Daly Focus Blog
Fred Stoeker was in the fifth grade when he saw his mom try to kill his dad. She stood behind him, scissors raised, ready to stab her husband – a serial adulterer – in the back.
Fred’s dad was also addicted to pornography.
And although Fred swore he’d never treat women the way his own father treated them … he eventually did.
It’s hard to shake free from the clutches of the bad examples you’ve grown up seeing.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, intimacy, marriage, sex by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
It’s pretty easy to avoid dealing with conflict nowadays.
Do your former college roommate’s views on parenting irritate you? Hide her posts from your Facebook news feed.
Annoyed by the neighbor’s political signs on the front lawn? Sadly, it doesn’t take much effort to avoid interacting with neighbors these days.
Things start to get a little more complicated, however, when conflict exists within the immediate family. Real life doesn’t give you the option to “unfriend” or ignore your spouse, son or daughter, even when there’s something about the family dynamic that can easily bring anger to the surface.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, parenting by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
On any given Sunday there’s a significant number of folks who pull out their cell phones when the pastor asks them to turn to the morning’s passage. They’re not being rude – they’re just accessing the Bible via their smartphones.
The free YouVersion Bible app is one of the most popular ways to access different versions of the Bible via a smartphone or tablet. In 2013, the app was installed about 49 million times. It was opened 31 times per second, or 1,000,000,000 total times in 2013.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, parenting, technology by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
There’s something about a new year that provides a promise of hope and excitement at what will happen next.
But before we consider our resolutions and our dreams, or even our problems from 2013, perhaps it would be helpful to ponder and park on one of the most hope filled passages in the Bible:
“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:5)
Not some things … ALL things.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
I recently asked my blog readers if they could do without a handheld device like a smartphone or tablet for 24 hours.
It’s a reasonable question to ask since mobile users check their smartphones an average of 150 times a day.
Digital addiction can be an easy thing to fall prey to, especially since access is all around us. We use computers for work, we carry devices in our pockets and most places offer free WIFI.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting, technology by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Just the other day a colleague forwarded me an excerpt from a marvelous C.S. Lewis essay. It is titled, The Grand Miracle. What wonderful Christmas imagery! I loved it – and thought you would as well:
“He comes down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still…to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He has created. But He goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
What’s your favorite Christmas memory?
We asked a wide variety of Focus on the Family broadcast listeners that same question, and their answers were eye-opening.
Very few of them responded with the stereotypically “perfect” Yuletide moment.
Some of the stories we heard were funny and others will bring a tear to your eye. We learned about some strange family traditions, tales of last goodbyes and lifelong prayers answered.
Their stories were a good reminder: Christmas doesn’t have to be “perfect” to be wonderful.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
We’ve all heard of “wrongful death” lawsuits – a civil action where someone seeks damages against a party for causing a person’s demise.
Well, there’s a new trend gathering steam: the “wrongful birth” lawsuit.
But … can there even be such a thing?
Apparently some people think there is. Parents who paid for prenatal screening for genetic abnormalities ultimately had children born with conditions that had gone undiagnosed. A handful of these parents have contended in court that, had they known of the disabilities their preborn children had, they would have aborted rather than carried the children to term.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, pro-life by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
This ad from Coca-Cola Argentina captures the contradictory nature of parenting better than anything I’ve seen in a long time.
It also does a marvelous job of capturing the splendor of marriage and raising children.
Let’s face it. Parenting can certainly play to the extremes. In one Facebook status update a mom can share about her challenging day homeschooling but two hours later post a picture of her kids with a caption suggesting parenting is the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pop culture by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Being single during the holidays is the stuff movies, blog posts and TV show plot lines are made of. While they’re usually making light of how “awkward” things are for singles during Christmas, others try to look on the bright side of things.
I’m not belittling the importance of the topic. Our own outreach for single adults, Boundless, has a plethora of resources addressing the issue – and for good reason. God created us for community and companionship.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, parenting, relationships by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
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.Home
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