spent with them on the Couples Retreat!

The general preaching sessions are always uplifting and challenging,

while the split session for men and women

is designed to speak to our hearts in our specific roles within marriage.

For dinner on the final evening, the camp staff work so hard to give

us a special candlelight "date night" complete with a delicious 3-course meal

followed by an amazing dessert, coffee, and time to spare!!

What a treat!!!

"Never marry the person you can live with.
Marry the one you can't live without."

Celebrating Two Decades Together

This past April, my husband and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary!
We wanted to splurge on ourselves this year, but a trip to Hawaii or a tour

across Great Britain just wasn't in our budget {we're keeping our eyes on that

last idea for our 25th!!}

So we decided to go back to "where it all began for us."
Our first apartment together!
Our first ministry!
Our first house!!

You get the idea!!

{Our first apartment in Grand Blanc, Michigan!
This is where we brought home our first baby!}

{Our first house in Flint, Michigan!!
I had to snap this picture as we drove past because the owners

were obviously there and we didn't want to look like creepers!
This is where we brought home our second baby!!}

{These kids were in our first youth group together but they

didn't even really pay attention to each other!  I had the privilege of

coordinating their wedding!}

{This girl was in our first youth group too, and she lived down the street from our

first house!}

{We were so excited to get to go back to our first church ministry and to see so

many dear, lovely friends with whom are hearts are knit together!!}

{This young lady was also in our first youth group at this church,

and she came to see us with her family even though

they attend another church now!!  What a blessing to see how God has richly 

blessed her life!}

{This precious lady was our very first Pastor's wife at this church,

and these are her kids!}

{This gentleman was my husband's co-laborer in our first ministry,

and he was also a groomsman in our wedding!!  His sweet wife took my hands

and prayed with me just before I walked down the aisle!}

{This lovely lady was a neighbor to us in our first house, and she is married

to the oldest son of our first pastor.  

She so graciously allowed my husband and I 

to stay in her home for the first night of our trip 

even though her hubby

 was out of the country on a business trip!!  

We had our first babies together and it was so fun to compare

graduation notes of our now grown-up kids!}

{We rented a car and drove to Ohio 

for the last leg of our whirlwind anniversary trip

and stayed in the gorgeous Inn where we stayed on our wedding night!
This is one of my favorite places on earth!}

{It was pure delight to get to share lunch with my Mom the next morning

at our favorite restaurant there on the Sauder Village Complex!}

{We had dinner down the street at the restaurant where our

wedding rehearsal dinner was held!}

{We capped off this day with a visit to the best soft-serve ice cream shop 

in the area that serves ice cream as tall as your face!!}

{We stopped in to see my sister......

......and we got a tour of the local Sheriff's department!}

{How fun to have my Mom's birthday celebration dinner while we were there

and to spend some time with both my parents as well!}

Best trip ever and so much fun reminiscing over all the blessings

that the Lord has poured out on our lives over the last

20 years together!!!

Intentionality: Making time for some fun in your marriage

Several years ago, my husband and I wanted something fun to do together

away from our daily routine and without children.

With six homeschooled children, that seemed like an impossible task.

But we decided to try something we had never done before,

and that was to pack up for 3 days and head over to a neighboring

state and attend the couples retreat at our favorite Christian Camp.

We felt like we were going on a bit of an adventure that first time

because we really had no idea what to expect.

You can peek into that trip and all the subsequent trips here.

After that first initial adventure, we were hooked!
We have tried to go every year since, and now we're taking other couples with us!!

The journey itself to the camp has become an adventure!!
Making fun stops along the way adds even more fun!!!

The quiet time together to just talk about inconsequential things as well as the 

important things is priceless.

Hanging out with friends and meeting new friends refreshes

our hearts and spirits!!

Time spent in God's Word together always challenges us in areas of our lives personally

as well as the tone of our family that needs attention.

This year's speaker was Morris Gleiser with his wife, Lynn.

Several of his challenges really spoke to my heart: 

"God's intention:  A holy, healthy, heavenly home"

"Our home should have such a heavenly atmosphere to it that the angels of God

would feel comfortable being there.  Not the other ones."
The Husband = Servant Leader

The Wife = Servant Completer (NOT complainer or competer!)

Team mates assisting one another!!"

"Our homes should be filled with an ambiance of grace!

We need grace words in our home "seasoned with salt. 

As you give grace to others you leave behind an "odor" of grace."

 Being silly together helps to break through the ice that can build up over time unknowingly

because of busy schedules, little time to talk, the needs of many children,

household tasks, and ministry responsibilities!

Make time to have fun....on purpose!!

The trip home had its own set of adventures enjoying some of God's

incredibly beautiful creations as well as lunch at a new place!!!

We try to get away alone on "date nights" as often as we can.

Sometimes those times seem few and far between because of work/sleep schedules,

family activities, illness, or lack of extra finances.

This retreat has become a concrete spot on our calendar because we've found that being

intentional about it is the only way it can happen.

It is always scheduled in the spring, just after our income tax refund hits the bank.

We look at this as a priceless investment in our marriage and we always use a little

of that money to fund this trip!

This year it seemed like several things happened that were going to derail 

our ability to go to the retreat.

The week prior there had been torential rain that flooded the area, washing away

roads and submerging the highways.

20 inches of rain in one week seemed like an impossible thing to recover from.

Just as it looked like the water would be receding, I started feeling yucky.

Like I hadn't in years.

Hot flashes of fever and sore throat.

When the waves of nausea and white stripes on my tonsils showed up,

I knew I needed to move quick.

Sure enough, it was strep throat.

3 days before we were to leave town.

On this occasion, I eagerly went to an urgent care clinic, got the diagnosis

and antibiotic, and stayed down for 2 days.

The Lord is good!!!

He answered prayer and removed all the obstacles and we were able to leave

right on schedule!!

What a blessing it was!!

We have never been disappointed and always come home refreshed, encouraged,

and looking forward to next year's retreat!