James Sheridan's favorite links...

www.marriagesavers.org

Marriage Savers is a nation wide organization, started by Mike McManus,
working to help local groups start community marriage policy policies on
the grass roots level. Marriage Savers is rich with resources and
information for church groups and community groups to strengthen healthy
marriages, with premarital education and marriage enrichment programs,
and ideas for saving failing marriages with practical and effective
programs.
 

www.smartmarriages.com

The Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, directed by
Diane Sollee, is the leading source for general information and
resources about marriage and family. Make sure to sign up for their
E-mail listing to receive a constant flow of information about marriage
and family issues. The annual Smart Marriage Conference run by the
Coalition is the leading conference on marriage and family issues in the
world. This conference is an absolute must for everyone interested
marriage and family and who wish to learn from the best resources in the
world.

www.createdforapurpose.org

This web site is filled with down to earth, common sense ideas about
family life and marriage. The site, founded by author Rev. Clark
Cothern, is fun reading and worth the trip for those interested in
family relationships, both husband / wife and parent / child.

Premarital Inventories:

Foccus: www.foccusinc.com

Prepare: www.lifeinnovations.com

Zoe: www.zoescore.com

There are several very good premarital inventories available. A premarital inventory is a research-based set of questions to help couples identify the areas of strength in their relationship and the areas that need work to grow, before they get married. These are wonderful tools. If you plan to marry, check out these three (listed in alphabetical order) and find someone in your community who will administer it for you and your fiance.

www.retrouvaille.org

I believe that Retrouvaille is THE place to go if your marriage is in trouble. Retrouvaille is a form of marriage encounter designed for couples having major problems, even on the brink of divorce. (In fact most of the couples there either are separated, considering divorce, have already filed divorce or actually are divorced.) Nonetheless, Retrouvaille has a success rate of approximately 85%.

Retrouvaille is about half presentation and half exercise. I do not believe that you will ever be asked to share any personal information with anyone other than your spouse. There is no "group sharing."

Retrouvaille is also not counseling. However, if you are in counseling, Retrouvaille should be a very good supplement to that counseling.

There are a series of followup weekend meetings, although not for the full weekend. The followup weekend meetings are not nearly as intense as the first one.

This will be work, but it will be very helpful to your marriage and will help bring back a sense of love and commitment that you would not have thought possible, if you do everything with an attitude of openness. The program is Biblically centered.

www.passionseekers.com

“ Find help and motivation to Make Passion a Priority in your relationship with the support provided at www.passionseekers.com -- read the inspiring Blog entries, take the Passion Poll, and check out the continually updated Passion Resources.”

www.MasteringMarriage.com

A cyber community for happily married couples to exchange ideas. Every couple has something worth sharing. Married only a few months? The “adjustment period” is fresh in your mind and your suggestions very relevant. After five years, guide others through the “terrible twos” and how to find “parent time.” Couples married longer can help with the “teen years”, college funding, aging parents and retirement. Maybe you have a great recipe, holiday tradition or money management suggestion. Share how you survive being married to someone with unusual work demands. All of it can help others keep their marriage strong and reduce our heartbreaking divorce rate. Membership is free.

www.gamesforloving.com

Find a computer-based game, Bliss. Bliss is a computer based romantic game for husbands and wives, who want to have a great time together. Unlike many adult games, Bliss focuses on love and romance, not blatant sexuality. Bliss is highly customizable. Each player can create an individual profile, in which they enter their own personal likes and dislikes.