By Grant Edwards
(Grant is senior pastor of Fellowship Church in Springfield. He's given us permission to include his reflections and suggestions from scripture and personal experience. Insomnia can affect relationships by making us more irritable and insensitive with each other!)
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Too many of us can't sleep.  It’s so frustrating -- 3 AM and wide awake.  Then 6 AM and you fall asleep with the alarm sounding at 7 AM.

Someone then remarks,  "You look like something that the cat dragged in from a night of prowling." 
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We want to call down fire from heaven on them!

Seth and Lisa Perdue are Encompass board members and have a compelling marriage story that they shared for Fellowship Church, January 27, 2019. As they indicate in their story, it is only with the help of God that they are still together, having navigated one of the most challenges hurdles and couple could face.

By Lavern Nissley

We were curious as to how COVID-19 and quarantines were affecting marriages and the kinds of impact couples have been experiencing the past 6 weeks. Last week we made available a simple survey; today we share the results. A total of 53 completed and submitted their responses.

By Lavern Nissley

You would think that more time together is good for marriages, right? However, some countries are reporting increased divorce rates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Travis Childress, in an April 20 blog post observed: "The problem, according to some experts, is that time together actually acts as an X-factor to the quality of the marriage. If the marriage is strong, time together can bring the couple closer together. If the marriage isn’t strong, it can drive the couple apart."

We're interested in how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected your marriage relationship. If you are married, we invite you to complete a brief survey, and we'll share the results this weekend from those completing it by noon Friday, May 8.

By Lavern Nissley

This is especially for married couples. Isolated with each other during a 6-8 week "stay at home" order.

What we wouldn't have given for such an extended to of "just you and me, babe", right? Well, if you're like Ronda and me, there ARE some upsides to having fewer external commitments that take us away from home and each other. But we've probably had more conflicts with each other than usual the past 4 weeks. That's why the guest blog post you're about to read got my attention and resonated with our personal experience.

Jeff Pinkleton, a good friend and Encompass board member, forwarded the post to me. It's written by Toni Nieuwhof, wife of Carey Nieuwhof. So clicking the button below will take you directly to her post from this past week. We don't usually send you elsewhere than to our own blog page when you click the button, but this is excellent! You won't regret the 5 minutes you take to read it.

Enjoy reading YOU DIDN’T SIGN UP FOR THIS – 4 WAYS TO BATTLE BACK WHEN QUARANTINE MAKES YOUR MARRIAGE WORSE.

Starting in March we've been alternating blog posts and "our stories" videos on Tuesdays. Blog posts will appear  on the 1st/3rd Tuesday and videos on the 2nd/4th Tuesdays. Everything we post here is under the umbrella of practical tips & insights for your relationships.

We're so excited to feature a fun Our Story video featuring Kevin, Carisa and Brian from Holmes in Springfield. They are siblings who assumed primary leadership of a their family business in 2007. In the process they sought a more team friendly workplace culture.

I read a troubling, head-spinning bit of information in a news feed I've subscribed to. The source is Fight the New Drug, a grassroots effort to educate and empower people to live free of pornography. Their website is exceptional with tons of research-based data, and it is truly inspiring to see the number of young people who are championing the cause. (Website link will be included below)

Back to the sickening news of a major porn distributor offering to "help" during the coronavirus isolation. 

What?? You won't believe what was posted!

By Lavern Nissley

Today's post grows out of felt needs we've been hearing from the community. Our client advocate, Abby Glaser, is doing regular Facebook Live check ins and is hearing requests for relationship resources and insights to cope with a variety of topics related to the pandemic and downstream effects.