Daly Focus Blog
A lot of moms say they feel overwhelmed and stressed. Is it any wonder? They’re struggling under the burden of unrealistic expectations – some self-imposed, and some imposed by the culture.
In both cases, the “ideal” mom is often portrayed as a woman who is not only a full-time mom at home, but a fulltime employee outside the home. In her free time, she’s a Girl Scout troop leader, bakes treats from scratch for her kids, and still has time to accompany her children on every school field trip.
Remember the name Ivan Pavlov? He was the Nobel Prize-winning physiologist, best known for his experiments involving ringing bells and salivating dogs. It may not surprise you to learn that he conducted other scientific tests as well. One in particular, I believe, illustrates a significant challenge facing our culture.
The project went like this: Pavlov trained dogs to distinguish between circles and ovals. When they pointed their nose at a circle, they received a reward. When they selected an oval, they suffered a penalty.
Have you ever felt discouraged because God doesn’t seem to be answering your prayers?
Pastor Mark Batterson has. He was diagnosed with asthma at age 3 and suffered life-threatening attacks for years. At age thirteen, he was rushed to the hospital and spent days in intensive care. Both he and his parents feared that he might soon take his last breath.
For 40 years, Mark never went anywhere without his inhaler and used it almost every day.
When you walked down the aisle, what was your vision for you and your spouse? Did you want a “nice” marriage?
A “friendly” marriage?
A “we get along” marriage?
Probably not.
Most couples are searching for intimacy, connection, romance, and excitement. But years into their marriage, many husbands and wives are bored. Life has settled into a routine – a rut, really – and they’re not connecting like they once did.
If you’ve reached that place in your marriage, you might be thinking, “This isn’t what I had in mind.” The good news is that’s not what the Bible says God has in mind for you, either.
Stephen Arterburn calls the negative repercussions of abortion on men our nation’s “silent shame.”
Every abortion involves a man, and there have been almost 60 million abortions since 1973. That is a breathtaking number of men who either couldn’t or wouldn’t defend their own flesh and blood.
The physiological effects of post-abortion syndrome on a man can be devastating. It can include things like depression; an inability to bond with future children; a fear of loss or more pain; shame; survival guilt; or self-punishing and self-degrading behaviors like getting into relationships that are abusive because you don’t think you deserve anything better.
Do you have a hard time believing that God loves you?
Many people do. An accusing voice in their heart or mind says, “If God really knew me, knew the things I’ve done, He wouldn’t love me.”
Jamie Ivey used to see herself that way. She’s sharing her story on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Living Free from Shame and Guilt.”
Jamie grew up in a Christian home, went to youth group, signed purity pledges, and did everything Christian parents hope their teenagers would do.
My family loves to take breaks from our daily responsibilities – to relax, to connect with one another, and to laugh a lot. It’s good for the soul.
In keeping with that spirit, we thought we’d take a break from some of the serious issues we’ve talked about on our Focus on the Family Broadcast over the past several weeks to enjoy a little humor from our friend, comedian Ken Davis.
Ken grew up on a farm, so he knows sheep.
A lot of women feel pressure to be an outstanding wife, a fantastic mother, and to keep a beautiful home all while having a vibrant and meaningful career. They’re chasing an impossible standard. They feel they can never do enough, no matter how hard they try.
Many women are not only struggling to do it all, but to do it all perfectly.Without all of those plates spinning, they feel they’re not achieving anything extraordinary – for God or for themselves.
Easter is Sunday.
For many, this holiday doesn’t mean much – except mountains of chocolate and cute bunny rabbits. But for the sick, the poor, the brokenhearted, and those who realize they’re captive to sin (Isaiah 61:1), Easter is about so much more. It’s about the good news that death and sin have been conquered through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The empty tomb is the foundation upon which all of Christianity rests. In 1 Corinthians 15:17, the Apostle Paul said, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”
For centuries, skeptics have argued that faith in Christ’s resurrection is nothing more than a blind step into thin air.
The founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, spoke openly about her organization’s support of eugenics. She advocated for the compulsory segregationor sterilization of the “unfit.”
She believed the public welfare system and those who were in it should be eliminated. She advocated eliminating the “unfit” before they were born to avoid becoming a burden to society.
The irony is, even though Planned Parenthood leadership in recent years has distanced itself from Sanger and her goals … they’re achieving them anyway.
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.
