What a Weekend to Remember in Corpus Christi!

I was definitely humbled and in awe during the FamilyLife Weekend to Remember Marriage Getaway in Corpus Christi, March 18-20. The volunteers were phenomenal, and kept their spirits high. They were there because they were called by God to be there, and not because someone made them feel guilty or placed a sense of obligation in them.

Steve & Bobbie Lawrence of Real Life Fellowship led a prayer team that was on-site in full force, and in even greater force off-site. We linked up with the Cleveland, Ohio Weekend to Remember Prayer Team as well to pray over each other's getaways. The veterans on the team were amazed at how the Lawrences and the prayer team were able to walk out of the room in high spirits, but they were well-grounded in God's word and set up an environment filled with a positive, uplifting atmosphere (Christian music in the background, pranks galore, and even an appearance by Frio Caliente our team's unofficial prayer wrestler.)

The rest of the team filled in all the remaining roles perfectly, helping with the Homebuilders Movement table, handing out brochures, greeting, meeting, connecting, and even praying. The amazing thing about the team is that we added 2 new couples to our volunteer family without having to go on a recruiting campaign. God simply brought them to us! I didn't have to convince them to join, throw benefits their way or anything. They were there because they felt led, then they were asked, and they obediently said yes to what God put on their hearts. That was very evident when I asked my long-lost twin, Greg Hood, to join us. At the end of the weekend, I went to dismiss him, but there was a look on his face that said, "I'm not done here." That look bugged me when I went upstairs without inviting him to join us, because I had a tug on my heart to do so, but I didn't. I sat down, contemplated it some more. Liv said don't worry about it, but it was still there. When Steve Lawrence told me that Greg was ready and willing to join our wrap up meeting, I knew that he needed to join us.

The resources center was selling out of books faster than they could keep them stocked.

Couples were sharing with us many of their stories such as being on the verge of divorce and now renewed in their love for each other, or glad to be able to get away from the kids to focus on each other, and my favorite, the mother from New Mexico who came to the Corpus Christi event to celebrate her 30th anniversary. We found her on the phone during a break on Sunday trying to schedule a Weekend to Remember for her five grown children and their spouses ASAP.

We may not have met the numbers we had hoped for, but God was definitely moving in the hearts of those who attended and served at Weekend to Remember. We are shifting to a year-round presence for marriage ministry in Corpus Christi. Next up, monthly meetings, small group sessions to build up our own marriages as we work toward building up the marriages of others, and video-events called The Art of Marriage (hopefully in August in multiple churches in Corpus Christi.)