Family and Home Archives

What A Liftoff!

Jean and I are in Orlando, Florida enjoying a break with the boys. About 5 o’clock on Sunday night, we learned that the Discovery Space Shuttle was scheduled for a 7:43 p.m. launch at the Kennedy Space Center. Since Cape Canaveral was less than 60 miles away, we piled into the minivan and headed due east. The traffic was pretty heavy so we found a place to park along with about forty other cars in a wide area near the intersection of Highways 417 and 528

Even though we were thirty-five miles from the launch pad, the view was breathtaking.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith March 19, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Love For A Lifetime

One of the six principles which guide our work at Focus on the Family is the Permanence of Marriage. We believe that marriage, as the basic building block of human civilization, was designed by God to be a thriving, lifelong relationship between a man and a woman. And since we live in a fallen world, all couples who are committed in the covenant of marriage will at some point face trials, sickness, financial crises and emotional stresses.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, marriage March 13, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Moral Minority

A week before Christmas last year, America lost a great statesman, an inspiring conservative thinker, and a steadfast advocate of the traditional family. I’m referring to my friend Paul M. Weyrich, co-founder of the Heritage Foundation and Chairman of the Free Congress Foundation It’s likely you’ve never heard his name. Paul was like that. He was the kind of man content to labor behind the scenes in Washington, D.C. in defense of the values conservatives cherish.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, policy, religious liberty January 23, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Forever Thankful

At age eight, Mark* was dying from a congenital heart disorder. A battery of diagnostic tests revealed that the malformation of his heart was irreparable. Mark’s doctors informed his parents that nothing short of a heart transplant would save his life. Worse, Mark didn’t have much time to live. A proper organ donor had to be found, and fast.

Meanwhile, at the same hospital where Mark awaited a heart transplant, medics rushed another young boy, Alex*, into the emergency ward.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith January 13, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Best Laid Plans

During our Christmas vacation, Jean and I packed the suitcases, planned the route, and piled into the minivan. Anticipation filled the air as the kids were strapped into their car seats like astronauts preparing for liftoff. With the house buttoned up, the mail stopped for a week, and a prayer for safety shared, off we went on a thousand mile journey to Jean’s parents’ home in Los Angeles.

Everything was going smoothly for a couple of hours .

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, wife January 10, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Quantity vs. Quality Time

In Dr. Dobson’s original film series Where’s Dad? he made a point that struck a chord with me all of these years, probably because I’m a father of two young boys. Specifically, Dr. Dobson described the difference between spending quantity time and quality time with our children. More often than not, Dr. Dobson heard parents make the comment that they just want to give their son or daughter quality time–when in reality our kids want quantity time.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting January 3, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Most Popular Posts of 2008

As the clock runs out on 2008, just about everyone is assembling a Top Ten list featuring the most popular movies, CDs, books, restaurants, and news stories of the year. You name it, there seems to be a list for it. I figured it might be fun to put together a list of my Top Ten blog posts of the year, based upon the number of comments they generated. Here’s what I found, with No. 1 being the most popular post of 2008:

1) Barbie Doll Controversy

2) Not In My Shower

3) Planned Parenthood Takes Aim at Teens

4) Fireproof is Red Hot in Theaters

5) Is Your Baby a Racist?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage, parenting December 31, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mailbag Fun

I love hearing from constituents like you. Today, I thought I’d invite you to read three playful letters that brightened my day. This first gem is from a mother whose son was in kindergarten where he was just learning to read. Here’s what happened:

“I remember picking-up my son from school one day. I had been reading one of Dr. Dobson’s books at the time and had it on the car seat next to me. My precocious youngster carefully sounded out the title.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting December 20, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

We Can Do Better

What if I were to tell you that 7 out of 10 students got an “F” when taking a basic civic literacy test? That’s the finding of Jim Tonkowich, president of Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). Jim has a passion for American history and civic education which is why he’s alarmed by a disturbing trend in education today, namely, that our high schools and colleges are failing to provide students with a clear understanding of their American heritage.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, news December 18, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Bible is Pro Same-sex Marriage?

One of the six pillars that under gird our work here at Focus on the family is the permanence of marriage. We view marriage as a sacred covenant designed by God, one that serves as the basic building block of human civilization. As such, we believe marriage is God’s idea and it’s intended to be a thriving, lifelong relationship between one man and one woman.

Which is why it’s worth pointing out Newsweek’s cover story, entitled, “The Religious Case for Gay Marriage” (12/15/08).

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, homosexuality, marriage December 12, 2008 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura