Resources to support marriage

Care for the Family believes in supporting marriages. Elsewhere on this website you’ll find all sorts of ways in which we’re doing that.

One way we help couples is through supplying resources – books, DVDs, podcasts etc. Five of these might be particularly helpful to you, as you work to engage with your community.

• One of the most helpful resources over the years has been the popular The Sixty Minute Marriage book by Rob Parsons.

  This simple book – which has been translated into Danish, German, Dutch, Estonian, Portuguese, Indonesian, Swedish and three different Chinese dialects - has transformed thousands of relationships. One reader said: “I’m currently going through a rocky period in my marriage. I honestly thought things could never get better. Reading this book has changed my thinking.”

  It may be that you’d like to read it yourself, or pass it round your congregation – or have copies available for those on your marriage preparation courses. You can order your copies here.

   

• In the 21st century, relationships are constantly under pressure. There are good times, and there are tough times - and when things get really tough, the most important thing to know is that you’re not alone.

  Many people whose relationships have broken down say they don’t know how it happened. They’ve perhaps had time for sport or work, but not for each other.

  As part of Care for the Family’s aim to strengthen marriage, we’ve produced 21st Century Marriage. This DVD includes an accompanying workbook ideal to work through as a couple.

  The DVD lifts the lid on eight subjects that can affect everyone, from money and time pressures, to acceptance and love:

  • Knowing we matter
  • Acceptance
  • When everything screams out, “It’s over!”
  • Time for love
  • When sparks fly
  • Dealing with debt
  • The affair
  • Love in the real world

  You can use 21st Century Marriage to help strengthen your own marriage - and other people’s marriages, too. You’re able to order your copies here.

   

• From This Step Forward is unique! It’s a marriage preparation course for stepfamilies, which will enable you to offer guidance to these couples, for their benefit, and for the children's.

  Stepfamilies are the fastest growing family type in the UK, but according to a Care for the Family survey, only 7% of those marrying again had received any specific guidance about marrying a partner with children. Yet the issues involved are not the same as for couples marrying for the first time. Stepfamilies are different!

  If you’re involved in helping couples prepare for marriage, and one or both partners have children, then do use this course. You will be helping couples explore practical, emotional and financial issues, as well as issues with former partners and with the wider family.

  The material is on one easy-to-use CD-ROM, so you can print off the material as many times as you like. It’s adaptable – it can be used in groups or with just one couple at a time.

   

• The 'It Takes Two' marriage newsletter is available FREE to give out to congregations or course participants – and it would be great to hand out during National Marriage Week. It may be short – but it's full of helpful advice and encouragement for all married couples. And if you want to see it first, have a look at the pdf here: http://www.careforthefamily.org.uk/pdf/resources/itTakesTwoNewsletter.pdf

   

• Maintaining a Healthy Marriage is the popular live event in which Rob Parsons outlines what he believes every marriage needs to grow and remain healthy. It talks about life in the real world, discussing issues such as money, sex and communication, and it offers practical down-to-earth help. A special recording of this event is now available as a free podcast - another fantastic web-based resource: www.careforthefamily.org.uk/audiocast/mahm/

Last Updated 02 September 2009