Family and Home Archives

Cultivating a Life of Character

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.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast April 7, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Mom’s Role in Preparing Her Sons for Manhood

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.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, parenting April 5, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Find Common Spiritual Ground with Your Spouse

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.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage April 1, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Untold Story of Abortion

When Pat decided to have an abortion, she was convinced it was the right thing to do.

Her first marriage had ended a few years before as a teenager when her husband, also a teen, abandoned her, leaving her with a newborn son. She tried to pick up the broken pieces of her life by enrolling in college despite the responsibilities she carried as a single mom. As a student, she wrote articles for the National Organization for Women and wholeheartedly supported abortion as a woman’s right to choose.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, pro-life March 31, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Who is the Wisest Person You’ve Ever Known?

How would you define wisdom?

Merriam-Webster defines it as “accumulated philosophic or scientific learning” or the “ability to discern inner qualities and relationships.”

Yet, for Christians, wisdom is so much more.

It was Solomon who wrote that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Proverbs 9:10).

Just last month, Focus on the Family Board Member Rev. Dr. Ken Fentress (who is also the senior minister of the Montrose Baptist Church in Rockville, Maryland) spoke to the staff about four types of wisdom the Bible teaches about, and how they translate in the workplace.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith March 30, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Teach Kids to Be Respectful

Teaching kids to be respectful isn’t always easy. Just when you think they’ve learned how they should behave in certain settings, they throw it all right out the window.

I’ll never forget the time my older son, Trent, did that. He was just a little guy at the time, maybe 4 or 5. I was out of town when my wife, Jean, called me almost in tears over Trent’s behavior. He had thrown a world class fit in the grocery line over a candy bar and refused to calm down.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, discipline, parenting March 28, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Ways to Teach Your Kids About God’s Grace and Good Behavior

A few weeks ago, I dedicated my blog to the subject of parenting with grace. It was based on a great conversation we had earlier this month with our broadcast guest Jeannie Cunnion, who explained the reasons why parents can’t offer their children grace if they haven’t experienced it themselves.

It was such helpful information, we recorded another program with Jeannie. This time she’ll help us rethink discipline strategies that strip our parenting of grace, rather than enhance it.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, discipline, parenting March 24, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Help a Friend in Trouble

Job’s friends have endured a lot of criticism through the centuries … and justifiably so.

I’m sure you recall that at the height of Job’s suffering they each, one by one, let loose a barrage of accusations about how Job’s pain and misfortune were all his fault.

Maybe they meant well. Maybe they thought they were offering Job solutions to the mysterious predicament overtaking him. “Who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, friendship March 23, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Timeless Wisdom from Gary Smalley

As I told you recently in my blog, I was deeply saddened by the passing of my friend Dr. Gary Smalley almost two weeks ago.

Hundreds of you responded on my blogsite and through Focus’ various social media outlets with your condolences, fond memories, and thoughtful recollections about the countless ways Dr. Smalley positively influenced your marriages and your families.

The Smalley family and close friends are honoring Gary in a memorial service tomorrow in Branson, MO, at the College of the Ozarks chapel at 3PM CST.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, parenting March 18, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Two Women of the Proverbs

Proverbs 31 is the quintessential description of a wise, virtuous woman. She’s God-fearing and lives her life with purpose, diligence, and grace.

But there’s another woman in Proverbs who doesn’t get quite as much attention. She’s found in chapter seven.

In contrast to the Proverbs 31 woman, the Proverbs 7 woman is the prototypical “wild thing.” She’s rowdy and has lost her moorings, deciding she’s going to make her own decisions about how to live her life, about her sexuality, and about how to interact with men.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith March 15, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura