Find refreshment for your heart, home and life
I love Summer for so many reasons, but as you will see in my post today, I love the freshness that it brings in so many ways!
Fresh peaches!! Oh, how i love them! I was able to can 12 jars to enjoy during the winter months. You can find the method I use for canning in this post. You can make an incredible Peach Dump Cake with canned peaches (fresh or store bought)! Find the recipe here.
You know our favorite date theme…
Always Take the Scenic Route!
Valentine’s Day found us doing just that. My sweet husband suggested a day spent driving to some of our favorite spots, but I knew the way to his heart would be to go on a hike. I realized that it would be just what we needed. After many busy days, some days apart and also ministering to others, what we needed was time alone.
Hiking a trail to White House Cliffs provided quiet, beauty and time for just the two of us. We passed NO ONE on the trail.
There were times I just stopped and listened to the stillness (while my heart was pounding loudly from the extreme climb!). We would stop and point out areas far from us, orienting ourselves as to our location. Okay, Dale did that, and I nodded!
At our lunch break at the top of our destination, Dale pulled his phone out and read Psalm 34 that he had read earlier in the day and had been meditating on. We stopped for prayer for our lives and our family.
We ended the day with a trip to a mountaintop where we sat in the car and watched the sun slip down below the ridge.
We avoided lines, crowds and stuff. This was just a perfect day together on the Scenic Route.
Want to see Dale’s description of our day? You can find his post here.
Refresh yourself in God’s House this weekend where you can enjoy the preaching of the Word, corporate prayer and fellowship! You need the church and the church needs you!
This week I posted about adding a little Valentine’s Day decor to my home, just to add some warmth and joy in the month of January. Along with the long days and months of winter, marriage can feel like it’s cold, gray and maybe even a little icy at times. It’s so important to have a sensitive spirit about that so you can refresh your relationship, add some light and sparkle to what has become mundane! Continue reading “Refresh Your Marriage – Get Out!”
The perfect S’more Date night weather is finally upon us! My husband and I invited couples from church to come over for a date night that we called, “Amore’ S’mores.” The temperatures were perfect, the skies were clear, and the fire felt really good when the sun went down! Let me share with you the events of our fun group date night!
Work. Hardly anything in this life comes without it, including a good marriage. It takes both spouses giving, caring, respecting, sharing, planning and moving to action.
One important attribute to a healthy, growing marriage is time together without other distractions – children, work, pressures, responsibilities or cell phones buzzing. Some would shake their head and say, “There’s no way that could happen!” It will take work, but you can make it happen.
I’m so appreciative that over the 36 years of our marriage, my husband has always carved out time for us to share alone time. When our girls were home, it might only be an hour out for coffee, but it was time away that we needed. As they grew older, we went away for an overnight reprieve a couple times a year. Then we even began every other year going away for a week at the time of our anniversary.  There was always lots of work on both our parts to make these times happen, but when we came home refreshed, more in love, and also ready to jump back into parenting and ministry obligations and pressures, we knew it was well worth it.
Now that we’re empty nesters, we continue to make time to go away. Oh, we have the house all to ourselves, and we’re alone, but the pressures and responsibilities are still around us at home. It takes leaving town to be able to focus and spend quality time together.
I’d love to encourage those of you who are married to work hard at planning get-away’s so you can talk uninterrupted, have fun, go places you’ve dreamed about, and strengthen your marriage in the process! Here are some suggestions, starting with short times away, leading to longer excursions.
Short times away:
Little ones at home:
Longer times away:
Last week was my husband’s birthday and we went away for a two-night excursion. My parents had told us for years about The Homestead in Hot Springs, VA. We had looked into it before, but felt it was out of our price range. Around Christmastime my husband saw on the Internet that they were running some great deals in the wintertime. So, we decided then to book a room for his January birthday. Oh, my! The time there was so refreshing and wonderful! I’ll give you a little peek into our stay:
The historic inn is stunning from the first view!
The entrance of the hotel is breathtaking! Every day from 3:00 – 4:00 they serve Tea in this gorgeous lobby!
The first afternoon Cranberry Scones were served with each cup of tea. Yum!!
A second-floor view of the lobby.
The spa pool with mineral springs – This is an additional fee, so we opted out!
However, the outdoor pool and hot tub had water that was 85° and 105°. Spite the fact that is was 48° outside, we decided to go for it, and we had a lovely soak in the hot water! We also made a special memory swimming outside on such a cool day!!
God is so good to allow us time away at such a lovely place at such a great reduced price!
Keep your eyes open for great deals on special places during their slow season. Then make plans and look forward to a special get-away!
Whether it’s a Coke at Sonic or a night at a resort, the best part is spending time with your spouse! Every marriage needs it!
What will you plan in the near future?
RefreshHer 