Life is a journey, not a destination.
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
Creating a thriving and vibrant family life is a journey. It is one that can provide fulfillment with meaning, purpose, and joy. However, it is not easy. It requires an intentional commitment to marriage and parenting that transcends many of the challenges and difficulties which inherently come from pursuing something meaningful. For this reason, we created OneFamily with Lis and Dave Marr. Our mission with OneFamily is to provide you with the sustainable resources that will support and encourage you in your roles as husband/wife and mom/dad. We want you and your family to succeed and prosper in the journey of family life!
By reading this letter, you are already familiar with our Tuesday Letters of Encouragement and daily thought provoking quotes. This is just one aspect of OneFamily. Over the past four years, with limited time and money, we have been able to:
- Provide and lead over 10 Parenting Classes
- Present and speak to a dozen small groups and organizations
- Offer over 3,500 hours of one-on-one mentorship to couples and individuals
- Create and host a website that is the hub for all of our communication including social media
- Host GEMS (Godly Encouragement for Moms) monthly gatherings and events (Shelly and Lis are certified Contact Moms with Christian Family Heritage)
- Translate and print all three Parenting from The Tree of Life workbooks in Spanish.
It is important to note that OneFamily, and its accomplishments to date, would not have happened if it wasn’t for the inspired Growing Families International curriculum. This material is at the core of our mission. We are so grateful to Gary and Anne Marie Ezzo and their remarkable wisdom, grace, and now, friendship, that has enabled us to touch the lives of over 600 families these past four years.
OneFamily is definitely not a destination for us and the Marrs. It is a journey that, by God’s grace, will enable us to reach thousands of families with sustainable support and encouragement for many years to come. Beginning in 2017, we will be taking many significant steps toward expanding our non-profit organization to make our reach much more scalable. These are among the many initiatives we have planned:
Scalable Outreach and Mentorship
- Helping churches and organizations establish family/parenting ministries and programs
- Facilitate and support small community groups
- Expand Social Media presence
- Enhance and update all HeadwatersLife Websites
Spanish initiative Scalable Outreach and Mentorship
- Complete and produce Spanish dubbed versions of the Parenting from The Tree of Life DVDs
- Replicate and produce OneFamily materials, resources and products in Spanish
- Establish partnerships with organizations and ministries that serve Spanish speaking communities, nationally and internationally, to provide the same sustainable programing we currently provide in English
Ironmen Initiative
- Update and build upon the Ironmen program to provide resources and support for men to become more intentional in their roles as Husband and Father (Similar to GEMS)
Our plans for the New Year are exciting and ambitious. With extraordinary encouragement from Dave and Lis, we are committed to devoting ourselves, fulltime, to OneFamily. It is our heart’s desire to build upon the achievements, of the last four years, and help families succeed in their family life journey. But we need your help!
Funding for our 2017 initiatives is critical to the overall success of OneFamily and our outreach. If you are like us, and agree that the family life journey needs encouragement and support, we ask that you prayerfully consider helping OneFamily with a year-end, tax deductible donation*.
Click Here or go to https://onefamilyhwl.org/product/onefamily-donation/
*Please contact us directly if you wish to set up an automatic monthly donation!
Thank you for your consideration in partnering with us to encourage and support families, like yours, to succeed and prosper in the family life journey!
Blessings to you and your family this Christmas Season,
Shelly and Rich