Family and Home Archives

How to be Intentional and Flexible in Your Parenting

If you’re a parent, you may feel like you’ve got everything under control most days. But every now and then, something unexpected happens and nothing goes right with your kids. If that’s been your experience, we’ve got some great encouragement for you today on the Focus on the Family Broadcast.

That sense of frustration and of wondering, “What do we do now?” is something Jean and I have experienced many times with our boys.

Parenting is filled with surprises for most of us, and it’s often a lot harder than we expected.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting July 17, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Our Hope and Our Peace in the Midst of Struggle

Jesus is your redeemer.

I hope you believe that.

Christians say that they do. That is what good Christian theology teaches, after all. But do we believe it?

Let’s face it, some days the hill we’re climbing can seem so steep we lose hope that we can survive to the top. Life is hard. Jesus told us it would be. In John 16:33 says, “In this world, you will have trouble.” But he also offered hope to the suffering through His suffering on the cross.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, relationships July 16, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

She Forgave Her Father’s Killer

On today’s Focus on the Family Broadcast we’re hearing from Laurie Coombs, who has an amazing story of forgiveness.

Luke 6:27-28 says, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you. Pray for those who abuse you” (ESV). For me, and for many of you, that verse is one of the most convicting in all of Scripture. It’s hard to live up to God’s standard in this area. In fact, without His Spirit and character enabling you, I’d say it’s impossible to achieve that depth of forgiveness.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, relationships July 13, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Ray Vander Laan on “Cultures in Conflict”

In set 16 of the That the World May Know series, titled “Cultures in Conflict,” Bible teacher Ray Vander Laan leads viewers on a journey with the Apostle Paul as he preaches in Athens, Greece on Mars Hill and founds the church in Corinth.

Along the way, Ray highlights Paul’s tremendous ability to share God’s truth in a way the culture of his day could understand.

In Corinth, for example, one of the most important structures was a temple dedicated to Asclepius, the god of healing.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, discipleship, faith July 10, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Moving from Anger to Intimacy

I think Jean would agree that I have a pretty good handle on my anger.

Okay, she’d probably rat me out for being “hangry” from time to time. But, c’mon, doesn’t everybody get a little grumpy when they haven’t eaten? The important thing is that I recognize what I’m really angry about. I’m not upset with Jean, I’m cranky because I want food.

That distinction may sound like semantics, but it’s actually key to resolving some of what ticks us off.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, intimacy, marriage July 9, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Focus on the Family Best Seller List

Week ending July 3rd:

Growing Kids with Character (by Hettie Brittz)
Parenting Your Powerful Child (by Kevin Leman)
Happily Ever After (by Ginger Kolbaba)
Unoffendable (by Brant Hansen)
Kingdom Marriage (by Tony Evans)
Doing Good Is Simple (by Chris Marlow)
Raising Kingdom Kids (by Tony Evans)
Making Happy (by Les & Leslie Parrott)
Through the Eyes of a Lion (by Levi Lusko)
The Children’s Illustrated Bible (by Selina Hastings)
ESV Economy Bible
A Lifelong Love (by Gary Thomas)
Miracle in Shreveport (by David & Jason Benham)
Enjoy!

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, family July 6, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Keeping the Romance Sizzling in Your Marriage

The culture is inundating us with messages that chip away at the moorings upon which God’s design for marriage is built.

We shouldn’t be surprised.

Ephesians 5:31 says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” The next verse says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church” (v.32).

According to Paul, an intimate marriage says to the world, “This is a picture of Christ’s love for His church.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, intimacy, marriage, relationships July 5, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Goodbye to a Home

The Independence Day holiday evokes warm memories for many of us. From firework shows to backyard family celebrations, July 4th is a seasonal high point. I hope you and your family have fun plans for tomorrow.

In that spirit of nostalgia, I wanted to share a poignant essay penned by my friend and colleague, Joel Vaughan. Joel, who serves as our chief of staff, recently lost his mother. A few years earlier they said goodbye to his father.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, family July 3, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Changing the World Through a Lemonade Stand

There are 150 million orphans in the world.

Every six seconds a child dies because they don’t have access to food or water.

What are you going to do about it?

That’s a daunting question, isn’t it? The scale of poverty in the world is so overwhelming that we feel paralyzed … and do nothing.

Chris Marlow is a former pastor who founded the organization Help One Now, a ministry that helps local leaders care for orphans and vulnerable families and works to break the cycle of extreme poverty in places like Haiti, Peru, and Africa.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, church, faith July 2, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Parenting 101: Learning Your Child’s “Language”

Is your child a rosebush?

A palm tree?

A pine?

How about a boxwood?

God wires our children with unique personality types. The nuances can be quite diverse, but they’re also finite to the point where a model of four personality types can explain them.

There’s power in personality. It’s a window into a child’s soul that parents can look through to see their hearts and to know how to lead them forward through life.

Hettie Britz is an author, a speaker, and one of the foremost voices in parenting advice from a biblical perspective in South Africa.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting June 28, 2018 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura