Daly Focus Blog
They say the eyes are a window to the soul.
If that’s true, husbands, then what are the eyes of your wife telling you?
Do they seem alive and vibrant? Or are they tired and withdrawn? The difference could lie in how she sees herself in your eyes.
God’s Word couldn’t be more clear about the incalculable worth of women. Genesis 2:18 says, “Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him’” (ESV).
If you’re a parent and missed yesterday’s edition of our radio program, I encourage you to grab your iPad to take some notes and get near a radio for part two today (then go back and catch part one online or via our free phone app).
Conversations about parenting often lean toward the philosophical, the “why” of raising children.
Not today.
We’re talking with Todd Cartmell, a child psychologist, about his book 8 Simple Tools for Raising Great Kids.
We all know what heroism looks like. It’s a soldier risking his life to save his buddy’s. It’s the police officer and fireman running toward the danger, not away from it. And I’d add to that: It’s loving families who are willing to open their homes and their hearts to children who need both.
A few weeks ago, Jean and I, and about 60 others, were in Israel with Ray Vander Laan, the host and teacher of Focus on the Family’s That the World May Know series.
“It’s just like an American to think you invented the family.”
That’s what Dr. Lilian Wahomey, a psychologist in Kenya, jokingly said to me over lunch one day. I met with her almost 25 years ago to explore ways Focus on the Family could come alongside families in Africa.
“Do you think our focus on marriage and parenting will be relevant in this part of the world?” I had asked.
With a friendly smile, she reminded me that the core needs of marriages and families transcend language, culture, nationality, and socio-economic status.
“I always say that the loneliest place I’ve ever been in my life is not Afghanistan but in my own bed … with my wife’s back turned to me.”
That comment from veteran Chad Robichaux resonates with a lot of military couples, who sacrifice and endure demands on their marriages most civilians don’t understand.
After 9/11, Chad’s special ops unit did eight tours of duty in Afghanistan. Survival in the war-torn Middle East requires good training and high degrees of adrenaline and emotional intensity.
Note: Today is Election Day. If you haven’t voted already, I encourage you to do so. I also hope you’ll join me in praying for our country and the election today. -J.D.
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“What expressions of sexuality have you witnessed lately at your junior high?”
That’s not the sort of question I usually ask my son Troy on our morning drive to school, but I did today. He squirmed a little.
So did I.
That’s how the “Talk” with my older son Trent went a few years ago, too.
“I dreamt many times of making it and getting in front of a crowd and playing music.”
That’s a lofty vision for any kid who’s alone with a guitar and dreaming his empty bedroom will someday become an audience of thousands. But country singer and songwriter Jimmy Wayne still believed.
That was no small accomplishment given his tumultuous childhood, which didn’t exactly teach him life was filled with possibilities.
His mother was bipolar and wasn’t receiving proper treatment, so Jimmy never knew what her behavior might be on any given day.
My marriage enjoyed a significant boost a couple of summers ago on a family vacation to Glacier National Park in Montana.
Jean, the boys, and I hiked to a place called Hidden Lake but were stopped several hundred yards away. It was spawning season for the trout, and the bears were especially active. Still, from where we were, we could see the bears splashing through the water hunting for fish.
I should say my boys and I could see them.
Are you worried your spouse isn’t your soul mate?
Well, let me encourage you with this: soul mates aren’t found, they’re formed over time.
Juana Mikels and her husband, Terry, are proof of that. College sweethearts, they walked down the aisle believing the planets had surely aligned in order for them to find each other. But just two years into their marriage, the planets had all but fallen out of their orbits.
Juana was convinced she had married the wrong person.
Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comic strip, once asked his fans to describe their job in a single sentence. Here are some of the responses he got:
“Look out the window all day” – Pilot.
“Get paid for answers companies already know to questions they never asked” – Consultant.
And my personal favorite: “Read things that don’t matter then write papers saying they do in order to get a job doing something totally unrelated” – Student.
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.
