David and Claudia Arp - 10 Great Dates for Empty Nesters

ZONDERVAN

10 Great Dates for Empty Nesters

Copyright 2004 by David and Claudia Arp

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition August 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-86563-6

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Arp, Dave.

10 great dates for empty nesters / David and Claudia Arp.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-25656-4

1. Married couplesPsychology. 2. Empty nestersPsychology.

3. Dating (Social customs). I. Title: 10 great dates for empty nesters.

II. Arp, Claudia. III. Title.

HQ734.A693 2004

306.872dc22

2003026500

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

The names and identifying details of the individuals in the stories within have been changed to protect their privacy.

This book is a resource for marriage enrichment, not a substitute for needed professional counseling. If some of the exercises contained in this book raise issues for you or your spouse that cannot be easily resolved, we urge you to seek professional help.

Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com

Interior design by Michelle Espinoza

To our three sons and daughters-in-law,
who are in the middle of the hectic parenting years
May you be rewarded someday with fantastic
empty nests with room for us to visit

W e are deeply indebted to the many people who contributed to this project and we gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the following people:

• The many couples who participated in our survey of empty nest marriages.
• All the many couples who have participated in our Marriage Alive seminars over the years and who have shared with us your struggles and success stories.
• Those who have pioneered marriage education and on whose shoulders we stand, including David Olson, David and Vera Mace, John Gottman, Norm Wright, Les and Leslie Parrott, Emily and Dennis Lowe, John Gray, Sherod Miller, and our friends at PREP (Prevention and Relationship Enhancement Program), including Scott Stanley, Howard Markman, Susan Blumberg, and Natalie Jenkins. We especially thank Dianne Sollee for all you have done and are doing to encourage marriage educationespecially in the second half of life.
• The many other researchers and authors from whom we quoted for your sound work that gives a solid base for the cause of marriage education.
• Our friends at WLIW 21, Public Television NYC, including Terrel Cass, Chris Ogden, Ben Patton, Roy Hammond, and Laura Savini for making our 10 Great Dates for Empty Nesters public television special a reality. Also to our director Christine Karpowick, graphic designer Kathy Daab, production designer Star Theodos, and Christina Morano for your creative PowerPoint production. You all made it such fun for us!
• Our Zondervan team who have believed and supported us over the years, for your encouragement and excitement about this new resource. We especially thank our publisher, Scott Bolinder; our editors, Sandy Vander Zicht, Angela Scheff, and Jane Haradine; our marketing team, John Topliff, Greg Stielstra, and Cynthia Wilcox for helping to get the word out, and Roger Johnson, Carl Beridon, and Shannon Droge for coordinating this effort with WLIW. We also thank author relations experts Joyce Ondersma and Jackie Aldridge for taking such good care of us.
• And Rick Christian and Lee Hough, Alive Communications, for being our advocate and encouraging us along the way.