Daly Focus Blog
My wife and I recently had one of “those” parenting experiences.
You know the type. It’s a bit exasperating while you’re living it, but later makes you chuckle when you retell the story?
It all started a few months ago, when Jean and I welcomed two children from Colorado’s foster care system into our home. They’re a sister-brother pair, “Chloe” and “Sam.” She’s 4, he’s 3, and they both are great kids. They’re adjusting well to life at the Daly home, and our sons enjoy being big brothers.
Actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, best known for her 90s hit movie “Father of the Bride,” has written a book about her mother’s dementia.
Kimberly first noticed something was awry with her mom, Linda Williams, on her wedding day in 2003. (She married country singer Brad Paisley.) Her mom was acting irrationally that day, and uncharacteristically struggled through a reading during the ceremony.
Two years later, at age 61, Williams was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of early-onset dementia called primary progressive aphasia.
Writing about a time of deep struggle in her life, Sara Hagerty described her experience this way:
“My awareness of my infertility was as variable as the rain. Some days it was a drizzle on the backdrop of my story. Other days it was a downpour altering my whole day.”
That captures so well the emotional upheaval that often accompanies life’s difficulties.
We all go through seasons where we’re overwhelmed, the answers to our problems are hard to come by, and our faith in God is tested.
As many Christians have observed, the impact from the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage last year will be felt for generations and across many aspects of our daily lives.
Our children’s education is one of those areas affected by the government’s legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
A few months ago here in the blog, Focus’ Education Analyst Candi Cushman helped us consider the impact the redefinition of marriage might have on public schools and students’ rights in those schools.
Motherhood feels like the loneliest job on the planet for many women – especially for young moms who live far away from close family. They go through their days as a one-woman army, balancing work, children, and a never-ending list of responsibilities around the home.
Generations ago, it wasn’t often like that. Daily life for women happened largely in community. Female friends, neighbors, and moms and daughters used to quilt, cook, and do their laundry together.
People get married for a lot of reasons.
They want someone to spend time with them. They want to feel appreciated. They want someone to love them. They want someone to serve them … at least occasionally (of course, no one likes to admit this one).
Do you notice what each of those ideas has in common? They’re all about what someone else can do for us.
But what if marriage isn’t primarily about any of those things?
“Christians hate gay people.”
That succinct message defined most of Caleb Kaltenbach’s childhood. He learned it from his lesbian mother … and from religious people whose behavior seemed to confirm her declaration.
While in elementary school, he marched with his mother in a gay pride parade. Along the route some protestors held up signs conveying hateful messages against homosexuals. They also sprayed water and urine on the marchers as they passed by.
When Caleb asked why people would do something like that, his mom said, “They’re Christians.
Character has been on my mind a lot lately.
As a father of two teenage sons in the final stretch of my parenting journey, I wonder how I’m doing instilling my boys with character. Am I creating conversations that teach them what’s important in life?
And as the president of a Christian ministry, I wonder how the Christian community is doing in communicating the need for character to a culture that operates largely without it.
To answer those questions, I sat down with David Brooks in Washington, D.C., for a conversation we aired a couple of days ago on our radio broadcast.
Fathers and mothers both play a vital role in raising boys. Vicki Courtney and her husband can both attest to that. They worked hard together to steer their sons toward godly manhood.
But in every home, Mom and Dad each bring unique characteristics and qualities into their parenting. Although dads should serve as the primary role model in their sons’ lives, our broadcast yesterday zeroed in on the vitally important and irreplaceable role that moms play in their sons’ lives.
You and your spouse could probably easily count any number of ways in which you’re different from one another.
Maybe they talk too much – or not enough. One of you feels hot while the other is shivering cold. Or maybe one can’t leave early because the other is always running late.
Those sorts of dissimilarities are common. But spiritual preferences are a key area where couples often differ.
Many husbands and wives tend to expect more spiritual compatibility from each other than they should.
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.
