Shannon’s SCW Blog

An Advocate For Healthy Sexuality & Spirituality

My Marriage-Sabbatical Commercial

For those who’ve asked how our 3-day marriage sabbatical went this past weekend (and for those longing to have special time with their mates but think they can’t afford to), allow me to share my “commercial” with you…

One downtown Dallas apartment that needed house-sitting while a friend was out of town, along with enough Thanksgiving leftovers to satisfy our appetites for three days:  ZERO DOLLARS

One bargain-bin Christian bookstore find entitled Men are Clams, Woman are Crowbars:  FIVE DOLLARS

One Blockbuster video rental of the movie Fireproof:   THREE DOLLARS

Three days of gut-level honesty, humbling ourselves and asking forgiveness, and of course, great make-up sex:  PRICELESS

For those of you who think that you can’t afford to invest in a marriage sabbatical of your own, THINK AGAIN!  You can’t afford NOT to!   If we did it for less than $10, so can you.

Wishing you plenty of time & creativity to invest in the most important relationship of your life,

Shannon Ethridge, M.A.
www.shannonethridge.com
www.sexuallyconfidentwife.com

6 comments

6 Comments so far

  1. Liz December 1st, 2009 8:14 am

    I love this!
    Of course, I suspect that most of us don’t have a friend who needs a house-sitter, so the biggest expense (hotel, cabin, etc) would still remain. But it’s worth it. Hubby & I do this about once a year.

  2. Tyler December 1st, 2009 8:56 am

    Oh Shannon,

    I sooooo agree with you on the importance of investing in our marriages! People spend money on maintaining their cars (oil change, tune up), maintaining their teeth, their hair, etc., yet when it comes to regular marriage maintenance they say, “I can’t afford it.” It is a TRAGEDY to hear those words!

    A regularly scheduled date night doesn’t need to cost a fortune, either. Exchange childcare with another couple…go sit at a coffee shop…find a good marriage book at your local library…enjoy a two-for-one coupon at A & W.

    Investing in our marriages doesn’t take money as much as it takes commitment and a little creativity! And the return on investment is 200%.

    Blessings on you,
    Tyler :)

  3. Jenni December 1st, 2009 10:27 am

    You forgot to include the price of gas. *wink*

  4. Rich December 1st, 2009 11:45 am

    So did you have any structure for your sharing time, and were you able to take a break from heavy stuff, and go to the lighter stuff?

  5. Shannon December 2nd, 2009 11:41 am

    Rich – there was no structure at all, we just went with the flow.

    Jenni – I drive a Prius hybrid, so that gas expense was minimal! :)

    Tyler – thanks for the phenomenal ideas!

  6. Crystal Keilers December 14th, 2009 10:32 pm

    LOVE it! :)

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