My Best Marriage Advice

Want to add sparks to your love flames, leave the marriage-ruining busyness of every day, and go away for a weekend of marriage-encouraging rest with your spouse?

You and your love don't only deserve time away, you need time away.

For most of our 44 years of marriage Dan and I committed to going away alone for two weekends every year. Those weekends renewed, refreshed, and invigorated our love and passion for each other and our commitment to our marriage.

It's time you and your love spent some quality couple time.

Give your honey a gift he or she won't forget by making reservations to the Couples Retreat at Montrose Bible Conference in Montrose, PA, January 30 - February 1, 2015. Cost is $300 - $320 a couple, depending on accommodations. Call 1-800-598-5030 for reservations.

Dan and I will join you there where we will teach four sessions over three days. You'll laugh, you may cry, you'll have lots of free time, you'll not be threatened, you'll eat amazing food, you'll be glad you came. Whether married one year or fifty, you and your lover will go home with a stronger, healthier marriage.

Can't afford it? Montrose Bible Conference offers scholarships. Ask and you may receive.

Still can't afford it?  Well, it's cheaper than a divorce.

No babysitter? Swap with friends. We'll watch your children a weekend if you'll watch ours another weekend.

Too much work to do? Well, then you need this retreat more than you realize.

No excuses. What a delightful Valentine's gift you can give to your love by investing time in your marriage at a couples' conference.

Splashes of Serenity! Ahhhh. That's what a marriage retreat is — a spa for your marriage. I hope to see you there!

Healthy Marriages Make Healthy Churches

Dan and I desire to share our marriage story at your church or retreat center.

Dan's retirement as Pastor and District Superintendent with the Christian and Missionary Alliance provides us with time to pursue our passions. One close to our hearts is growing healthy marriages. You see, we almost threw away our marriage, and we want to prevent other couples from making the same mistake.

Let us laugh with you, teach you, help you experience marriage as God intended.

A husband wrote this from our last retreat: "I just really wanted to let you know what an amazing time we had hearing from you and Dan. We hope to be able to attend the conference in January at Montrose. I just really wanted to say thank you, and let you know what a blessing it's been for Elice and myself to hear from you both. Thanks again!" ~Thomas Slavin

Our next marriage retreat is at Montrose Bible Conference, January 30-Feb 1, 2015. For more information see:
http://www.montrosebible.org/OurEvents/tabid/113/page_550/1/eventid_550/8/Default.aspx
For reservations, please call Montrose at 1-800-598-5030.

If you would like to schedule a marriage retreat at your church or retreat center, please email us at SplashesofSerenity@yahoo.com or call us at 607-527-6067.  We're flexible and affordable. Call and let's schedule a one-night, one-day, or weekend get away for the couples of your church and community.

Throughout our 44 years of marriage, annual weekend getaways to concentrate on our marriage were non-negotiable. Please make time away with  each other a priority.  There is a divorce every 13 seconds in this country. Let's change that statistic.

Healthy marriages make healthy churches.

Splashes of Serenity!

Quilts are a Lot Like People

Last weekend I entered a quilter's paradise--three days of non-stop sewing (except for meals, a few hours of sleep, and two sessions to listen to the speaker, yours truly).

One hundred and thirty women gathered on the grounds of Montrose Bible Conference to make more than 130 quilts. I saw Proverbs 31 women in action. They quilted well into the night, dozed for a few hours, and were at it again early--like 4:00 a.m. I tried sneaking to the lobby in my jammies in the middle of the night for a cup of tea. I was not alone--there was a whole lot of quiltin' goin' on. They took Proverbs 31:22 very seriously, "She makes her own bedspreads."

My heart was touched by these women who came with their daughters and mothers and sisters and friends. Some made quilts for Pregnancy Care Centers; others made quilts for neo-natal hospital units. One was making a Nittany Lion quilt for her pastor for Clergy Appreciation day. I laughed at the lady who was making a quilt for her cleaning lady. You see, quilters (like writers) aren't known for their clean houses. She's smart to hire a cleaning lady to clean so she can quilt.

I learned alot about quilting last weekend. Each quilt has three sections. The face (the pretty top), the back (a fabric which complements the face) and the batting (the stuffing).

Quilts are beautiful and they are a lot like people. We can have a pretty face, but if our batting is rotten, we won't be very cuddly.

We surely do make our own bedspreads. When our feet come out from under our quilts and our toes hit the ground running, we determine by our batting (our actions and our words and our attitudes) what the quilt of our lives will look like that day.

Choose wisely your fabric and your pattern and how you stitch it all together. We do reap what we sew. And for all the times I miss a stitch, I am thankful for the Great Comforter who sews me all back together again.

Praying you sew some serenity into your quilt today!

Elaine