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Recommended
Resources
Marriage
Enrichment | |
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| |  | | FOR
YOUR MARRIAGE
In November, 2004 the U.S. Bishops voted overwhelmingly
to make marriage a priority. They launched the National Pastoral Initiative for
Marriage (NPIM), a multi-year effort to communicate the meaning and value of married
life for the Church and for society. The Initiative brings together Catholic teaching
and pastoral practice, social science research, and the experience of married
couples. It will offer guidance and resources to promote and strengthen marriage.
www.ForYourMarriage.org
is an outgrowth of this initiative providing "resources for living happily
ever after." Check out the site if your are married or just thinking about
it! | Diocese
of Orlando
Family Life Office | Check
out Diocese of Orlando Family Life website.
It now has diocesan marriage preparation and an entire section on Natural Family
Planning information and much much more. | |
|
Marriage Transformation Project
The Marriage
Transformation Project is a global social and economic development project committed
to marriage education and marriage skill building for people at all stages of
relationships. A key focus of the project is developing materials that assist
people before marriage to know one another's characters and couples after marriage
to encourage development of their character qualities. In addition to its own
independent work in developing materials, Marriage Transformation draws on the
work of marriage researchers and experts. It also derives part of its inspiration
and content from the teachings of the world's religions, especially as they relate
to character qualities. These include the following faiths: Baha'i*, Buddhist,
Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim. To check out the site click on the butterfly. |
| |
The Smalley Relationship Center
Run by Dr.
Gary Smalley, this site has articles worth reading and a Chat Room on Sundays,
in addition to information on the daily live radio broadcast.The site features
numerous
articles on these topics: Romance and Intimacy, Communication, Healthy
Marriage, Help & Healing/Conflict/Divorce Prevention, Understanding Your Spouse,
Husband's Roll, Faith, Contentment, Humor and Fun. Click on the button on the
left to visit the site. To check out the ARTICLES
click here. | |
|
Marriage
Moment by Susan Vogt - Author, Speaker, Coach
For more extended marriage articles and archived Marriage Moments go
to www.SusanVogt.net/Marriage.
To SUBSCRIBE to received Susan's weekly
Marriage
Moment click here. | |
| GROWTHTRAC
Growthtrac is committed to conducting itself with blameless integrity and complete
servant hood to God. We will be purposeful in seeking God and listening for His
guidance throughout every level of the organization. We are determined to honor
God through every encounter and in every transaction for the purpose of leading
couples to Christ-centered marriages. We will strive to seek out only the highest
quality, creative, fresh content. We are committed to evangelism through personal
witness and our corporate proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Growthtrac
passionately presents spiritual seekers with relevant content, resources and references
to institutions professing similar core values. Understanding the importance of
Christian community, we provide assistance in locating and encourage participation
in, a local church. We promote the value of building meaningful Christian relationships.
| | | WHAT
DO MEN REALLY WANT IN THEIR MARRIAGES by Val Farmer
Val Farmer gives seven points illustrating what men really want in their
marriages. | | | TWO
CHURCHES, ONE MARRIAGE
Two Churches, One Marriage is a free, web-based program that explores the
challenges and rewards that interchurch couples may encounter, as well as strategies
for dealing with those challenges. The program is grounded in research that studied
couples from different Christian churches and denominations. That is why the term
"interchurch" is used throughout rather than broader terms like interfaith or
religiously mixed. Although the program targets interchurch couples, many of the
concepts will likely apply to couples from different religions (e.g., Christian-Jewish
or Christian-Muslim, etc.). Since couples from the same denomination or religious
affiliation can have significant religious differences, they may also benefit
from parts of the program as well. Even though the program is written primarily
for engaged and married couples, it is hoped that clergy, therapists, or others
that frequently work with interchurch couples will find it a valuable resource.
To participate in the program, click on the link to the left. |
| |
GREAT MATES
MINISTRIES - Five Marriage Mistakes
Great Mates Ministries encourages marriage enrichment and renewal through workshops,
retreats, and ongoing mentoring in your local church or gathering. We promote
healthy marriages through 35 years of learning in our own relationship and decades
of pastoral and family therapy experience. To read the Five Marriage Mistakes
click on the link to the left. | |
|
MARRIAGE, NOT CHILDREN, IS A FAMILY'S CENTER
A journalist recently asked: "When they become
adults, what will bethe biggest problem facing today's kids?" I answered: "That
many if not most of them, even those growing up in two-parent homes, are not developing
a functional sense of what is truly meant by `marriage' and, therefore, `family.'"
To read this article from Smart Marriages in its entirety, click on the image
to the left. | |
Long
Distance Relationships | LONG
DISTANCE RELATIONSHIPS DEMAND DIFFERENT TACTICS
Relationships,
like parts on a truck, need steady maintenance to prevent breakdowns, downtime
or major disasters. In fact, many successful trucking families say their bonds
are stronger because of the time apart; you just have to know how to make it work
for you. To read the rest of this article, please click on the link to the left. |
| U.S.
Catholic Bishops | U.S.
Catholic Bishops Launch Plan to Promote Marriage
FOR YOUR MARRIAGE
- campaign from the USCCB has officially set up a new website for Marriage preparation
and enrichment resources. Some of the topics on the website are Preparing for
Marriage; Caring for Your Marriage; About Catholic Marriage; Marriage Programs
in Your Area and Marriage Daily Tips. So check out the website and find an answer
to the question "What have you done for your Marriage Today?" |
| | PLAY
DATES FOR ADULTS: Counselors tout the benefits of play in relationships
By Angela Kennedy Staff Writer Counseling Today
Being disconnected and bored with a mate can cause major problems in
a relationship and may lead to separation or divorce. However, a faculty member
at the University of Central Florida believes that relationships can be strengthened
by simply taking time to enjoy shared interests and activities — a couple that
plays together, stay together. For more information on these new findings, click
on the image to the left. | |
| Marriage
Rituals
During his banquet presentation at the Denver Smart Marriages
conference, Bill Doherty talked about the rituals in his own marriage, such as
a nightly hot tub soak and conversation under the Minnesota stars. He then invited
audience members to share their own favorite marital rituals. The outpouring was
moving, inspiring - and sometimes hilarious. To read Bill's talk and the marriage
rituals of others, click on the image to the left. | |
 | Interchurch
Marriages: How to Help Them Succeed by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
There's no easy way and no one "right" way, say couples whose interchurch marriages
have succeeded. But many agree that a few basic principles can serve as guidelines.
| | |
Monthly
Enrichment Activity by Susan Vogt
NOVEMBER ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY For Couples: WHEN WE DISAGREE
Unless
one spouse is exceedingly passive or afraid to displease his/her partner, married
couples will have disagreements. This is not bad; it is an expression of self-differentiation
and identity. The challenge is to make these times of disagreement – emotionally
difficult as they sometimes are – times of growth, not undue hurt. Following are
five ways to approach your next disagreement. . .
For the rest of this enrichment activity click
on the image to the left. While on Susan's site, check out the other activities
for marriage and parenting involving the entire family. |
| |
The Smalley Relationship Center
Run by Dr.
Gary Smalley, this site has articles worth reading and a Chat Room on Sundays,
in addition to information on the daily live radio broadcast. Marriage
Articles on topics such as Romance and Intimacy, Communication, Healthy
Marriage, Help & Healing/Conflict/Divorce Prevention, Understanding Your Spouse,
Husband's Roll, Faith, Contentment, Humor and Fun. | |
| ACME
- Association for Couples in Marriage Enrichment - to promote better
marriages by providing enrichment opportunities that strengthen couple relationships,
increase intimacy, and enhance personal growth, mutual fulfillment, and family
wellness. | | | Covenant
Marriage Movement - One Marriage Under God - The Covenant Marriage
Movement (CMM) consisting of over 60 Cooperating Ministries and Organizations
and 27,000 couples around the world, has designated the third Sunday of February
as Covenant Marriage Sunday. We are encouraging churches throughout the nation
and around the world to corporately affirm and celebrate marriage as a covenant
relationship. | |
| Divorce
Busting - Michelle Weiner-Davis
If the road to marriage recovery has been a lonely
one so far, that's all about to change. Even though we've never met, you'll be
surprised by how well I know you and the issues with which you've been struggling.
After you've spent some time on DivorceBusting.com, read the articles and first
chapters posted here to get you started, you will think I've been camping out
in your living room for years! More important, I will teach you everything you
need to know to divorce-proof your marriage. Welcome to DivorceBusting.com. |
|
| Interchurch
Marriages: How to Help Them Succeed by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
There's no easy way and no one "right" way, say couples whose interchurch marriages
have succeeded. But many agree that a few basic principles can serve as guidelines.
| | | Intimacy
Training - "Failure to develop a satisfying intimate relationship has
been reported to be the single most frequently presented problem in therapy."¹
And that shouldn't be any big surprise. To create and sustain a fulfilling intimate
relationship takes a huge amount of continued effort. Click on the image to the
left to learn more about the Moseley Method and Doug and Naomi Moseley. |
| |
Key to a Lasting Marriage: COMBAT - Hilary Stout
Even Happy
Couples Aren't Really Compatible, Suggests Latest Research
The Wall Street
Journal November 3, 2004 Home & Family: Family Matters Column
A GROWING BODY
of research suggests there is no such thing as a compatible couple. To read what
current research shows, click on the link to the left. | |
| Learn
to Think Before Acting - Sharon Renfro
"Am I thinking now?"
is a very important question for a stable, long-term intimate relationship. Typically,
when we think of intimate relationships, we focus immediately on our feelings.
Feelings, the off-shoot of emotions, become our guide telling us what to do in
the relationship with the other person, but using feelings as guides results in
ending up in empty-shelled marriages. A promising theory that is currently being
substantiated as accurate brings us very different ideas for guiding our relationships.
Read more at here. | |
|
MarriageAlive.com
- Transforming Marriage and Family Relationships - David and Clauda
Arp
Dave and Claudia Arp are good people with a powerful message to help make
our marriages and families better. Warm, humorous, and insightful, the Arps share
information that is practical and enriching. - Dr. Nick Stinnett, Professor of
Family Studies, University of Alabama. | |
|
MarriageBuilders.com
- Building Marriages to Last a Lifetime
In this Marriage Builders®
site, you will be introduced to some of the best ways to overcome marital conflicts
and some of the quickest ways to restore love. Dr. Willard F. Harley, Jr. has
saved thousands of marriages from the pain of unresolved conflict and the disaster
of divorce. His successful approach to building marriages can help you build yours.
| | | Marriage
Magazine - Marriage provides couples proven advice, resources and information
to easily build better marriages and create the relationship of your dreams. Marriage
delivers the success secrets that help you solve marital challenges and conflicts.
Prevent the issues that divide you by learning skills for how to deal with hot
spots like communication, dual careers, finances, children, in-laws, sex... Discover
(again) the life, love and laughter that brings magic to your marriage through
the pleasures of talk, touch, trust, as well as romance, intimacy and companionship
filled with spirit. | |
| Marriage
Retorno - Marriage Retorno means turning toward God as a couple. The
goal of Marriage Retorno is to provide an atmosphere, a context, in which the
couple can open themselves both as individuals and as a couple to a dialogue with
God through Scripture. It is a weekend prayer experience for husband and wife,
facilitated by a married couple and a Catholic priest. It provides participating
couples with an opportunity for a renewal of their relationship as a couple with
God. | | | Marriage
Savers - Preparing, Strengthening and Restoring Marriages
Founded
in 1996, Marriage Savers® is a ministry that equips local communities, principally
through local congregations, to help men and women to: Prepare for lifelong marriage
Strengthen existing marriages, and Restore troubled marriage. |
| | Marriage
Savers - Personal Help Files - Articles on various topics including:
Ten Ways to Have a Really Great Marriage, How to Live Your Life in the Face of
a Relational Disaster, Healing From Infidelity, The Unexpected Legacy of Divorce,
The Broken Engagement Than A Tragic Divorce. | |
| MarriageSupport.com
- Resources for Marriage and Other Committed Couples Relationships. Your
online learning community for solving marriage problems, improving relationship
skills, celebrating marriage, and achieving happiness with your partner. |
| | Preventing
Divorce - Christian resources for preventing divorce
Couples suffering
from the throws of marital conflict don't want "3,741 website matches on the word
marriage". They want answers... fast! We serve as a portal to link you to the
best Christian family ministries and resources in America. More about our resources.
The website offers links to ministries which can help to prevent divorce and solve
marriage problems. | |
| Relationship
Learning Center - "We help you take the relationship you have and make
it into the one you want." Dawn J. Lipthrott, LCSW, Director
Think of The
Relationship Learning Center as an education, coaching and counseling center for
individuals and couples who want to take their marriage or other important relationships
to their next level of success. We believe that by doing that, we can co-create
with you a better world for all people. Building and sustaining solid relationships
is like building a bridge between you and another person in your life. |
| | 7
Rules for Fighting the Good Fight
Try
these problem-solving approaches next you're on the brink... Try these problem-solving
approaches next time you're on the brink of an explosive encounter with your spouse
or even an adult child. Click on the underlined text to the left to read these
seven rules. | |
| Smart
Marriages - Coalition for marriage, family and couples education - CMFCE
is an interest group whose members are convinced that family breakdown can be
reduced through education and information. America's divorce rate has held steady
at an unacceptable 50% for thirty years. That's for first marriages. The divorce
rate is even higher for second and subsequent marriages -- which shows we don't
learn from our mistakes. We learn through education. | |
|
Smart
Marriages: The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education
The
Senate to hold hearings on Marriage by Jeffrey McMurray - Associated Press.
Four committees are expected to hold hearings over the next two weeks, beginning
Wednesday with a Health subcommittee's discussion on "Healthy Marriage: What is
it and why should we promote it?" Click on the image to the left to read an e-newsletter
on this topic. | |
| Smart
Marriages - Articles and Information in various catagories including: Papers,
Presentations & Reports Research and Statistics, Legislation and Government Initiatives,
Relationship Tips and Guidelines, Marriage articles in the Popular Press, Marriage
and Health, Stepfamilies/Children of Divorce, School/Youth Programs. |
| | World
Class Marriage - The Art & Science of Relationship Success
- Relationship & Relationship Building Articles. Would you like to ... • Create
the love relationship you always wanted with the partner you already have? • Really
know how to strengthen your relationship? • Prevent damage to an already good
relationship? • Recover the love and closeness you once had? • Really be of help
when your partner has problems, stress, sadness? • Really feel heard by your partner?
• Find satisfying solutions to conflicts? • Have a truly World Class Marriage?
| |
| Interchurch
Marriages: How to Help Them Succeed by Elizabeth Bookser Barkley
There's no easy way and no one "right" way, say couples whose interchurch marriages
have succeeded. But many agree that a few basic principles can serve as guidelines.
| | | What
You Need To Know About Marriage - Garbage Dumping - Sheri and Bob Stritof
A term that we learned many years ago as a Marriage Encounter team to describe
dropping a bomb from the past or bringing up past issues is Garbage Dumping. |
| Honeymooners
- Married Less Than 5 Years | |
| First
Years & Forever - A monthly Newsletter for marriages in the early
years - Article archive on a multitude of topics of interest and value to the
newly married. This newsletter is produced by the Cana Conference of Chicago for
the Archdiocese of Chicago. | |
| Foundations
Newsletter - Foundations is the newsletter for newly married couples
that supports the health and happiness of marriage by teaching skills and introducing
resources meant to strengthen a husband and wife's relationship. Check out the
sample of the newsletter and other features offered on this site. |
| | Marriage
Magazine - Marriage provides couples proven advice, resources and information
to easily build better marriages and create the relationship of your dreams. Marriage
delivers the success secrets that help you solve marital challenges and conflicts.
Prevent the issues that divide you by learning skills for how to deal with hot
spots like communication, dual careers, finances, children, in-laws, sex... Discover
(again) the life, love and laughter that brings magic to your marriage through
the pleasures of talk, touch, trust, as well as romance, intimacy and companionship
filled with spirit. | |
| Marriage
Relationships Online Directory: Online Information on Marriage - This
is an online course or, more accurately, a marriage preparation experience designed
for and available to all engaged couples or couples who are thinking about getting
married, who would like to be better prepared for the demands of marriage and
family life. It approaches marriage from the Christian perspective and necessitates
that both partners read the material and interact with each other as they engage
in the relational activities that the course offers. The course may be taken in
conjunction with premarital counseling or instead of it. It may also be of help
to newly-wed couples in building stronger relationships with the objective of
divorce prevention | | |
The Smalley Relationship Center
Run by Dr.
Gary Smalley, this site has articles worth reading and a Chat Room on Sundays,
in addition to information on the daily live radio broadcast.The site features
numerous
articles on these topics: Romance and Intimacy, Communication, Healthy
Marriage, Help & Healing/Conflict/Divorce Prevention, Understanding Your Spouse,
Husband's Roll, Faith, Contentment, Humor and Fun. Click on the button on the
left to visit the site. To check out the ARTICLES
click here. |
|
Marriage
Encounter | | | Central
Florida Area - Worldwide Marriage Encounter Weekends
Marriage
Encounter weekends are slated in English and in Espanol for the Central Florida
Area now through October. Click on the image to the left for a listing and reservation
information | | | Orlando
Area Marriage Encounter - Make a good marriage a great marriage. Attend
a very special weekend together in Orlando, Florida. The Marriage Encounter Weekend
is designed to give married couples the opportunity to examine, discover and rejoice
in their life together...... a time to share feelings, hopes, disappointments,
joys and frustrations. The weekend setting and techniques provided provide a venue
to do so openly and honestly in a face-to-face, heart to heart encounter with
the one person they have chosen to live with for the rest of their life. Click
here for the Orlando Marriage Encounter Weekend website. |
| | National
Marriage Encounter - The mission of National Marriage Encounter is
to promote and encourage marriage and family life by offering Marriage Encounter
weekends and a support community. National Marriage Encounter enables people to
discover God's vision of marriage and family life and spiritual diversity, thereby
leading them to a clearer understanding of their relationship with each other
and with God. | | | World
Wide Marriage Encounter - You've discovered a great site that can help
married couples turn a good (or even ho-hum or boring) marriage into a GREAT marriage!
Rediscover the spark that was there on your wedding day! Rediscover the best friend
you had when you were first married! Join the millions of couples worldwide who
have learned how to keep their marriage vibrant and alive! This may well be the
most valuable website you'll ever find. Read on to find out more... |
| | RENOVACIÓN
CONYUGAL - New
dates coming soon!
This is a
wonderful get-a-way weekend marriage enrichment retreat in Spanish, designed to
help couples strengthen their relationships and marriage while sharing their values
with other couples. Learn marriage strengthening skills and spend time together
in laughter and prayer. For more information contact Hilda María and Pablo Arocho
at (407) 695-7544 and visit their website at www.isamco.com/renovacion |
|
Empty
Nesters | |
| Try
A Little Emptiness
Shipping the kids off to school marks a danger
zone for your marriage but it¹s possible to make these your best years yet. Check
out this interesting article by clicking on the image to the left. |
| |
The Smalley Relationship Center
Run by Dr.
Gary Smalley, this site has articles worth reading and a Chat Room on Sundays,
in addition to information on the daily live radio broadcast.The site features
numerous
articles on these topics: Romance and Intimacy, Communication, Healthy
Marriage, Help & Healing/Conflict/Divorce Prevention, Understanding Your Spouse,
Husband's Roll, Faith, Contentment, Humor and Fun. Click on the button on the
left to visit the site. To check out the ARTICLES
click here. | |
