Family and Home Archives - Page 3 of 170

If You Want a Great Marriage, Do This

Hurdlers don’t usually stumble on the open stretch of track. Victory or defeat is mostly about clearing the obstacles.

It’s the same for marriage. Relationships don’t stumble when everything is calm, and life is rolling along smoothly. Problems tend to develop when couples encounter some kind of stress.

Those moments are an opportunity for husbands and wives to work together as a team.

My wife and I have gone through quite a few transition periods. We’ve faced challenges in our extended families, relocated to new cities, and raised two boys.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: book, broadcast, marriage, relationships August 29, 2019 by Jim Daly

Radically Rediscovering Salvation

“Spirituality wrongly understood or pursued is a major source of human misery and rebellion against God.” – Dallas Willard

Christians use a lot of words like “salvation,” “grace,” and “faith.” How often do we stop and really think about what those words mean?

We’re hungry to the core of our soul for relationship. The degree to which that need goes unfulfilled is the degree to which we will lose ourselves in the pursuit of more. More everything.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, christianity, faith August 27, 2019 by Jim Daly

Braving Middle School Like a Boss

At some point, almost every boy will struggle with the feeling that he doesn’t measure up.

My teenage feelings of inadequacy shot to the surface one day while I was in gym class, standing behind a muscular upper-classman named Glen and one of his buddies. They were talking about how guys grow bigger as they get older.

Without warning, Glen wheeled around and – Bam! – he socked me right in the chest. “See this guy?” he said.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, parenting August 26, 2019 by Jim Daly

Avoiding a Midlife Crisis

The middle of life is supposed to be a great time for men. Their marriages are doing well. Their children have launched, or are ready to go. Their careers are rolling, and the future looks bright.

Or maybe it doesn’t.

Maybe you’ve hit mid-life, and your marriage isn’t what you thought it would be. Maybe your children are struggling to launch. And your career is … sigh … fine.

If your life hasn’t slipped into a comfortable rhythm, we have encouragement for you today on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Avoiding a Midlife Crisis.”

Mid-life is a transition point, but it doesn’t have to be a crisis.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, manhood, men August 23, 2019 by Jim Daly

A Mother’s Story of Loss and Redemption

Few parents have experienced the heartbreak of losing a child.

Fewer still have endured that suffering twice.

Lindsey Dennis and her husband, Kevin know the depths of that heartache. They also know how God’s comfort can bring beauty out of terrible circumstances.

Lindsey and Kevin are sharing their tragic and touching story with us on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “A Mother’s Story of Loss and Redemption.”

At what was supposed to be a routine prenatal visit, the couple was given shocking news: “We can’t find your baby’s skull.” Their baby was diagnosed with anencephaly.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, tragedy August 22, 2019 by Jim Daly

A Poignant Day in the Daly Household

I’ll cut right to the point.

Jean and I are grieving a little bit this week – not over the death of a loved one or a dire medical diagnosis – but grieving nonetheless.

Our oldest, Trent, left for a nearby college earlier this week.

We couldn’t be happier for him, of course, especially seeing how he’s matured and grown over these last few years. We’ve been impressed with his choice of friends, his attitude and his overall goals and sense of direction.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: children, faith, parenting August 21, 2019 by Jim Daly

Equipping Christians to Understand Sexuality

Take
a look at these alarming statistics:

41% of practicing
Christians believe that cohabitation is a good idea.60% of people on
Christian dating websites say they have no moral inhibitions against sex before
marriage.32% of Christian
men ages 18 to 30 admit to having an addiction to pornography (not casual use,
mind you, but an addiction).

How
did we get so far away from God’s design for sexuality?

I’d
love to read your thoughts in the comment section below.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith August 19, 2019 by Jim Daly

Following God’s Pace Instead of Your Own

It’s
easy for us as Christians to lose track of God’s timing in our lives. Our
culture is driven, and we often fall prey to busyness. We work hard at our
jobs. We volunteer at church. We have hobbies and responsibilities around the
house. Some days there’s not much left of our time or our energy to keep our relationships
in order.

That
was true for Terry Looper. His goal was to become a wealthy businessman.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family August 16, 2019 by Jim Daly

Heroic Moms Raising Godly Heroes

“We
practiced an active shooter drill today.”

Those
words from Lee Nienhuis’ grade-school aged son, Ryan, felt like a gut punch.
She could barely hold herself together when he told her, “We pile up in the
corner like puppies, and we hide.”

That
wasn’t the only time Lee was confronted by the darkness her children face in this
world. Another incident happened in church. The congregation was singing the
hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting August 15, 2019 by Jim Daly

Growing Your Marriage in Times of Stress

Does your
marriage stress you out? If not, there’s still a good chance that you’re
bringing stress into your marriage.

Either
way, how do you handle it?

The natural
inclination for a lot of couples is to seek stress relief in non-relational
ways that enable them to hide – things like drugs and alcohol, or even
behaviors like shopping, gambling, excessive cleaning, or binge-watching
television – all of which lead to addiction, unhealthy obsessions, or lashing
out at other people.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, conflict, faith August 12, 2019 by Jim Daly