Daly Focus Blog
It’s a little sad how even the most heartfelt phrases can sometimes become habit.
“I love you.”
These are three meaningful words that every husband and wife should say to each other, often.
And yet, sometimes even this beautiful expression can lose some of its luster.
That’s why I appreciated the heart behind this video: a husband and wife, together for 56 years, were asked to describe what they felt for each other … but with one catch.
The movie “Fifty Shades of Grey” premieres this weekend. It’s ironic the film is being marketed as a “love” story, because it’s anything but.
Real men don’t denigrate, exploit and abuse women.
After much soul searching, Focus on the Family’s media discernment arm, Plugged In, decided to review this film. Paul Asay explains why in a post on the Plugged In Blog. Here’s some of what he had to say:
Religion News Service reports that advance tickets are selling particularly briskly in “the Bible Belt and the Midwest,” statistically the two most heavily churched parts of the country…
I don’t believe our primary mission at Plugged In is to say nice things about nice movies: It’s to shine that light in a sometimes murky world.
A news summary on issues that matter.
“Dad Refuses to Give Up Son With Down Syndrome” and accepts his wife’s divorce instead. In response, thousands have donated almost $500,000 to his GoFundMe page to help the new single dad become his son’s full-time caretaker. Most recent reports provide a statement from the mother and show at least the possibility of reconciliation. With an abortion rate of about 50 percent for preborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome, the bottom line is many refuse to care for such a child.
Measles.
It’s not the sort of souvenir you’d expect to bring home from the “Happiest Place on Earth,” but that’s exactly what dozens of children took away from their visit to Disneyland last December.
Ironically, Jean and I were there with the boys the very week of the outbreak.
More than fifty children contracted the disease as a result of exposure to the infection at the California theme park. Some spread it to others, and by the end of January more than a hundred cases had been confirmed in the U.S.
One of our nation’s leading Christian publishers conducted a survey asking respondents to name the most influential book they had read in the past year. A startling number of women – Christian women – said “Fifty Shades of Grey” was their favorite book of the year.
Why is that so noteworthy?
Because the “Fifty Shades of Grey” books are a written form of pornography, plain and simple. It’s a book series that’s become nothing short of a cultural phenomenon, having sold more than 100 million copies in just a few short years.
Allan Edwards is a pastor with the Presbyterian Church in America. He’s also married to Leeanne Edwards and the couple is expecting their first child in July.
Allan has also admitted to struggling with same-sex attraction.
In fact, he recently shared his story with National Public Radio. In the midst of the conversation, Allan said the reason he’s never acted on the attraction is because he believes homosexuality is a sin.
Some have suggested that Allan is denying his true identity and that he and his wife couldn’t possibly be happy.
After last night’s big game, everyone had a simple question on their mind:
Why didn’t the Seahawks try to just run the ball in from the one-yard line?
Every game is a drama with many actors, and it’s always easy to pin the blame on a single one. But your heart has to go out to Pete Carroll’s team. Thirty-six inches from back-to-back Super Bowl wins! But now everyone is talking about the untimely interception and the legacy of Tom Brady.
After a few years of Super Bowl commercials featuring Dad as the butt of too many jokes, it seems like this year may be in for a refreshing change. There are two pre-released game day ads that show fathers in a positive light.
First up is Dove Men + Care’s 60-second spot, “#RealStrength,” which shows children of various ages calling their dads and ends with the tagline “Care Makes a Man Stronger.” It’s so well-made it’s likely many viewers will be left with tears in their eyes.
For many of us, the issue of physician-assisted suicide was brought to our attention last year with the very public illness and death of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman who chose to end her own life with a lethal prescription after receiving a diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer.
This pains me in so many ways, not the least of which is that it compounds the heartbreak of a horrible, terminal illness with the tragic choice of a young woman to take her own life.
From the serious to the light-hearted, here are some recent news articles on topics that impact faith and family that might be of interest to you.
– Obama’s Middle-Class Blind Spot, via The Wall Street Journal: The president’s proposed tax credit for families doesn’t extend to families with a stay-at-home parent.
President Obama is missing an opportunity to help all struggling families…
– Pope: Catholics need not breed ‘like rabbits’: USA Today reports on the controversial statement.
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.
