MHCC Marriage Team
Did you know that Mount Helena has a marriage team dedicated to building, strengthening and restoring couple relationships? We offer all sorts of couple mentoring, including pre-engaged, engaged, marriage enrichment, and crisis mentoring. We also offer several events throughout the year, including our Big Life Under the Big Sky couples events, FamilyLife’s Weekend to Remember, our upcoming Valentine’s Day Date Night, and much more. If you are interested in benefiting from our Prepare/Enrich mentoring program, participating in one of our events, or even joining the Marriage Team, call Dana or Cheryl at 461-6646.
How we mentor you
The MHCC Marriage Team uses material from the PREPARE/ENRICH program. PREPARE/ENRICH is the leading relationship inventory and couples assessment tool. Scientifically validated as a foundational program for premarital counseling, marriage enrichment, couples therapy, marriage mentoring and marriage education. PREPARE/ENRICH automatically tailors the content of the relationship assessment to fit each couple’s unique relationship stage and family structure.
The PREPARE/ENRICH Assessment is an online survey that you take with your partner to help you identify the unique strengths and potential growth areas of your premarital or married relationship. It is a sophisticated instrument that must be interpreted by our trained facilitator mentor couples. Get detailed feedback from your facilitators to help you learn proven relationship skills and increase your understanding of one another.
Are you interested in being mentored through the PREPARE/ENRICH material with one of our MHCC Marriage Mentor couples? Download and fill out our mentoring application and return the application along with $10.00 to the office at the Gateway Center. (Please make checks payable to MHCC.) We look forward to serving you and your partner!
Download the PREPARE/ENRICH Application (Word format) »
The 5 Love Languages® *
The 5 Love Languages® has helped countless couples identify practical and powerful ways to express love, simply by using the appropriate love language. Many husbands and wives who had spent years struggling through marriages they thought were loveless discovered one or both spouses had long been showing love through messages that weren’t getting through. By recognizing their different love languages, they witnessed the rebirth of the love they thought had been gone for good.
Words of Affirmation
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward. Insults can leave you shattered and are not easily forgotten.
Quality Time
In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.
Receiving Gifts
Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous—so would the absence of everyday gestures.
Acts of Service
Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments, and making more work for them tell speakers of this language their feelings don’t matter.
Physical Touch
This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.
* Taken from the 5 Love Languages
The MHCC Marriage Team encourages all of its couples to identify their primary love languages by taking the free assessment. You can go do that right now!
Past Marriage Events
In May 2011, the MHCC Marriage Team hosted Big Life Under the Big Sky Marriage, Family and Singles Event. This event was built upon the idea and strengthening and restoring marriages, building up healthy families and helping singles find what they’re looking for in a mate. Our main speaker was Eric Hutch, who is the Marriage and Family Pastor at Harvest Church in Billings, in addition to a number of different local Helena couples who shared their areas of expertise.
Workshops included:
Help – There’s an Imposter in My Marriage…and it’s Me!
Parenting birth through tweens
Navigating the Tumultuous Teen Years
Blended Family
Parenting adult children AND Relating to parents after you are grown
Intimacy for a lifetime – women
Intimacy for a lifetime – men
Dating for women: Becoming the Princess Worth Fighting for
Dating for men: Becoming a Modern Day Knight