The 2022 SMR Getaway in downtown Indy was a great success! Here’s one attendees experience …
Corey and Pam
My wife and I had a great time at the Getaway in Indianapolis. We’ve been to several marriage getaways, both in person and virtual, and yours was by far the best. The material that you presented was complex and thought-provoking, but not so much as to be overwhelming. We both liked the relatively short sessions with time in between sessions to absorb and discuss the material. Other marriage retreats cram so much information into long sessions that we were exhausted by the time the retreat was over. While we were both very tired on Sunday – our tiredness was caused by staying up late every night talking with other couples or dancing!
I liked that the number of couples in attendance was relatively small. Fewer attendees invite more interaction between the couples and with you during your presentations. I enjoyed hearing the different points of view from other couples. Fewer attendees also meant that both you and Pam were also accessible between sessions. At the larger events, presenters were either swamped or left quickly after their presentations. I also enjoyed meeting and talking with Pam.
Finally, my wife and I very much enjoyed the “non-official” mixer that you offered on Thursday evening and the dance on Saturday night. We’ve taken dance lessons on and off for years and don’t get many opportunities to dance outside of our living room. Both of these “events” gave both of us introverts time and space to meet and talk with other couples. It was very good for us.
In different ways, my wife and I thoughtfully and carefully allow individuals and organizations to have influence in our lives, in the way that we think, and in the way that we express our values. Speaking only for me, most never make it through my first cut; those that do make it are continuously scrutinized because many are not well grounded and it might take awhile to figure that out.
I continue to listen to your podcast because I have found you to be a man of integrity and humility with values firmly grounded in the truth of the Gospels. You have the ability to listen and absorb secular research without adversely affecting your Christian values and moral compass. I have learned much from some of your guests that clearly do not share my values (i.e, Shari Winston, Vanessa Marin, Ian Kerner) and of course Schnarch. You also care very deeply about your audience, and you’re willing to rethink your position based on audience input and publicly admit when you missed the mark. All of these admirable qualities were on full display during the Getaway. As a guy who worked hard for several years to fix my broken partner, your insistence that we first work on ourselves in order to bring the best person we can be to our partner has well and truly hit the mark. I wish that I could say with certainty that I no longer try to fix my wife, but I can say that I mostly don’t and this has had a positive effect on our relationship and on our sex life.
Thanks Corey and Pam!