Family and Home Archives

Ten Resolutions for Mental Health

Pastor and author John Piper recently shared notes he took during a 1976 lecture by Clyde Kilby (pictured, left), one of his professors in English literature at Wheaton College. His plea that night, according to Piper, “was that we stop being unamazed by the strange glory of ordinary things.”

Concluding his talk that October evening, Dr. Kilby offered ten suggested resolutions. With thanks to John Piper and the late Clyde Kilby, I am delighted to post them below:

At least once every day I shall look steadily up at the sky and remember that I, a consciousness with a conscience, am on a planet traveling in space with wonderfully mysterious things above and about me.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family December 5, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Are We Obsessed with Our Pets?

Is it possible to love your dog or cat too much?

A colleague called to my attention a provocative article in World Magazine regarding Americans’ devotion to their pets. The author of the piece told of a veterinarian who likes to ask people if, given the choice between saving the life of a stranger in a burning building or their beloved pet, which one would they save?

“You’d be surprised,” he said, “how many would save their pet.”

Dogs and cats are increasingly becoming more and more part of the family.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, pop culture December 4, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Fiscal Cliff? How About the Moral Cliff?

There is endless talk these days about the looming “fiscal cliff,” the catastrophic economic nightmare that many predict will befall the United States if taxes go up and government spending is significantly cut come January 2, 2013, as mandated by the Budget Control Act of 2011.

To be sure, the stakes are high.

But all this conversation about an economic cliff has got me thinking: Is there a moral cliff? And have we already reached it – or are we walking dangerously close to the edge?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: finances December 4, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Four Reasons Women Cheat

There’s an essay that caught my attention on Foxnews.com this morning. It’s written by a woman named Marina Pearson. According to her byline she’s a writer and speaker whose career is dedicated to helping women “who are struggling to get over their ex to move on in a safe and nurturing environment.”

Her article is bluntly titled: “Why I Cheated on My Husband.”

That would be “ex-husband,” now. But what were the reasons? According to Ms.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, wife December 3, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Family Never Left Side of Coma Victim for 42 Years

From NBC News…a story of true love:

A woman who lived in a coma for 42 years, meticulously cared for by her family, died Wednesday in her home in Miami Gardens, Fla., the Miami Herald reported.

Edwarda O’Bara was a 16-year-old high school student in 1970 when she became sick from her diabetes medication and slipped into a diabetic coma.

According to the Herald, just before she lost consciousness, Edwarda asked her mother, Kaye O’Bara, to never leave her side, and her family never did.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, news, pro-life November 29, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Wisdom of Zig Ziglar

I was saddened yesterday to learn of the death of Zig Ziglar, a bestselling author and motivational speaker. He was 86. Zig inspired us and lifted our spirits by lifting up the name of Jesus. He reminded us to believe in ourselves only because Christ first believed in us.

Here are a few favorite quotes from over the years from the tongue and pen of Zig Ziglar:

Make every effort to be perceived as the most capable, not the most visible.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: news, relationships November 29, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Favorite Quotes About Adoption

In honor of National Adoption Month, five wonderful and inspirational quotes:

Do you want to do something beautiful for God? There is a person who needs you. This is your chance.
– Mother Teresa

Time and experience have taught me a priceless lesson: Any child you take for your own becomes your own if you give of yourself to that child. I have born two children and had seven others by adoption, and they are all my children, equally beloved and precious.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: adoption, kids, pro-life November 26, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Give Back Friday

No, that’s not a typo.

For the past 40 years we’ve been calling today “Black Friday” – a term coined to reflect the date when stores would financially move from red (loss) to black (profit). Back when accounting records were actually kept by hand, the books were tallied with black and red pens.

I am in no position, nor do I have any desire, to criticize retail establishments for hyping today and trying to turn a profit.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, finances November 22, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Thanksgiving

The Desolate Wilderness

A chronicle of the Pilgrims’ arrival at Plymouth, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton.

Here beginneth the chronicle of those memorable circumstances of the year 1620, as recorded by Nathaniel Morton, keeper of the records of Plymouth Colony, based on the account of William Bradford, sometime governor thereof:

So they left that goodly and pleasant city of Leyden, which had been their resting-place for above eleven years, but they knew that they were pilgrims and strangers here below, and looked not much on these things, but lifted up their eyes to Heaven, their dearest country, where God hath prepared for them a city (Heb.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, family November 22, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

VIDEO: Now Thank We All Our God

This classic, soaring hymn was written in the mid-1600s by a German minister named Martin Rinkart. His ministry began at a church in Eilenburg, just as the Thirty Year War began. The town soon became overpopulated and disease ridden with many taking refuge in the pastor’s house. A deadly plaque swept through the village, killing 8,000 people including Rinkart’s wife. At one point, the beleaguered minister was conducting 50 funerals per day.

Yet, in the midst of it all, Martin Rinkart wrote this hymn, originally designed to be used for grace before dinner.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family November 20, 2012 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura