Weekend To Remember

I sure don't profess to be an expert on marriage. It has been a great first year, but I know time is something that will grow our love through life challenges and experiences. For a wedding gift, we were given a gift certificate to any Weekend To Remember Conference. I think the common misconception (and one I think Travis had) was that these conferences were only for people who's "marriage was in trouble". The thing is, It's for EVERYONE! It really seemed like people there were from all ages and times in life. If I had to describe it in one sentence, it's a weekend you solely devote to your spouse and the relationship.
When we checked in to the hotel, we found our room had two double beds instead of one king-sized bed (which I had requested). I told Travis I would go down to the front desk and see if we could switch, but he insisted it wasn't a big deal. I was actually pleasantly surprised how much fun it felt to have our own beds! PLUS, since we had a king at home, we didn't feel like we had completely missed out :)

We both learned a lot, but I just wanted to share a couple of the things/ thoughts that impacted me the most. One of the "activities" you do, is write a love letter to the other. Now, I'm pretty sappy, but when I heard this, i was thinking "oh great, what the heck am I going to say." I can't imagine Trav's initial thoughts! However, it turned out to be VERY cool. I know his letter to me is something I will always keep. One of the other parts of the weekend i really enjoyed was the "woman to woman" talk (guys had their own talk). I love when Christian woman are able to so eloquently explain the biblical role of the woman in a marriage. I know many people hear the words, submit, or obey, and just shudder because they think it sounds so demeaning, but a great teacher is able to talk about this in the context for which God created it.  On Sunday, the speaker, Paula Purnell talked about how God created the woman as a helper for the man.  She talked about how "helper" is a title of worth and that God considers himself our helper.  I just thought that was so cool.
I thought to myself a couple of times, "how fun to get to eat out EVERY meal?" Only by Saturday night, this was not so fun. I don't think it's any secret that people tend to eat more when they are at a restaurant than at home. I never felt hungry during the weekend, because I was eating more than I needed at every meal, so when the next meal time came around, I was feeling full and crappy from the last. So being the sensible girl I am, I ordered a small side salad for the next meal, WAIT, NO, I'm pretty sure I had my fill of ribs, cheeseburgers, chinese, and some lovely Caesar/chicken/mozzarella tortilla things from Granite City. My stomach is still in knots!

It was a great weekend that was meant for us to solely focus on each-other and our marriage. No cooking, no cleaning, no work, no motorcycles, no fights, no friends, and just a little TV :) I would definitely recommend this experience to anyone! I know it won't be our last.