My husband, Bobby, and I have been married for over 20 years. I have talked a lot about how Bobby is the perfect person for me. (If I never said it so directly, I should have!) My mother, Dolores, always told me that God was preparing the special person for me and she was right. However, I don’t want to give you the impression that we’ve always sailed through life perfectly and without any bumps in the road. That wouldn’t be true. We have faced some difficult situations and have worked through them. (I will say that we never resorted to fighting, yelling or name calling. Those things are off limits in our house.) The main reason we did work things out and didn’t just give up was because we had both made a commitment to give ourselves to each other until death do us part. We take our marriage vows very seriously.
Probably one of the smartest things we ever did was to read Love for a Lifetime by Dr. James Dobson when we were engaged. Another was to attend an Engaged Encounter weekend right before our wedding. Both of those things got us talking about the challenges that arise during marriage. Things like kids and where to spend the holidays and how to communicate with each other. These resources were excellent for us as a preparation for our marriage. We knew we wanted our marriage to be the best it could be and so we invested time into it.
After getting married, that didn’t change. We came to understand the importance of continually growing and learning. That is why we attended a Weekend to Remember event which is put on by the Family Life Ministries. (Although, I actually think we attend just a one day seminar.) It was held at the Coliseum in downtown Cincinnati in 2002. It was there that Bobby and I reaffirmed our love for each other and committed ourselves once again to our vows.
Over the years we have thought about getting involved in marriage ministries because, frankly, we love being married to each other. We are huge advocates of “taking the plunge” and committing to that one special person for life. We are now part of the leadership of the Press On Marriage Ministry of Parkview Christian Church in Wooster, Ohio. We are so excited to be on this ministry team. Although our committee is very new, we are already planning our first marriage event in February.
We are presenting “The Art of Marriage” by Family Life Ministries, a day long marriage conference. It will be held Saturday, February 25 at Parkview Christian Church. The cost is $30 per couple and includes materials, snacks and lunch. The conference also includes an optional, no cost to you, Friday Night Date Night on February 24! The date night will feature a catered candlelight dinner and entertainment. Childcare will be provided for Friday night’s event, but will not be available for the Saturday conference.
During the conference we will utilize videos that have been produced by Family Life Ministries. The Press On Marriage Ministry committee has viewed some of these videos and are really impressed by them. They are well done and really get you thinking about different stages of married life–or at least it gets us thinking about it.
If you are married and live in the area, I hope that you will consider attending this marriage conference. I think it would be a great investment of time and money. Bobby and I would like for all couples to have a terrific marriage like us and this might be a way for that to happen. If you want to learn more or want to register for the event, then go to the Press On Marriage Ministry’s website by clicking here.
