The value of some ideas to parents is immediate and obvious – don’t let 3-year-olds play in the street unattended; knives and electrical outlets don’t mix; too much sugar in a diet creates dependency. These are common sense notions because the “Cause and Effect” are obvious. These types of health and safety issues are somewhat clear in the early years of parenting. However, in other areas of parenting it is less clear what will be the implications of decisions that will unfold years down the road when cause and effect are obscured among the complexities of life. Parenting a 2-year-old to begin to manage behavior impacts the decade between teaching a twelve-year-old how to manage new behaviors. The decisions made for a 2-year-old change the reality around the decisions for the 12-year-old.

The powerful idea here is that different parenting strategies have long term implications. Breaking this down:

  • Parents should be motivated to actually have a strategy. This requires time, energy, consistency, communication, and some self-awareness that whoever you are, and whatever circumstances you’re in, life will present a great deal more complexity down the road. A solid parenting strategy will more readily prepare you for those tougher times or, better yet, have them glance off you altogether.
  • There are many strategy theories in the world. Sorting through them requires time and energy, certainly, but also a degree of openness to try on their philosophy. However, too much openness might lead to going down the wrong path. For example, we discussed in a previous Letter how one parenting website wouldn’t endorse the concept of Obedience. This is a major distinction between OneFamily’s philosophy and current trends in society.
  • Growth leads to growth. One good idea spawns better opportunities that allow for more good ideas and so on. It builds. Of course, the opposite is true, poorer choices limit positive outcomes. This means that parents are rewarded for their investment in good parenting strategies with ideas that continue to generate positivity and will evolve with the family’s changing circumstances. For example, an important component to a solid marriage strategy that leads to an enjoyable family life, is by creating a strong, like-minded community which engages in meaningful activities and positive experiences. Therefore, actively pulling the right families into your sphere by initiating activities, which may require getting out of your comfort zone, becomes a game-changer. Growing alongside quality families is a dynamic that layers too many positives to list. This may seem obvious but nonetheless is an example of a powerful idea.

We at OneFamily have dedicated ourselves to equipping you with ideas that can be foundational to your marriage and parenting. We provide encouragement with weekly Letters that dive a bit deeper into topics that might untie a knotty issue for you or inspire or motivate you in your daily life. The daily quotes we hope will be a quick reminder for you on important perspectives and be a seed for you to plant with your children. The classes and workshops can help you rekindle the motivation to climb further up the hill in marriage and parenting success.

For us, the powerful idea that has motivated us over the years is the belief that if only every family were as blessed with this material as we have been, then the world would be a significantly better place. Strong families are the foundation of every functioning society. God has given us purpose to bring as much goodness as our strength allows. We would love it if you would help us with this ministry.

 

A Special Opportunity To Help Families

As a self-funded nonprofit, we rely upon the generous financial support from individual donors like yourself to impact families in a transformative way!  We can’t do that without your help!

Through July 30th, we are blessed to have a special donor who is matching all donations, Dollar-for-Dollar, during this special summer donation drive! This is a wonderful opportunity to double the impact of your summer gift and help us to help families become stronger and make a positive impact in their communities!

Donate Here on the OneFamily Website
or
VENMO “2023 Summer Donation” to: @onefamilyhwl
or
Via Check Payable to:
OneFamily/HeadwatersLife
6530 S Yosemite Street, Suite 310
Greenwood Village, CO 80111

To the compounding effect of one powerful idea,

Lis and Dave Marr