Family and Home Archives

Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch

Author and speaker Lee Strobel says someone once came between him and his wife and almost destroyed their marriage. It wasn’t a co-worker or an old flame.

It was Jesus Christ.

A few years after getting married, Leslie became a Christian. Lee remained a staunch atheist. Their worldviews became so diametrically opposed to one another that their marriage was threatened.

The potential for disunity is why God gave us the wisdom found in 2 Corinthians 6:14, which says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.” Yokes are fitted over the necks of two animals of equal size.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family October 5, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Boy’s Emotional Vocabulary

Men are notorious for not expressing their feelings well.

A big reason for that is they were never taught how to do it as boys. No one tells them, “You’re gonna feel anger and grief, and here’s how you handle those emotions.” When boys get upset and shove their sister or backtalk their teacher, their behavior gets scolded, but no one teaches them how to harness their emotion and channel it in positive ways.

I once heard a professional football player say that he struggled to manage his emotions because he was expected to be aggressive in his job each day but then switch it off before he returned home each night.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting October 4, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Disciplining Your Kids with Grace

At the end of a shopping trip to Walmart, author Karis Kimmel Murray stopped by the shoe aisle with her daughter, Riley, who decided that she’d been sitting patiently in the cart long enough.

Karis allowed Riley to walk beside her, but Riley didn’t just want out of the cart, she wanted out of the store. And Karis stood between her and that goal.

To express her displeasure, Riley walked from one end of the shoe aisle to the other with her arms outstretched, knocking off every box of shoes within reach.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting October 2, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Encouraging Your Kids to Discuss Their Feelings

Anger is like fire. Harness it for something good, and you’ll create a better life for yourself. Misuse or lose control of it, and it’ll burn everything to the ground. That’s a good reason for children to understand the difference between bad anger and good anger.

Bad anger doesn’t improve our lives. It makes things worse. It protests even though nothing harmful or significant is happening. It turns our pet peeves into conflict and stirs up trouble for no other reason than to get our way.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 29, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mom Time

The maternal instinct in women is soft and nurturing.

It’s also fierce.

The maternal instinct drives women to sacrifice everything for the sake of their families. I saw that kind of tenacity in my own mother. She took care of five children, worked two jobs, and strived to meet everybody’s needs the best she knew how. We didn’t have much in terms of material wealth, but her love for us was rich, and we were happy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 28, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Sharing the Gospel Through Hospitality

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Sharing the Gospel Through Hospitality,” we’re sharing Dr. Rosaria Butterfield’s dramatic conversion testimony.

Rosaria was professor of English and queer theory at Syracuse University in New York and lived proudly as a lesbian, a feminist, and an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights. In 1999, she took leave from her professorship to research a book she intended to write as a rebuke of religion from a lesbian feminist point of view.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 27, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Overcoming Your Past

I’ve had to overcome a lot. My mom died when I was nine. My stepdad abandoned me and my siblings within hours of her funeral. After that, I spent time in foster care, and a couple of years later, my biological father died of alcoholism.

No doubt you’ve survived some difficulties of your own. Struggle is universal. So are the solutions for overcoming it. Here are four ways to break free from your past:

Accept the fact that your suffering cannot be changed.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Ingredients You Need for a Healthy Family

Years ago, John, a recent college graduate, asked Dr. Gary Chapman and his wife if he could move into their home for one year and observe their family. John’s family of origin had been toxic, and he wanted to experience firsthand what a healthy marriage and family looked like.

Dr. Chapman’s first reaction was to say no. Was their family healthy? He and Karolyn’s first years of marriage had been characterized by selfishness, hurt, and brokenness.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Showing Your Child Their True Worth

Today, Peter Mutabazi is an entrepreneur, an international advocate for children, and the founder of Now I Am Known, a corporation that supplies resources that encourage and affirm children.

Peter’s passion for advocacy began in a small village in Uganda on the border of Rwanda. His father was abusive, beat the family, and frequently told Peter that he regretted having him as a son. Peter didn’t even have a name until he was two years old!

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 22, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Drawing Closer to God and Each Other

Why did you get married?

For your spouse?

Or for yourself?

Be honest. You got married because the relationship made you happy.

Don’t feel too guilty. The rest of us probably did the same thing. We thought life with this person would make our lives better. And while that’s not entirely selfish – God wants us to enjoy our marriage to our spouse, after all – many couples spend their first years of marriage chasing individual interests.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage September 20, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura