Family and Home Archives

If You Want Your Kids to Pass Finals, Don’t Let Them Do This

We all can remember studying for our final exams. After all the hours sitting in class, after all the homework and pop quizzes and papers, the entire academic year comes down to a few last tests.Ace them and a carefree summer awaits. Choke and you could be facing the prospect of summer school.

Times may change, but the discipline of studying remains constant. It’s all about preparation and focus. I once heard about a teacher in a Christian school who led her classes in the same prayer before every final: “Lord,” she would say, “please help these kids remember what they studied.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, technology May 15, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How You Can Spot Body Image Issues in Your Teen

Have you heard about “thigh gap” yet? If not, it’s likely your teenage daughter or granddaughter has.

Thigh gap is a troubling – and potentially dangerous – new trend. It’s causing some girls to starve themselves in hopes of achieving a gap between their thighs when they stand with their knees together. Other girls exercise obsessively or resort to other self-destructive behavior, so they can become thin enough to accomplish the thigh gap and post pictures of their success on social networking sites like Tumblr.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting May 14, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Seven Great Quotes in Praise of Mothers

“I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” (John Wesley)

“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.” (Abraham Lincoln)

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” (Washington Irving)

“When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting May 10, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: Life Doesn’t Come with a Manual – It Comes With a Mother

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting May 9, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Can I Best Oversee My Child’s Social Media Use?

It’s a question we get often from parents – and for good reason.

For many adults, going online and visiting social media sites is simply about checking in with our relatives a few states away, sharing some cute pictures of our own children or connecting with a childhood friend.

The impact of social media on our young people can be far greater, however. For many tweens and teens, sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram bring the stresses of school and peer pressure right to their smartphones and home computers.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, technology May 8, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

In Honor of Mom

I haven’t hugged Jan Daly for over 40 years, but her love and prayers have followed me all my life. Our time together was too short, but I’d like to think I inherited Mom’s playful wit and humor. I miss you, Mom.

Jean is not only my best friend and confidant, but a magnificent mother to our boys, Trent and Troy, too. When she walked into my life at a mutual friend’s wedding, it was as if the sun began shining brighter than ever before.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting May 7, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Max Lucado’s Big Ego

Within Christian circles, Max Lucado is a household name, beloved for his gentle and inspiring books. The San Antonio-based pastor is a publishing icon. More than twenty million of his titles are in circulation, and his throngs of readers eagerly await each year’s new release. Now at about this point you’d probably expect me to share a story of Lucado’s humility, to tell you that even with his bestseller status, he doesn’t struggle with pride or ego.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pop culture May 6, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Bill Hybels’ Most Expensive Turkey

Have you noticed that most adults share a curious trait?

We can turn almost anything into something gravely serious. It’s no wonder stress-related illnesses have become so prevalent. That’s why it’s good to remind ourselves regularly to take a deep breath, relax, and laugh at ourselves.

Well-known pastor Bill Hybels can teach us a little something about that. He’s passionate about his work and calling, but he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He even proves it from time to time by inviting others to laugh along with him.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: humor May 3, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Great Commercial – Especially for Those with Daughters

Have you seen this commercial produced by Dove?

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How does this strike you?

Do you see yourself as other see you?

More importantly, how does God see you?

My friend Graham Baird is a pastor here in town. In a sermon he recently preached using this video as an illustration, he noted that we tend to under-rate our beautiful qualities and over-rate the things that don’t matter.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pop culture April 29, 2013 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Secret to Easier Family Meals

Do you ever get into a “chicken rut?”

That’s how a colleague of mine described her cooking routine – a repeated use of chicken in the kitchen, night after night, much like the myriad of ways the character “Bubba” in Forrest Gump cooked shrimp.

It’s understandable to find yourself in a cooking rut. Families are busy. It’s tough to find time for meal planning, grocery list building and recipe finding when parents also have to take kids to soccer practice and youth group as well as help with the night’s homework.

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