Daly Focus Blog
A crisis can tear a family apart.
Evan and Elisa Morgan learned how to forge a strong partnership by going through the fires of crisis – one of which involved their teenage daughter.
Evan was the CFO of Denver Seminary. Elisa was the president of Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS). Their daughter was an honor roll student, a state-ranked swimmer, and an active member of her youth group. She even participated in a mission trip to serve HIV/AIDS orphans in Kenya.
We recorded our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Sharing God’s Light Through Art” in a different kind of studio. Instead of microphones and recording consoles, we were surrounded by more easels, paint brushes, and canvases in one place than I’ve ever seen.
The studio belongs to Morgan Weistling, who has been an artist since he was old enough to hold a crayon. He has studied under some of the most legendary illustrators and artists of the last century.
I once had lunch with author David Horowitz, a secular Jew who had written a book detailing cultural and political movements against Christianity. He asked me, “Jim, don’t you realize you’re in an alley fight, and the other side has switchblades?”
I nodded my understanding, then responded, “David, the problem is that the weapons of warfare our Lord has given us are joy, love, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, and faithfulness.”
That discourse raises an intriguing question for every Christian: How are believers to fight the good fight with the character of Christ when the other side doesn’t fight fair?
Have you ever felt alone and unloved?
Have you ever felt rejected by friends? Coworkers? A family member?
All of us have felt that way at some point. But what if that isolation lasted for years and you saw no way out?
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “A Man Called Norman,” we’re airing a timeless message about friendship, hope, and love, even in a hopelessly lonely situation.
If you’ve not heard it, or if you’re new to Focus on the Family, allow me to briefly introduce this program to you.
Consider this: according to The New York Times, 201 powerful men have been exposed for their mistreatment of women in recent years. Titans of the business world, of politics, and of the entertainment industry. Their behavior cost them their reputations and ended their careers. A few of the men wound up in jail. Or dead.
The question our culture must answer is, “Why did those 201 men believe that their power gave them the right to mistreat anybody?” How did these men become so bereft of a moral compass?
As the saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” It means that we naturally feel most comfortable around people who look like us and think like us.
That tendency can cause us to miss out on relationships with people who hold different perspectives than us and on the opportunity to learn from them.
God is more diverse than we often imagine Him to be. He created human beings in His image, so every person is God’s image-bearer.
Anxiety is rampant in our culture. It’s rampant among Christians as well. Anxiety is a pandemic all its own. We’re stressed relationally, emotionally, financially, and many of us physically.
That’s no accident. Relational, emotional, physical, and financial health are the four legs of a chair that give our lives a sense of security and peace. They’re also the four areas of our lives that are subject to intense stress and anxiety.
During these times, we can find comfort in the words of Jesus: “In the world you will have tribulation.
How do you know you’re in an emotionally abusive marriage?
You are regularly:
Dismissed.Deceived.Dominated.Degraded.Diminished.
A random careless comment from your spouse is one thing. But when you are regularly mistreated, it’s a pattern. A destructive pattern.
As a matter of course, you’re not free to be yourself. You’re not free to express your own opinion or your own ideas without being shot down, ridiculed, or labelled as ungodly, unspiritual, or stupid. You’re not encouraged to be the person that God has called you to be.
Mom, are you tired?
Research says that you are. Studies show that the average mom changes over 2,000 diapers a year, does almost 200 loads of laundry, and loses almost 900 hours of sleep! And many moms work outside of the home as well!
Motherhood can be exhausting. Moms give, give, and give some more. Especially when the boys were young, my wife Jean often felt like no one saw or appreciated everything she did each day.
Let me ask you this question: If Jesus said to you, “I will answer every single prayer that you pray this week,” how many people in your life would you pray for to receive Christ?
Are you praying for them now?
Have you grown weary of praying for someone – or given up entirely – because nothing seems to be happening within them?
What if, as we pray for others, God does something in us? Through prayer, God molds our character, grows our patience, and empowers us to persevere.
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.
