Valentine's prep - part 1

Today is a new day! The sun is shining, children have returned to school, and I am finally getting a little bit of motivation back! It always helps me to get rid of those things that are 'hanging over my head', which for me has been doing our business tax return, which I need to do early in order to have the info we need to file our personal tax return. NOT my idea of a good time...but a necessary evil. Anyway, I got up before 6 a.m. this morning in order to rid myself of this monkey, and was mostly done by about 9 a.m.! (And that includes getting the kids off to school in that same time frame, so I'm pretty pleased with myself! :)

As promised I wanted to start putting out some resources for anyone interested in some fun ideas for Valentine's Day. It is less than 2 weeks away, you know! So...in the spirit of not 'reinventing the wheel' today I'm just going to share some links to some OTHER people's great ideas.

If you're looking for some family relationship builders, you will definitely want to see all Jen's ideas over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam. Here's the link to her post "Creative, Yet Cheap Valentine Ideas". I'm planning to hit up a few of those myself!

Then there's a seriously good post over at A Holy Experience, entitled "How to Fall in Love Again in 4 Minutes a Day". Reading the first part of the post nearly made me cry, because I could very much identify. The marriage building ideas she offers...all I can say is that it's really, really good stuff, and you should check it out. (*Warning, her blog does have autoplay music, so if you're clicking over there while sitting in a room with a napping baby, you'll want to mute your sound!)

Not a blog, but an entire website of great resources would be RealRelationships, the site of Drs. Les and Leslie Parrot. They are Christian husband-and-wife team who minister to couples through books, seminars, TV and radio shows and more. There's a plethora of information and resources over there. (You liked that word, 'plethora', didn't ya??) ;) Plus, there's nothing more loving than being willing to invest serious time and energy into learning and purposefully building your marriage. The resources found there will help you do just that.

If you are looking to plan a fun date night, you can check out The Discovery Game, or, if you want something more creative (and racy!!) you'll want to check out Simply Romantic Nights (put out by Dennis & Barbara Rainey and FamilyLife).

Of course, as I mentioned before, I can't say enough good things about Mark Gungor and his "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" stuff. I mean, c'mon....who doesn't love to laugh...and sometimes, when it comes to marriage, you've just GOT TO!!!

Speaking of Mark, here's one more fun clip for you. (I love this guy!)

marriage weekend

Last weekend was our much anticipated marriage retreat, and I must say, except for one major downfall, I think it was a success. This may be totally selfish, but I had an absolute blast having the privilege of planning and leading it. The major downfall was that Todd got deathly ill at 5 a.m. on Saturday, and by lunchtime was bedridden...and slept for 18 hours straight. Yep, he pretty much missed most of the retreat, because Friday night was basically just a time to arrive, hang out and relax a bit before we really got into the 'real' stuff on Saturday. Sunday we had one final session, but mostly that was a wrap-up time, because we had to eat lunch, clean up and head home. So, I'm not going to dwell on what a disappointment it was for me personally (and yes, it was huge), but as they say, "the show must go on..." and thanks to God's faithful hand guiding all through the planning stages, we had invited another lead couple along who is very experienced in marriage ministry that we are great friends with and have worked with before. I was eternally grateful to have them there to jump in on the discussions, offering their seasoned and wise input, especially since Todd was missing and I alone, obviously, had only a one-sided perspective to put forth. I was also grateful to have them graciously offer to do couple-to-couple ministry as needed, since again, I was feeling a little lacking on my own!

Anyway, we had planned to have all the teaching done by a video conference called "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" by Mark Gungor. This guy is amazingly funny while at the same time being very profound in the practical teaching and advice he gives. If you are looking for some really fun and 'tell-it-like-it-is' marriage teaching, I highly recommend this. I can't tell you how much we all enjoyed this series. I'll post a video below, but if you'd like to know any more you can contact me, or check out their website www.laughyourway.com.

In addition to the videos, we had planned some couple games, including a round of 'The Newlywed Game' - with questions like "where was your first kiss?" and "what one item of your husband's would you love to throw out?" and lots of other fun ones. Let's just say there was LOTS of laughing, some blushing and an occasional high-five! We also did a few other games, had times of worship, and had several activities for the couples to do on their own during the Saturday evening "Date Night". All of the couples attending have small children, so my hope was that the weekend would give them many things to talk about, and provide some time to do it. In a later post I will include some of the games we did, and links to some of the resources I used in planning the weekend, in case anyone would like to tap into them for any marriage events you might be planning, or just for you and your sweetie to do together.

On a final note, I have to say that God truly has me in a season of learning what a joy it is to be a servant leader. I had planned to make all the food for the weekend, mainly because I really, really wanted the couples to be able to come and not have any responsibilities to worry about for the whole time. Being a mom myself, I know what a huge blessing it can be to just get away and not have to "do". That was my goal for the weekend; in addition to getting lots of great information about how to have a better marriage, I wanted the couples to be able to rest and refresh. As I got up before everyone else in the morning, and stayed up later prepping food and cleaning up, I actually really enjoyed the quiet and the opportunity to serve. There were many times when my own babies were taking everything I possibly had to give, and I was so grateful for any reprieve. I know from experience the value I placed on help whenever it came. And I feel that God has been gently reminding my heart that when I can, now it's my turn to give to others. There was a time that I would have felt frustration or even resentment to 'miss out' on something (be it a worship session, a meeting or even extra sleep) to take care of babies - even my own sometimes! But now, I feel that God is showing me what an important part of 'spiritual mothering' this is...that pouring into those I lead doesn't always come in the form of teaching or speaking, but in the form of serving. Joyfully. And it's been a new and very rewarding season for me. But enough about that...here's a picture of the wonderful group of people that we had the privilege of serving this weekend.
Oh, and take a few minutes to enjoy hearing some of "Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage"!!

instinct

Well, as in many places, we are getting another dumping of snow. Normally, I love snow. As long as I don't have to go anywhere, and all my loved ones are tucked in safe and sound at home. I love sitting in my warm, cozy house, watching the beautiful white blanket cover the earth. It warms my heart to see my kids all bundled up and out playing for hours on end (and expending a lot of that pent up winter energy!), building forts and sledding and snowboarding. But today...today is a different story.

Basically, because of the confusing/incorrect weather reports (I know...they can't really know exactly what's gonna happen...they're not God!), schools in our area didn't close, or even delay. It was supposed to be not bad in the morning, and worsen later, and I'm sure their thinking was get the kids here, get a few hours logged, send them home early and call it a day. Except that conditions this morning were much, MUCH worse than I think anyone expected. Buses were running very late just trying to pick up the students in the morning, only to get them to school late, and then be told they would be being sent back home within just 3 hours or less. Bryce just got home and told me one of their buses never even made it to school at all today! I can't imagine the stress level of all those bus drivers today, and my prayers go out for them!! And then, the fact that I'm entrusting my babies to them...well, that earns them extra prayers for sure!

I also have one of those 'invincible' husbands. He should've been a mailman, because "neither snow, nor rain, nor dark of night..." seems to keep him from his job. It's actually quite an admirable trait for a man. The problem lies in the fact that I am a woman, who craves security and protection, and feels very vulnerable in any type of severe weather circumstance! And, though I trust my husband's driving skills and judgment, in almost all other circumstances, I become completely irrational when it comes to snowy and icy conditions. I get very stressed and feel helpless being here myself...if I, heaven forbid, had to get out anywhere, I'd be toast!!

Now, the rational side of my brain knows that all of this panic is completely blown out of proportion, and I'm literally telling myself that, repeatedly, today. Because my hope, my prayer, was that my hubby would hurry home to us in the 'lull' between the two storm fronts that are hitting us today...but when I asked this morning, he said he'd be working a full day. He told me two storms ago that it frustrates him when I nag him about staying home, because he has a job to do, and him doing it affects other people as well. So I'm trying really hard to keep my mouth shut. But sometimes it's really hard being a woman, what with all these protective, motherly instincts raging inside me!!!

How 'bout you? Am I alone in this, or does anyone else freak out when you hear the words "6 inches of snow" and want to gather all your loved ones under one roof???

planning

This week I'm scurrying around pulling together all the details for a marriage retreat we are doing this weekend...and I'm so excited!! I love planning fun things, especially fun things for married couples. We learned the hard way how vitally important it is to keep your marriage healthy by just having time together to connect and have fun and enjoy each other so I love having a chance to sow into other marriages and encourage couples to keep love alive!

We didn't specifically plan to hold the retreat so close to Valentine's Day, but the timing just worked out well. I know some of you hate Valentine's because of built up expectations (and the subsequent disappointment) but I always welcome it as an opportunity to make sure that I express love, for my hubby and my kiddos. Since I've change my point of view from looking/hoping/wanting some big romantic gesture to one of embracing an opportunity to make a big deal about those I love the most.

So, get your thinking caps on...whether it's a spouse, your kids, nieces and nephews or grandkids...don't miss an opportunity to do something special to say "Hey...I LOVE YOU!!!!" :0)

Next week I'll give you a few Valentine ideas, but I don't want to blow any of our retreat moments and spoil the fun for some of the ladies who are going (and I know will be reading this).

And now...I need to switch gears in my brain, because I was planning to do all the food shopping for the retreat tomorrow, and cooking on Thursday (we leave on Friday)...but it looks like we're gonna get another snow dump over the next two days and I won't be going anywhere!!