FORT BENNING, Ga., (July 16, 2014) -- When my wife told me she signed us up for a Billy Graham marriage retreat in North Carolina. I was skeptical, especially when I discovered the speaker was Gary Chapman.

Years ago, I read the book Five Love Languages by Chapman. I knew his book was a New York Times best seller and that he was prominent in the marriage seminar business.

To me, this meant major money. I am an enlisted Soldier with five kids, four of whom are teenagers, so my major concern was how much this was going to cost me.

My wife's reply ?- it's completely free.

So, we joined two other military couples from our local church and began our trek to the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove in Asheville, North Carolina, which is 322 miles from Fort Benning.

The Cove, as it is called, offered us the opportunity to come one day early or stay a day after the retreat. We chose the latter.

The Cove was built like a fine country inn and our room had two queen size beds, a bentwood rocker and other furnishings that made us feel right at home.

Each floor had a lobby, which offered free 24-hour coffee and tea service complete with soft drinks, frozen yogurt and cappuccino machines. The place reminded me of a log cabin that my wife and I had rented on our honeymoon.

The Cove is nestled into 1,200 secluded acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounded with rich natural forests and woodland streams. The facilities had wrap-around decks with panoramic views and various hiking trails interspersed with benches for nature walks or times of solitude.

My wife and I spent hours on the deck discussing what we had learned in the seminars and just spending time with each other.

Chapman was amazing in his delivery. He taught more about the five love languages and my particular favorite was his lesson on anger. This is a subject that I have struggled with since my last deployment to Iraq. His techniques have not only been helpful to my marriage but to my children, as well. His teaching methods are easy to understand and easy to employ.

I have been to various military marriage retreats and I have to say this was absolutely the best marriage retreat of my life. It was well worth the trip, and my wife and I have made a commitment to try and attend at least one event a year at The Cove.

It was the best trip we have ever had for the money, or in this case, no money.