By: Abby Glaser, Community Advocate

January means many of us are feeling the pressure to set resolutions! We begin each year setting lofty, vague and often unattainable goals for ourselves that end up failing by the time the Superbowl airs! But what if we flipped the script and instead of setting goals for new things to do we set an anti-resolution: a commitment to stop doing something.  You might be thinking that’s what you always do…

I’m gonna work out every day. I’m gonna write in my journal every day. I’m gonna stop smoking.

But these are all new goals to achieve and can often turn from inspiring to overwhelming quickly. An anti-resolution is ultimately identifying the things that need to change in your life and stopping the behavior that no longer serves you.
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Here are a few to consider in 2022:
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1. Stop saying ‘Yes’. If you find yourself regularly overwhelmed, overly busy and exhausted this may be one you need to practice. One rule that has helped me in this area is the reminder that every ‘yes’ I give is a ‘no’ to something else. So anytime I’m asked to do something I think through what thing I would be saying no to and weigh if it’s worth it. For example: if I’m asked to join a committee that meets weekly, I’m saying ‘no’ to a minimum of four dinners a month with my family. Sometimes the answer will still be yes but it’s a better-informed yes. 

By Kermit Rowe, Encompass Relationship Facilitator

A recent email blast from Family Life came into my inbox asking a question that immediately caught my attention: “Between you and your spouse, who is the one who typically wins arguments?”

 The go-to gut reaction for many of us tends to be a lengthy (or maybe not so lengthy) review of the scorecard we tend to keep of our most recent series of arguments – at least the ones we remember. Why is it so important that we win? Because we want things to go our way, and we are willing to forfeit temporarily a little bit of peace and harmony to get what we want. Besides. nobody likes to lose. Right?
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That led me to another question: “When we win, do we really win?”

​By Lavern Nissley
Executive Director of Encompass

A friend of mine who lost his wife to cancer several years ago told me that the grief he experienced when coming back into the empty house alone was "suffocating". Difficult to breathe. Excruciating. Really painful. Awful.

Death is an inevitable feature of life on this planet, so we know it's going to happen. As my primary care doctor often remarks, "We're all going to die." So what are some ways to get through the grief period without crashing and burning?

By Kermit Rowe, Encompass Relationship Facilitator

Most of us have heard of the Five Love Languages, famously authored by Dr. Gary Chapman nearly three decades ago. They are so powerful in connecting couples that Encompass Connection Center has long incorporated the teachings of the Five Love Languages into its comprehensive relationship skills training.

But there are five more languages that may be just as helpful in building good communication as their more famous counterparts. They also come from Dr. Chapman, along with help from Jennifer Thomas. They are The Five Languages of Apology. Want to know what they are?

By: Abby Glaser

It’s hard to believe the holidays are here! If you are like me, you are already making progress on your shopping list for Christmas. One of my favorite parts about the holiday season is seeing the generosity of our community. There’s something about the Christmas spirit that brings out the best in us! You may like to give to organizations that help those in need or you may prefer to do it yourself through adopting families or giving trees. However you spread Christmas joy this year, consider giving the gift of dignity! You may be wondering what that means... allow me to explain!

​Each week in November we'll be sharing stories from grateful couples who have seen their family trees forever changed through growing in relationship skills. This week we hear from Darnell and Bekah, participants in the RINGS Experience course for couples.

Each week in November we'll be sharing stories from grateful couples who have seen their family trees forever changed through growing in relationship skills. This week we hear from Nick & Camrynn, participants in the RINGS Experience course for couples.

By: Ronda Nissley

Many of us are familiar with the biblical story of Daniel who was a high ranking administrator in ancient Babylon. Daniel is often hailed for his wisdom and courage in the face of adversity. But did you ever wonder how Daniel was able to not only survive but thrive in what was likely a hostile work environment? Likely, he faced many things that conflicted with his faith and culture.