We had a great “Weekend to Remember” get-away with the FamilyLife marriage conference and are now back in the saddle at home with our precious boys. All that we took in at the conference this weekend made me appreciate even more the incredible family I’ve been blessed with: an amazing wife, God’s perfect provision to complete me; and two wonderful boys with whom I am seeking to leave a Godly legacy.
I’ve decided against giving a blow-by-blow re-cap of the entire conference. You need to trust me in that it is worth it (especially if you’ve never taken part in a “Weekend to Remember”) and you need to go to the FamilyLife website, look for the weekend conference nearest you, and register. You’ll be glad you did. What I AM going to do, though, is share with you my top take-aways… the major things I wrote in the back of my conference notebook to remind me of what God spoke to my heart this weekend:
1. Be “all there” with the boys when I’m at home - Sessions 1 & 2 dealt with “oneness” in our marriages, and it didn’t take me long to figure out that, a key to experiencing “oneness” in my marriage is how intentional and proactive I am with the family when I’m home. I can tend to get distracted with things like blogs (smile) and books, and I need to work on this…
2. Admit I’m selfish, and place my wife’s needs above my own - I’m selfish?? OK. We’re all selfish. And, though it’s hard to admit, I know I am. Actually, now that I think about it, it’s NOT hard to admit because it’s so obvious! I need to prioritize my family’s needs above my own.
3. Allow the Holy Spirit unhindered control of my life - There are ways that I still want to hold control, and they get in the way of what God wants to do. The sooner I realize that, the better. I need to get out of the way of the Holy Spirit, and let Him have free reign in every area of my life.
4. Truly seek to understand and be understood - The keys to communication (session 7). It involves valuing genuine communication and good listening skills. I know I will probably never fully understand Heidi, but I need to work hard at it, and at least make her feel understood while I’m in process.
5. Session 8 was the sexual intimacy session… I’m going to choose to only share my takeaway from this session only with my lovely wife. (smile)
6. Take the initiative to pray more often with Heidi - I have a real passion for prayer and dependence, and yet I find that it is so hard to be consistent in praying with my wife. Why is that!?! I need to take more initiative here.
7. I need to transfer God’s truth to the boys - I have an incredible responsibility and opportunity to build up Josiah and Jonathan in God and His word. What a privilege! I so desire to model Godly character to my two sons, and with every opportunity, point them to our incredible God. This is something I’m really passionate about.
8. Say “I’m sorry” and speak the truth in love - Why is it so hard sometimes to say “I’m sorry?”
9. Return a curse with a blessing - This might be one of the keys to having a great relationship. It is so much easier to return a curse with a curse or an insult with an insult… but following Christ’s ultimate example, returning a curse with a blessing creates an atmosphere for conflict to be resolves and love to reign.
10. Pray together as a family - The boys are small right now, but it’s never too soon to model effective and dependent prayer and go before God as a family.
