Covenant Marriage

While Melinda was working hard at the bank...somehow browsing MSN became part of her job description (I know, babe, I have no room to talk)...she came across an article on marriage. One of the couples featured in the article (the husband of which is the lead singer for Christian band 33 Miles) discussed their Covenant Marriage. Melinda read the article, then did some research on this idea of a "Covenant" Marriage. She made some interesting findings.

In 2001, Arkansas became the third state to give couples the option to obtain a Covenant Marriage (CM) license (Louisiana and Arizona are the other two). Here is some of the information from NWAMarriages.com, a website that gives all the details of the Arkansas CM...

Arkansas' Covenant Marriage law offers couples the freedom to choose to be held to a higher level of marital commitment. Couples must receive marriage counseling prior to receiving a marriage license, including a discussion of the seriousness of Covenant Marriage.

Additionally, these couples will agree, up-front, that if their marriage should ever run into trouble, they will seek marriage counseling before a divorce will be granted.

Additionally, Covenant Marriages offer more limited grounds for divorce. Couples in a Covenant Marriage will not be able to seek divorce based on the ground of general indignities.

Under a Covenant Marriage, a couple may seek divorce only after receiving counseling and only for the following reasons:

1. Adultery by the other spouse


2. Commission of a felony or other infamous crime by the other spouse


3. Physical or sexual abuse of the spouse or of a child of either spouse

There are also stricter laws concerning separation (longer periods before a divorce is allowed) and they become even more stringent if minor children are involved.
Melinda and I are all about a Covenant Marriage. It pretty much sealed the deal for a wedding in Eureka. We were already considering it, because we love Thorncrown Chapel. We feel like God revealed this Covenant Marriage concept to us and is leading us in His direction. Part of that direction is a Covenant Marriage and a wedding ceremony at Thorncrown in Eureka.