Monday, April 1, 2013

Energy Savings

So sometimes Warren thinks I'm a little obsessive when it comes to conserving power and lowering our bills. I like to keep our TV, Wii, and DVD player on a surge protector and at night I flip the switch to completely cut off all the power. When we are not in a room the light must be turned off. I use as low a watt bulb as possible in all our lights. Keep the heat set low and air dry clothes on nice days.

Over the last couple years this has really paid off, and our power bill has dropped tremendously! Last week I got this nice little letter in the mail from our power company that showed our average usage and compared it to 100 other comparable homes in my area. Needless to say...we are energy saving superstars :)


They estimated that we saved over $400 dollars last year!!! Wahoo!

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Marriage Retreat

Last year my dear friend Courtney invited us to the annual marriage retreat hosted by her church, but with our foster child at the time it was just incredibly difficult to get away. So this year when she asked, we were happy to be able to say yes.

I always love getting to spend time with one of my best friends, but that we were going to be able to spend time together, with our husbands, and in God's word made it SUPER AWESOME!

The theme of the retreat this year was The Art of Marriage

Friday evening began with dinner at the Lure Lodge at Lake Cumberland. I was really uncomfortable during this time because I don't know anyone from her church and felt really out of place. Of course, anyone who knows my husband knows that he was cucumber cool the whole time as he enjoys meeting new people. But, her church is so warm and inviting and soon I felt at home, too.

Dinner was followed by opening worship and then entertainment by George Fields from L'ville. We had a blast!!! During this time we were seated at a table with 3 other couples whom we would spend the next day discussing our study with. It was nice to have a night away with my husband, to laugh, and enjoy the company of new friends. 

Saturday began EARLY, 7am!!! Can we all say YUCK! But after breakfast and some fellowship we were able to get it together enough to make our way to the conference room to begin the session with worship. After that, we dived right into our lessons. 


Because of our restricted time schedule, we were only able to focus on a few of the topics in the book. Below is a brief description of some of the big take aways, called "the Big brush strokes", from the chapters we were able to cover.

1: Love Happens 
  • God designed marriage and has a great plan in mind
  • The primary purpose of marriage is to reflect God's glory
  • It is important to receive your spouse as God's perfect gift for you
2: Love Fades 
  • Couples naturally drift toward isolation
  • Our differences and weaknesses can push us apart
  • Sin has affected every marriage
  • The gospel brings healing and reconciliation
  • Couples must learn to walk by the power of the Holy Spirit in marriage
3: Love Dances 
  • God designed different responsibilities for men and women in marriage
  • Though their responsibilities are different, men and women are still equal in value
  • God calls men to sacrificially love and lead their wives
  • God calls women to respect and support their husbands
4: Love Always
  • To leave a godly legacy, we must think about the impact of our lives on future generations
  • Our hope for leaving a lasting legacy is through the gospel of Jesus Christ
  • Leaving a godly legacy requires putting a stake in the ground
I am looking forward to going more in-depth with this study with Warren over the next few weeks and enjoying the wonderful gift God gave me in my husband. We are also looking forward to next year's retreat :)