Family and Home Archives

Thoughts on Pastor Rick Warren’s Return to the Pulpit

By now you’ve heard that pastor and bestselling author Rick Warren returned to the pulpit this past Sunday for the first time since his son’s suicide in April.

Matthew Warren, 27, struggled with mental illness since childhood. According to the Warrens, Matthew received the best medical care and counseling available. He had good days and very bad ones, but it was unpredictable and naturally very difficult. In the midst of this decades-long ordeal, the Warrens led and built up a church congregation of over ten thousand people.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pastors July 30, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Can Hospitality Help Share the Gospel?

Sometimes it’s the littlest things we do that speak the loudest.

Take my colleague, Glenn Stanton. Glenn heads up our family formation studies. He’s the quintessential researcher, citing studies on marriage and family, speaking at universities, and engaging with experts across the political and ideological spectrum.

A few months ago, Glenn invited Jonathan Rauch, a well-known advocate of gay marriage, to speak to the staff at Focus on the Family. This was a good time for people on two different sides of an important issue to meet, share their views, respectfully challenge each other’s assertions, and walk away better informed about the complexities that surround this issue.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, friendship July 29, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

After Your Royal Baby Comes Home

It’s difficult to turn on the TV or visit online news sites without getting an update about the “royal baby” or seeing footage of the beaming parents introducing their son to the world. Joy and optimism are written across their faces. Like any new parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undoubtedly spend many long moments gazing at their son and marveling at every perfect detail. Jean and I have so many fond memories of studying the perfect faces of Trent and Troy when they were first born.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting July 25, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Things to Remember Before Giving Advice to Your Spouse

The Wall Street Journal recently ran a rather provocative column on marriage and advice-giving, linking the practice to lower marital satisfaction rates. Here’s the crux of the findings:

In a series of six studies that followed 100 couples for the first seven years of marriage, researchers at the University of Iowa found that both husbands and wives feel lower marital satisfaction when they are given too much advice from a spouse, as opposed to too little.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage, relationships July 24, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Why You Can’t Teach Just Abstinence

Do you remember Elizabeth Smart? Her story certainly broke my heart. In 2002, she was kidnapped from her own bedroom in Utah and held captive for nine months. During that time, Smart, then 14, was repeatedly raped by her captor.

Smart was recently part of a panel at an event on human trafficking at Johns Hopkins University where she shared her story. When explaining why she didn’t try to escape, she said it went beyond fear, and shared this experience:

“I remember in school one time, I had a teacher who was talking about abstinence.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting, sex July 23, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

I Want YOU… to Share Your Date Night Stories, Questions and Advice

Here at Focus, we’ve long promoted the idea that married couples thrive when they take the time to go on a regular “date night.” Yes, that’s right – in the middle of our fast-paced lives and parenting craziness, husband and wives should put in the effort to plan a time together to talk and connect outside of the normal routine.

For most married couples, it’s not easy to go on dates regularly. For some, it’s hard to justify the expense.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage, relationships July 22, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

To Moms Who’ve Received a Prenatal Down Syndrome Diagnosis

Each year, thousands of pregnant couples throughout the U.S. find out through prenatal testing that the child they’re expecting has Down syndrome. For most of those parents, receiving this news is a seismic event that up-ends many of the hopes and dreams they’ve held for their child. In the confusion and fear that surrounds such a diagnosis many parents choose, sadly, to end the pregnancy.

Lauren Warner is a young mom and blogger with a personal take on Down syndrome.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, parenting July 17, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Why Treating Your Family Like Customers is a Good Idea

It’s a familiar formula for movie and TV plots: the hugely successful, workaholic husband and dad is a failure at home. His wife feels like he’s a stranger, and his kids resent him. The man’s life is crumbling around him, even while his career is in high gear.

The reason the plot is used again and again is because it sadly echoes reality in far too many homes across the country.

But what if I told you that the same principles and techniques that husband and father applies to his professional life would also help him excel at home?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: relationships July 12, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Story Behind the Preborn Baby with Down Syndrome

The heartwarming story taking the Internet by storm the past few days almost reads like a fast-paced movie script.

A young couple pregnant with a baby diagnosed with Down syndrome are planning to abort. A priest learns about the situation, and steps in. He tells the couple he’ll find a home for that baby if they choose to deliver – however, the woman is planning her abortion for the next day.

It’s a race against time, so the Rev.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting July 11, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Things Every Dad Should Know

When I was an eight-year-old boy, I looked to Hank, the father figure in my life, for all the things the other kids my age seemed to enjoy with their dads. Sadly, Hank wasn’t willing to be engaged in my life. He adored my mom, but my siblings and I were simply excess baggage. While my mother was affectionate and nurturing, Hank’s love for us was missing in action. As a youngster longing for a strong, caring father figure in my life, it would have gone a long way toward forging a close bond between Hank and my siblings and me if he had:

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, kids, parenting, relationships July 10, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura