Daly Focus Blog
Is there something missing from your life, but you can’t put your finger on what it is? Have you searched high and low for answers, for purpose, for truth, but come up empty?
On yesterday’s and today’s broadcast, we have a recorded message from a man who’s been there. In his young adult years, Lon Solomon did it all and tried it all in his search for life’s ultimate meaning.
He grew up in a Jewish home.
When a beloved friend or family member is battling a terminal illness, sometimes the littlest ones can get lost in the shuffle. Yet, even 3-year-olds can experience fear and confusion when it comes to prolonged sickness and death.
That’s why today I want to share with you four points from Focus on the Family counselors to help parents navigate issues associated with the illness and death of a loved one with their preschoolers and children in early elementary school.
Picture two shapes: a circle and an oval. Did you know these basic geometric designs can teach us a lot about our culture?
Remember the name Ivan Pavlov? He was the Nobel Prize-winning physiologist, best known for his experiments involving ringing bells and salivating dogs. Well, it may not surprise you to learn that he conducted other scientific tests as well. One in particular, I believe, illustrates a significant challenge facing our culture.
The project went like this: Pavlov trained his dogs to distinguish between circles and ovals.
It’s Monday.
For a lot of us, that means a new week filled with possibilities for all that we can go out into the world and achieve.
But some people don’t see opportunity for what they can do. Their primary focus is all about what other people can do for them.
They live their lives with a sense of entitlement. They seem to think they deserve something for nothing from the people around them simply because they exist and live on this planet.
Have you ever had a shirt with a loose thread? It seems like such a small thing, doesn’t it? But all it takes is one quick tug for you to realize that thread is part of a much larger problem. The next thing you know, your clothing is unraveling right before your eyes.
A marriage can have loose threads, too. A husband and wife don’t see eye-to-eye, or they’re not communicating very well, or little resentments start to crop up here and there.
If you’ve just recently discovered our ministry, welcome to Focus on the Family.
As our longtime friends will agree, if you explore our websites, read our magazines, or listen to our radio programs, you’ll find a wealth of practical, everyday advice for parents – things like strategies for effective discipline and tips for helping kids thrive with their siblings or at school.
But there may be no more important wisdom we share with parents than the kind of topic we’ll be talking about on our broadcast today.
Do you like football?
Not everybody does, of course, a reality that can lead to frustrations in marriage.
My wife, Jean, isn’t a raving fan of the game, but she appreciates the enjoyment the boys and I get from both playing and watching it. That said, we’re not overly “plugged in” to a regimen of watching on television. Because we don’t watch regular TV at all, catching a Sunday afternoon game is a treat.
But what about the husband or wife (women make up 45 percent of the NFL fan base) for whom football is a major passion?
The line that separates the heights of success from the depths of despair is often razor thin.
Take our guests on today’s and tomorrow’s programs, for example.
Darryl Strawberry was a power hitting, eight-time All-Star outfielder who earned four World Series rings. In 17 seasons, he played for a number of Major League baseball teams, including the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.
But his career, and his life, were derailed by substance abuse, prison time, and dysfunctional family relationships that cost him two marriages and estranged him from his children.
Tracy was raised in an alcoholic home. Her story might have had the same tragic ending as so many who grow up in her circumstances.
But the Lord used a neighborhood family to intervene in her life.
When Tracy was little, she met a girl next door named Missy, who was her age. They became lifelong friends. Missy’s family was kind and welcomed Tracy into their home. The two girls would play all day and have sleepovers at Missy’s house.
Do you and your spouse fight “well”?
That’s not a trick question. There really is such a thing as “healthy conflict” in marriage.
Here at Focus, we find that couples fall into one of three beliefs about marital conflict. One is the group who enters marriage expecting an unrealistic level of agreement and perfection in their relationship. If they’re truly happy and meant for one another, they believe, there shouldn’t be any conflict. That’s not a very realistic view of human relationship.
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.
