Family and Home Archives

Two Ways Couples Sabotage Their Marriage Before It Starts

Although the exact percentage of marriages that fail is hard to precisely peg, there’s no question divorce is a serious problem.

The question is “why?”

Every couple walks down the aisle dreaming of love, romance, and a life of happiness together. In fact, our marriage team here at Focus reports that 93 percent of Americans say a happy marriage is one of their chief objectives in life.

And, yet, the statistics also show a significant percentage of relationships will end in divorce, and about half of those will occur within the first seven years of marriage.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage May 4, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Help Your Wife Overcome Sexual Abuse

When Dawn left home, her sexual abuse ended, and she thought, “It’s finally over.”

But it didn’t take long for her to discover the ugly truth – the aftermath of her abuse was just getting started.

Female sexual abuse can be an uncomfortable topic to discuss. But keeping it quietly hidden in the shadows so the rest of us can breathe a little easier is precisely the kind of secrecy that keeps so many victims trapped in their pain.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, husband, intimacy, marriage, sex April 28, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

5 Ways to Parent More Effectively

Is your parenting style different from your spouse’s?

That’s the case in the Daly household. Generally speaking, I’m laid-back and spontaneous. When things get tense, I tend to diffuse the situation with humor. I enjoy using car rides with my boys to have spontaneous devotions.

My wife, Jean, on the other hand, likes consistency, planning ahead and routines. She appreciates the benefits of a regular, dedicated time of family devotions.

Jean and I know first-hand it can be hard work to merge two distinct parenting styles.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage, parenting April 22, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Bless Your Spouse

What comes to mind when you think of pleasure?

How about temptation? Or sin? Or guilt?

Ever notice how the idea of pleasure so easily sends our minds spiraling toward the negative? It’s as if pleasure were a creation of Satan with no other purpose than to distract us from God.

But if we’ll think back through Scripture, we’ll arrive at a different conclusion.

Numerous passages remind us of times when God commanded His people to celebrate with lavish feasts.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage April 20, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Falling in Love While Grieving a Loss

Dave Aldridge died unexpectedly just four days before Christmas in 2012. The happy husband and father of three was a strong believer who loved the Lord and poured himself into everything he did, from being a husband and father to going the extra mile for anyone who had a need. The Colorado Springs resident collapsed while running, the victim of a congenital heart defect. He was just 39 years of age.

The obituaries are full of stories of people like Dave, men and women whose lives on earth seem all too brief.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, relationships April 17, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Do You Parent a Teenager?

Are you raising a child or raising an adult?

That’s not a trick question. In fact, for many of us, it gets to an idea that may reflect a complete paradigm shift in how we view parenting.

Our job isn’t simply to teach our kids to obey a set of household rules (although learning to follow instructions is important, too). It’s to empower them to use their judgment to make good decisions in life.

How do we do that?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, parenting April 16, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

3 Signs You Might Be Having an Emotional Affair

Marriages everywhere are at risk because of one of the most powerful drugs known to man: infatuation.

Maybe you don’t think of infatuation as a drug. But pastor and marriage expert Dave Carder, who has spent the past 30 years studying the causes of infidelity, says infatuation is as powerful as any substance out there.

Do you think that’s overstated?

Consider this: if you’ve ever known someone who walked away from their family for an affair, you probably asked yourself, “What were they thinking?” And that’s the point.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage April 14, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Find Out What “Money Personality” Your Child Has

I’m sure you could tell me which of your children are introverts or extroverts, or which are morning people or night owls. Those traits reflect their personality.

It’s how they perceive the world around them and interact with it.

Well, in the same way, financial experts Scott and Bethany Palmer say children have a money personality. It’s essentially the same idea. Their money personality affects how they see money, interact with it, and deal with others who see money differently.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, finances, parenting April 6, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Seeing the Blessings in Autism

Thomas Edison is famous for saying, “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

Something similar can be said for God’s blessings.

We’ll readily accept good news as a sign of God’s presence. But when trouble strikes, we’re prone to question why He’s abandoned us.

It’s not unusual for God’s activity in and through our lives to be wrapped in the skin of challenging circumstances. That’s often the case when a child is diagnosed with autism.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting, pro-life March 31, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Encouraging Men to Be Good Dads

This is a fact.

Boys learn to become men in the company of other men as they walk and grow through the challenges of life together.

But in disturbing numbers across our culture, that isn’t happening.

In fact, our video curriculum, The Family Project, reveals the tale of the tape.

Sadly, statistics show that 85 percent of men in prison didn’t have a dad while growing up. Seventy percent of teen suicides occur in homes where there isn’t a dad.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, parenting March 24, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura