faith Archives

Rescuing Your Marriage from Pornography

A study by Josh McDowell revealed:

Seventy-nine percent of men in the evangelical church use pornography at least once a month.

Fifty-five percent of marriages are negatively impacted by pornography.

That’s astonishing data considering that pornography:

Breeds disconnection rather than intimacy.

Deepens secrecy.

Creates distrust.

Destroys marriages.

Many women are suffering because their husband uses pornography. They feel isolated, ashamed, hopeless, and helpless. They’ve tried everything they can think of to fight for their marriage – like being more sexual with him; being more patient, forgiving, or gracious; or creating a more loving environment – all to no avail.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith, family November 12, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mama Bear Prayers

When parents ask me for advice, I encourage them to pray. Sometimes prayer is all you have.

I’m sure you’ve had moments where you felt helpless to protect your child in the midst of circumstances that were beyond your control. Every parent has paced a hospital floor, lost sleep in worry, or kept vigil at a living room window until a child returned safely home. We’ve all bandaged enough scraped knees to know that we can’t protect our children from everything no matter how vigilant we are.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith October 31, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding Healing After an Abortion

According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, established in 1968 as a subsidiary of Planned Parenthood, one in four women in the United States have an abortion. Evangelical Protestants have abortions at approximately half that rate, which is a better percentage overall but still uncomfortably high.

Author Camille Cates has experienced both sides of the abortion issue. When she entered high school, she gave in to pressure to be sexually active and became pregnant. Though raised in a Christian home, her parents suggested that she have an abortion.

Topics: Uncategorized Tags: faith October 30, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Love is a Decision

There is only one reason respected author and marriage expert Dr. Gary Chapman vacuums his house: Love. No, he doesn’t love vacuuming; he loves his wife, Karolyn. Her love language is acts of service, so Dr. Chapman spends a lot of time doing things that he hates but that make her happy – like vacuuming the floor.

Dr. Chapman says he shares that story with his audiences, not so they’ll applaud him for being such a great guy, but so they’ll learn an important lesson about love.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 29, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Getting Along with Others at Home and Work

If you’ve not taken a personality test, read a book on the subject, or explore Focus on the Family’s website for information about personality differences. I also encourage you to tune in to the latest edition of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m featuring a recording of learning styles expert Cynthia Tobias, who spoke on this subject at a chapel service at our Colorado Springs campus.

As you’ll hear, Cynthia explains how God has uniquely wired each of us as individuals to communicate, work with others, and see the world through the filter of our personality type.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 27, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Unexpected Paths

The secret to success isn’t avoiding mistakes, it’s making the most of the path you’re on.

Kade Lovell can tell you all about that. He entered a foot race when he was nine years old and won it in remarkable fashion. Not a race on the playground against schoolmates, mind you. No, this was a 10K against adults.

Officially, Kade was registered to run the 5K. But a few kilometers in a volunteer instructed him to turn left when he should have turned right.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 27, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Opposing Views into Unity

Many married couples believe they struggle because they’re so different from each other. But handled well, differences can draw you together instead of drive you apart.

Like you and your spouse, my wife and I are opposites. She’s a night owl, while I’m a morning person. I wake up bubbly and excited to conquer the day, but she doesn’t. By evening, we switch roles. She’s lively and ready to talk, and I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: faith, family October 21, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Set Healthy Boundaries in Your Marriage

It’s wise to think about your relationships in terms of boundaries. Kathy and Tom didn’t, and it got their marriage off to a rocky start.

Kathy, an introvert, blamed Tom, an extrovert, for smothering her. He placed such an emphasis on spending time together that Kathy often felt like she had no personal space or time for herself. Tom, in turn, interpreted Kathy’s desire for space as a lack of love for him, leaving him feeling hurt and disconnected.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 21, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Patient as Jell-0

Success rarely happens overnight. Most goals can only be reached by keeping the big picture in mind and staying the course until you achieve them.

In 1897, a construction worker named Pearle Wait came up with the idea of mixing fruit flavoring with powdered gelatin. His wife nicknamed the jelly-like substance “Jell-O.” At the time, Pearle made extra money selling homemade medical remedies like cough syrup door to door. He switched to Jell-O. For months, he tried to sell his new product all over town, but he had trouble generating interest.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 20, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Finding Hope in the Aftermath of Domestic Violence

According to the CDC, nearly one in four women and one in seven men report having experienced physical violence from an intimate partner. Likely, those numbers are low because most abuse cases go unreported.

Domestic violence is evil. It’s a perversion of God’s design for relationship and should never be tolerated or excused. And yet, tragically, some Christian traditions encourage victims stay with their abusive spouse. This advice ignores other teachings in the Bible about love, safety, self-care, and serving God and each other through our relationships.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 15, 2025 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura