Family and Home Archives

How to Forgive When It Seems Impossible

Forgiveness may be one of the hardest things God asks us to do.

Not so sure? Well, think about Jonah.

Jonah was a prophet of God. His life was devoted to serving the Lord and following His will. But then God said, “Forgive the Ninevites.”

Now, remember who the Ninevites were. They weren’t the innocent-looking people so often portrayed in Sunday school lessons. They were cruel and wicked and enemies of God’s people. It would be the equivalent of God saying to us, “I want you to go to the Middle East to forgive ISIS.”

I’m sure you remember Jonah’s initial response.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, relationships November 19, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

WATCH: God Saves a Marriage from Addiction

Everyone knows that alcohol addiction can destroy a marriage. In fact, my own father could never break free from the battle with the bottle.

But it doesn’t have to be so.

Today, I want to share with you a story about an Indiana couple who reached out to us for help. Their story might be yours or someone you love and care about. If so, please share it with them.

Focus on the Family’s National Institute of Marriage can help couples get back on the path towards a healthy, stable relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, husband, marriage, promos, wife November 17, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Improve the Intimacy in Your Marriage

A few times a year, our radio program highlights what for many can be a very sensitive topic: sexual intimacy within marriage.

I agree that it’s a conversation that should be handled with respect and a certain measure of discreteness, but it needs to take place.

Confusion about sex and sexuality is rampant in our culture, and the negative influence on the Christian community is pervasive. God’s design for sexual intimacy is too important an issue for the Church to politely ignore.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, intimacy, marriage November 16, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Understanding Your Spouse’s Personality

It’s really true: opposites do attract.

If you’re married, then you’ve likely experienced it in countless ways. Your spouse sees the world through entirely different eyes. You fall asleep to noise, but your spouse needs quiet. You’re a night owl, but your spouse enjoys mornings. For the most part, with a little communication, these differences can be navigated.

But sometimes it’s differences in communication itself that are the problem.

That dilemma is captured imaginatively in the title of a book written by today’s guests, Bill and Pam Farrel: “Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti.”

It’s a simple word picture to illustrate the inherent differences between men and women.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, husband, marriage, wife November 12, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Four Ways Parents Can Protect Their Kids from Sexting

It’s the type of story that makes parents shudder:

Students exchanging nude photos on their phones.

Members of the Cañon City High School football team here in Colorado allegedly exchanged and collected hundreds of nude photographs of more than 100 students. Some of the students photographed were in middle school. And it seems all of this was part of a competition where points were assigned per picture.

As a colleague remarked, if this type of scandal is occurring in a small town like Cañon City, you know it’s happening all over America.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting, pop culture, technology November 11, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Get Organized for Christmas

Is it too early to start thinking about Christmas?

Well, it’s not if you hope to get yourself organized, so you can have a smooth December and enjoy a stress-free Christmas season.

A lot of you can relate. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, a time when we reflect on our Savior who came as a baby in a manger and soon took upon Himself the sins of the world.

Instead, we get caught up in all the “stuff” of Christmas: the lights, the decorations, the shopping.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, events, family November 10, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Escape the Comparison Trap

Theodore Roosevelt, always quick with a succinct and witty quip, said it well.

“Comparison,” he once observed, “is the thief of joy.”

And so it is.

Kay Wyma, our broadcast guest today, shares this illustration for how easily – and early – comparing ourselves to others begins.

She took her kids and a few of their friends to a day of fun at a local water park. On the very first ride, a young boy in their group was told he wasn’t tall enough to join everyone else.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, pop culture November 6, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How God Healed a “Messy” Marriage

We’re inspired by love stories because of their happy endings. But, more often than not, before the “happily ever after,” fairy tale couples usually have to travel a lot of hard road.

That was certainly the case with Irene and Domingo Garcia. In fact, the beginning of their story was characterized by so much brokenness and conflict it was unlikely they could have ever had a happy ending.

Irene was 13 when she first met Domingo, a 16-year-old, street-wise tough guy who was already an alcoholic.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, husband, marriage, wife November 5, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Four Ways Failing Marriages and Healthy Marriages Look the Same

If a couple in your church was headed for divorce, would anyone be able to see it coming before it was too late?

Chances are less likely than you might think, according to a new study that Focus on the Family sponsored through LifeWay Research. The study found that in the three months leading up to divorce, churchgoing couples in troubled marriages show similar levels of involvement as those in healthy marriages in four areas:

Attend church once a week or more
Involvement in a small group
Serve in community ministries
Hold positions of responsibility at church

What’s even more astounding is that nearly one-third of churchgoers who divorced never told anyone in their congregation that they were experiencing marital problems.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, husband, marriage, wife November 3, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Can We Love Ourselves Too Much?

Pinocchio had a big nose.

Of course, that’s because it grew when he told a lie.

But the old tale about a wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy conveys a message much deeper than just the perils of lying.

It’s a cautionary tale about selfishness.

Pinocchio lied to feed his selfish nature, and selfishness only offers temporary happiness. In the end, it makes you less than what God created you to be.

The story begins with Gepetto, Pinocchio’s father, telling him the wise way to live.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith October 30, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura