Core family values should be at the heart of your parenting. It helps you to define the “WHY’ of your parenting and establishes a character foundation that every member of the family should be familiar with. Whether you have toddlers or teens, it’s never too late to define and establish your Core Family Values (CFV). Where to begin Brainstorming and creating a list– Begin by compiling a broad list of values you want to define [...]
The most successful investments involve stewarding your time, talents and treasure to achieve the highest possible gain over and above the amount you initially invested. Over the years, we have made some good and poor investments. But, by far, the greatest investment we have ever made was investing in our family. Stewarding our time, talents, and treasure by investing in our family has paid off more than we even imagined. And it still continues to [...]
Last Sunday was Grandparents Day and it reminded us how special our relationship was with our own grandparents... and we miss them dearly! In that same reflection, we are so thankful that our boys have a special love and appreciation for their grandparents - our Mom and Dad. Studies from Oxford University and Boston College show that the Grandparent and Grandchild relationship can significantly add to the overall well being of the child and grandparent. [...]
“OneFamily has been so empowering in helping us to be on the same page with parenting. It's equipped us with the same language to use in our goals and a shared vision for our family & children!” Trish, Parker “I found (OneFamily) extremely useful and relevant to my family's situation. I plan to utilize many of the great teachings from both the class material and our awesome leaders.” Levi, Highlands Ranch “As a parent of [...]
There isn’t one among us who hasn’t had to forgive someone for something small or large. None of us will escape this earth without doing so again. Of all the spiritual tasks God has assigned to us, forgiveness is of the highest order. No other quality speaks to love and grace with as much reason for it. Forgiveness can release demons, restore relationships, establish a base on which to build, and set a path for [...]
It's summertime! Do you know your neighbors? Do you know their first names? Last year we attended an event where we were challenged by these same questions. Embarrassingly, Rich could only admit to knowing about half of the 15 neighbors in our cul-de-sac and only 6 of them by their first name (Shelly knew a few more). Not very neighborly! Sure we are pleasant enough and we readily acknowledge all of our neighbors with the [...]
OneFamily is all about equipping, encouraging and sustaining couples as they journey in their marriages and parenting. Many of the concepts, principles and ideas that we share each week, in our OneFamily letter and quotes, are derived from the Growing Families curriculum we have taught for the past 15 years. As a result, we would be remiss if we didn’t make you aware of a fantastic opportunity to learn and connect with other families that [...]
What if you knew the greatest predictor of your children’s success, later in life, came down to one particular skill? A skill that, if well developed, could lead to better social skills, handling stress, and higher SAT/ACT scores? How about a skill that could lower levels of substance abuse, lower levels of obesity, and create more success in every area of life? Training and reinforcing the skill of Delaying Gratification leads to the development of [...]
We were half hugging, Dave’s arms around Lis’ shoulders, Lis’ arms around Dave’s waist. Looking at the room that, just a short time ago, looked so different. We were different. Standing on the edge of an unknown tomorrow, looking into the room, wondering what was next. The year was 1989 and Dano was only a few days away into our future. We took the spare room and fixed it up. New paint, baby wallpaper half-way [...]
In our Five Minute Warning letter, we discussed the idea of creating an environment that helps one successfully submit to parental instructions through offering a window of compliance. There is a mental and emotional shift that occurs during that five minutes. Similar to that idea, a dear friend of ours from Trevor’s baseball team shared with us a pearl of wisdom she had heard in a sermon at her church and how she creatively applied [...]