Daly Focus Blog
What do you do when you’re at the top of the world one minute and scraping the bottom of the barrel the next?
Former major league pitcher Brian Holman has had to answer that very question … many times.
In 1999, his son David fell thirty feet from a ski-lift and suffered multiple severe injuries. When he got to the hospital, doctors ran an MRI and discovered David had a brain tumor. They successfully removed it, but David had a post-surgical stroke and needed extensive rehab to recover.
A young man named Billy Riley was in a philosophy program at a small liberal arts college in western Pennsylvania. His Human Origins class offered some of the greatest challenges a Christian student could ever face. Not only was he confronted with opposing worldviews, but his professor was biased in his teaching approach.
Billy was mature enough in his faith that he befriended the professor. They had great conversations and vigorous debate after each class. They eventually put together a school symposium on the existence of God.
There’s a reason so many couples have a hard time resolving marital conflict. When a disagreement erupts, they immediately sit down, start talking, and try to work out their differences.
Kinda sounds like the correct thing to do, doesn’t it? But according to my colleague, Dr. Greg Smalley, that’s the “absolute worst” thing you could do. Working through a disagreement with your spouse is part of the equation, but it’s not the place to begin.
Jesus laid out the proper path of reconciliation in Matthew 7:3 (ESV): “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
Tempers can flare and hearts can close in the midst of conflict.
What do you do in the car with your kids? What about at breakfast or at the dinner table? How about in the backyard when you’re throwing the ball with your boys or playing “chase” with your daughters?
Scripture provides a great idea in Deuteronomy 6:6-7:
“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (ESV).
Focus on the Family is airing an important two-day broadcast titled “Understanding Teen Depression.”
Depression and suicide rates among kids are staggering. Everyone should be concerned. Right here in Colorado Springs, we’ve had an escalation of teen suicide clusters that is breathtaking, with two schools not far from our campus having a total of 12 suicides in the last three years.
That sort of pain is not unique to our community. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 3 million adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 report at least one major depressive episode in the past year, and more than 2 million report severe depression has impeded their daily functioning.
When it comes to marriage, Bob Kraning and his wife, Carol, have got the experience that counts. In May, they celebrated 60 years as husband and wife.
Whenever I hear about a couple like that, I can’t help but wonder, “What’s their secret?”
Bob provides some of the answers in a recorded message called “Twenty-Five Years and Still in Love.” Their “secrets” are actually timeless truths available to all of us. That’s why this program has been a blessing to countless marriages for the nearly 30 years we’ve been airing it.
The problem with life moving so fast is you never see the cracks starting to form.
That’s what Bob and Audrey discovered. They met in Bible college. They were passionate about their faith and each other and wanted to change the world together. They got married, and within a few years had three kids, were active in a national ministry, and began pastoring a thriving church. They attended marriage conferences and read books together. They were highly visible and well-known in their community.
When my first child Trent was born 17 years ago I knew two things right away:
I loved him desperately.
I didn’t know how to be a dad.
I doubt I was much different than most guys. There’s a lot about fathering that men have to learn as they go. But every new dad and soon-to-be new dad could benefit from a playbook. We’ve got just the thing for you on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Helping Men Prepare for Fatherhood.”
We’re talking to Benjamin Watson about his book “The New Dad’s Playbook: Gearing Up for the Biggest Game of Your Life.” If you and your wife are expecting, you’re going to want to hear this program.
“My coach from my senior year could look at me and knight me with his eyes.”
That powerful comment illustrates the hunger of every boy to have a man, particularly a father, draw him into manhood. It comes from Dr. Robert Lewis, who has been associated with Focus on the Family for years. Back in the late 90s, he wrote a book with Focus called “Raising a Modern-Day Knight.” Since then, it’s been our number one best seller.
Officials say that Ohio’s problem with heroin is reaching epidemic proportions. Ohio has the nation’s highest rate of deadly heroin overdoses, killing at least 23 people in the state each week by some estimates.
And as so often occurs when it comes to drug abuse, children are among those who suffer the most.
About half of all the kids in Ohio’s foster care system are there because one or both of their parents are drug addicts – and some counties report a rate of over 80 percent.
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.
