Marriage Enrichment

How much do you spend on developing your children? School, sports, music, books, time.

How much do you spend developing your marriage?

In many ways, our marriage is the foundation of our children's lives.

My wife and I are sold on the annual Marriage Enrichment weekend that is offered through our synod of churches. We attended this event last year, and want to continue to attend every year. Taking a whole weekend and dedicating it to our relationship and our vow to God. The second day was really what sold us We had stopped thinking about preparing the kids and dropping them off; and we hadn't yet started thinking about packing up our stuff and children, and heading back home. We could focus on each other, clear up some lingering issues, and enjoy the company. The second day is also when you get to go out on a romantic date night. It always helps to throw some romance in there when you're working on your relationship.

Enjoy life with your wife, whom you love - Ecclesiastes 9:9a

The information was very practical, and we've used it since. We weren't overloaded with information, and we were given time to practice right there.We attended the Simply Marriage retreat which included:

• overcoming frustration, 
• appreciating incompatibility, 
• breaking patterns that destroy oneness, 
• using words that work, and
• growing more intimate.

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. - Ephesians 5:21

The fellowship of joining with married couples from a wide range of backgrounds was encouraging in itself. Marriage is great! And it was awesome to share this joy with others who could really relate. And yeah, the sex is great too. More married couples need to make this known. The single "free sex" life is promoted so much in our society. But being single is more often a self-indulgent drag that leaves you wondering if anyone really loves you. In marriage we are truly free to use God's gift of sex to the fullest. And it is AWESOME!

He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord. - Proverbs 18:22

I'm writing this now, because just last weekend our church hosted a Marriage Enrichment Day which used some of the same materials from the Simply Marriage retreat. Even though we had heard the material before, it was awesome. Katrina and I actually addressed new problems that had crept into our relationship in the past 8 months, go figure! And again, the fellowship of other married couples was fortifying as we worked through what God wants for us in our married lives. We had 25 couples attend in a church of around 250 members! I have great hope for the future of these marriages.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12b

God is doing some amazing things. Marriage enrichment opportunities seem to be popping up everywhere now. Maybe we finally realized that the ultimate defense of traditional marriage is making sure our marriage is what God intended it to be. Here are some of the marriage enrichment events that I have come across:

• Marriage Enrichment weekend (different weekends and different locations around the US)
• Three Strands (coming up soon Nov. 7th)
• Monthly Date Nights (St. Andrew in Middleton)
• Marriage Enrichment Day (Resurrection in Verona, and other WELS churches are recirculating the materials from the Marriage Enrichment weekends) 

The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”...and he brought her to the man. - Genesis 2:18, 22