{"id":2269,"date":"2013-02-06T12:32:26","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T19:32:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billintheblank\/?p=2269"},"modified":"2013-02-06T12:32:26","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T19:32:26","slug":"see-how-to-easily-schedule-a-weekend-marriage-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/faithwalkers\/2013\/02\/see-how-to-easily-schedule-a-weekend-marriage-retreat\/","title":{"rendered":"See How to Easily Schedule a Weekend Marriage Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>Like most guys, I don\u2019t like asking for directions. But when it comes to my marriage, I don\u2019t mind getting pointers.<\/p>\n<p>If I\u2019m going to invest the time and money in a marriage retreat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/billintheblank\/2013\/01\/marriage-retreat-why-you-should-plan-a-weekend-getaway\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\">I want the relaxing and transforming weekend I posted about here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/billintheblank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/MArriage-Rings.jpg\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/billintheblank.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/MArriage-Rings-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"559\" height=\"388\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Photo via <a href=\"http:\/\/stjohns-savage.org\/612841.ihtml\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">http:\/\/stjohns-savage.org\/612841.ihtml<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Many friends have asked about the details of the schedule. <strong>How exactly do you schedule your time on a weekend marriage retreat?<\/strong> I suppose there are a lot of ways you could do it, but, for what it\u2019s worth, here\u2019s the schedule my wife and I followed from our most recent weekend retreat. We stayed at a cabin with full kitchen facilities and hiking trails, hence the references to food and exercise.<\/p>\n<h3>Friday Night<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Friday\u00a0 7 \u2013 8:30 PM: Romantic \u2014 and quiet \u2014 dinner. Potentially pricey but worth it to set the tone for the marriage weekend.<\/li>\n<li>Friday 8:30 \u2013 9:30 PM: A quick run to the local Wal-Mart for food, snacks, etc. Planning meals and snacks can actually be pretty fun without the kids clamoring for Twinkies. And making your own meals can keep the cost down.<\/li>\n<li>Friday 9:30 \u2013 10 PM: Quiet swim in the indoor heated pool. Parents, need I say more?<\/li>\n<li>Friday 10 \u2013 11 PM: Curl up in front of the fireplace and read a bit. Chat. You know, like you used to do\u00a0before.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Saturday<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Saturday morning: Sleep in until we\u2019re ready to wake up. It is rare indeed that we get to do that! Perhaps you would want to rise early and take a walk or work-out. Suit yourself.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 8 \u2013 9 AM: Coffee. Quiet reading and meditation. Focus on your own spiritual realignment. Share your thoughts with a little discussion.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 9 \u2013 10 AM: Make breakfast together. Shower and dress for the day.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 10 \u2013 Noon: Time for talking about the family. We begin by reviewing <a href=\"http:\/\/www.stephencovey.com\/blog\/?tag=family-mission-statement\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">our family mission statement<\/a>. We talk candidly about how we are doing, where we are falling short, and why? We focus on how we can better accomplish our shared goals.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday Noon \u2013 2:00: Take a walk in nature. No weekend would be complete without a vigorous hike. The exercise wakes us up and gets our minds stirring again in the natural setting.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 2 \u2013 3: Make lunch. Together again. Handcrafted based on our personal tastes thanks to our shopping the day before.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 3 \u2013 4: Nap. Yep. That\u2019s right. <a href=\"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/why-you-should-take-a-nap-every-day.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">Naps are cool.<\/a> Flexibility is key. It\u2019s also something that never happens when the kids are around.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday 5 \u2013 7: Second discussion of our hopes, dreams, and strategies of how to get there.<\/li>\n<li>Saturday evening: Another quiet swim. Dinner together again. Then it\u2019s hanging out together, watching some shows (again something we almost never do), and enjoying a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Sunday Morning<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Sunday morning: Breakfast cooked by me for her (pay attention here, guys) and then its back to the real world to apply the revisited plan with a reinvigorated relationship.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I guess there are a lot of ways you could easily schedule your weekend marriage retreat. Feel free to use ours, adjust it, and make it your own. Don\u2019t let fear of the <em>how<\/em> stop you from scheduling the retreat your marriage needs.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>What would you do differently? What have you done for your own marriage retreats? Leave a comment below to help us all live with more abundant faith.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like most guys, I don\u2019t like asking for directions. But when it comes to my marriage, I don\u2019t mind getting pointers. If I\u2019m going to invest the time and money in a marriage retreat, I want the relaxing and transforming weekend I posted about here. Photo via http:\/\/stjohns-savage.org\/612841.ihtml Many friends have asked about the details [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1084,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,33],"tags":[245,1071,144,246,247,248,249,250,251,252],"class_list":["post-2269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-living","category-family","tag-a-weekend","tag-family","tag-marriage-retreat","tag-marriage-weekend","tag-retreats","tag-scheduling","tag-the-schedule","tag-weekend","tag-weekend-marriage","tag-weekend-retreats"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>See How to Easily Schedule a Weekend Marriage Retreat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Like most guys, I don&#039;t like asking for directions. 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