I can't believe that it is Friday already...it has been a long week and time escaped me! But, I wanted to do a quick post in regards to a marriage conference that Kevin and I attended at our church last weekend. Friday night, Jay and Laura Laffoon from Celebrate Ministries, which they started in 1995. The purpose of the conference was to: UNDERSTAND why laughter is a key ingredient in healthy marriages
UNCOVER ways to satisfy the needs of your spouse
DISCOVER the dreams you've always imagined for your marriage
CONNECT when you communicate with your spouse
DEVELOP the unique characteristics of couples who Celebrate!
UNCOVER ways to satisfy the needs of your spouse
DISCOVER the dreams you've always imagined for your marriage
CONNECT when you communicate with your spouse
DEVELOP the unique characteristics of couples who Celebrate!
I have to say that I was not too motivated about this conference - the timing of the conference conflicted with a few of my friends taking a shopping trip to Chicago on day two of the retreat. And, I kept saying to Kevin that "marriage conferences are for older couples - not couples that have been married just 18 months". If there was an excuse, I tried to come up with it. However, it meant alot to him so I went. It meant alot to me too, but I really wanted to spend time with my friends, some who I have not seen in years (and I see Kevin everyday!) So, a few weeks ago I dropped out of the shopping trip and commited to attending the conference with my husband.
The two days that we spent with 80+ other couples in our church and Jay and Laura were amazing. We covered everything from "Holy Sex" to saying "I Do" all over again. We laughed, cried, danced, and just had a chance to breathe and focus on our relationship and on each other, to go back to the reason why we fell in love in the first place and to commit (again) to our relationship. We needed that. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day stuff and lose focus. To lose the spark.
Saturday night, I was working up in my studio when Kevin called me downstairs and had prepared a romantic candlelit dinner, complete with music and a bottle of wine. I knew he was making dinner, but did not know that he went to that extent. It was perfect. He used our candlesticks from our wedding.
We came home from the conference with a renewed spirit in our marriage, and a commitment to our future and each other. We also came home with a few books, that I highly recommend - "The Spark"
For my friends in West Michigan, Jay & Laura will be having "Celebrate your Marriage" conferences at the Grand Hotel at Mackinac Island in May and October and "The Ultimate Date Night" February 20, 2009 in Muskegon, February 28 in Kalamazoo, and March 13 in Grandville.
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2 comments:
Thanks for posting this--I was going to ask you how the retreat went! :o) Glad to hear that it was worthwhile. I should look into something similar. The counselor I've worked with does something like this, but last time I considered it, we were too broke to attend. Maybe as a 2 year anniversary gift?
And I don't think there's anything wrong with going to something like this so soon in your marriage. The first couple of years are the hardest--based on my own experience, and what I've heard from others--so it's important to do everything you can to push the bad habits out and get yourself set up with a solid foundation for the rest of life together! Yay!
Glad to hear you've been perusing training plans, too.....keep me posted. I will see if I can determine when registration opens for 2009. I also wanted to mention that a friend of mine who is preggers and is due in April was bemoaning the fact that she was horribly out of shape, and that's making pregnancy even tougher. So...maybe a reason to wait until after the half? ;-)
what a wonderful thing for the two of you to do, I could only dream of getting my husband to attend something like that. Love that he included the candles from your wedding for your dinner. You two seem amazing for each other
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