12 hours on the golf course, 2 hours eating at restaurants, 10 hours in the Ole' German Lodge...this was my trip to the Quad Cities last week. Not that I minded because I was there to support Thane, and the Quad Cities left something to be desired out of the word "city". Mom & I braved the Illinois north wind that chills your blood with the art of layering and an extra-hot latte. Unfortunately, at the end of our long days, we returned to this place...
[caption id="attachment_911" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="the Lodge of Doom"]
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[caption id="attachment_903" align="aligncenter" width="1024" caption="Thane's residence...complete with a picture of some queen"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_901" align="aligncenter" width="771" caption="We received the royal treatment : a full canopy bed"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_910" align="aligncenter" width="771" caption="Stained Glass + thunderstorms + indoor cobble road"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_907" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="A chilly cruise in the cart"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_908" align="aligncenter" width="764" caption="I kept getting distracted from the golf game..."]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_906" align="aligncenter" width="490" caption="Mustang Pride"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_912" align="aligncenter" width="915" caption="green green * brown river"]
[/caption]It's the start of the post-college era, typically characterized by a sigh of relief, subsequent lack of direction, and the unavoidable question "What are you going to do?" I'm thankful that for now, I can simply smile and answer "get married". But beneath that two-word answer is a world of emotion & preparation.
Jon & I started reading What Did You Expect? (by Paul David Tripp) when we got engaged. This book has helped "clue me in" about the realities of marriage that I would have otherwise been surprised to find out. Some of the examples of marriages in this book terrify me because they reveal to me the subtlety of sin and how self-deceived I can be. This book is helping to unravel so many of the unrealistic expectations that I have going into marriage (engaged people, buy this book!) If you are happily married, the six commitments that this book is founded on are so piercing.
COMMITMENT 1 : We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness.
COMMITMENT 2 : We will make growth and change our daily agenda
COMMITMENT 3: We will work together to build a sturdy bond of trust
COMMITMENT 4: We will commit to building a relationship of love.
COMMITMENT 5 : We will deal with our differences with appreciation and grace.
COMMITMENT 6 : We will work to protect our marriage.
Yep, worth the read.
