Jim Daly

My wife, Jean, and I took doing devotions with our boys seriously throughout their childhood. Along the way, we discovered that “serious” didn’t have to mean “boring.” We also learned that there was no one “right way” for passing our faith on to our children.

Jean preferred formal times of Scripture reading and devotion. Her degree is in biochemistry, so it fit her personality to whip up a lesson with the creativity and skill of a schoolteacher.

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Marriage is a beautiful gift from God — but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

That’s good to remember if you or someone you love will soon be standing at a wedding altar. Most people get married anticipating good times together — laughter, adventure, years of building a family together — but we don’t give much thought to the hard moments to come.

Seasoned couples who are asked what they didn’t anticipate in their marriages often give answers like:

• “I didn’t know we’d have to survive betrayal.”

• “I didn’t know we’d have to rebuild trust.”

• “I didn’t know illness would change our lives.”

• “I didn’t realize how career decisions would uproot our lives.”

Author Leann Murphy has said all of that and more in her nearly 40 years of marriage.

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What dragons do you need to slay?

Author Melanie Shankle says we all have one because life is a journey through difficult situations that teach us to trust God and by His grace grow through adversity. Sometimes dragons rise up out of an unhealthy, toxic childhood.

That was certainly the case for me. My parents divorced when I was five. My dad was in and out of my life for years afterward until he died from alcohol, broken and alone.

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Sports are close to my heart. Not only was playing quarterback in high school a great learning experience, but my high school football coach led me to the Lord. I am a living example of what can happen when Christians show the love of Jesus to others through athletics.

But there’s a problem developing within youth sports. It’s becoming an avenue for turning young athletes into a commodity. As we’re all aware, athletics is a profitable industry.

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March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, a day to raise global awareness about Down syndrome and to celebrate the vital role people with Down syndrome play in our communities.

In recognition, I’m airing a conversation on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly that I had with Heather and Josh Avis, who found God’s grace in their own lives by adopting a child with Down syndrome.

Heather and Josh walked a long, difficult path through infertility.

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