One of the positives of childhood was the kids having their friends sleepover, where they didn’t want playtime to end so pleading would ensue to let “Timmy spend the night”. Parents are charged with the responsibility for a child’s safety and long-term well-being. Period. This discussion offers our views for you to consider and hopefully brings out a balanced view. This issue is but an early example of the unending stream of dilemmas you’ll face [...]
When we took our first parenting class, our kids were nearly 5 and 2 years old. Since then, we never stopped revisiting and reinvesting in the practical parenting principles we learned. Initially we were completely overwhelmed with all the things we wanted/needed to implement with our boys. We learned over the years that focusing on one or two concepts at a time was manageable and helped us to make the progress we desired with much [...]
There is a door that when open allows mom and dad into the inner sanctum of a child’s heart. It’s a place of intimacy and love, trust and acceptance, a place of goodwill and harmony. But when that door is closed, there can be confusion and anger, accusation, and resentment, and often a place of mistrust and discord. A child’s heart is a delicate thing that evolves with the seasons of life. What starts as [...]
Why not begin the New Year with Purpose, Passion and Action? Why not take those additional steps to create or improve upon the family you love? Creating and sustaining a nurturing home environment where children are flourishing with everyone feeling emotionally and spiritually fulfilled in each other’s company doesn’t just automatically happen. It takes intention, consistency, and initiative. To create or improve upon the family you love, you do not have to be a perfect [...]
What does a thriving family look like? Certainly, there are many answers to this question, but we believe at the heart of a thriving family is a healthy marriage and effective parenting. It is an encouraging home environment where children are flourishing with everyone feeling emotionally and spiritually fulfilled in each other’s company. This holiday season, we’ve shared many wonderful success stories from parents that received equipping and encouragement from OneFamily; stories from a single [...]
We’ve all experienced it – the time when you thoughtfully held a door open for a stranger and they walked through it without a thought, as if you were born to serve them. What didn’t happen? Sure, the smallest of expressions, a simple “Thank you”, a little courtesy acknowledging the tiny gift you gave them didn’t take place. But more importantly, even before that rote response learned in childhood, the person would have needed to [...]
Transforming and impacting families is at the heart of our mission with OneFamily! It’s about building an encouraging home environment where children and marriages are flourishing with everyone feeling emotionally and spiritually fulfilled in each other’s company. This means equipping families with practical resources, encouraging them through the challenging days to persevere and sustaining them in their marriage and parenting journey. The Butlers are a wonderful family and joined us online from Los Angeles, along [...]
Young parents and even experienced parents cannot anticipate the wide array of challenges that come with raising their children. Many couples are “winging it” and can be blindsided by children’s unexpected emotions, behaviors and logistical issues that arise. In these stressful moments, any parent can feel overwhelmed and frustrated and their best intentions go out the window. Now imagine facing those challenges as a single parent! This past fall, we had several single parents join [...]
Is your family characterized by having an attitude of gratitude? When creating family identity do you cultivate and teach gratitude? Among the many reasons we love the Holiday Season, Thanksgiving to Christmas, is that it provided us a wonderful opportunity to build our family identity through family traditions that encouraged Trevor and Alex’s hearts towards internalizing the virtue of gratitude. Family Identity Through Family Traditions Family identity is an anchor for you and your children. [...]
Everyone has been or will be wronged. They will be slightly offended or grievously injured with every degree and variation in between, from strangers and worst from intimates. It is part of the human state. It’s set up that way where imperfect people with imperfect information with limited time, limited resources, and limited maturity act out, make choices, and cause harm. Some do it deliberately, most inadvertently. Humans bump and bruise their way into adulthood [...]