Mabry family portrait 1976. David is bottom left corner. By Dr. David Marine Mabry Encompass Executive Director I grew up as the third of four boys in a rural, working-class family just outside a small Ohio town. To put it simply, we didn’t have much—and I don’t just mean financially. Our home was filled with stress, instability, and frequent conflict. I have few happy memories from those early years. What I do remember most is waking up to my parents arguing and navigating the constant emotional turbulence that came with it.
My mother carried deep emotional pain, and my father—quiet and passive—often disappeared into the background in the face of her outbursts. My brothers and I were largely left to figure things out on our own, often getting into trouble at home and school. We endured emotional abuse and confusion about what family was supposed to feel like. I lived with a constant sense of insecurity and instability. It felt like the ground beneath us could shift at any moment.
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After infidelity almost destroyed their marriage, Gary and Andrea Keener share why their giving to a cause for healthy marriages is an overflow of their own healing.
We're so grateful for and to this faithful couple. They embody the Encompass vision of Family trees forever changed. Their testimonial video below is inspiring and encouraging. By Lavern Nissley
Encompass Executive Director Is there a one-liner of 20-30 words that captures what you do at work? I know, many of us do dozens of things every day, and it would take more like 200-300 words to describe them all. At a recent marketing consultation, I was invited to write such a one-liner, and in a bit you’ll see it. By: Hollie Kowalski, Encompass Outreach Coordinator
Every day, at some point, my mind somehow finds its way to my sister. At 37, she and my nephew are “starting over.” Single mom is her new label. Her thoughts of failure and hopelessness are often almost too much to bear. My mom repeated a conversation the two of them had not long ago in which my sister said to her “why couldn’t my marriage have been like my sister’s?” The past 22 years of my life have without a doubt, been my favorite. This is the number of years Joe and I have been together, (married 19 of those.) He is my favorite person, my very best friend, and hand picked for me by God. I do feel very blessed, but I remember a time when I did not. Testimonial by Chris & Amy Pruett
RINGS course & coaching participants This one minute to the point testimonial contains a valuable principle from a couple who was on the ropes and hating each other. See if you can find it! |
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HostsDr. David Marine and Theresa Mabry are Co-Directors of Encompass since June 1, 2024. TOPICS
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