Trying to catch my breath...

Hello...my name is Jamie...

And it's been 5 days since my last blog post.

Six months ago this lapse in writing would have been due to my mental state of mind. It would have meant that I was really struggling, emotionally. It meant that maybe my close friends should call and check up on me. This time, however, the delay in writing was a GOOD thing.

Mostly (only because I've been sick).

 Kris and I had the opportunity to go to a Growth Weekend, lead by Christian Marriage Ministry.

We met a lady at Stories one night who told us about the weekends, and just two weeks before the upcoming weekend, I found out about it. Sure there was another one in November, but Kris and I didn't want to wait. Anything we can do at this point to grow closer and strengthen our marriage and relationship with God is something we will cling to. We both went into the weekend not knowing what to expect. We came away from the weekend changed. There is too much good to even be able to express it here in this blog. I can't even fully put words to everything that transpired during this Growth Weekend. But I can tell you that it is called "Growth Weekend" for a reason. 

Your relationship, if you are open and willing, WILL grow. And after experiencing it for myself, I really want other couples, strong OR broken (or somewhere in between) to experience this weekend. It will change your marriage and you will leave the weekend feeling closer to your spouse than you ever thought possible. For some, maybe it will just be a reminder of why you fell in love, and give you hope for a brighter tomorrow (sounds cliche, I know, but it's true). For others, it will deepen what you already have. On top of all that we learned and the closeness that resulted, we had a weekend completely free of the worries of work, kids, cooking, etc...

Nowhere to go.

No one needing anything from us.

Almost 48 hours of just the two of us.

It was amazing!

All of our needs (mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically) were met during our Growth Weekend. And if you are in the St. Louis area (and even if you aren't), consider setting aside the first weekend in November to experience this for yourself. Kris and I were so moved by the ministry and the weekend that we knew we HAD to be a part of what CMM (Christian Marriage Ministry) is doing in the lives and hearts of broken people and their marriages. I've told you before that I have a heart for broken women and hurting marriages. This ministry came along at just the right time, and will hopefully give me an outlet to minister to those who were once in my place. 

Broken.

Bitter.

Hurting.

Alone.

There is hope.

There is always Hope.

He stands at the door and knocks.

You just have to let Jesus in. You have to (as Tony would say), take Jesus to your past. Take Him and let Jesus heal the hurt and mend what is broken.  Cry out to Jesus.

I'll write later about something significant I learned when it comes to guilt and feeling ashamed, in terms of my own life of sin, that most of you now know about. I've been sick since we got back from the weekend, so I haven't done much besides sleep and try to stay cool in my house, which isn't working too well. At least the kids aren't here suffering in the heat as well (my mom and dad are graciously watching them this week!) I am finally feeling better today, but 3 infections (one right on top of the other) has been taxing.