Back inland.....

It has been a few fabulous days. Monday morning came too quick and with the adjustment not made yet with the time change... its even harder. ( I know I am getting old :) ) Charleston SC is an awesome place! If you have never been, if you love to watch people and enjoy the finest seafood ever- then I suggest you make plans. Carol and I got to spend the weekend with some awesome married couples on a marriage retreat with our church. I have to say that it was flippin awesome. Our first marriage retreat and for sure not our last! Not only did Carol and I get to meet some new folks and strengthen our relationships with others - we got to spend some quality time together. We also took the time to work on a few things that has been needed to be worked out and get on the same page together but we also were reminded how much of the same things we love. Saturday night, we opted out of going with our peeps out on the town and to have a quiet evening over a great meal looking out over the water ways with boats going back and forth and watch the sunset dip below the horizon. What a pretty place to witness God showing off! Carol and I have always loved the water, watching the boats going by and over a terrific meal - It was awesome ... and time well invested. I am missing the seafood already .... hard to get that here inland in Charlotte.
I wanted to take a moment and reflect on a few things about the marriage retreat, the relationship with my wife and also the relationships that we have with those we made/have friends with. I look forward to these new and improved relationships... its very exciting! As I shared a thought with one of our new friends - they did not know many people in church and going on this retreat was a risk to meet new folks and kind of scary all bundled together - I told them that now that this hard part is over with and you have made friends with many other couples - your Sundays now are forever changed.... no more not knowing anyone on Sunday mornings! You will be missed when you don't show and you will have even more of that welcome and belonging feeling than ever before.... It was a great moment!
In my inbox from a few weeks ago, I wanted to share this from Pastor James McDonald. I really couldn't have the words to sum up this past weekend as good as Pastor James does. So let me share that here.... enjoy the read and let Gods words be applied to your life and the lives of others around you. So thankful for my wife Carol and for our new friendships that we made this past weekend. Yes, God, you are so good.
Love you all,
Lonnie~

The context of this is taken from Corinthians 13:4-7
One of the most powerful ways to communicate love to the people in your life is with words. Words matter. Yes, actions are necessary to back them up, but at the end of the day, you've just got to get some things said. Make it your goal to get these four phrases in your weekly, if not daily, vocabulary:
1: I love you. - Men, the key is to say it deliberately. Don't mumble it into the phone and then hang up. "Whew. I said it and it didn't get messy at all." Yeah well, it needs to get a little messy. Get her in your arms, look in her eyes, and get it said: "I love you." Or pull your kids to you, no matter their age and speak the words. They may fidget, but they'll remember and be altered by your genuine expressions of love.
2: I need you. - I've been praying that the bedrooms of every married couple reading this will ring with these words. How about it, men? In your private moments, tell that woman who has stood by you how much you need her. Go ahead: "My actions may sometimes communicate the opposite, but I want you to know that I know I really need you."
3: There is no one like you. - OK, ladies. Every man is one among millions. At work, he's one among thousands. At church, he's one among hundreds. So when he walks through that door each night, he desperately needs to know he is your one and only. He's first, highest, and best. Tell him. And that leads to . . .
4: I thank God for you. - Tell your beloved spouse, children, and parents that they are a gift from God to you. Better yet, pray aloud together. Let them overhear you tell the Lord how grateful you are that God gave them to you. Wives, tell your husband, "Honey, you've worked so hard lately and I so appreciate the way you try to take care of our family and the energy and effort that you put into providing for us. Thanks for being a faithful man." Husbands, look for your opportunities to say, "Babe, thanks for one of the greatest meals I have ever had. What you made tonight was fit for a king." And after she picks herself up off the floor, she'll be like, "Uh, thanks."Get the words said. Yes, it really matters. Expressing your love is a huge piece of making your spouse and your family the priority, lifelong relationship that God designed for you and that you all desperately want.