Focus On Marriage Simulcast

On Saturday Victoria and I attended the Focus On Marriage simulcast, held at our home church. We arrived slightly after the 9:30 start time and the sanctuary was packed. We sat about 4-5 rows from the back, and every row in front of us was totally full. The worship leader, Jeremy Camp, had already begun to sing.

The first speaker was Gary Thomas. Gary made several good points, including that once you get married, God becomes your Father-in-law.

At the break, Victoria and I got our picture taken. The film was sent out and by the end of the conference we were given a matted 5x7, a very nice keepsake from the day!

After that was Beth Moore! What a fireball! She said that instead of expecting marriage to be perfect, maybe good was good enough?

The last speaker before lunch was Dr. Del Tackett of the Truth Project. He spoke on creation, and how God said it was not good for man to be alone. He also compared the trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to the family (Father, Mother, and Children).

Next we had lunch, which was brought in by Chick-Fil-A. We sat with Todd and Christine, a couple that I went to church with about 10 years ago!

After lunch, the speaker was Gary Smalley. Gary told some hilarious stories including how he wanted to find out if he would enjoy the device that allows people to hang upside down to stretch their backs. He rigged up his own apparatus by drilling holes in the soles of some old boots and attaching them to his garage door. Then once he got himself upside down he couldn't get out, and feared he would die until his kids came to his rescue.

Gary's points on marriage is that on our own, we are like dead twigs, unable to do much but by attaching to the Vine (Jesus), our twigs can blossom and flower.

The final speaker was Dr. John Trent, author of The 2 Degree Difference. He recommended we take what we had learned during the day and instead of trying to make drastic changes in our lives (and possibly not carry through), we make 2 degree changes that we can accomplish. He likened this to steering a car, where a 10 degree change may take us off the road entirely.