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.

Topics: Family and Home March 17, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

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.

Topics: Family and Home March 10, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

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.

Topics: Family and Home March 5, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

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.

Topics: Family and Home February 24, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

At Focus on the Family, we frequently hear from moms who want to parent their young sons well but who struggle to understand how to raise a good and godly young man out of a young boy who is loud, messy, and full of energy.

If you’re a mom asking that question, I encourage you to listen to my conversation with author Molly DeFrank on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. We discussed 8 ideas that she says every mom of boys should focus on in her parenting.

Topics: Family and Home February 19, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Teen girls live in a toxic social world, so toxic that an increasing number of girls are suffering emotional trouble, from low self-esteem and anxiety to depression and eating disorders.

What’s the solution?

The answer isn’t as much a “what” as it is a “who.” A teen girl’s greatest hope for navigating her social world is you, mom.

To address why and to guide you in helping your daughter shape her identity in Christ, author Heather Holleman is joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.

Topics: Family and Home February 9, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Dr. Juli Slattery never anticipated that her marriage would suffer from sexual issues. She grew up in a loving Christian home, became a Christian as a young child, attended Christian schools, and became a psychologist with deep spiritual values. Despite all of her biblical and therapeutic training, however, she and her husband still encountered sexual challenges.

She isn’t alone. Many couples who contact Focus on the Family feel ill-equipped to navigate sexuality from a biblical perspective or to pass along those values to their children.

Topics: Family and Home February 5, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

I’ve always enjoyed being a dad to my sons, Trent and Troy. They’re grown now, but since they were babies, I’ve been intentional about spending quality time with them and regularly saying, “I love you.”

Every parent wants to give their child quality attention, but life always seems so busy, doesn’t it? We’re pulled in many directions and don’t always express love to our children as often as we should or in ways that resonate with them.

Matt and Lisa Jacobson know all about intentional parenting. They have eight children — four boys and four girls, ranging in age from 31 to 19, with a few grandkids sprinkled in.

Topics: Family and Home February 3, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Forty-two years into their marriage, Dr. Robertson McQuilkin and his wife, Muriel, were thriving together. Then, Muriel began forgetting things. She lost her keys. She repeated a story she’d told a few minutes before. Thus, began a harrowing — yet, powerful — story of love that endures even the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. McQuilkin served for 22 years as President of Columbia International University before leaving his position to care for his wife, Muriel, for over a decade. Theirs is a story of amazing loyalty and devotion.

Topics: Family and Home February 2, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Tim and Kathy Bush say they didn’t understand what love was really all about when they first got married. Both sought happiness, not in each other, but in drinking, drugs, affairs, career accomplishments, and monetary success. Their focus was on other things and people instead of their marriage. Both cheated on each other multiple times.

But then Kathy and Tim got saved and committed to change their relationship to reflect God’s plan for them. They became intentional about how they lived.

Topics: Family and Home January 28, 2026 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura