We have a passion for marriages. We are so thankful to be a part of so many wedding days! Such a joyful celebration and start to that forever promise. Marriage is good stuff and I keep saying it just keeps getting better year after year. There is something about building a life with the person you love and really weathering the storms.
I loved meeting with Stephen + Kristy Dillman. They share that heart and passion for people and seeing marriages and families encouraged and strengthened. They know full well the hard work and time it takes and they want to champion others in those relationships.
I sat down with them before they moved and got to hear all about their story with Family Life and how one “weekend to remember” changed their family forever. I got to hear their story for the first time at Renew Church and loved how they have stepped out to serve marriages.
They are taking on a new role with Family Life which is a family marriage ministry which is part of Campus Crusade for Christ. Now known as Crew. It was created out of a need to support marriages of those serving in Crew. Family Life puts on marriage conferences worldwide. They offer tools based on the bible to help marriages to succeed.
We love sharing the video as well in case you’d rather listen today instead of read…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yftWdBXrAHI
Stephen and Kristy went to a Weekend to Remember in November of 2017. They went without knowing anyone who had ever gone but they wanted to invest in their relationship. Stephen talked about being emotional as he started to grow in his desire to support others in their marriages. He shared that he was thankful for the impact that it had on their own marriage and wanted to encourage others. He knew a handful of people who were walking through harder seasons and some marriages that didn’t make it and the need to support others became evident.
We talked about how everyone is so excited when you start to plan the wedding day. We celebrate the beauty of the wedding day but so often we don’t continue to celebrate it. Society can start to look at marriage as a drag. Life gets tough. We get busy. And marriages often suffer. It’s the thing that you think you’ll work on later.
But the wedding is just the beginning. And it can be a wonderful thing. It can just get better from there. So regardless of what season you might find yourself in you can take away some tools that will make a day to day difference.
Kristy shared that what prompted them to go to their first one was a fight they had (the funniest part was she shared the fight took place as they were driving down our road) and it drove them to want to invest some time and heart into their marriage.
Their hearts started to stir after going to their first conference. The first step for them was to sponsor 50 couples to go in 2018. They wanted people they knew who were struggling to get the help they needed. Sometimes just that weekend away can change things.
In 2018 they made a trip to the Family Life headquarters to learn more about the organization and hear about the history. During this trip, they were moved to consider full time in ministry with couples across the country. I love how Kristy kept it authentic as she shared that she was a little slower to affirm that desire. The reality of leaving jobs, careers, houses, businesses, retirement, friends was weighty. But yet families, people and marriages matter. It matters for generations.
Whether it is a broken marriage or a committed marriage the effects of it can be felt for generations. They both agreed that when they work with a couple that has been struggling and they see reconciliation and hope through working the process and seeking the Lord it is good stuff! It is the reason they do what they do.
The journey of the Dillman family is pretty stinking amazing. I loved hearing so many stories of things happening in their family to pave the way for them to go. One story was of a previous client of the construction business they sold in order to go… and this client surprised them with $3000 to pay for their fuel to go. Just affirming their steps of faith.
Kristy shared about how very specific prayers for her kiddos were answered. The Lord cares so much for their kids and showed them that if they step in this direction the Lord was going to take care of their family. They had been researching a club volleyball club prior to the trip… and one day while the Dillmans were back visiting they were at a park and while they were at this park that very volleyball club piled out of cars and began to play and they invited their daughter to join them and play with them. As a momma, there is no greater thing than to see the hearts desires of our kiddos met.
Kristy also shared the story of the season when they were making the decision to go and a lifelong friend who had watched them grow up shared that she was praying for their family and without knowing that they had been interviewing with family life told them that they were going to used to impact marriages. And that affirmation of their steps really encouraged Stephen and Kirsty to keep going. Kirsty joked about how wives have the power to stop things… but that she was so thankful for all of the ways their needs were met.
If you are hanging out with us today and you find yourself struggling in your marriage. WE WANT TO HELP! STEPHEN + KRISTY WANT TO HELP. They are committing their lives to help. You are not in this alone! They want to be a listening ear and cheer you on. Sometimes staying together is difficult and they want to help.
You can contact both Stephen and Kristy here:
Kristy.dillman@familylife.com and Stephen.dillman@familylife.com
You can register for a weekend to remember, check out resources, find links to podcasts all using this link below.
Part of our heart is to support marriages. We also have the heart to support the Dillmans as they serve others. If you have heard their story and want to cheer them on as they cheer on others you can support them by praying for their family as they transition. Especially their children as they start new schools and make new friends. And pray for marriages that you know both ones that are in seasons of strength and seasons of the hard stuff. We can also support them with financial support and you can find more information here: https://give.cru.org/1023023
The last thing that we chatted about was one thing we can all do today to encourage married folks right where we are at. They shared that a simple prayer each day to connect with each other can make the world of difference. It doesn’t have to be long, or fancy or anything else. But taking that moment to tune into each other can start to build good things. They also shared one of the ways they love taking that moment together was to read a short devotional. And they have one they want to share with us! They are giving away 20 books! They believe in the difference it can have and want to tangibly cheer y’all on! We are so thankful for their generosity. And we are so excited about it! Soooo here’s the scoop for this giveaway. We will have 20 winners! We will select those winners randomly and here’s how to enter.
TO ENTER:
1. MAKE SURE TO FOLLOW WEEKENDTOREMEMBER AND
KORIANDJARED ON IG
2.LIKE OUR GIVEAWAY POST AND SHARE IT ON YOUR
STORIES USING THE LITTLE SHARE ICON.
3. COMMENT ON OUR GIVEAWAY POST TELLING US THAT YOU ENTERED
TAG A FRIEND OR SPOUSE WHO YOU THINK MIGHT LOVE THIS BOOK TOO!
Giveaway will go through Sunday August 25th and we will announce the winners on Monday August 26th on IG.
Thank you so much for taking a few moment to hear about their story and leave them some comment love letting the Dillmans know we are cheering THEM ON!
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