Pastors are known for their charitable gifts of time and energy to help their communities; you don’t hear much about their receiving gifts, but in this case, Pastor Bryan Harris and his wife Kelly are the latest couple to win $1000 in the California Healthy Marriages Outcome Evaluation drawing. The Harrises were excited to hear that simply by spearheading something to help marriages in their church and filling out the CHMC outcome evaluation form they received this exciting win.
The Harrises have attended many marriage seminars and classes before but Kelly Harris reports: “This class (Mastering the Mysteries of Love–MML) has been the one with the most impact on my life. We learned skills that taught us how to communicate with each other in ways that we had never experienced before. (MML) taught us about the importance of non-verbal messages and how they can hurt your spouse.” The Harrises attended MML through their church, Emmanuel Temple.
Kelly and Bryan also really appreciated how much the class helped other couples open up to each other. Kelly said: “It was powerful to see all the issues that couples were facing such as the chaos that comes with babies being born and financial crises, yet the couples were working through those tough issues together. Older couples were also helping the younger ones with their own stories of how the skills helped them. It was a meaningful experience for us to discuss these pressing issues and help each other.” Pastor Harris loved the class so much that he will also be bringing the skills to the singles ministry.
The Harrises will have been married for 14 years in February and have two children. Of the win, Kelly said, “We will use our winnings to pay off some bills and it is coming at a perfect time.”
CHMC supports many quality relationship-building classes. To find out more information about Mastering the Mysteries of Love and other great classes, go to www.camarriage.com.
Sandy Tripple had been married for 39 years and yet was still interested in improving her marriage. When she first heard about the class Mastering the Mysteries of Love from her co-worker, she and her husband, George, signed up immediately. “My friend told me about this class that was helping her marriage. It sounded so great! I told my husband and we went to the next class. It helped us so much, we signed up for a second class,” said Sandy. Now, the Tripples are the latest recipients of the $1,000 outcome evaluation drawing.
The Tripples sought help for their 39 year marriage when they realized they needed more help communicating with each other. “My husband had a hard time opening up to me and this class helped us share our feelings privately, but in a class setting,” said Sandy. “It was great to see other couples in the class that were experiencing the same communication issues.”
Both George and Sandy benefited from Mastering the Mysteries of Love. Sandy said, “ I think there is something so powerful about sitting knee to knee and holding each other’s hands; then when you begin repeating what your partner is saying you start to see insights into your partner that you have never seen before, even after 39 years of marriage.” The Fresno based couple have experienced growth in their communication skills within their relationship, but also with other people. Tripple said, “These skills have helped us to relate to our children and our parents.”
The Tripples are grateful for winning the $1,000 prize. “This past year has been really difficult for us because of medical complications with George,” said Sandy. “This money will be a welcome windfall and be used to pay some of the bills that have resulted from George being sick.”
CHMC supports many quality relationship-building classes. To find out more information about Mastering the Mysteries of Love and other great classes, go to www.camarriage.com
OE winners Sandy and George Trippel with Ron and Joan McClain from Healthy Marriages Coalition of Fresno/Madera County
Categories: class, marriage education, relationship
Tags: California Healthy Marriages Coalition, camarriage.com, CHMC, communication, marriage education, Mastering the Mysteries of Love, MML Mastering the Mysteries of Love Fresno Healthy Marr, outcome evaluation, relationship, Winners
Mastering the Mysteries of Stepfamilies (MMS) is a 24-hour course teaching the communication skills and stepfamily guidelines needed to build and maintain a successful, satisfying step-marriage and stepfamily. Why should couples in a stepfamily attend a program like MMS? The divorce rates for stepfamilies is upwards of 65%. The main reason cited is because stepfamilies have significantly more stress than first families. Stepfamilies have to deal with multiple sets of expectations, stepparent/child relationships, compromising on traditions, and extremely sensitive boundaries in addition to normal marital strain.
Jim and Sheri are just one couple who have the opportunity to see their relationship and stepfamily transform with the help of MMS. This is the fourth marriage for both, whom have been married for ten years.
They have spent years struggling with the same problems many stepfamilies deal with: frustration with step-related issues, disillusioned with the marriage, and locked into their own positions on issues. Over time, they built a wall of distance and distrust. Research indicates lack of empathy as one of the key factors in stepfamily failure.
Jim and Sheri recently participated in a Mastering the Mysteries of Stepfamilies class where they learned how to “become” their partner in order to think and feel the concerns and desires of the other partner. Empathy has brought about a softening in Jim and Sheri’s positions enabling them to work on solutions that seemed impossible at one time. Learning and practicing better communication methods as well as recognizing some of the stepfamily guidelines that were being violated, brought renewed hope for the lifetime success of their marriage and family.
Jim states, “This is communication on steroids!” Sheri adds, “When I sense that Jim really gets me—hears and understands my needs—I relax…and feel a rush of love for him. In addition, the skills I’ve learned have helped to improve my relationship with my step-children.”
Since learning and using communication skills and stepfamily guidelines, Jim and Sheri’s marriage is becoming the happy marriage they had always hoped for but did not know how to create.
RELATED ARTICLES:
>> Mastering the Mysteries of Stepfamilies (MMS)
Categories: marriage education
Tags: california, California Healthy Marriages Coalition, camarriage.com, CHMC, healthy marriage, Marriage and Divorce in the Golden State, marriage education, Mastering the Mysteries of Love, Mastering the Mysteries of Stepfamilies, MMS, Nancy Landrum, relationship, stepfamily
Stop the presses! How did Marriage Education (ME) teachers win the Outcome Evaluation drawing for $1,000?
Well, these teachers, John and Maryalice Pickens of Fresno, first learned about Marriage Education from the Healthy Marriage Coalition of Fresno/Madera County (HMCFMC). “My husband and I were on the verge of divorce,” said Maryalice. “We wanted to do everything possible to save our marriage. We attended a class and it was so good we wanted to go to more classes. It has worked wonders for my marriage!” After the class was over they submitted the outcome evaluation form to California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC).
The first program the Pickens’ attended was a Mastering the Mysteries of Love (MML) class. “After taking MML, our relationship became much more intimate and connected. My husband and I have learned to really listen and understand each other. We made a complete turn around in our marriage.” Maryalice and her husband, John have benefited so much from Marriage Education that they thought the next logical step was to teach it to others. 
HMCFMC helped the Pickens through the process of getting the training they needed to become MML Facilitators. “First we thought this class could help other couples at our church, then we realized couples everywhere would benefit from this class so we began teaching for HMCFMC. In our last class we had a couple reconcile their marriage. It feels good when we can impact the lives of others.” said Maryalice.
The Pickens’ will be celebrating their 25th anniversary next year. They plan to use their $1,000 winnings to help fund their trip! CHMC supports many quality relationship-building classes.
To find out more information about Mastering the Mysteries of Love and other great classes taking place in California, go to CaMarriage.com.
Thanks to the generosity of CHMC’s newest Outcome Evaluation prize 
winner, Markus Buergi, his kids will be enjoying a very special birthday this year! Buergi said that the $1,100 Wal-Mart gift card he won through CHMC’s OE “big prize” drawing will be used to lavish his kids with exceptional gifts that they normally wouldn’t be able to buy. He will also use some of the winnings to give back to his church by purchasing supplies for the congregation.
Markus and his wife heard about Marriage Education when CHMC Master Trainer Bento Leal was promoting the course called Mastering the Mysteries of Love at his church. “We were really excited to go to the class because we consider marriage one of the most important building blocks of our society.” Buergi said the class offered so much information that it kept the couple very engaged.
“The best part of it for me was the sheer excitement that the pastoral couple who taught the class had for the material. They were so inspirational and they really helped us understand why Marriage Education is so important for our society,” said Buergi. “The teachers really kept the class unified even though it was a very diverse class. It was very exciting!”
The Buergis have been married for 14 years and have two children. Markus believes one of the most important things you can do for your children is to show them how to have a really loving and supportive marriage so they will know how to have strong relationships when they grow up.
Buergi got a lot more out of the class then he expected.
“The MML class gave me strategies to train myself in communicating better, especially to listen better to my wife and others. At the time I attended the 8-week class, I was job searching full time and really didn’t spend much time sitting down and talking with my wife, who wasn’t able to attend the class because she was at home taking care of our 4 young children. The class woke me up to the power of listening. The follow-up (OE) questionnaires have also been helpful as reminders to me, helping me do a lot of self-reflection on how I’ve been doing lately with my communicating.
The main point of all this is that I’ve learned that no matter how busy or pressured I am in my work and life it’s important for me to focus on my relationship–my communication–with my wife. “
CHMC supports many quality relationship-building classes throughout California. To find out more information about Mastering the Mysteries of Love and other great courses, go to www.CaMarriage.com.
The Marketing M.E. Click-N-Print Site is a resource provided by California Healthy Marriages Coalition (CHMC).
Customize and quickly order quality program marketing materials for various Marriage Education (M.E.) programs, including
>> Mastering the Mysteries of Love (English and Spanish)
>> 10 Great Dates (English and Spanish)
>> World Class Marriage (coming soon)
>> Healthy Marriages booklet series (coming soon)
>> Download the Marketing M.E. User ID and Password Request Form.
>> Download the Marketing M.E. Mastering the Mysteries of Love Pricing Sheet.
Save time, money and resources with these professionally-designed, full-color print pieces. No designer costs to pay…no expensive stock photos to buy…no loss of time recreating the wheel…and no need to order more than you need!
The Marketing M.E. Click-N-Print Site gives you:
>> OPTIONS: Choose only what you need (brochures, posters, forms)
>> PERSONALIZATION: Brand the materials with your logo and information.
>> CONVENIENCE: Select the materials you need and the quantity you want.
The Marketing M.E. Click-N-Print Site is run by Verapax. CHMC receives no revenue from the site.
Request your User ID and Password for the Marketing M.E. Click-N-Print Site today.
Desiring to enrich their marriage and enhance their communication, Roberta and Steve Kubes enrolled in a Mastering the Mysteries of Love (MML) class held at a local church in El Dorado Hills. By participating in the California Healthy Marriages Coalition’s Outcome Evaluation survey during the class, the Kubeses won the raffle drawing and received $1,000 cash, which allowed them to take a family vacation to Santa Barbara with their children!
Offered through the Healthy Marriage Project of Greater Sacramento, MML is an interactive, hands-on Marriage Education program that spotlights ten essential relationship skills that change how people listen, talk, solve problems, and relate to one another. Through live demonstrations, teaching, and skills coaching, Roberta and Steve learned skills that have helped them build trust and work as a team to enhance their relationship.
Roberta reports that the class helped them realize that they were not alone in seeking to improve their marriage. According to Roberta, “There are always other people who have the same issues,” and now the Kubeses have skills that help them work through those issues successfully.
For the Kubeses and many other graduates of Mastering the Mysteries of Love, the communication skills they learned extend benefits beyond the marriage relationship. Roberta says her improved communication skills enable her to “connect with others in a more understanding way,” and as a result, others have begun to view her differently. “The greatest parts of the course for me”, says Roberta, “were the demonstration videos. They were great!” Roberta’s only complaint? She wishes the 16-hour MML class had been longer!
Mastering the Mysteries of Love classes are occurring throughout California. Find a class near you at www.camarriage.com.
Pastors are known for their charitable gifts of time and energy to help their communities; you don’t hear much about their receiving gifts, but in this case, Pastor Bryan Harris and his wife Kelly are the latest couple to win $1000 in the California Healthy Marriages Outcome Evaluation drawing. The Harrises were excited to hear that simply by spearheading something to help marriages in their church and filling out the CHMC outcome evaluation form they received this exciting win.
