♥$♥Romance in a Rough Economy♥$♥

We've been hearing for quite a while now how bad the economy is. And that it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Some couples felt the impact of the economic downswing with the very first dip in the market. Others might just now be feeling the strain on their finances. There are precious few lucky couples out there who won’t feel the domino affect as our nations economy hobbles along.

In any relationship, day-to-day stress can cause lots of wear and tear. Even in “normal” economic situations, finances are cited as a major cause of stress in many relationships. If there are extenuating circumstances, like unexpectedly losing a job or finding yourself in a financial hardship situation, it can cause major havoc.

But it’s not all doom-and-gloom. It just means that it’s all the more important for couples to be proactive in nurturing their relationship. We came up with a few ideas that everyone can do, no matter what the financial picture looks like, to help keep the romance burning bright – even when you’re turning down the thermostat to save on the electric bill.

But first, a key piece of advice: Like so many other things in life, it all starts with attitude. An attitude of martyrdom and self-sacrifice will soon lead to feeling constricting and suffocating. However, an attitude of gratefulness for the priceless things you can do for each other leads to feeling free and generates creativity. It’s like a child picking a dandelion for his mom. She can see it as the most beautiful flower she’s ever received, or as a weed. “Romance on a Budget” can be an adventure! For high school or college sweethearts, it can be a walk down memory lane.

Playfully challenge each other to see who can be the most creative, the most surprising, the most adventurous, the most romantic… while spending a certain dollar amount or as little as possible.
We came up with a few ideas. You can take these and adapt them as your tastes and budget allow. Be creative! If childcare is an issue, you can adapt many of these to make them family dates that have couple “mini dates” built in. Whatever you do, just enjoy each other and realize that the love you have for each other is priceless.

• Movie Night – borrow a movie from the library or a Red Box video rental kiosk. Pop a tub of popcorn. Turn off the phone, close the curtains, dim the lights, snuggle up close… Another option is to go to the dollar theater.
• Ice Cream Dates – buy some ice cream cones and your favorite flavor. Head for your favorite park and scoop as much into the cone as will fit. Watch the ducks and try to not let the ice cream drip onto your elbows. Or head home, sit on the porch and watch the sunset.
• Coffee Shoppe Dates – sit and people watch while enjoying your double frappe, iced mocha-chino at your favorite coffee house.
• Picnic Dates – pack a picnic and head out to your favorite park, or even your backyard.
• Romantic Dinner Dates – prepare your spouse’s favorite meal, including dessert. Go to a store with a manned wine department (The Anderson’s or Carfagna’s). Ask for a good but inexpensive bottle of wine. Dig out the fancy china and linen napkins. Dim the lights. Hire your kids to be your servers and clean up the kitchen.
• Parents are Kids Biggest Fans Dates – on the way to Johnny’s game, stop at your favorite take-out place, and order off the value menu or a combo meal to share. Have a picnic date while cheering on the kiddo’s team. (If you’re still hungry when the game’s over, raid the fridge for leftovers :-))
• Naturalist Hike Dates – Central Ohio has a ton of parks. Visit the parks and rec website to explore as many new ones as you can get to.

Enjoy! Nick ♥ Sherri Behr

OH, THE POWER OF PRAYER!

Relive the joy of your weekend!

Do you remember receiving that letter from a previously Encountered Couple while on your weekend? How blessed you felt knowing someone you didn’t know (or maybe you did) was praying for you. Do you remember how wonderful you felt at the end or your Marriage Encounter weekend? For us, it was so powerful to see that parade of couples and their kids singing their way into the room with their banners held high.

Here’s your chance to relive that joy! Write a letter for a couple on one of our upcoming weekends and maybe light a candle at home to remind yourselves to pray for them and their weekend. Maybe you have another way to keep your thoughts on them through out the weekend: follow the weekend schedule at home, do some extra dialogue or make an extra stop at church. On Sunday, you can meet them at Love Circle and tell them, in person, how you thought about them as they were going through what, for many, is the most profound weekend of their lives.

We know getting a call two weeks prior to the weekend may make it tough to schedule Love Circle on Sunday so we’re asking you to get it on your calendars now! Pick a weekend over the next year (or more if you want!) and put it on your calendar and plan to be there!

Hugs and God bless and we can’t wait to hear from you,
Kevin & Mary McCleery
Columbus Area Prayer Couple Coordinators

Why Enrich Your Marriage?

By John Pottkotter

When I was first approached about writing on this subject, my first reaction was, “Why not?” It was just a “knee-jerk” reaction but got the thought process started.

When one thinks of marriage, it is astounding to imagine two people, growing up apart from each other, and, in the marriage bond, committing to each other for the rest of their lives, joining two separate life forces into one cohesive, loving and sharing unit. Without a total commitment and constant work on the marriage “contract”, this union of man and wife is destined for failure.

The constant forces of today’s world against marriage and subsequent family shows no sign of abatement. I believe we are at a crucial juncture with this constant assault. Divorce and dissolution are commonplace, and the “me and I first” social norms are taking us away from our core beliefs and practices. It is my unswerving belief that, if as a nation, we hope to survive and prosper, we have to hearken back to the family first as the foundation of our nation. For if the marriage and family are strong, so goes the community, and then the nation.

Enriching the marriage from the outset will strengthen the husband and wife first, then the examples of love and sacrifice of self, will in turn, show the children about how the love of the husband and wife grows in the raising of the children.

Strengthening the marriage also prepares the couple for the eventual “empty nesting” period. My wife Susan and I are starting this in the fall with our youngest daughter going to college and our oldest daughter already living in Texas. We have fallen into the trap of wrapping our entire lives around our children, and not saving time for “just the two of us.” When we attended our Marriage Encounter, we dialogued about this, that we feared we were turning into strangers, with no common ground if not with our children. We committed to time alone with each other, and to pursue common interests, without letting children or other work, etc. forces keep us apart. I often wondered how couples split up after 25-30 years, and I believe that our problem is commonplace.

So it is our prayer for all of you, to do the best you can, keep the couple’s “fires” burning, and realize that, when it comes right down to it, it will be up to just the two of you to make it work and always remember, “Grow old with me, the best is yet to be.”

John and Susan Pottkotter