Family and Home Archives

Is Hollywood Listening?

A few weeks ago I shared with you my enthusiasm for a new movie based on a terrific book by author David L. Cook, Seven Days in Utopia. The film stars Academy Award winner Robert Duvall and highlights the critical contribution mentors can make in a person’s life.

As a follow-up to the production’s nationwide release, a colleague just received the following note from one of the movie’s senior executives. It is good news:

I just wanted to send this quick message out to all my friends and partners that helped us with the launch of Seven Days In Utopia.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith September 12, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Ultimate Hope

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith September 10, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Hero You’ve Never Heard Of

Over the course of the last ten years, in the shadow of the White House, Richard Retta has quietly saved over 350 lives.

But he’s not a doctor, fireman, paramedic or a policeman.

The 79-year-old grandfather is a sidewalk counselor outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington D.C.

Mr. Retta’s approach is understated and gentle, but direct. As a woman approaches the entrance, he walks within earshot of her, politely striking up a conversation. In those few fleeting seconds he tries to convince her to spare her baby’s life, and, in doing so, save herself from years of grief and torment.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, news, pro-life September 8, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Texting Lingo Every Parent Needs to Know

Assuming your son or daughter has a cell phone, do they text?

The Pew Research group recently concluded that most teens prefer texting to talking – with a third of them sending over 100 messages a day.

Tolerance for this type of behavior varies by family, of course, but almost no parent would knowingly permit their son or daughter to text crude, lewd or obscene messages.

But what about more vague or coded communications?

It takes a deft and alert parent to stay up to date on texting lingo, especially since the lexicon is constantly expanding and often doesn’t make any logical sense.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, parenting, technology September 7, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Did You Hear What Walmart is Selling?

According to the National Retail Federation, parents will spend close to $23 billion dollars on back-to-school purchases this year. When college is included – outfitting the dorm room, buying the smart phone, etc. – that figure jumps to an incredible $68.8 billion.

Those are big numbers, but boiling it down to you and me, the average family will spend just over $600 this fall on school-related items. Given such a significant sum, it would seem wise, whenever possible, to not only competitively shop, but also frequent stores that show respect for people of the Christian faith.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pop culture, religious liberty September 2, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Who Has Changed Your Life?

Is there one person you can point to who helped “turn the tide” in your life?

When I think about that question, my mind immediately settles on a man named Mo – my high school football coach. At the time, my life was a mess. Without a parent to guide me, Coach Mo became my mentor. He encouraged and believed in me. He didn’t just teach me about football. He was a steady, dependable, wise and bold influence.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith, pop culture August 31, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Where Has God Dropped You?

My friend and colleague, Gary Schneeberger, is Focus on the Family’s vice president of Communications. He recently hosted a group of foreign journalists who came to the United States as part of the East-West Center’s Senior Journalists Seminar. This year’s group included professionals from places like Pakistan, Malaysia, Afghanistan, the Philippines and Thailand. The purpose of the program is for chroniclers of various cultures to get a flavor of each other and the issues that drive news in each place.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith August 26, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Celebrating Our Silver Anniversary

We were married on August 24, 1986, a sun drenched day in Santa Ana, California. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 25 years, a full quarter-century!

I first met Jean Stephens in 1985 at a wedding in California. People often say that weddings are great places to meet people (for good reason!), but at the time I wasn’t interested in finding a girlfriend. Honest! I had recently returned from a year in Japan and graduated from college.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage August 25, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Your First Lunch Box

Do you remember your first lunch box?

Mine was a G.I. Joe model, used and dented, but I loved it.

Lunch boxes go way back, over a hundred years, in fact. Then they were called “lunch pails” and were usually recycled cans that originally held biscuits or even tobacco. It wasn’t until the 1950s when the Aladdin Corporation struck upon an idea, leading to the explosion of the themed boxes so many of us remember. Realizing that a metal box was durable and thus likely handed down in a family, executives decided to put celebrities and pop culture icons on the side.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, kids August 24, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Marriage is Good for Your Heart

You’ve heard the adage, “Happy wife, happy life,” but how about this one:

The happier your marriage, the better your chance of surviving and recovering from heart surgery.

It’s true.

According to a new study out of the University of Rochester, the better a person’s marriage, the more likely they are to live longer after heart surgery than those who are single or unhappy in marriage.

“I can only imagine that people who have a good marriage are pretty happy people,” said a Boston cardiac surgeon, Robert Hagberg.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage August 23, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura