Weekend to Remember

This past weekend, Justin and I had the privilege to attend the "Weekend to Remember" offered by Family Life. It's basically a weekend getaway where you "receive marriage-changing principles that you can take home and apply to your daily lives that will strengthen your marriage..."

The conferences are offered all over the country. The one we attended was held in Hershey, PA at the Hershey Lodge which Justin and I quickly learned meant that there would be chocolate, EVERYWHERE. Upon arriving at the hotel we were greeted with our room key and 2 Hershey's chocolate bars. In our room (which was located in the York Peppermint Patty wing), we found hershey kisses on the night stand. Even the hotel shampoo and body wash smelled like chocolate! The maid service would leave additional Hershey bars after cleaning our room. And of course after dinner at the Hershey Grill, we were given our check and... another bunch of Hershey kisses.

 While I found it somewhat difficult to be surrounded by so much chocolate, Justin was in heaven. :)

The conference was wonderful. We learned so much. Much of what was taught we had heard before, but it was a great refresher and the speakers were very down-to-earth and entertaining. I honestly laughed and cried! We both highly recommend the conference and would be happy to share more of our experience with anyone interested. I have to mention that there were approximately 1800 people that attended the conference and at no point did they make us separate into small groups and 'share'... that kind of thing always makes me uncomfortable. The population that attended was very diverse. There was not any obvious age gap. It seemed very evenly distributed in regard to age and years married. In other words, no matter your age or the number of years you've been married, you would completely fit in and have a good time there. It was so cute to see the little old couples there too. We've said we would like to try and do one of these conferences every 3-5 years or so, as sort of a 'refresher'.

We were given little manuals with the outlines in them for all the different topics we were going to cover. Throughout the manuals there were little quotes and passages that pertained to the subject at hand. I really liked some of them and thought I'd share a few...

"The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I am a Christian does make me a different kind of a woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that I am, and all that He wants me to be." -Elisabeth Elliot

"Respect is a choice to receive your husband in spite of his weaknesses"

"Faith is the refusal to panic." -D.Martin Lloyd Jones

"Once a woman has forgiven her man, she must not reheat his sins for breakfast." -Marlene Dietrich

"Often the difference between a successful marriage and a mediocre one consists of leaving about three or four things a day unsaid." -Harlan Miller

"God, the Creator, has crafted your spouse to be the mate for you. We must choose [daily] to receive our spouse as God's perfect provision for us."

"Success in marriage does not come merely through finding the right mate but through being the right mate." - Barnett R. Brickner

"Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." -Psalm 127:1A