Family and Home Archives

Becoming Friends with Your In-Laws

Do you get along with your in-laws?

If you catch yourself snickering at that question, who could blame you? In-law jokes (particularly about mothers-in-law) are a mainstay of modern comedy routines and a common stereotype in movies and television shows. But within every joke there is a kernel of truth. And the truth here is that in-law relationships can be difficult.

What’s the best way to work through this delicate area of marriage?

Jean and I don’t have a great deal of experience in this area.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage July 12, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Best Choices You Can Make for Your Marriage

Researchers say that, on average, a person makes 35,000 decisions a day.

Coffee creamer or black?

Get out of bed now or later?

Scratch our head with our left hand or our right?

Answer our phone or not?

We make so many choices that we often don’t recognize that our ability to choose is even involved.

Like this one: loving our spouse.

We talk about love as if it’s an outside force. We say, “It was love at first sight.” Or we “fell in love.” We chalk up love to chance or chemistry instead of a conscious decision to act toward our spouse in loving ways.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage July 7, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Nurturing Fathers

I’ve known a lot of guys who think nurturing children is mom’s job, not dad’s. Fatherhood should be about strength, they say.

I agree, but instead of picturing a bouquet of flowers, picture a mighty oak tree. It’s the tree’s strength that allows it to provide and protect and nurture the wildlife around it.

That’s fatherhood. Nurturing dads have strong character, but a gentle spirit that enables them to handle discipline issues without criticizing or being harsh.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting July 6, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Giving Your Teen Freedom to Become an Adult

When should a parent decide, “My child is old enough to live completely free of my influence”?

By the way, “Never!” is not a good answer.

Children on their way to adulthood have always struggled for independence against their parents. What’s changed is how parents view childhood between the ages of 13 and 20.

The concept of “adolescence” has only been around for 100 years or so. The terms “adolescent” and “teenager” were first used around 1941.

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

Changing the World Through a Lemonade Stand

There are 150 million orphans in the world.

Every six seconds a child dies because they don’t have access to food or water.

What are you going to do about it?

That’s a daunting question, isn’t it? The scale of poverty in the world is so overwhelming that we feel paralyzed … and do nothing.

I suggest a change in perspective. No, you can’t fix the world’s problems. But you can do good right where you are.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, parenting July 3, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

To Flourish and Thrive

The sexual revolution that began in the 1960s has taught us more about the need for good boundaries than any other time in history.

When the birth control pill first became available, the response was a cultural pendulum swing labelled “free love” where men and women were encouraged to cast off all moral restraint. Boundaries that once governed sexual promiscuity essentially vanished.

The sexual revolution assured us that we could do whatever we wanted with whomever we wanted whenever we wanted with no consequences.

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

Cultivating a Healthy Life as a Single

If you thread two keys onto a single key ring, is either key more complete after it is joined with the other?

No.

And neither will you be if you’re single and hoping to be married one day.

“Singlehood” is often synonymous with “incomplete.” But Adam and Eve weren’t created as a couple. God created Adam first, as a single, an individual. He was given a purpose in God’s creation prior to Eve becoming his wife.

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

Moms Are Human, Too: Why Self-Care is a Good Thing

I can’t say it enough. Moms have on of the hardest jobs in the world!

I think the Lord created women with maternal instincts that drive them to serve and sacrifice everything they have for the sake of their families. My own mom cared for five children, worked two jobs, and tried to meet everybody’s needs the best way she knew how. We didn’t have much, but we were happy.

Unfortunately, it’s easy for moms to take on too many responsibilities – and neglect themselves in the process.

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

Growing Your Marriage in Times of Stress

Does your marriage stress you out?

Are you bringing stress into your marriage?

Either way, how do you handle it?

Many couples seek stress relief in non-relational ways that enable them to hide from each other. Drugs and alcohol. Shopping. Gambling. Excessive cleaning. Binge-watching television or social media.

We retreat.

We shut down.

We become silent and non-communicative.

Jesus faced stress. Luke 22:44 says, “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

Matthew 26:37 says Jesus was “sorrowful and troubled.”

Jesus modeled how to seek stress relief through relationship.

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

Helping Kids See God’s Glory in Nature

Nature has incredible influence over us.

Studies show that plants and flowers help post-surgery patients raise their spirits, experience shorter hospital stays, require less medicine, and recover faster.

An article from the Yale School of Environment reports that spending a cumulative time of two hours in nature each week has significant health benefits.

Nature is also an incredible classroom for teaching children about God’s character. Even young children can perceive God’s hidden attributes through creation (Romans 1:20), connect God’s Word to the natural world, and develop a deep understanding of the rich nature narratives strung throughout Scripture that point to the Creator.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting June 21, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura