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!

The Greatest Gift a Husband Can Give His Wife on Valentine's Day

"Spend time with me. Laugh with me. Listen to me. Pray with me." is the heart cry of many a wife.

Which is why I wrote my second book, titled, Bedtime Meditations for Husbands and Wives.
I wanted a book married couples would read together in bed
before sleep. A book that would make them laugh and cry and pray together before their heads hit the pillow.

My publisher had other plans and renamed the book Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives. It's the same book; just the pronouns have been changed. I suggest it could be the sweetest gift you ever gave your sweetheart on Valentine's Day.

Present it with a promise to read one of the thirty reflections with her each night for the next 30 days. You won't be sorry. You'll laugh. You may cry. You might even make love! For sure, you'll bless your Valentine.

You can order on this blog, or contact me at SplashesofSerenity@yahoo.com. Orders must be received by Thursday, February 9 to assure a Valentine's Day delivery.

Happy Valentine's Day! May yours be splashed with love and serenity,

Elaine

Baby Steps or Possibly a Leap Towards a Better Marriage

Marriages are fragmenting. This most important of human relationships--the basis of our families, the glue that holds our children together is falling apart. Why is this happening? What's wrong with us?

Looking back at my 40 years of marriage, I remember the best advice I ever received: "If you want a marriage that keeps getting better, read a book on marriage once a month." That's a lot of marriage books.

The sad truth is that publishers tell me books on marriage don't sell well. It's heartbreaking that we swarm to books about vampires, politicians, wizards and such; yet ignore reading anything that will improve the foundation--the core--of our families. We choose to live in fantasyland or a reality show, instead of facing the truth of our hopeless state of matrimony.

Will reading books on marriage change your marriage? Maybe not dramatically. My goal in reading each book is to make one change, take one baby step toward a better marriage. If I read 12 books a year, that's 12 baby steps, which in my mind constitutes a LEAP! There is no doubt my marriage is better because of my passion for reading books on marriage.

Am I trying to sell my book? Yes indeed! Why? Because I know marriages will be helped by it. Maybe not a leap towards a better marriage, but certainly a baby step. Please contact me at SplashesofSerenity@yahoo.com to order a copy of Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections For Drained Wives. A great Valentine's Day gift!

Please order before February as I will be leaving the country and celebrating Valentine's Day with my love.

So, what is your favorite marriage book? What has helped you take a baby step or a leap towards a better marriage? I'd love hearing from you.

May your home be filled with love, splashes of serenity, and books on marriage,

Elaine

Drained Marriages

Marriages are in trouble. Divorce percentages prove it. My marriage almost became a statistic when I packed Dan's bags three times the first year we were married. I shudder to think what life would have been like had I successfully discarded this man I adore. This year we celebrate 40 years together. I'm so glad I stayed. Too many throw away their spouses too soon for too little reason. I thank God and my amazing husband that neither of them let go of me. That's why I wrote, "Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives." Marriages need rescued and my story could be a marriage preserver.

You would have laughed if you had spied me writing "Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives." My fingers flew across the keys--while my mind and lips kept repeating the only sentence that allowed me to be transparent: "No one is going to read this book. No one is going to read this book." I knew that if I was going to reach the heart of any marriage, I must bare my soul and reveal deep secrets unknown to anyone but me and God. When my publishing contract arrived in the mail, I wailed, "Oh no! What will people think of me?"

Then I remembered my goal: save one marriage. My heart leaped and I cried the day the e-mail arrived saying, "Your book saved my marriage." God uses our stories to help others. That's why I write.

I've been promoting my books ever since without guilt. My goal: save another marriage. Someone asked me once, "How do you feel about promoting your own book?" My answer, "I'd feel disobedient if I didn't promote my books. God gave me a story to tell. He gave me a beautiful gift book and a publisher. I must do my part to assure it is read."

This Valentine's Day, give yourself and your honey a present that could transform your life. Contact me for an autographed copy of "Splashes of Serenity: Bathtime Reflections for Drained Wives." I'd be thrilled to send it to you.

Have a month filled with love and splashes of serenity,

Elaine