Have you ever had something in your life that you’ve looked back on and thought “Oh wow…. what would my life look like without this?!”. That’s what the Connect Retreat is like in our life. Years ago, we traveled down to GA to meet up with our dear friends Zach & Jody to brainstorm the idea of hosting a retreat for married couples in business together. 4 years later, I can honestly say that this retreat has provided a space and opportunities for God to grow and transform our marriage in the most amazing ways.
I could write a novel on all that we’ve learned about ourselves, our past, our tendencies and the way we relate to each other, but I’ll just leave you with these thoughts….
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If you aren’t happy with the way things are in your marriage, you have to proactively pursue change… and 99% of the time, the change has to start with YOU. Trying to change your spouse will never lead to the change you ultimately want in your marriage… it will probably only aggravate the current reality that you’re living in.
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Your life is short. You have no idea how short it will be exactly, so why spend another 1, 2, or 10 years being unhappy in your marriage when things could be different?
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Being in business with your spouse seems glamorous, but it’s incredibly difficult and we have seriously contemplated not working together in the past because of the pain it caused in our marriage. Thank you Jesus for change!!!
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Having someone speak into your life and help you is humbling and WISE. Don’t shy away from getting advice or help because of your pride. Our entire marriage changed when we started allowing older and wiser friends to speak into our life!
- There is always HOPE. Always….. especially in Christ. After four years of hosting the Connect Retreat with the Gray’s we’ve seen COUNTLESS marriages back away from the ledge. We’ve seen couples have fun together for the first time in years. We’ve seen couples forgive, confess and repent for their past and decide to move forward and start new.
The beautiful thing about Connect is that it’s for marriages in crisis and marriages that are healthy… and everyone in between. I’m so thankful for where Michael and I are in our marriage and for the growth we’ve experienced over the last 4 years!!!! This year was extra special for us because we took Evy, and our best friends came for the first time and brought their baby, Knox! Our moms came with us to keep the babies and they were LIFESAVERS!!! We’re so thankful for them!! AND Evy went on her first FLIGHT and was awesome!! Thank goodness, because we’re taking her to Italy next week! Gah! Here are some iPhone memories from our time together this past week!!! Registration will open soon for 2018!!!
Annnd Evy is flicking off the camera.
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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