By Kermit Rowe
Encompass Relationship Facilitator This month’s blog theme is “more than words.” So let’s take those three words and put them at the end of the following sentence to “explore the more” of a time-tested relational truth: Communication is more than words. How do we communicate besides talking? Well, we should know because we certainly do it a lot. A Psychology Today article famously reported that only seven percent of our communication happens through words. That means 93 percent of your intended message is left up to tone and non-verbal cues. Other estimated percentages may vary a bit, but one thing is clear: When it comes to communicating in relationships, it’s more than words can say.
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We’ve all heard the saying “actions speak louder than words.”. There are few places that is more apparent than in our intimate relationships. We may be able to talk a good game to acquaintances or on social media, but our closest loved ones are the ones who know whether we live those words out! This is why it’s so important in romantic relationships to not only be saying loving words to our partner but for our actions to back it up. Let’s look at a few practical ways this can happen!
Our blog post theme for March is "Growth Areas." So, our blog post authors will be challenging us toward growth in personal awareness for the sake of strengthening relationships.
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director Thursday evenings, 7-8 pm, were times I looked forward to for about 2 1/2 months. Why? It wasn't for recreation, spending time with family, or a favorite TV show. It was to spend quality time with Ryan and Julie Preas, a couple who signed up for our RINGS Experience education and coaching. Even though Ryan and Julie weren't where they wanted to be in their 22-year marriage, they had a lot of the intangibles down like mutual respect, seeking peace, and growing together. But they didn't want to stay where they were. What a joy it was to watch them moving their health needle into more and more positives! By: Abby Glaser
Encompass Community Advocate As a relationship educator, one of my favorite things is personality types and tests! I think they are a fun way to understand ourselves better and understand how we function in relation to others. Because I use such tests in my classes I’ve spent a lot of time studying and understanding them. This has led me to have a pretty good understanding of my own strength and growth areas. This has come up for me recently in a relationship where I’m starting to realize one of my strengths, loyalty, has become a growth area. Let me explain! By: Cindee Johnson
Relationship Coach The world paints for us vivid descriptions of love, especially during the month of February. From television ads urging us to buy our way into someone’s heart to social media posts making everyone an expert. Emotions run rampant. Feelings are full. Advice is plentiful. Wisdom is not. Yet, there are some other love insights I believe worth sharing—from elementary school children. By Ronda Nissley
Encompass Co Director Well not really…. But the problem I have with Valentine’s Day is the emphasis on singling out one day a year to celebrate an inferior type of love with gifts, flowers, candy and goofy cards – things that have little to do with Real Love. (Unless your love language is gifts.) In last week’s blog, Lavern highlighted three characteristics of real love as a way to recognize counterfeit love. Real, true love is unconditional, others-centered, patient and kind. In contrast, counterfeit love looks quite different... By: Hollie Kowalski
Encompass Outreach Coordinator “We’re just in a rut, I guess.” We can’t seem to find joy in each other’s presence. We feel tired and frustrated with one another. Hearing this explanation from a friend referring to her marriage made me think back to a time when my husband and I were in a similar place, a “joy gap” in our marriage. Then I started to wonder, how did we get there? How did we get out? How do we keep from getting there again? By Kermit Rowe
Encompass Relationship Facilitator I’ve pastored for 18 years here in Springfield and ministered to couples as part of the Encompass Connection Center ministry for the past five. I’ve seen and witnessed the best and worst of intentions, passion that is both inspiring and misdirected, and communication that ranged from respectful to downright rude. I’ve seen hundreds of couples come through our doors in my time here, and thousands have come to us for help. And I’ve noticed they fall into three major categories... By: Ronda Nissley
Encompass Co-Director In 30+ years of working with couples, we have observed an increasing propensity of couples to choose divorce simply because they’re “not happy”. We hear phrases like, “I just don’t feel that way about him/her anymore”; “We’ve grown apart”; or “I’m not happy in this marriage.” – as if these are valid reasons for ending the marriage. A study conducted by a University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite challenges this conventional wisdom. Of couples that rated their marriages as “very unhappy” but avoided divorce, 8 out of 10 reported they were “happily married” five years later! By: Cindee Johnson
Encompass Relationship Coach Traffic was flowing smoothly on the fairly crowded Columbus, Ohio, roadway. As we neared a major highway split, the vehicle next to us floored it. Cutting through the area marked with yellow hazard lines, the driver suddenly shifted into our lane barely missing a concrete barrier that could have tragically stopped him. Our Jeep automatically sensed the reckless vehicle and slowed nearly to a stop. My husband Dave looked ahead breathing a sigh of relief that the Jeep offers such great safety features. At the same time, I watched in the passenger side mirror commenting that the Jeep nearly stopping was not safe and we were going to get rear-ended! |
HostsDr. David Marine and Theresa Mabry are Co-Directors of Encompass since June 1, 2024. TOPICS
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