If she had the proper words to say,

I've been wanting to get my thoughts down on this for a few weeks, but it definitely needed some "settling" in my brain first. Our church was one of 500+ churches in the US and Canada (though the only one in our area) to sponsor Focus on the Family's Focus on Marriage Simulcast on February 28th. Philip and I attended the seminar, and I am so grateful that we did.

In preparation for the day's events, I expected to come away with new tips and techniques for improving our communication and marriage. There was SO much more, however, and the "meat" of it really sticks to my heart even now, three weeks later. Philip and I both took pages of notes (him more than me - crazy!), and I'm going to put down here a few of the things I especially want to remember and share.

This was the first marriage simulcast done by Focus on the Family, and I believe it was a large success. The stats reported for that day involved over 500 churches and included over 70,000 attendees. Even still, I was shocked to see the Family Life Center in our church not at full capacity as I had expected. In fact, I only spotted about ten couples from our own church, and in asking the coordinators during the lunch break, I learned that the 50 or so other couples were from other churches around the area - we were 1 of only 4 churches in Nebraska participating in the simulcast. Knowing that information, I was then saddened that so very few of our own congregation chose to or were able to attend. I do hope that FotF makes this a yearly event, and that attendance rises each year... and I hope we're able to make it each time!

There were five guest speakers for the day - four men and one woman. At first, I thought that was an "off" ratio, but as the day went on, I felt different. Now, this is only my personal opinion, but I feel comfortable in it: for the most part, it is usually like pulling teeth to get a man to go/come to a "marriage seminar" or anything where he might be encouraged to share his feelings. (It should be noted, though, that Philip was extremely excited about this seminar beforehand; in fact, he's the one that encouraged me to sign up for the event.) So, since you've finally managed to get all these men there, you definitely want to give them something they can relate to, something they can really hear. Having four male speakers seemed to be just the ticket, and I'm so thankful for the perfect set-up of the day.

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We enjoyed lunch tucked away in a corner of the Narthex with Bill and Nancy Pierce, our Stephen Ministers, Kirsten and Mark Schenck (I've known Kirsten for years through Parents-at-Home), and another couple we were just meeting (whose names I've forgotten!). For that hour's break, it was so uplifting and inspiring to chat closely with couple with so much more marriage experience. Bill and Nancy had been married 43 years, Kirstin and Mark for 17 years, the other couple for 31 years, and then Philip and I for 10 years. Some of the candid insight was simply... amazing. :-)

When the seminar ended in late afternoon (the event had been about eight hours total), we headed home. Philip and I took a nap together, and then he headed to work for a few hours while I made dinner and readied the boys for bed. When he came home, we both tucked into bed early, feeling physically exhausted from the emotionally-charged day. We talked over several key points of the presentations, and then practically fell asleep talking - it was only just barely 10pm. The next morning, I almost didn't hear my alarm at 10am... we slept solidly for 12 hours! We scurried to get ready, and made it to church on Sunday at exactly 11am. It was a weekend of powerful connection, and we are even now still discussing things from the seminar. I know that we are so blessed to have been able to attend.

It seems that depression is one helluva weight loss plan. As of today, I'm now down 21.5 pounds. This weight loss has all occurred in the last five weeks.

I wore my 'Flake' shirt (as seen in the icon above) yesterday, and it was literally too big on me. I've had that shirt for almost two years now, and it was tight enough to show "backfat" last year. Now? It just hangs.

I'm feeling mighty good tonight, as I've just put on a pair of brand-new jeans in the next size down (my other pair of jeans - which I just bought seven weeks ago - are now so loose that they literally slip off of me as I walk. I can shimmy out of them with the buckle and zipper still done, even). And these jeans look GOOD tonight. Not only that, but I'm wearing a brand-new sweater that I purchased for myself last weekend, and the sweater is down a size, too.

I feel pretty tonight. That's an improvement in itself.

Maybe this post should be titled, "On the minus side...", eh?

I've been thinking a lot lately. Probably moreso than is good for my little mind, but it's hard to turn it off sometimes, too.

In unrelated news, I'm now married to "an older man." Philip turned 28 on Tuesday, and for eight blissful weeks, I can taunt him with being so much older than me. He's still just as sexy, though - maybe even more than he was ten years ago. :-)

I worry about my tatted gifts sometimes. I don't mail them in the safest of ways - usually tucking them into an envelope with a small note of some sort. Occasionally I use a padded envelope if the piece is a larger one, but not often. But I really worry about them after I mail them because I'm so afraid that someone will think I've mailed cash or something (the pieces are very light, but they put a certain bit of... I don't know, soft-ish bulk in the shape of the envelope). And so I worry from the moment the piece leaves me until I hear from the recipient that it has arrived intact.

Big worries, small worries - that's me. As JCPenney says, "It's all inside."