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.
0 Comments
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: The September theme for our social media and blog posts is devotion/faith. As always, there will be relationship health connections in terms of insights, tips, and tools.
By Lavern Nissley Executive Director of Encompass Would you agree that family is the primary means of transmitting faith to the next generation? It certainly seems clear from a familiar scripture in the Jewish Torah known as the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” So how is that done in our setting, some 3,500 years later? Is anyone actually writing stuff on doorframes and wearing headbands with faith messages? By: Hollie Kowalski
Encompass Outreach & Event Coordinator There is a reason the phrase “for richer or poorer” is included in the marriage vows. Money is the second leading cause of divorce (behind infidelity.) Regardless of how much you love your spouse, money can be a major source of frustration and contention in a relationship… especially when you love to shop and OH, HOW I LOVE TO SHOP! I love it even more when there is a good deal to be had! I mean who can resist a “like new” accent chair in the exact color of the living room for HALF the original price? (Not me.) My dopamine receptors go crazy when I click that Marketplace tab and find aaaall the things! My easy-going husband is so good to me. He loves to hear excitement in my voice. So, when I start to talk about all the great deals I’ve found during the week on Marketplace, it’s cute and makes him giggle… until it doesn’t. When it’s time to get serious about saving money, I steer clear of the Marketplace tab. Here are a few suggestions that you might find helpful as I have, when I am trying to save money: The theme for August posts will be Finances/Money in Marriage, which seems to be a common issue between spouses. This post is a bit longer than usual and comes from Ron Blue, a financial planner and consultant for more than 30 years with some excellent tips.
Here is the summary of Ron Blue's post as well as an outline of the content. "Teaching kids about money is a matter of sharing your ideas and values with your kids as you go through the routines of daily life together." Motivation: The current cultural climate Foundation: Biblical perspectives and principles Application: Putting beliefs and ideals to work Method: "As you go" while teaching kids about money Our appreciation to Ron Blue for this content.
The theme for August posts will be Finances/Money in Marriage, which seems to be a common issue between spouses. This post is a reprint from September, 2020.
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director Spender. Saver. Risk-taker. Security seeker. Flyer. All ways of how people are "wired" around money. Even as there are behavioral personality characteristics such as outgoing, reserved, confident, calm, etc., there are also personality types related to our engagement with money and financial management. Differing money personalities can create disagreements and even major conflicts in marriages, families, groups and organizations. But learning your own money personality(ies) can bring insights and more realistic expectations. Discover your money personality in about 3 minutes through a FREE online assessment that we've developed for use in The RINGS Experience. The theme for August posts will be Finances/Money in Marriage, which seems to be a common issue between spouses.
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director "Money is the root of all evil", right? Wrong. It is the LOVE of money that creates problems. Ronda and I have watched this play out dozens of times on Dateline, the NBC show of 31 seasons that specializes in "compelling mysteries, powerful documentaries, and in-depth investigations." Typically, one or both partners are on a trajectory that has them loving money or pursuing sex outside of the relationship and ending in murder. But marriage and money CAN go together well, provided that the following tips are followed. If implemented, we can almost guarantee that you won't end up on Dateline! By: Hollie Kowalski
Encompass Outreach Coordinator We spend 70-80% of our day engaged in some form of communication. 55% of that time is generally devoted to listening. The average person who has not worked to develop good listening skills will only remember about half of any recent conversation. 48 hours after the conversation, they are likely to only remember 25% or less… and then there’s me. My “working mom brain” has so many “open tabs” at any given time, I consider it a win if I remember my own children’s names on a daily basis. Because of the “coordinated chaos” in my head sometimes, I tend to “drift” when conversing with my husband-especially in the evening after a long day. We don’t have much time together during the week and I always want him to feel that he is important, that I value his thoughts and emotions. So… By Kermit Rowe Encompass Relationship Facilitator More than half my life was spent as a sports journalist, a life that is now in the rearview mirror. But I continue to see valuable corollaries between the games of the sports world and the game of life. In my last four years as an Encompass Connection Center relationship coach, the similarities are even more glaring – especially in realm of committed couple relationships. The most common answer given to us, to the question "What are you struggling with as a couple?" is COMMUNICATION. This month our posts will feature tips, insights, and research related to improving communication.
By Lavern Nissley Encompass Executive Director The topic of communication is pretty broad, so we'll narrow the scope to the 2 basic elements of interpersonal asserting and listening. BOTH are needed in order for communication to be productive. ASSERTING is expressing your wishes and interests in a positive way - not being aggressive or demanding. It is the opposite of being silent, of pretending to agree, of passive aggression. LISTENING is hearing to understand what the other person is saying - not interrupting or planning your own response. There are six animal types that represent common human responses to stress and that interfere with productive communication. Want to know your type(s)? |
HostsLavern & Ronda Nissley are co-directors of Encompass. Married since 1978, both enjoy coffee, riding their tandem bicycle and working together to build strong relationships. TOPICS
All
Archives
April 2024
|