Last night, my wife and I went out to a valentine’s dinner with our small group to a local place called Mangiamo. We were serenaded by an accordionist named Mike to some Italian and French tunes, had wonderful food, and great conversation. Kate and I have been married 10 years this coming June and have weathered our fair share of storms, but through it all we have stayed friends and stayed in love.
In honor of the holiday who’s mascot is the chubby cherub, we are going to do a giveaway for curriculum pack (1 DVD and 2 Participant’s Guides) of Staying in Love by Andy Stanley, and a $100 American Express gift card. This way you and your spouse can come together and learn from pastor Andy Stanley how to stay in love once you fall in love, and go out together for a lovely date night (babysitting not provided, sorry).
My wife and I went through the Staying in Love curriculum about 18 months ago and found it quite helpful. Here is a short clip from session two about treating one another with respect and as the most valuable person in the world followed by a quote from the participant’s guide:
While falling in love only requires a pulse, staying in love requires a plan. Do you have one? Most of us don’t, so we can be grateful the Bible offers a set of helpful guidelines for exactly such a plan. It’s the kind of strategy that requires something from us every day, something that touches on all our decisions and attitudes and actions. It may also require some radical new ways of thinking about yourself and about your spouse.
Okay, to win the Staying in Love curriculum pack with $100 American Express gift card, just answer this question in the comments below. On Tuesday we will pick a random comment as the winner.
Think about the marriages of people you know best. What elements contributed to lasting, long-term marriages?
UPDATE: winner will be chosen at 8 AM EST February 15. Come back to see if you won!
Wednesday, Mark Batterson wrote about storming the gates of Hell through bold, audacious prayers. He spoke of 30+ Circle Maker groups at his church and working through it as a sermon series. Your church can do the same thing. The Circle Maker is designed as a churchwide campaign. It’s time to be on offense against the gates of Hell, and our greatest weapon is prayer.
One of my prayers for 
In his book, Blink, Malcolm Gladwell talks about choice and spaghetti sauce. He says that having too many options almost paralyzes people and inhibits their choosing, rather than making it easier. I don’t know how many types and brands of spaghetti sauce there are, but I do know that there are hundreds, if not thousands of different small group Bible study materials available.
My four year-old son has a TAG reader. This is a pen that helps him learn how to read through interactive games, stories, and spelling. Whenever you press the pen on the page, it tells you a word, reads the story, or such. One book that TAG promotes is a Tinker Bell story. The promotional copy says, “Tinker Bell learns that if she is true to herself, she can accomplish her dreams.”
I read a great article on 
Have you ever watched a trailer for a movie and then watched the movie and realized that the trailer was either the best part of the movie, or that it told you nothing of the real plot of the movie? well, curriculum trailers are not like that, but sometimes watching the 90-120 second trailer isn’t just enough to know if you want to spend 4-12 weeks with an author, topic, or study.
