Retreating?
In most cases, the thought of retreat seems weak and cowardly. When a group retreats it means the battle is lost and the injured survivors gather together, bandage their wounds, and hope for the best. Well let me tell you, the couple’s retreat we attended this past weekend was anything but weak and cowardly! It was filled with great teaching, powerful worship, and valuable time spent alone with the most important person I know on this earth – my wife! Â This past weekend has better equipped my wife and I to go forward as a team into whatever or where ever the Lord leads.
Instead of a Couple’s Retreat, it could be called a Couple’s Challenge!
I mentioned Friday that I would review what I learned this past weekend. Â The speaker, Dr. Devon Blanton, has an extensive background in counseling and nutrition and was able to shed light on many areas that affect our marriage. Â Things as simple as how a poor diet and the lack of sleep affect our mood, to more detailed things like knowing how our spouse processes information helps us be better communicators.
So here are just ten of the things that I learned or was reminded of this weekend…
- Time alone with my wife is not just a nice idea, it’s a mandatory requirement for a strong marriage.
- Getting rid of distractions makes time with my wife much more enjoyable.
- Having Communion with my wife is an awesome experience!
- My wife and I process things differently. The more often I can remember that, the better our marriage can be.
- I’m reminded how much fun my wife and I have when we are alone together.
- Eating a proper diet and getting enough rest has a huge impact on our marriage.
- I’m reminded of how important respecting my spouse is. What her and I do, share, and discuss may very well be no one else’s business. Fortunately, we’ve lived by that standard throughout our marriage and I believe it’s one thing that we’ve done well.
- You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to have a priceless weekend with your spouse.
- I’m reminded how much fun it is to have secret jokes with my wife. Things that only her and I know about.
- I’m reminded that no matter how good our marriage is, we can always learn more. More about each other, about being a better partner, and more about what God has to say about our marriage.
Again, this couple’s retreat was not for the weak – it was a challenge! We had about 32 couples attend and now that we are armed with the tools for better, stronger marriages, we are responsible for putting it into action! Â I hope that the other couples who attended had as much fun as my wife and I did.
If you have never attended a Christian marriage/couple’s  retreat, find one in your area and put it on your schedule!
Did you attend the 2012 SFWC Couple’s Retreat? Â If so, share what you learned!
MENTENTIONAL 
Where do I even begin!!! It was awesome…awesome quality time with my honey and worshiping God embraced in his arms!!! Just thinking about this weekend brings tears if happiness to my eyes!!! I learned so much this weekend and I made a commitment not to just be a hearer of what I learned but a doer!!! Marriage is a blessing and when it is blessed by God and God is the center of your marriage the enemy is going to try harder to attack it and attending such a strong and powerful retreat better equips us to handle what he throws at us!!! I use to think couples retreats are for people who are in serious trouble but boy was I wrong this is my opinion only….but that thinking is crazy the enemy puts that in our heads so we can’t grow and be stronger I don’t know what happens at other retreats but our retreat is lead by a strong man & woman of God, so I attended because I love my husband and want God to keep blessing our marriage!! If you put God, love, time, & energy into your marriage you will reap all the blessings of God!!! We were renewed this weekend!!!!
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Thats so awesome! No matter how good our marriages are already, they can always be better! You and Charles are an awesome couple and Careise and I are so glad to have met you.
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Glad y’all enjoyed your time together this weekend! Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Angela! We had a wonderful time and can’t wait for next year!!
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This weekend has been so enriching!! I am so happy that we went! and WOW when we had communion with each other, that was just awesome! What a blessing it is to be able to go away with your spouse to enjoy one another(real quality time) and to grow stronger thru awesome teachings on how God has made us each different-the way we think and all that and even down to how God views our most intimate time with each other as something so awesome. I love you so much honey and I’m so glad we’re on the same page. I love going through life with you—as God as our Leader! xoxo
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Honey I had so much fun with you this past weekend! God has really blessed us, for sure. When we took Communion and prayed over each other that was so powerful! I want our marriage to become stronger and stronger through the years and whether it’s at home or at retreats, I want to find time for us to be together so we can keep making personal memories that we will share for years to come. I love you, honey. Thank you so much for being the Godly woman you are!
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