Dynamic Marriage: Repeat, Refocus, and Reset

Dynamic marriage quips couples to take their marriage to the next level. This course provides the vital tune up needed to keep the complex dynamics of marriage healthy and strengthen the intimate connection between husband and wife.

TESTIMONIALS

Kirk and Nina Loy

St. Charles Borromeo, Salmon

We highly recommend this course as it offered tremendous insight into our marriage from the very first session. We learned how to communicate with each other in a more respectful and loving way. It was surprising to finally shed light on things we were doing that were hurtful to each other. During the class, we identified the “love busters” that were causing harm.

We also identified and prioritized each other’s emotional needs during the class. In doing so, we learned how to better express our love in a way that will meet those needs. With improved insights into these unique needs, communication has improved greatly. Before, we assumed that any act of affection toward our spouse should render a positive response and evoke feelings of being cherished.

Now, we realize there is nuance to our spouse’s emotional needs. When our actions are informed and conducted with tact and care, we can better show love and appreciation in ways that best suit our spouse’s emotional needs. It is imperative that we view meeting each other’s emotional needs as a gift to our spouse, rather than as an obligation.

This course proved to be a valuable time investment. We set aside many hours each week to complete “homework” together. That time shared was surprisingly intimate. We never would have guessed that homework would have strengthened our bond and have us fall deeper in love.

The weekly group meetings were another enjoyable time commitment. Seeing that other couples also have ups and downs and can grow stronger together despite [difficulty] offers a helpful perspective. It’s tempting to think we are the only ones with a particular struggle, when, in reality, there is nothing new under the sun.

Another portion of the time commitment is making time to pray with our spouse each day. This was extremely beneficial and strengthened our faith and spiritual bond.

There’s nothing quite like watching your spouse humble themself before God and ask Him to improve our marriage and ourselves. Also, the Bible verses curated for this course were not only inspirational but felt like just the thing we needed to hear at the right time.

These words provided us strength and encouragement to boldly live out our marriage vocation. Once again, we highly recommend this course to all married couples.

Mark & Teresa Tavelli

My wife and I participated in the Dynamic Marriage Course led by Shelly and Shannon Batman in January and

February of 2026.  Based on our experience, I would recommend this course to couples of any age or number of years married. 

The course was much different than I expected in that it did not feature lecture-heavy or theory-heavy content but rather focused on practical skill-building designed to improve daily communication and change behavior patterns.  We both appreciated and enjoyed this approach.

Some of the strengths of the program I valued most included:

• Giving us a common vocabulary for our emotional needs and associated damaging behaviors

• Providing very practical tools that facilitate delving into specific problem areas and getting to the heart of the matter

• Facilitated group format (with eight other couples) that fostered accountability, provided shared wisdom and insight and had a community feel that was evident even though the meetings were over Zoom 

• Course materials which were all well-written and helpful in bringing to surface specific issues in our marriage and identifying potential solutions

We covered a lot of ground in the nine weeks, and a lot of work went into completing the various chapters.  Some of the issues we were led to discuss were, in all honesty, difficult to get through as it required us to face up to changes related to behaviors practiced over decades.

We learned that these changes are difficult and require concerted ongoing effort, practice and repetition to become habit.  It all starts with identifying what needs to change and this course was instrumental in that. I am grateful for the opportunity the Dynamic Marriage course offered me. 

Kudos to our skilled facilitators, Shelly and Shannon Batman, who did a great job of organizing and getting us though the course.  It was obvious that the other participants were getting a lot out of the course as well.  

Jim & Mary Ellen Nourse

St. John the Evangelist, Boise

Back in Fall 2023, we attended a Marriage Enrichment evening at our parish, St. John’s Cathedral. During the evening, we met Shannon and Shelly Batman, who facilitate Dynamic Marriage classes. Shannon and Shelly were so friendly and enthusiastic about the Dynamic Marriage program that we decided to reserve our Monday evenings to take the class.

Earlier this year, as a gift to ourselves, we enrolled in the Dynamic Marriage class a second time. This “Dynamic Marriage Take 2” was a repeat, refocus, and reset for us.

Since our initial class back in Fall 2023, life has changed markedly and unpredictably for us. After we almost lost each other due to unexpected illnesses, we decided that we wanted to fully live out, as a couple, however many days, months or years the Lord has planned for us. In addition, we have family commitments that we didn’t have in 2023.

Dynamic Marriage enabled us to refocus on each other as a couple, as we worked through the course together.

Once again, Monday evenings were set aside for us to repeat, refocus, and reset through the Dynamic Marriage class. This class was an excellent way to know what important likes & dislikes make your special person.

One take-away for us is that, from 7:00 to 9:00 weekday evenings, we turn off our phones and social media so we can spend uninterrupted time together. We also are committed to de-cluttering our home.

Dynamic Marriage is an excellent program for couples – whether you’ve been married five years or 50!