Just The Facts is
an organization which holds workshops in the Birmingham, Mobile and Wiregrass
areas of Alabama to stress the importance of a healthy marriage, the positive
impact that an intact family has on children and the importance of fathers
in the home. 
Participants in Just The Facts workshops are taught the skills to become better communicators, resolve conflicts and how to avoid destructive behaviors in relationships. The program focuses on reaching young couples who are planning to get married, couples who are already married, expectant young women and all high school age teens. Just The Facts facilitators are all trained to address these delicate issues with sensitivity towards the participants’ environments and needs.
By contracting with educational programs, churches
and agencies serving families, Just The Facts enables couples choosing
to marry to have the access to marriage education services that will prepare
them for successful, lifelong marriages. Just The Facts workshops are offered
at no cost for participants and are a chance to learn the practical skills
for enriching the relationships in their lives.
Sign up for Divorce Busters
Just the Facts is now having "Divorce
Busters"
workshops at The Hive Creative Group every
six weeks. We want you to come join us for our
next workshop Aug. 30 - Sept. 1 from
6 to 9 p.m. You don't have to be on the verge of
divorce to sign up for this workshop. Marriage works and we want to help
give you the tools you need to strengthen your relationship, whether
you're getting married or have been married for several years! So come
join us and learn the skills to better communicate, avoid destructive
behaviors, resolve conflicts, and bring your romance to life! Sign up
for "Divorce Busters" today! Click
here to register
Volunteer Program Facilitator
Looking for way to make a difference? Just The Facts promotes healthy relationships within the community through education. We are looking for enthusiastic individuals or couples who enjoy working with high school youth and/or couples of various ages. This position leads a chance to help others by facilitating an interactive program on a part-time to full-time basis. All training and certification by Just The Facts. Call us at 334-671-7774 or 800-656-7197 for more information.
We had a facilitators' meeting on Thursday July 22 and Friday July 23 in Dothan. Lots of good information was exchanged and we had a lot of fun as well! Check out our facilitators from Birmingham, Mobile, and the Wiregrass area below!
Introductions: Getting to know you...
Introduction of Our Guest Speaker
Enjoying each others' perspective...
We all work so well together!
2nd day of class and more great discussions...
View our discussions!
Come visit us at www.jtfstraighttalk.blogspot.com.
Leave us comments! We'd love to hear from you!
Healthy Marriage Tip Of the Month
Source: The National Healthy Marriage Institute LLC
Issue 37 Tips to Help You Strengthen Your Marriage
We need your help
We would like to to get your feedback on a new method of using the Healthy Marriage Tip of the Month.
The idea is to create a space online where you can identify the obstacles you might face implementing the tip, brainstorm possible solutions to those obstacles and report your challenges, progress, and results from implementing the tip.
Not only will we be able to provide you feedback and assistance but so to will the thousands of other people who read the monthly tip.
You will have the option of posting anonymously so there is no need to be concerned that someone will be able to identify you or your spouse.
The tip we have decided to launch this new service with is our Respect
pamphlet, from the Healthy Marriage Pamphlet Series. This is the most
powerful tip we have available. On average in just three weeks of consistently
implementing the activity in this pamphlet, couples notice a significant
positive difference in their relationship. This is especially true for
couples who have hit a rough patch of water in their marriage. However
even couples who are currently very satisfied with their marriage will
notice the positive impact of this tip.
So take the three week challenge by reading this month's tip and going
to http://healthymarriagehelp.blogspot.com/ to post your obstacles, challenges,
solutions and results.
Don't forget to invite your friends and family to take the three week challenge with you.
Three Week Healthy Marriage Tips Challenge
By The National Healthy Marriage Institute LLC
If you could place a value on a healthy and happy marriage how much would it be worth? According to researchers, over your lifetime, it can reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and for many, the millions of dollars. The good news is most of the things you can do to create and maintain a healthy marriage are free including this month's tip.
Well almost free. There is the cost of your time but those who have a healthy and happy marriage will tell you it is well worth all the time and effort you can invest in your marriage. In this month's case it is going to require a few minutes every day for the next three weeks.
Three weeks is going to go by anyway so why not take the challenge and have a healthier marriage.
You can read the pamphlet version of the tip at http://healthymarriagetips.com/respect.htm and then be sure to visit http://healthymarriagehelp.blogspot.com/ so we can help you implement the tip and you can give us feedback on it.
Or you can read the text only version of the tip below.
Respect: A key to unlocking the door to a healthy and happy marriage
Think back to when you were first falling in love with your spouse. Do you remember hiding your faults? Don't feel too bad, he or she was doing the same. Do you also remember ignoring his or her faults or viewing them in a positive light? Looking back now, you have a better idea why they say love is blind.
One positive by-product of how you acted was that your level of respect grew. As we notice all the good things about people, our level of respect for them increases.
As our respect grows for a person, we find it easier to listen, talk in a respectful tone of voice and treat him or her in a respectful manner.
After your wedding day you probably started to let your guard down a little. You no longer tried so hard to hide your faults. At the same time your spouse was doing the same thing. It became much easier for you to notice his or her faults rather than overlook them.
As you began focusing on your spouse's faults, your level of respect began to erode. You may have noticed the side effects in how you spoke, listened and treated him or her.
As respect erodes, contempt grows. Contempt will poison your marriage and bring with it pain and misery.
Both respect and contempt are built up by what YOU choose to dwell on.
People who dwell on the faults of their spouse often try to force their spouse to change to meet their own expectations. Ultimately, this route is met with bitter disappointment and frustration as each attempt creates more resistance and ultimately fails.
Others choose to politely ask their spouse to work on the fault. If their spouse does not change they work on becoming used to their spouse's fault. In essence, they accept the things they cannot change.
The reality is no one is perfect. The sooner we learn to recognize and accept the faults that are not going to change, the more content and happier we will be in our marriage.
Should we learn to tolerate all faults? Of course not. One example of a fault that should never be tolerated is physical violence. Victims of domestic violence should seek help immediately.
When you focus on your spouse's positive traits and exercise tolerance with his or her faults, your respect for him or her will grow. You will find it easier to listen, speak, and treat him or her respectfully.
Action Plan
For the next three weeks make a list each day of ten positive things your spouse did. You can also take a trip down memory lane and include things he or she has done in the past. Each night share a few items on your list with your spouse.
In addition, make a list of three positive traits your spouse has.
1. _______________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________
Each time you find yourself dwelling on your spouse's faults, begin thinking of this list and add to it.
As you complete these two activities the level of respect you feel towards your spouse will increase and you will experience more joy and happiness and less pain and misery.
The healthy marriage tips are a lot like sunscreen. If you apply them frequently they can help you avoid the pain of getting a sunburn in your marital relationship. Too often though we tend to get complacent about our marital relationship and stop "applying the sunscreen". Then we get burned and regret that we forgot to consistently apply the sunscreen. And, depending on how high the pain level is, we begin to desperately look for solutions to ease the pain.
The good news is the healthy marriage tips that can be used as sunscreen for your marriage are the same tips that can ease the pain from a marital burn. So no matter if you are trying to keep your skin/marriage healthy and burn free or are looking for something to ease your pain and heal your skin/marriage this month's healthy marriage tip can work for you.
These tips we send are free but we do ask that you teach at least two other people what you learn from the tip.
To learn additional skills and knowledge that can help you form and sustain a healthy marriage read the Healthy Marriage Pamphlet Series at http://www.HealthyMarriageTips.com
If you were forwarded this email you can sign up for the Healthy Marriage Tip of the Week or Tip of the Month at the Healthy Marriage Pamphlet Series webpage.
There is a story about a farmer who spent all of his life plowing fields but never planting them. Reading these tips but never implementing them will get you the same results as the farmer who plowed but never planted.
For other tips to strengthen your marriage visit www.HealthyMarriageTips.com
We Need Your Help
Background: 95% of married couples are either satisfied or very satisfied with their marital relationship. The unhappy 5% will either cycle back into the 95% group or get divorced. At some point almost all marriages will transition into the unhappy 5%, but most move back into the 95% group over time.
Problem: As long as a couple is satisfied with their marital relationship they aren't likely to seek out the tools that can prevent them from entering the unhappy group. However, we have found that when people read about these tools, over 90% will implement what they learn and most will teach the information to others.
Solution: Please help get these healthy marriage tips into the hands of couples in every possible way you can think of. Together, we can help more children, women and men access the positive social outcomes associated with healthy marriages. There are several people on this list who simply forward the monthly tip to friends and family. In one case over 400 people read the healthy marriage tip because one person forwarded the tip to people he knew. Email us with other creative ideas you come up with to spread the word about these tips so we can share them with the list.
2008 (c) The National Healthy Marriage Institute LLC
You have permission to duplicate this tip as long as it is done in its entirety.
The Great Marriage Tune-Up Book:
An excellent book that can help you create a marriage maintenance plan is The Great Marriage Tune-Up Book: A Proven Program for Evaluating and Renewing Your Relationship. You can buy it from Amazon.com by clicking here. The good news is this book will cost you less than your last oil change.
To learn additional skills and knowledge that can help you form and sustain a healthy marriage read the Healthy Marriage Pamphlet Series at http://www.HealthyMarriageTips.com
If you were forwarded this email you can sign up for the Healthy Marriage Tip of the Week or Tip of the Month at the Healthy Marriage Tips webpage.
www.HealthyMarriageTips.com