Teaching at St Pauls

Sue and I just completed week three of teaching at St Paul's e-free church here in St Louis. We have three more weeks to go. There are between 65-70 people coming each week and we have really been impressed with their participation. We taught on the importance of being a good listener last week.

Good communication is linked to every aspect of your marriage. Money issues, intimacy issues, you name it, it is rarely really about that. It is really about the fact that you aren't clearly communicating with each other what your feelings are. Before you blame it on your spouse look at yourself and think about what you're communicating to him/her on a daily basis. Is listening to you a chore or a treat? Are you just unloading information and feelings or are you entering into a conversation? Are you asking good questions and providing a good vibe with your body language?

Find time to sit down and talk with each other this week. Dream about future plans together. Talk about when you felt most loved last week.

Hope you have a great week.

Barry and Sue

Ozarks Retreat

We just returned from our first Marriage Links retreat. The group included couples who have been married between 18 - 38 years. Sue and I were impressed with their willingness to learn and share. In every teaching situation we expect to learn ourselves, but I am so thankful for how much learned with this very special group of people.

We covered active listening, personality types & love languages, and intimacy in three 1.5 hour sessions. It may sound much like a fictional movie, but it is true that we experienced tears of laughter and tears of pain. A retreat creates the perfect atmosphere for breaking down barriers and making us comfortable. It was great to see couples grow closer and learn new things about each other. I look forward to keeping in touch with these couples for years and years to come.

A special thanks goes out to the Christie and Larry Tietjen for opening up their home. What an amazing setting for a retreat! And thanks to Bette & Christi for helping with preparation work and cooking & serving the meals. It was a tremendous group effort. Sue & I are so grateful for the many ways you served us this weekend.

All the best,
Barry and Sue