Jim Daly

Guest Post: In a Generation that is Staying Single, Here’s Why I Got Married

By: Kathryn Andersen

My name is Kathryn, and I’m a statistical anomaly.

I’m one of the 27% of millennials who are married.

Student debt, cohabitation, and the “failure to launch” phenomenon have all been blamed for the plummeting marriage rates for people my age.

While those may certainly be factors, I think there’s one, huge, underlying issue that is mostly to blame. The best way I can explain that issue is through my story of cliff jumping.

Ever since I can remember, just the sight of a place called the “Hole in the Rock” — a tall cliff jumping spot on the lake my family frequently visited — was enough to make my heart pound and my hands sweat.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage

Saving Your Marriage with Love and Respect

You never know how God will intervene in a time of crisis. In the darkest part of Lisa Shea’s marriage struggles, hope showed up in her mailbox in the form of a book.

Her marriage was in trouble as soon as it got started. In their first 14 months together, she and her husband experienced most of life’s biggest stressors. They both got new jobs after they relocated out of state away from friends and family, and they got pregnant and had a baby.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, crisis, marriage

Thank you, President Trump & Vice President Pence for Your Ongoing Support of Adoption & Foster Care

As the broadcast team and I continue to make our way across the country this week (we’re in Tampa tonight!) as part of the Focus on the Family Live! tour, I followed with interest the National Adoption Month celebration taking place yesterday in Washington, D.C.

My colleague and friend Dr. Sharen Ford was in the audience for Vice President Pence’s eloquent and moving address in which he extolled the gift of adoption while highlighting the critical needs of too many children currently in our state’s foster care systems.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: adoption, family, foster care

Getting Organized for Christmas

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?

It’s not if you hope to have a smooth December and enjoy a stress-free Christmas season. That can be tough to do if you’re not organized.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy. A time for us to reflect on our Savior who came as a baby in a manger and soon took upon Himself the sins of the world.

Instead, we get caught up in all the “stuff” of Christmas: the lights, the decorations, the shopping.

Continue ReadingTopics: Uncategorized Tags: broadcast, christmas, family, holidays

Healing the Wounds of War

Happy Veteran’s Day!

Today on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Healing the Wounds of War,” we’re paying tribute to every man and woman who has worn a uniform to protect this great land.

Joining us in the studio is Dave Roever. If you’re not familiar with him, you’re in for a blessing. Dave is a U.S. veteran with an incredible story. He is the living embodiment of Romans 8:28, which tells us, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Dave was 21 years old when he married 19-year-old Brenda and joined the Navy.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, military, veterans

Finding Better Ways to Communicate with Your Children

Mom and Dad, are you tugboats or rudders? You can tell by the way you motivate your children.

Tugboat parents get their children going the right direction by pulling them through the water. There’s a lot of nagging, mild threats, and endless warnings against the consequences of bad choices.

Every parent has done that, I think. I know I’ve grabbed the rope and started to pull when one of my boys hasn’t made a good decision.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, children, parenting

BIG NEWS! Focus on the Family Announces Nationwide Pro-Life Celebration: Alive 2020

I’ve been hinting at this for the last few months but now it can be told:

In May of 2020, Focus on the Family will be hosting one of the largest pro-life events in our 43-year history.

We’re calling it ALIVE 2020 and we’re going to be simultaneously celebrating life in 5 new cities with award-winning musical artists, inspiring speakers and – of course, the star of the show – live ultrasounds of third-trimester babies.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events

Boone and Me: A Foster Adoption Story

God’s grace and unconditional love are most often on display when the lives of two people intersect.

Such is the story of Cecil and Boone Stokes. Cecil is a successful television and film producer of over 500 shows. He had it all.

Well, there was one unfulfilled dream. At the age of 12 years old, God planted the desire in Cecil’s heart to be a father someday, specifically the father of an adopted son.

Years later, Boone was one of over 400,000 kids in the foster care system.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: adoption, broadcast, parenting

Guest Post: Nine Hours and 49 Minutes per Day

Today’s Young People Are Clocking in More “Entertainment Media” Then Ever Before

By: Jonathan McKee

“I can’t get my kids to pry their eyes from their screens for more than a minute!”

It’s probably the biggest complaint I hear from moms and dads at my parent workshops each weekend. Kids are soaking in more entertainment media than ever before.

I’m sure you’re not surprised when I tell you a brand‐new report has revealed screen time is up.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: children, parenting, technology

Winning Your Inner Battles

Did
you know that the average person has five hundred negative thoughts every day?

There’s
a narrative flowing through your mind about who you are and what you’re worth.
Some of it – perhaps a lot if it – is critical.

“Why’d you do
that?”“You’re so
stupid.”“Nothing ever
goes right.”“No one could
ever love me.”

Sometimes
we’re our own worst enemy. We have habits, behaviors, and emotional triggers
that we wish could be different. But they’ve been part of our lives for so long
that change seems impossible.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith