Family and Home Archives

Encouraging Marriages in Your Sphere of Influence

A good marriage is like good music.

To understand what I mean, think about your favorite song. No doubt one reason it moves you the way it does is the voice of the lead singer. But more than you realize, the backing vocals are what bring a song’s melody alive. Background singers harmonize with the lead vocals, giving the song’s melody a richness the lead singer could never achieve alone.

In a similar way, couples who make beautiful music together are those who surround themselves with background singers – like family members, close friends, or a marriage counselor – someone who encourages them forward when the marriage journey gets difficult.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family August 9, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Discovering Your Child’s Learning Style

So, here’s the scenario. It’s a weeknight, and your child has spent most of the evening on the same school assignment. It’s pretty clear he doesn’t understand the information. To top it off, he’s brought home a note from the teacher warning you about a failing grade.

The question is should you panic?Many parents do. They assume the worst, thinking their child has a behavior problem, difficulty learning, or is just plain lazy.

In truth, school challenges like this aren’t a crisis most of the time.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting August 7, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Boys into Men

When you hear about teenage boys in the news, it’s usually because they’re in trouble. Boys who act out get all the headlines. Which is too bad because a far greater number of teenage boys exhibit good character. They make their moms and dads proud. They don’t take from their communities; they serve them.

How do we raise boys into men with that kind of character? Mentoring. Mentoring is when an older man comes alongside a younger man and guides him through the challenges of life with wisdom and grace.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family August 5, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Simple Self-Image

How do kids grow up with a healthy sense of their own worth? There are a lot of ways for them to learn, from team sports and a good youth group to artistic ability and academic achievements. The best way of all is the influence of a loving mom and dad in everyday moments of life.

A colleague once told me about the time he took his young daughter with him while he ran an errand to the store.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 30, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Becoming Teammates in Your Marriage

Dr. Josh Straub says, “Communication in marriage is overrated.”

What he means is that most couples believe the root of conflict is what they’re communicating about – money, sex, chores, stress, parenting styles, etc. Dr. Straub says conflict is about a couple’s “meta-communication” – that is, how they communicate with each other: their tone of voice and their attitude toward each other.

That’s why couples often can’t remember what they fight about, but they do remember feeling angry, hurt, abandoned, or betrayed after their conflict.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage July 29, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Catapulting Over a Painful Past

On Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, we’re commemorating the beginning of the Olympics in Paris by featuring a recorded message by Kim Hamilton Anthony, a world-class gymnast who overcame a rough start in life.

Kim’s mother grew up in a four-room house with 13 of her relatives. There were a lot of mouths to feed and a lot of bills to pay. She became pregnant as a teenager. Confused and scared, she was told that a self-induced abortion was the only solution.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 26, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Quality Customer Service

Mom and dad, you may not think of your household as a business, but it’s true. You are the CEO of a mini empire. It’s your job to provide structure and order – like paying bills and doing laundry – but it’s also your responsibility to create a home where your spouse and children can thrive – spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. How do you do that? The same way you run a traditional business. You put your customers first.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family July 25, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

More Fun Than Marriage Counseling

Why does love often fade over the years of a marriage? One reason is that many couples don’t spend nearly enough time having fun and laughing together. They’re so stressed by the daily pressures of making life work that they slowly push laughter and fun to the wayside – often without even noticing it’s happening. Worse yet, a vital piece of the couple’s marriage usually disappears with the fun.

The Greek philosopher Plato once said, “You can learn more about a man in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” I think he meant that fun and laughter can reveal things about a person you won’t notice in routine situations.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage July 24, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Developing a Passion for Evangelism and Discipleship

Anyone who’s familiar with Ray Vander Laan appreciates his gift for teaching. For over 40 years, he has empowered others to see the story behind the story in Scripture.

Ray has partnered with Focus on the Family for 30 years on the popular video series That the World May Know. He’s also been a religion instructor at Holland Christian Schools in Holland, Michigan for more than 40 years.

Ray is amazing at uncovering the mysteries of ancient Jewish culture and putting the Bible in its proper context.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith July 23, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Home Schooling: Giving Your Child a Strong Foundation

Some families have a negative opinion about public schools, for many reasons:

Their child’s learning style doesn’t mesh well with their local school’s approach to education.

The school’s values are out of touch with their own.

There’s also this important consideration: Children who go to a traditional school spend more than 14,000 hours in school. That’s more of their waking hours than they will spend anywhere else, including home.

Home schooling has become the fastest growing form of education in America today, in part because so many parents have taken a more active role in their children’s education in the wake of the COVID pandemic.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting July 22, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura