Daly Focus Blog
It’s back to work and school for many of us who took some much-needed time off during the Christmas season. Many of you may have even packed up your decorations until next year.
But did you know that the Christmas season traditionally runs through the feast of the Epiphany, which is celebrated on Jan. 6 or on the Sunday between Jan. 2 and 8?
The “Epiphany,” or “Three Kings Day” is especially celebrated in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Spain.
The news reports coming out of Aleppo, a city in northern Syria, are impossible to ignore.
Syria’s civil war has been waged in this ancient city for the past four years, marking one of the longest sieges in modern warfare. And while the details of the struggle may be difficult to understand, one thing is certain: the residents of Aleppo are paying a horrific price.
There are reports by the United Nations that Aleppo, which contains the country’s largest population of Christians, is seeing many atrocities being committed “against a large number of civilians.”
There are reports of “barrel bombs” being indiscriminately dropped from aircraft.
Are we willing to take a break from our own happiness to minister to broken people, even during the holiday season?
One man did.
His name is Eric Schmitt-Matzen, and chances are you might have caught a bit of his story.
His tale happened several weeks ago, when a terminally ill young boy was nearing the end of his battle. This little 5-year-old knew he was going to miss Christmas. And he wanted to see Santa Claus.
If you’re a fan of home improvement shows, it’s hard not to love Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the hit HGTV reality program “Fixer Upper.”
The couple has taken the television world by storm since the show first aired in 2013. And while they’re talented home renovators and savvy businesspeople, those aren’t the main reasons for their popularity.
Fans will happily tell you there’s something different about the Gaineses. They’re kind, funny, and devoted to their four young children.
By now you may have heard that the actress Florence Henderson died last week on Thanksgiving Day. She was best known as Carol Brady, the “lovely lady … who met this fellow” on the iconic 1970s sitcom “The Brady Bunch.”
The show wasn’t a ratings hit during its initial run, but “The Brady Bunch” found its niche when it first aired in syndication in 1975. It’s been on the air ever since.
Some of that success is undoubtedly due to Henderson’s take on the family matriarch, which made Mrs.
My colleague Glenn Stanton, who’s a noted author, researcher and family expert, has an interesting article out in The Federalist today.
In it, Glenn takes a look at a new, unique study from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) that examined a wide array of high school students’ health behaviors in light of their sexual activity (virginal, heterosexual active, and same-sex or bisexually active).
The results are telling.
As Glenn writes, “The virginal students rate significantly and consistently better in nearly all health-related behaviors and measures than their sexually active teens,” and “teens who have sexual contact with the same or both sexes have remarkably lower percentages of healthy behaviors overall than their heterosexually active peers.”
And those behaviors range from binge drinking to illegal drugs, from dating violence to even tanning beds!
Have you noticed that children often possess profound sensibility? Amidst their innocence there can be a purity and clarity of thought, an ability to see through the competing forces of propaganda that can corrupt and distort reality.
They see what many more “enlightened” people miss.
Such was the case when a 12-year-old daughter of a Focus on the Family staff member asked her mom last week about Colorado voting to approve doctor-assisted suicide.
For context, the passage of Proposition 106 made Colorado the sixth state in the country to allow doctors to prescribe lethal drugs for some patients for end their lives by suicide.
Can you believe that Thanksgiving is just a week from this Thursday?
Since it’s always a good idea to reflect on the virtue of gratitude – or to talk with your children about the meaning behind the holiday – Focus on the Family’s parenting team has put together a free resource that will help your family prepare for our national day of thanks.
The “7 Days of Gratitude” week-long devotional is designed to help children (and their parents!) develop “an attitude of gratitude.” Because the reality is, creating a thankful heart takes practice.
The unprecedented presidential election of 2016 has ended and we have witnessed a watershed moment in American political history. The most optimistic of assessments were exceeded for the Republican Party, and as a result America will have a GOP-dominated White House, House and Senate, and the majority of state houses and governorships as well.
We congratulate and offer our heartfelt prayers for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence and all the winners. We pray for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and all those who were defeated.
As a Christian who believes in the ultimate sovereignty of God, I have to believe He allows our circumstances to fulfill his plans. As the prophet Daniel said, “He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.”
I pray that God grants us the grace and wisdom to seek his heart for all people made in his image, the preborn, the elderly, progressive and conservative, each one of us.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
