EVER AFTER CONTEST

The time has finally arrived!



Beyond The Vows is hosting it's first contest! How about a little scavenger hunt?



Here's what you have to do to win:



Go to http://www.cincyjourney.org/



Click on Media at Journey and find the Ever After? audio dated 3/29/09. In order to win you will need to email the following information from Tom Planck's lesson on marriage:



1. Fill in the blank: Ever After is possible when we ____ ____________ with our ___________ _______________ in __________.


2. List 3 of the 10 things you should never buy a woman.



3. What is the name of the band and song Tom mentions?

Email the answer to these three questions to hotmamahas6kids at gmail dot com.

I stopped by Wal-Mart today and picked up a copy of The Love Dare. I will send it out to the FIRST person who emails the answers to the questions above. Be sure to stop by Beyond The Vows to find out who the winner is!

And if you do listen in on the Ever After series, you will know that we plan on starting The Love Dare challenge the week of the 19th. Feel free to join us here at Beyond the Vows as we start the challenge with Journey! I will post some of my thoughts and stories and welcome you to share yours!

Contest

Beyond the Vows will be hosting a contest this week.

Stay tuned for details!!!

Dream

I once heard a wise man say that it is important for couples to dream together. What were your dreams before you and your spouse got together? What are your dreams now? How have they changed? Which ones have you pursued and achieved?

Challenge: Spend some time with your loved one and ask them to share their dreams with you. Share yours with them. What dreams do you have in common? Which dreams are different? How can you encourage your loved one to reach their goals and deams?

Talk about it. Dream together!

Ever After

I'm so excited about the Ever After series coming up at Journey Church! It is a marriage series and if you live in the Cincinnati area, I would like to encourage you to join us at Lakota East High School at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday. If you don't live in the area, I will be posting a link to the podcasts as soon as they are available!

Tom Planck is a great speaker and is very passionate about relationships. I guarantee this series will be worth listening to!

I'm posting more information on the series below. Hope to see you there!

"Happily ever after”.... that's the kind of stuff you only find in fairy tales. Or is it? Can this fairy tale language and imagery make its way into our real life marriages? Whether married or unmarried, can you really expect to find this type of relationship? Happiness, security, friendship, and passion shouldn't be reserved for fairy tales, right?

Join us this Spring as we discover the beautiful reality of "Ever After".

March 29th Ever After?
April 5th Friends...Ever After?
April 12th (Easter) Happily...Ever After?
April 19th Secure...Ever After?
April 26th Passionate...Ever After?

Join us at Journey Church for a NEW message series...“Ever After” starting Sunday, March 29th @ 10:30 a.m.

Find out more at www.cincyjourney.org

Challenge for Today: Make plans to attend this event! (Or if you don't live in the area, plan on listending to the podcasts once they are available online!) Oh, and go give your spouse a nice smooch on the lips!

It's The Thought That Counts

The other day Scott and I were walking through Wal-Mart when we passed the floral section. Scott sighed and pulled me closer to him as he half-whispered, "I want to buy you flowers." The thing is, we are on a fixed budget and we couldn't afford flowers.

After we got home I thought about that moment and smiled. It suddenly hit me that what he did was even more romantic than the actual act of buying flowers. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE flowers. I remember dreaming as a teenager of having a home filled with fresh flowers and Scott has unknowingly made that dream come true on several occasions.

But that moment in the store was different. Maybe it was the way he sighed longingly, desiring to give me something as a token of his love and affection. It was the thought, the desire to do something to brighten my day that touched me.

And I've found that several times this past week I've thought about that little trip to the store and I smile. He was thinking about me and that sigh, that whisper of desire to romance me has left me thinking of him in return.

Sometimes we forget, or perhaps don't realize the power of those little things we say and do. When dating, we often say or do things intentionally to express our love and desire for one another, but after years of marriage, those small acts of kindness can quickly fade away as we get caught up in the business and monotony of work, chauffering kids around, etc. But what if we kept the same attitude throughout our marriage? What if each day, we sought a way to bless our loved ones with a thought or act of kindness and romance? You may be surprised at how often your spouse ends up thinking of and admiring you when you do something to bless them!

Today's Challenge: Commit a small act of kindness for your loved one. Stop and ask yourself, "What can I do to let them know I am thinking about them?" Write them a love note, send them an email, or call them to tell them you are thinking of them. Or hey, if you can afford it, stop by the store and buy them some flowers - just because!