This past spring, OneFamily hosted an international parenting conference that reached nearly 300 parents from around the world. This is another example of the many resources – online classes, seminars, daily encouraging quotes, Tuesday Letters of advice, and more – OneFamily offers families as they seek to improve their marriages and parenting strategies.
Claire and Hunter are a wonderful example of parents who take advantage of everything OneFamily has to offer:
We are so thankful for the many blessings we have received from our involvement in the OneFamily classes and conferences this year. Last spring my husband, Hunter, and I attended the parenting conference without our three children. It was the first time in years that we had taken so much time away from our kids to be together and intentionally invest in ourselves and our family.
During the conference, God did something incredible in our hearts! We learned practical ways to implement many of the parenting principles, along with some fascinating neuroscience that explains why they work so effectively. We were deeply encouraged by other families and inspired by our direct interactions with the conference presenters.
Unfortunately, in our daily social circles, it is rare to find families who share the same parenting principles that we value. We often hear comments about how “lucky” we are that our children are so well-behaved. While we usually smile awkwardly or try to gently share what we’ve learned, we frequently feel isolated, as if we’re on an island. That’s why connecting with other like-minded families at the conference and online classes is so refreshing! We even hear stories from second-generation kids who are now using the same principles to raise their own kids, with continued success!
Definitely, the biggest blessing from the conference and this year has been how much Hunter and I grew together as a couple! Ever since our first year of parenting, I have been drawn to be consumed and hyper-focused on our kids. I think somewhere in the diapers, walking, and talking process, we let our marriage relationship fall to the wayside. CouchTime has been inconsistent for us since we first took the Parenting From the Tree of Life course nearly two years ago. However, attending the conference and observing the interactions among other families and speakers reminded us that CouchTime is not merely a checkbox on a list of “good parenting practices.” Instead, it is an essential component of a healthy and vibrant marriage relationship. If we desire to raise our children well, we need to love each other well first.
I’m sure we could never fully quantify the effect that OneFamily has had on our lives, but we are deeply and eternally grateful for how this has changed us this year. We are excited for what God has in store next as we are expecting our fourth child in June!
The kind of transformation and impact that Claire and Hunter shared is not unusual among the families we reach. Often, it’s a situation where parents “didn’t know what they didn’t know” or they needed to hear something again in a different light. Either way, we want to encourage you to invest in your relationship as a couple and take advantage of the programs we offer with OneFamily, including online classes starting in January.
As 2024 comes to a close, we are excited about our plans for 2025. One of our key initiatives is the launch of a new OneFamily Podcast. This podcast will delve deeper into the content of our Tuesday Letters and feature engaging interviews focused on marriage and parenting. However, we can only launch this program, and others like it, with your generous support. The sustainability of OneFamily and the expansion of our programs primarily depend on financial contributions from individual donors like you.
With your year-end donation, OneFamily can continue supporting you and help more families with the encouragement and programs they need for their marriage and parenting to succeed in today’s challenging environment.
Donate Here on the OneFamily Website
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VENMO “2024 Donation” to: @onefamilyhwl
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via Check to:
OneFamily / HeadwatersLife
6530 S Yosemite Street, Suite 310
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
Thank you for your support of OneFamily!
Blessings to you and your family in 2025,
If you would like to learn more about our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and our goals and projects for 2025, please contact Rich or Shelly Howard at rich@onefamilyhwl.org or shelly@onefamilyhwl.org.