 By Dr David Marine Mabry Encompass Executive Director As the confetti settles and the balloons drift away, we reflect on the remarkable journey of our 20th anniversary. Celebrating two decades of growth and impact, we now turn our eyes toward an even brighter future. Just as a long-lasting marriage evolves and strengthens, we believe the best days for Encompass Connection Center lie ahead.
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 By Abby Glaser Encompass Community Advocate In preparation for the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Encompass on September 17, 3 pm at Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, blog posts this month will focus on historical elements and highlights.
In today’s post I would like to talk about the impact of Encompass on the Springfield community! While I haven’t been here since the beginning, I have been here for almost 13 years! As the community advocate, I interact the most with the many other organizations we partner with in order to best serve the families I work with!  By Abby Glaser Encompass Community Advocate Our theme this month is freedom! Something I’ve been focused on the past few years is disconnecting from the American culture of constant hustle. What do I mean when I say Hustle culture? This societal attitude promotes working long hours at the expense of meeting personal needs. It’s rooted in capitalism, materialism and the belief that success is defined by professional accomplishment. Before I jump in, let me clarify I have no problem working hard to meet my family’s needs. Nor do I have an issue with ambition. But what I am constantly evaluating in my own life is at what cost?
 Lavern with his Dad, David Nissley, June 21, 2020 Our blog posts in June will focus on reflections surrounding fathers, fatherhood, and their influence in our lives.
By Lavern Nissley Relationship facilitator My Dad died November 12, 2021. His birthday is coming up the end of this week, June 8. And Father's Day is about a week later. Although Dad was one of the most challenging relationships in my life given his patterns of anger, agitation, and anxiety, I also have more positive memories. Here is a heartfelt letter to my Dad, David Nissley.  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...  Charlie, Maddie, Josh, Emily, Seb, Ronda, Lavern, Jessica, Ali, Kevin, Kristen Our blog posts theme for December surrounds "special Christmas memories/stories." Certainly, the holiday season has plenty of opportunities to describe as "thriving" or "strifing" in relationships. What memories or stories are uplifting and help family trees to be forever changed?
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director I was scrolling through my iPhone photos looking for Christmas memory ideas. Wow! So many flooded my heart and mind. But when I condensed them down to several common themes that were fulfilling and significant, it became very clear what we value as a family. My heart is warmed as I reflect on them!  By Abby Glaser
Encompass Community Advocate I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of finishing well where it applies to parenting. Obviously parenting never really ends, but the seasons of it change! For context, my husband and I have five kids that range from 14-24. So, we have three out of the house now and two still left at home. We are in the home stretch of active parenting after two and a half decades of our lives revolving around it! When my kids were little, I often thought this would be the easier stage…what could be harder than breastfeeding and sleep deprivation and potty training? I laugh now at how unaware I was to the realities of parenting teens and young adults! While I’m not finished yet, I’ve learned a few things in this process of how to finish well with your kids that I wish someone had told me!  Lavern and Ronda with family and friends at her mother's graveside service September 30, 2023 Our blog posts in October will focus on perspective, especially those glimpses of insight that guide us toward healthier relationships. By Lavern Nissley Executive Director of Encompass Since November 2021 three of our four parents have passed, and I've had a major influence upon developing what the funeral/life celebration service will look like. The most recent life celebration was that of Ronda's Mom, Cora Miller, who passed peacefully September 26, 5:20 pm, right before an Encompass board meeting I was attending. Two bits of perspective came to me during the planning and actual life celebration service. Join me in this brief reflection and see if anything resonates with your own experience.   The September theme for our social media and blog posts is devotion/faith. Gina Craun and her family experienced the ultimate loss, but through it all maintained their faith and devotion to each other and to God. See where it's brought them in the following blog post by Gina.
This was my 3 year old daughter's bold and unquestioning response when I asked her what she learned in her class while I was in service one Sunday. I laughed and asked her what she meant and, without even looking up from the sucker she was trying desperately to unwrap, she informed me, “They said that Jesus lives in my heart… so I think right now He’s cookin’ in there.” And you know what… I can’t disagree. When our oldest son, Cainan, was 2 years old he was playing on the floor with his cars and seemed a bit sluggish. When I felt his body burning up again, with yet another fever that month, we took him to our family doctor to get some antibiotics. Little did we know that within 24 hours we would be packing overnight bags and be admitted to the closest children’s hospital. Within hours, our world was turned upside down and the word “leukemia” entered our daily vocabulary. Because of the strength his specific type of leukemia possessed, chemo alone was not going to be enough. We began prepping for a bone marrow transplant. A transplant that our oldest son at 2 would be receiving and our youngest son, at 11 months old, would be donating bone marrow for. During this time I began an online journal. It was my goal to find God’s plan and purpose in each day and each step of our journey and share that hope and light with others. I found such encouragement in this because… you see what you look for. And I wanted to see what God was cooking up for our family through this. Encompass Executive Director Lavern Nissley shared this 23-minute SOUL Talk presentation on "The Good: Investing in Healthy Families and Relationships" at The Nehemiah Foundation's annual Case for Community Summit September 8, 2023.
You may want to download a number of items he refers to in the presentation: |
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HostsDr. David Marine and Theresa Mabry are Co-Directors of Encompass since June 1, 2024. TOPICS
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Funding is provided by Clark County Job and Family Services, Charles L. Shor Foundation, Nehemiah Foundation, Springfield Foundation, Turner Foundation, and private donations and fees.
Program content is the sole responsibility of Encompass Connection Center and does not necessarily represent the views of the funders.
Encompass Connection Center services are provided to all eligible persons on a non-discriminatory basis. Encompass Connection Center complies with all applicable laws and regulations concerning discrimination does not discriminate on the basis of the potential participant's race, gender, gender orientation, age, disability or religion.
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 37-1485217
Program content is the sole responsibility of Encompass Connection Center and does not necessarily represent the views of the funders.
Encompass Connection Center services are provided to all eligible persons on a non-discriminatory basis. Encompass Connection Center complies with all applicable laws and regulations concerning discrimination does not discriminate on the basis of the potential participant's race, gender, gender orientation, age, disability or religion.
Registered 501(c)(3). EIN: 37-1485217