Daly Focus Blog
Have you noticed how, every year, Christmas seems to edge out Thanksgiving more and more? It’s now par for the course to see Pilgrim decorations living side-by-side with Santas on store shelves.
A U.K. researcher confirmed the trend: He found people start thinking about Christmas in August.
Isn’t that something?
Why would that be?
Perhaps people are yearning for Christmas. They’re yearning for the warmth and joy and happy memories.
Deep down, though, we’re longing for a Savior.
Yesterday I wrote about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the perspective of military marriages – what might couples expect after a war veteran returns home. Today I’m continuing this two-part series by sharing how couples can work through PTSD in a way that will make the marriage stronger than it ever was before.
One thing to remember is that it’s not only war vets who can struggle with PTSD. Experiencing any sort of trauma, like living through a natural disaster or a school shooting, can trigger PTSD.
Peanuts creator Charles Schulz made a habit of dispensing advice through the mouths of cartoon characters, especially the blanket-carrying Linus van Pelt.
Like any offering of counsel, some of it is to be heeded and some of it is not.
“There are three things you must never discuss with people,” the comic strip’s philosopher/theologian once said, “religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin.”
Since we regularly wade into the first two topics anyway, we might as well go for broke and address the latter.
Do you struggle wondering if you measure up as a parent?
Perhaps you see other families from the outside, and it’s like watching a highlight reel. Their children don’t squabble, the parents never have a disagreement, and life seems perfect.
But is it really?
Every family has its challenges.
Just ask Franklin Graham, the son of Billy and Ruth Graham.
If the Lord would bless any family with model children, it would be the Grahams, right?
Our children live in a screen-driven world.
In some ways, it’s been this way for a long time. Since the 1950s, television and children have gone together like cereal and milk.
Who doesn’t remember Saturday morning cartoons?
The advent of video games and the proliferation of smart phones and tablets in the past decade have only served to add to a child’s “screen time.” Walk through a mall or an airport and you’ll see that many children seem perpetually “connected” to an electronic device.
A lifelong marriage goes through many seasons.
The romantic honeymoon phase kicks off the journey, but soon enough, the couple often enters into the hectic young-children-and-little-sleep stage. Before they know it, those toddlers are teens … and then the high schoolers go off to college.
Pretty soon, that once fresh-faced husband and wife are coming home to an empty nest.
With all of these changes and challenges how can we keep our marriages healthy and happy?
We’re back in football season, and as a former high school quarterback, I couldn’t be happier. I have great memories of playing the game.
That’s why I relate to Apollos Hester, a high school wide receiver from Texas, so well. His post-game interview was probably even more exciting than the 42-41 victory his team had just earned.
And to all of you going to football games tonight – I hope your team wins!
As you know, the term “rose-colored glasses” is used to describe someone who sees the world in an optimistic fashion. It provides a good word-picture because the lens we use to see the world certainly impacts how we perceive it.
In the same way, our worldview influences how we see culture and life around us.
In today’s broadcast, we’re featuring a conversation I recently had with John Stonestreet, who works as the executive director of the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview.
MONEY magazine recently released its list of “Best Places to Live in America” for 2014, and Castle Rock, Colo., a town just north of Colorado Springs, was number four on the list.
How do they determine which cities make the top ten?
MONEY starts with 781 cities and whittles down the list by looking at factors such as median family income, racial diversity, quality of education, economic opportunity, and even the residents’ level of happiness.
That got me to thinking.
Sometimes you find good relationship advice in the strangest places – like an online review for a film.
Time magazine recently highlighted “112 Weddings,” a documentary by filmmaker and wedding videographer David Block. In it, he follows up on about a dozen of those couples whose weddings he has filmed over the years to see how those marriages fared.
The review includes Block’s best advice on marriage. His take?
“Pick wisely.” He also advises husbands and wives to stay flexible and accept imperfections.
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.
