Thanksgiving is here and we will soon celebrate Christmas. As we approach these two great holidays I’d like to share a couple of thoughts and suggestions.

We have been inviting couples who have attended the Marriage in Christ seminar to share about the impact of the MIC seminar on their marriage. They tell us that the seminar was a very good experience for them, but they have not always been able to maintain daily habits of prayer, conversation and loving actions. The temptation is to feel discouraged or that they have failed. It is true that we put a great deal of emphasis on the habits in the seminar, and while they are immensely helpful, they are not ends in themselves.The real goal of the seminar was and is to make Christ the center of our marriage and to deepen our love and friendship with each other. 

What is often unnoticed is that the Holy Spirit did respond to our invitation to be more part of our marriage. Couples tell us that even though the practices they formed in the seminar have faded, there is something different in their marriage. They tell us they are kinder to each other, there is more affection, a little more joy, a bit more patience, etc. Many tell us that they reconcile a little more quickly and are better friends. All of that is the work of the Holy Spirit in our marriages.

So, my first suggestion is to identify and celebrate those “small” changes. They can become part of our Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. We would love to hear stories about how the Holy Spirit is at work in your marriage. We invite you to write them down and send them to us at info@marriageinchrist.com.

Second, Advent is a good time to rekindle habits of prayer, conversation and loving actions. To that end we offer Advent PTA again. Enjoy!

Have a happy and holy Thanksgiving and a blessed Christmas!

Bill Wacker
Director

Mary Clare Luckjohn joins the MIC national office staff as Seminar Evangelist. She will be working to launch the seminar in many more locations across North America.

Mary Clare resides in West St. Paul, MN, with her husband Erik and their two children. She and Erik attended the MIC seminar in 2014.

Mary Clare says, "I'm thrilled to be working with the Marriage in Christ team to touch more marriages through the five week seminar."

Welcome aboard!

To date these seminars are on the 2017 calendar:

• St. Anthony de Padua, South Bend, IN - NEW Host Site!
• St. Edward's, Lebanon, OR - NEW Host Site!
• St. John Vianney, Kailua, HI - NEW Host Site!
• Church of St. Joseph, West St. Paul, MN
• St. John Neumann, Eagan, MN 
• St. Mary's, Corvallis, OR