Marriage M.INT.
Christian Master Intensive

Who Marriage M.INT. is for

M.INT. is for couples who have already decided they want to have a great marriage. You love each other and want to make your love stronger through deeper understanding of one another. You want you and your spouse to function in Christlike love and grace as a unified team, desiring mutual responsibility in your communication practices. So, if you want to improve the quality of your marriage toward deeper and more personal understanding of each other, then M.INT. is for you!

What Marriage M.INT. is not

This is not your typical marriage seminar, and in fact is not a seminar at all. We won’t be discussing the usual topics like romance, intimacy, roles, submission, leadership and authority, or any number of other topics commonly presented at marriage seminars.

M.INT. is not for those whose marriage is on the brink of separation or for those who engage in excessive arguing. M.INT. is not individual marriage counselling.

How we want Marriage M.INT. to work for you

The Marriage Intensive seeks to clarify your sense of unity and shared responsibility in how you relate with one another. We help you to identify communication behaviors and conversation stoppers that prevent you from enjoying mutual, loving understanding. You will take away a set of relational tools that will empower you to grow and lovingly navigate misunderstandings that are inevitable even in the best of strongly committed marriages. You will enjoy coming to know each other at deeper levels of intimacy.

Location, Lodging, and Meals

Coeur d’Alene Idaho ~ Your small group intensive will be held in a meeting in Coeur d’Alene Idaho

Lodging ~ You will need to arrange and pay for your own accommodations.

Meals ~ You’re responsible for the expense of all your meals except for the dessert “Meet and Greet” hosted by our team Thursday night. We will give you a map and listing of several good restaurant choices nearby. For Friday’s dinner, we will all gather together at the same restaurant for fellowship and relaxing fun before continuing with the intensive on Saturday.

What to Expect At a small group Marriage M.INT.

Exclusive Small Group INTENSIVE ~ A Marriage M.INT. weekend is INTENSIVE because of the two-way communication made possible in a small group setting. Each Marriage M.INT. is limited to only three couples in attendance. The exclusive small group setting will enable us to give you personalized, special attention while we work with you to clarify your measure of unity and shared responsibility toward your relationship. We will give you personalized tools to overcome relational hindrances that prevent you from doing this effectively. We go deeper with each session and provide assignments that will help you to diligently apply what you’re learning. While we don’t provide marriage counseling, we are attentive to care for your unique needs, so you will be able to receive further instruction from the Holy Spirit. You can’t get this in a seminar, conference or retreat setting, and so a Marriage M.INT. event gives you a very high value for your time and money spent.

Thursday Evening “Meet and Greet” ~ Join us at 7:00 pm for dessert and a visit, so when Friday morning comes, you’ll be ready to delve in with a strong start. Your “Meet and Greet” will be hosted by our team couples at the hotel. Our wonderful team will be providing you with practical and prayer support as you go through your Marriage Master Intensive. They would also love to put faces to names as they keep you in their prayers.

Five Intensive Sessions ~ Each of five sessions (2 on Friday, 2 on Saturday, and 1 on Sunday) give you a 30-minute laser focused message that addresses the core challenge couples face in their relationship on a regular basis. When this core challenge is identified as it’s expressed uniquely in your couple relationship, you will begin to experience clarity. Then you will be able to work together to overcome other challenges you’ve already been aware of, and you’ll be empowered to do so more effectively. Areas that may have been stuck for long periods of time can be changed and overcome. Your mutual desire will lead to refreshing your soul and marital unity!

Testimonies ~ You will hear personal testimonies from our team that will flesh out what you are learning. Other couples that you met at the “Meet and Greet” will be scheduled to visit with us from time to time so you can hear their personal stories of how they are successfully addressing their relationship based on the topics being discussed.

Assignments ~ You’ll be given corresponding assignments to do privately with your spouse in separate areas of the hotel from the other couples. Each assignment will help you to uniquely personalize the messages, and give you the clarity needed for what God wants to do in you and your spouse as individuals and as a couple.

Open Discussion ~ When the small group of couples reconvenes, there will be open discussion and you’ll have the opportunity for sharing what you’re learning, but only what you feel comfortable sharing at any given time and with no added pressure from us. Making real connections with other couples who are experiencing the same thing with you will be an enriching and memorable experience for you and your spouse.

One-on-One ~ Each couple will be scheduled to have an hour alone with Marilyn and Jim who will listen to your thoughts and give you additional clarity based on their observations of you throughout the course of the weekend.

Takeaway Tools ~ We have a great “Takeaway” for you. We will send you home with tools for improving your unique relational patterns with each other, so you can continue to deepen your understanding and grow your marriage relationship in unity and harmony.

Fun and Special Surprises ~ We want to make this time together memorable for you, and so we have a few special surprises for your weekend that we hope will make you feel cared for, and even some fun planned for you to bring some relief to the potentially intense nature of our sessions together.

Friday Evening Dinner Gathering ~ This time together is a private dinner gathering at a local restaurant banquet room. Couples from our local community that you’ve met over the weekend will be joining us there. Each couple will be responsible for the cost of their own dinner. We’re looking forward to a more relaxed time with the couples in order to know you more.

Prayer Ministry ~ Our couples team will hold a time of prayer ministry over your marriage before ending the 5th session on Sunday.

Session Topics

1  ~  Identify and Measure Your Habits of Listening to Your Spouse so you can deepen understanding of one another through thoughtful listening.

2  ~  Identify How You Express Offense to Your Spouse so together you can learn new ways of addressing hurts.

3  ~  Identify Your Relational Compensators so you can see how you rely on habitual wrong responses instead of doing the hard work of growing in your ability to love.

4  ~  Identify How You Dance Around Each Other so you can stop your independent mis-steps and learn to dance in relational unison.

5  ~  Learn a New Dance so together you can practice ways to build trust and help each other grow to become more loving.

You will be empowered to improve your marriage relationship
AND you’ll take that ability home with you!

The going rate for such high value, small group
marriage retreats is around $5,000!

We are always sensitive to the typical Home Educator’s Budget.
We are offering our Marriage Intensive for a very reasonable price!
$995

How to Get Started On Your Way

Step 1 ~ Pre-Qualification for Attending a M.INT.

Step 2 ~ Make $100 Deposit Payment

We request a deposit to secure your space at the Marriage Master Intensive. Attendance of only three couples is on a first come, first served basis, and an announcement will be made on this page when it’s full.

Cutoff Dates for Making a Deposit and Paying in Full

Secure your space soon! Any scheduled Marriage Master Intensive is limited to 3 couples in attendance. First Come First Served! (The deposit secures your spot, and is refunded to you if we don’t have the minimum required attendees interested for this date.) See refund policy here

See 2017 Dates or Make a Deposit Here

Step 3 ~ Planning Your Visit

After you’ve heard from Marilyn that all deposits have been received and the Master Intensive event is moving forward as planned, you are now ready to plan your trip. Please plan your arrival for Thursday so you can attend the “Meet and Greet” at the hotel in the evening. Give yourself time to check in and get a meal if you need one.

Step 4 ~ Fill Out and Submit Your Marriage Master Intensive Questionnaire

A LINK to the Marriage M.INT. Questionnaire will be emailed to you once you’ve made your deposit commitment to attend a M.INT. We want to make your intensive meaningful and lasting for your marriage, and so we’d like to know more about you as a couple. We will be personalizing our content, testimonies, and group discussion to the uniqueness of the three couples in your small group.

Please finish filling out your questionnaire at least one week prior to departure for your Intensive. After you’ve filled out the questionnaire, email it to Marilyn at

mint@marilynhowshall.com

We’re excited for your upcoming experience with us at Marriage M.INT.!
We will be praying for you! See You Soon!