Our family spent the weekend at a Strong Bonds Marital Retreat, sponsored by the Army. The hotel where the marital conferences were held had a water park for the kids. Also included in the retreat was child care, a date night, and a few meals.
The retreat is based upon Mark Gungor’s, Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage. Scott and I had watched Gungor’s CDs after he returned from Iraq. I wrote about it here. So it was a nice refresher and also beneficial because we were able to talk to other couples.
The book complements the CDs and it has four parts:
1. Setting the Stage
2. The Laws of Marriage and Physics
3. Sex, Lies, and the Internet
4. Till Death Do Us Part
I would highly suggest the book or CDs. Mark Gungor has some sound advice and a great sense of humor. If you are part of the Army and can take the Strong Bonds Marital Retreat then definitely see if you can sign up. It will allow you to spend some time with your spouse, meet other couples, learn skills to keep your marriage strong, and if you have children they will have fun too.
The number one advice we learned from another couple (they have been married 16 years), is to calendar in lunch or coffee dates during the day while the kids are in school. They said that “dates” do not need to have all the “bells and whistles.” Instead it is better to have them anytime you are both free and to keep them “real.”
Scott and I really appreciated hearing how they had worked through tough times and how they are maintaining their marriage. We have tried having weekly date nights and most recently changed them to monthly so we could plan something nice and hire a sitter. What we never thought of was to meet during the day while the kids were in school and that it can be something simple.
If you are married, what do you and your spouse do to keep your marriage strong? Do you have regular dates? How often?
~Alie
