Oh… hey there!
I know. It’s been basically forever. For the sake of intentionality, I;ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus because I didn’t want to write just to write but instead wanted to share only things that were meaningful and what I thought would be helpful. At the same time, we’re getting ready for the arrival of baby #2 next month (!!!) so I’ve been trying to take everything slower and savor every moment with our family of 3 before we add another little… and of course prepare for her arrival!
That being said, I’ve spent quite a bit of time over these last few months chatting with my siblings, some friends and my pastor’s wife about marriage, family, priorities, and what all of that means and how they all fit together. While our family dynamics, responsibilities and ways of doing things aren’t all identical, I’ve learned sosososososo much from my village and those closest to me.
One thing that really stood out and was consistent advice across the board was the necessity to prioritize your marriage first, after your relationship with God.I don’t know about you, but at first this was kind of (read: very) counterintuitive for me. In my mind, the little ones are, well, little… they can’t fend for themselves. They need us! We do everything for them, so it makes logical sense to attend to their needs first. And if at the end of the day I’m totally spent but the kid is alive and fed and happy and has all that he needs, that’s ok. My husband should understand, and we can see how it all plays out tomorrow. Right? Wrong. Very. very wrong.
While it is true that our babies need us, the greater truth is God gave us our husband first. It is that primary relationship that brought us the gift of children, and we must cherish it as just that: the primary relationship. This is something I still struggle with daily, because you know… when Mom Mode kicks in, it’s nearly impossible to turn that off. It’s difficult to switch gears and put someone else (who is grown and knows how to take care of himself) first. But it’s a must.
At my big sister’s suggestion, we left Jeremiah with Grandma and took off for a couple of days to attend our first Weekend to Remember conference hosted by FamilyLife. She and her hubs have attended a number of these events and have always raved about how insightful, empowering and encouraging they were. Not to mention, they’ve been married for 11 years and counting… so their advice definitely carries weight around here! We were at a pretty burnt out point in our marriage, sheerly from the exhaustion of being new parents, Anthony’s crazy ninja work schedule, and my attempts to single-handedly build a business from the ground up while staying home with our little guy full-time. We knew we needed to do something for ourselves to “reset” our relationship so to speak, and this turned out to be the perfect answer.
Weekend to Remember is all about getting away and reconnecting with your spouse as you learn biblical principles to fortify and even heal your marriage. At the event we attended, there were engaged couples, one couple who had been married only 2 months, and a couple who had been married nearly 50 years. There’s something for everyone here, and it was such a blessing to us.
If you’ve taken Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University course, I’d kind of liken the Weekend to Remember teaching style to that: biblically based with practical, everyday things you can focus on and apply to help build an exceptional marriage. It’s not your typical 3-day conference that’s jam-packed with sessions, either. It’s very thoughtfully planned out to give you time to learn, time to apply, and time to just enjoy being away with each other. There’s plenty of time built in to spend one-on-one with your spouse, even a whole night off for date night!
We certainly came back with fresh perspectives and a renewed commitment to serving one another in our marriage as God intended. Of course, it still takes work, and it’s still a challenge to apply those principles in the midst of real life chaos. But we’re much more intentional about it and, I believe, better equipped because of this experience.
That being said, we HIGHLY recommend this to our married friends! And, lucky for you, FamilyLife is having a phenomenal sale to make this experience affordable for everyone. Starting today through September 24th registration is half-off! Click here to register using our group code (“NelsonsGroup”) to get the discount.
If you’re looking for a resource to help your marriage thrive or in need of a “reset” to just regroup and reconnect, we cannot speak more highly of this experience! Take advantage of the sale and get up to $175 off your tickets for events through 2019. (Want to send another couple? The sale even works on gift cards!) With destinations all over the country, you’re bound to find a location that’s near where you are… or near somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit! But even if you can’t make it a week-long vacation in the perfect destination, make the commitment to steal away a couple of days near your hometown to invest in your marriage. It will be worth every minute, every penny, and every grandparent-sanctioned mess you come home to… We promise!
Visit the Weekend to Remember website to learn more and book your experience (don’t forget to use group code “NelsonsGroup” for the discount!) You can also check out the FamilyLife site for additional resources and information. If you have to think about and budget for it, we totally get that, too. If you miss the sale for any reason, you can still use the code to get $100 off! How awesome is that? So, no excuses. GO!
Full Disclosure: We are not affiliates of FamilyLife and do not receive any commission from your ticket purchase using our group code. Using our group code allows you to receive the maximum discount offered at the time (50% off through September 24th, 2018!) or $100 off per couple, whichever is greater. For every five couples who register with our group code, we will earn a free registration, which we have committed to giving away to couples who really, really want to attend but cannot afford to do so. If that’s you, shoot us a note and we’ll add you to our list. As always, we only share resources that we’ve found valuable ourselves, and our opinions are our own.