Research/ Secrets / Badges & Room Locator /Divorce Unacceptable/Fireproof / Survivors - 6/6/09

Sat Jun 6 10:44:53 EDT 2009

- NEW RESEARCH SHOWS MARRIAGE EDUCATION WORKS
- SECRETS TO LOVE: SMART MARRIAGES FILM FESTIVAL
- CONFERENCE BADGES?
- FIREPROOF
- UP 
- LA GRANDE AND SONJA: "DIVORCE IS UNACCEPTABLE"
- COUPLES WHO HAVE SURVIVED A CRISIS
- WHY MARRIAGE EDUCATION? YOUTUBE VIDEO

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- NEW RESEARCH SHOWS MARRIAGE EDUCATION WORKS
http://www.hitchedmag.com/article.php?id=754

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- SECRETS TO LOVE: SMART MARRIAGES FILM FESTIVAL

One of the seven films in the Smart Marriages Orlando Film Festival has been
making the rounds of some posh festivals - like Milan where it was nominated
in Best Documentary category with films by George Clooney, Soderbergh, and
Sting.  It didn't win, but nice company.  It's also been nominated in other
festivals around the world and won Outstanding Documentary at the Global Art
Film Festival - a touring festival for California film makers.  See the
Orlando schedule here and plan to see it - it features a bunch of folks you
know - Howard Markman, Nisa Muhammad, John Gray, Dennis Stoica, etc:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/film.festival.html

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- CONFERENCE BADGES?

I've heard from foreign registrants who are concerned about the badge
mailing.  We do NOT mail badges or packets to anyone with an address outside
the United States - we hold your badge and attendee materials at the
Conference registration desk.  You can pick it up when you arrive. Yes,
registration will be open in plenty of times to get your tickets for the
Gary Chapman banquet on Tues July 7 and the Fireproof awards lunch on Wed.
Registration opens Sunday afternoon and the first Institutes: PREP, Active
Relationships, and Family Wellness begin at 8:30am Monday Morning July 6.

For the rest of you, we will mail your badges to you in advance, but don't
start watching the mail.  Badges aren't mailed until June 16th.  Which
means, yes you still have time to register and/or add banquets, spouses,
etc. 

If you're curious and want to start scoping things out, you can download the
Room Locator that will be in the onsite packets.  It's posted on the home
page (if you need to find it again - far left column) or here are the direct
links to page 1 and page 2:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/uploaded/RoomLocator.09.pg1.pdf
http://www.smartmarriages.com/uploaded/RoomLocator.pg.2.09.pdf

These will be more useful if you also download the hotel floor plans:
http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/images/Ballroom.jpg
http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/images/Breakout.jpg

- diane 

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- FIREPROOF

> Diane,
>     Fireproof was released on DVD in January, so Lloyd
> can rent it at the local DVD/video store.  Most Christian bookstores
> carry it if he wants to purchase a copy.
> Dick & Carol Cronk, Lay Directors

I'm losing it!  I knew Fireproof was at Blockbusters and also available for
sale all over the internet - start at http://www.fireproofthemovie.com.
THANK YOU, Dick. And, yes it is a very good idea to see it before you get to
Orlando - at the conference you'll want to spend your time at the Networking
events and trying to make it to all the exhibits.

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- UP 

> Diane,  I just saw UP last night.  Yes, a great marriage move, but you need to
> see it all the way through to get all of the great "marriage stuff".  In
> addition to the long-married widower aspect, the little boy is the child of a
> divorced couple and he shows some of the pain of that position.  Great, fun
> movie.   
> Jan 

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- LA GRANDE AND SONJA: "DIVORCE IS UNACCEPTABLE"

> The Masons are now involved in a campaign called ³Divorce is Unacceptable,²
> which aims to keep black families intact.
> 
> ³I really want people to understand we have to get back to those days when
> (divorce) wasn¹t really an option,² Sonja Mason said. ³People simply worked
> things out. The system has made divorce so easy. They even advertise quickie
> divorces.²
> 
> She said marriage is vital because it¹s the foundation of the family. She and
> her husband say the benefits of marriage are numerous.

> La Grande Mason, a psychoanalyst and psychotherapist, says that children
> raised in two-parent families are less likely to get involved with gangs or
> drugs and are more likely to go to college and have successful marriages
> themselves. His wife added that life expectancy is longer for married people
> and financial situations are better. A school administrator in her day job,
> Sonja Mason said that she¹s seen firsthand how divorce damages children.
> 
> ³We¹ve seen some students that were really well-behaved and self-motivated,²
> she said. ³All of a sudden mom and dad split up, and they kind of get lost in
> the shuffle.²
> 
> Mason said that she¹s not advocating for parents to stay together only because
> of their children. She believes it¹s important, however, for parents to try to
> save their marriages by learning how to effectively communicate and
> remembering what attracted them to their mates in the first place.
> 
> Clearly, some in the black community are serious about trying to save their
> marriages, but they are going about it the wrong way, La Grande Mason said.
> Rather than visiting a psychotherapist, they make an appointment with their
> local church pastor. This may be a mistake if the minister lacks the proper
> expertise, he said.
> 
> Many ³ministers, believe it or not, have not been trained to do clinical
> counseling or therapy,² he added.
> 
> Nisa Muhammad, creator of Black Marriage Day and director of the Wedded Bliss
> Foundation in Washington, D.C., applauds the Masons for their efforts to
> educate African Americans about marriage. She spoke at a marriage day event
> the couple held in March.
> 
> ³I¹m incredibly impressed with the work they¹re doing with marriage in the
> black community,² Muhammad said. ³They work tirelessly to make marriage the
> rule rather than the exception.²

Plan to meet with La Grande, Sonja and Nisa at the African American
Networking events - see here for schedule:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/roundtables.html
Also check out sessions for working in the African American community:
http://www.smartmarriages.com/tracks.html

For the complete article:
http://tinyurl.com/nqbfc5

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- COUPLES WHO HAVE SURVIVED A CRISIS

Book author wants to interview married couples who are willing to share a
crisis they overcame that ultimately strengthened their relationship.
Couples must be willing to be quoted by name and photographed. Gemma Allen,
the author, is one of the good guys - she has attended the Smart Marriages
Conference and led efforts in IL to pass marriage education legislation.
Contact her directly at gemmaallen at laddenallen.com    Forward to couples who
you think might have a good story/lesson about marital survival.

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- WHY MARRIAGE EDUCATION? YOUTUBE VIDEO

Here's a great brief intro video by Michelle and Patrick Gannon that answers
the question, WHY Marriage Education?  I've posted it permanently on
smartmarriages.com, you might want to post a link, too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNGMCBfrBk

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13th Annual Smart Marriages® Conference, The Shingle Creek,
Orlando, Florida, July 6-12, 2009 (General Conference July 8-11)
Pre-Conference Training Institutes July 6-8
Post-Conference Training Institutes July 12

Shingle Creek: http://www.rosenshinglecreek.com/

To download a Conference brochure, register online, or for Exhibit
information:
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Coalition for Marriage, Family and Couples Education, LLC (CMFCE)
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