Thank you to everyone who participated Friday night in our Spicy Date Night at our local NWA Chick-fil-A locations! We hope you had a fun time of “spicing” up your marriage by enjoying a spicy chicken sandwich and hopefully being intentional about getting to know each other better through our WeDiscover questions from the Date Guide.

Our whole goal for NWA Marriage Adventures is to to make sure you and your spouse are connecting positively and enjoying each other’s company on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. The important thing is to make spending time alone together a priority for you both. So, we hope you were able to do this by participating in our Chick-fil-A Spicy Date Night!

If you did participate in this event, we would love to hear (and see) how things went. You can either leave yoru comments on this blog, or go to the NWA Marriage Adventures website and leave us feedback with your comments and pictures. We would love to hear from you!!!

As part of this month’s NWA Marriage Adventure, WeSpice, NWA Healthy Marriages and Chick-fil-A® have partnered together to bring you:

SPICY DATE NIGHT - Friday, July 16th

On Friday, July 16th NWA couples have the opportunity to experience a fun date
night adventure while enjoying a free Spicy Chicken Sandwich from Chick-fil-A.®
Visit the WeSpice page today to download your date guide along with your coupon for a free spicy chicken sandwich!

So, come out and join us for a fun and spicy night at your local Chick-fil-A!!!

And, we would love to hear about your date night. You can post on our blog, Twitter or the feedback section on the NWA Marriage Adventures website.

July 2010 NWA Marriage Adventure: WeSpice

A marriage goes through many seasons over the years, and some of these are more satisfying than others. Often the initial phases of a relationship are the most exciting and interesting because everything is so new and fresh. You are learning about each other and discovering something new each day. The familiarity hasn’t set in yet, and seeing each other is still exhilarating.

As time passes by, however, what was once new and thrilling can become older and more familiar. The relationship might not seem as exciting as it was in the beginning. Does it ever feel like the excitement has faded in your marriage and has been replaced by the growing demands and responsibilities of married life? If so, there is no need to panic. Don’t mistake this for a negative sign. It’s just a normal progression of all human relationships. All couples get into a rut from time to time. And yet, this is not the type of association that we want with our marriage. No one wants to use words like rut, boring, uninteresting, tedious, monotonous, uninspiring or humdrum when describing their marriage. You’d be hard pressed to find any of these words in a wedding ceremony!

The reality is that it takes sincere effort to keep your marriage growing. A “spicy” marriage takes constant attention, nurture and care on the part of both people to keep the relationship strong, refreshed, alive and exciting.

Could your marriage be a little more romantic, adventurous, spontaneous or more fun? Is your relationship as good as it can get, or has it lost a bit of its pizzazz and could use a boost? If so, here are a few tips that will help you spice up your marriage.

TIPS FOR BRINGING BACK THE SIZZLE

1. Let’s talk about it. Open and honest communication is vital to keep the spark alive. It’s important though, to have specific times where you don’t discuss the kids, jobs, bills or other stress related topics, and use the time to really connect with each other as friends and lovers.

2. Give plenty of compliments. Tell your spouse why you love her. Appreciate your spouse for his achievements. Express genuine appreciation and gratitude for the things they do.

3. Flirt with your spouse. Make time during the day to call or text message your spouse to let them know you are thinking about them. Don’t use that time to complain about the kids, the in-laws, or bills piling up. Everyone likes to know that someone is thinking about them, and it’ll boost their day just knowing that you took the time.

4. Make small gestures. Periodically surprise your spouse with small gifts or activities to let them know you’re thinking of them. Do something thoughtful, whether it’s bringing home flowers, buying them something you know they wanted or taking out the trash. The little things really do count.

5. Bring back the fun! Be spontaneous! Be silly and goofy with each other, laugh a lot and enjoy the pleasure of each other’s company. Create opportunities for fun together!

6. WeSpice Marriage Adventure. Take part in this month’s marriage adventure. This is a great way to spice things up this month. Click HERE for more information.

Click HERE for more about this month’s Marriage Adventure, WeSpice.

It was great getting to see you at Arvest Ballpark last week! Hope this was a fun night for you and a good example of what it means to work together as a team.

If you weren’t able to attend the game, there is still a chance to do something together as a team. For the WeWin Marriage Adventure, we have compiled several options in our area that you can do for your adventure this month. Click here for a list of fun options. When you do decide on one, take advantage of the steps for planning your adventure and some helpful questions you can take along with you.

As part of this month’s theme for the NWA Marriage Adventure, WeWin, we have partnered with the Naturals and will be at Arvest Ballpark tonight for the game. Gates open at 6:00, and first pitch is at 7:00. We will have a booth at the front gate and will be sharing other information throughout the game. So, come to the game and stop by and see us. We will be giving away a nice gift basket, and you can register for it at our booth. We would love to see you tonight!!!

Couples who play together, stay together! Great advice but finding time to nurture our marriages amid the noise and busyness of life can be a difficult task. Whether you are newlyweds trying to manage jobs and a household for the first time, parents juggling work and kids’ schedules or empty nesters with lots of activities, most of us feel strapped for time, energy and financial resources. And even though we know how important our marriage is, this relationship often becomes neglected in the midst of our busy lives.

Unfortunately, failing to make time for playful activities together may come at a higher cost than just a few missed dates. The lifeblood of a relationship is the enjoyable time we spend together. Without fun time together, the connection between you withers and it becomes increasingly difficult to reconnect.

The great news is the more you invest in fun, play, and friendship in marriage, the happier and stronger your relationship will become over time. As a matter of fact, couples who participated in fun activities together reported greater increases in relationship quality. The quality of the relationship improved before and after enjoying just 7 minutes of quality time together! Having fun and being playful is a great way to get rid of stress, and it helps to compensate for the stressful time we spend with each other raising our children by taking time to escape together.

How to Play as a Couple

1. Stop acting your age! Children naturally search for fun in everything they do. And that continual search fills them with an amazing level of energy, creativity and optimism. So, stop acting your age and reacquaint yourself with your childlike willingness to have fun in whatever you are doing!

2. Don’t feel guilty. We need to develop our capacity for enjoyment. When we work, we need to work hard and when we play, we need to play hard. Give yourself permission to sit back and relax. There should be no guilt when we enjoy each other.

3. Get out of the “rut.” Married couples often fall into a rut because of the familiarity of their date night routine. The only way to shake yourself out of a date night rut is to avoid old habits and familiar routines and try something that is creative and different.

Refuse to allow busyness and responsibility to trump your enjoyment of each other. The more you invest in fun and friendship with your spouse, the more satisfying and stronger your martial relationship will get over time.

Be sure to visit www.nwamarriageadventures.com to learn more about how to have a great marriage date night adventure!

Thanks to all who commented on our last post, and congratulations to all of you who were awarded free tickets to our event!

We hope to see you and your spouse this Saturday at the Fayetteville Town Center!

Take some time and check out our new event that’s happening on Saturday, March 6th. If you are interested in attending, comment below and leave your contact information so we can give you free tickets. The first 10 people who comment will be given 2 tickets each to attend our event!

Welcome to the NEW marriage enrichment seminar by NWA Healthy Marriages called I “Still” Choose Us. We hope that you will consider joining us for this special event!

In order for intimacy and deep connection to occur in a marriage, two hearts must be fully open to each other. Unfortunately, the common thread in every marriage in crisis is that either one or both people have a closed heart. And a hardened heart is the “kiss of death” to a marriage!

Learn why the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, wisely encouraged us to “guard our heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” We say it is also the wellspring of a great marriage.

Dr. Gary Oliver and Dr. Greg Smalley use humor, practical insights and passionate to help you…

• Keep your own heart open
• Effectively manage the #1 heart closer: unhealthy anger
• Participate in relationships with a fully engaged heart
• Create new levels of safety and trust
• Use empathy to increase passion and deepen intimacy in your marriage
• Cultivate healthy conflict in ways that make your differences work FOR you rather than against you
• Refresh your heart and stay connected to your spouse in a BUSY world

A great marriage will never happen unless both hearts are completely open and fully engaged. Let us show you how!

March 6, 2010 | 9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Fayetteville Town Center
$29.00 per Couple

Doors open at 8:30 am
Register by March 2, 2010
Box Lunch available for purchase ($20 per couple)
Conference fees are non-refundable