Family and Home Archives

Jesus: The Lamb of God

Yesterday at Focus on the Family, our staff came together for our Maundy Thursday chapel, a special time for reflecting on our Lord’s final hours before ascending Calvary to shed His blood on our behalf. Today, our offices are closed in honor of Good Friday.

Some of my non-Christian readers may not understand the meaningful symbolism ascribed to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. They see Jesus as a wise prophet, a good man, or a great teacher in a long line of equals to be imitated as we would any other great person.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith April 8, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Seeing God Through my Son’s Autism

It’s not easy for a single mother to raise a son. It’s even more difficult when that son has autism.

Emily Colson can attest to both. Her husband walked out when their son Max was just 18-months old, saying he couldn’t handle the stress.

And there was a lot of stress.

Max’s autism was so severe that, for a time, Emily couldn’t leave home with him – not to the grocery store, not to friends’ houses, not to church.

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

Inviting Your Children into the Easter Story

When Easter comes around every year, many people think of chocolate, colored eggs, and strange looking rabbits carrying baskets.

As Christians, we know there’s a lot more to the story – Jesus’ triumphal parade, His last supper with His disciples, His brutal death on the cross, and His bodily resurrection.

The events surrounding the Easter story can evoke a complicated mix of emotions – sadness and joy, anger and gratitude, fear and trust. These mature themes can be challenging for adults to process.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting March 31, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Telling Kids a Loved One is Dying

If a loved one is dying, what should you tell your children?

My mom died of cancer when I was nine years old. For reasons I still don’t fully understand, my stepdad and my older siblings never told me how sick she was. All I knew was that she spent most of the day asleep in her room, and I was rarely allowed to see her. Then, one day my 19-year-old brother Mike said, “I’ve got bad news.

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

Restoring the Broken Pieces of Our Lives

Author Elisa Morgan remembers the day she heard a loud crash somewhere in the house and discovered her three-shelf hutch had fallen from the wall and shattered her late grandmother’s antique china collection into pieces on the floor. The worst part was realizing that she could do nothing to fix it.

As she swept up the broken shards, other moments came to mind when something precious to her shattered beyond repair.

The first time was when she was five years old, and her parents announced their divorce.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith March 29, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Cherish Your Spouse, Change Your Marriage

“…to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”

Couples often recite vows like this at their wedding. But no sooner do they walk the gauntlet of flying rice afterward than the word “cherish” begins to fade from their vocabulary. They don’t mean for it to happen, but the months and years go by, they settle into the daily routine of life, and they wake one day with a marriage that’s missing something deeper and more satisfying.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage March 27, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Experiencing God’s Mercy After Leaving the Abortion Industry

Abby Johnson describes God’s mercy as “fierce” – that is, His mercy is marked by unrestrained zeal, intensity, and highly determined activity.

Abby experienced God’s “fierce mercy” after working for eight years as an employee and clinical director for Planned Parenthood. God transformed her life in 2009 when Abby assisted with an ultrasound-guided abortion. She watched in horror as a 13-week baby lost its life to the abortionist. In that moment, the scales fell from Abby’s eyes, and she realized the ugly reality of abortion.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: pro-life March 22, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Answering Questions About Sex in Marriage

Sexual intimacy in marriage can be complicated.

Many couples’ physical relationships are centered around one central question: What makes me feel good? Even couples who avoid self-centeredness often feel disappointed with their partner’s shortcomings. There are also physical changes, medical issues, and emotional challenges that interrupt our lives from time to time. As we get older, the realm of sex changes drastically within a marriage relationship.

Which can leave couples with a lot of questions.

We’ve got answers.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage March 16, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Trusting God That Hope Is on the Way

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Trusting God That Hope Is on the Way,” our guest, Dove and Grammy Award-winning Christian alternative and rap figurehead TobyMac, is sharing his journey of faith, family, and music, and encouraging listeners to find hope in God through difficulty, loss, and tragedy.

TobyMac has suffered plenty of all three. His oldest son Truett, an aspiring rapper, died tragically at age 21 in 2019 after a drug overdose.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith March 15, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Fun Ways to Instill Virtue in Your Children

Instilling virtue in our children can be pretty serious business. After all, the adult world is a competitive place, and we want kids to be prepared.

Unfortunately, the desire to raise our children can lead to harsh standards that smother them. At report card time, a nearly straight-A student may be asked why they didn’t get that one grade a little higher. Or a teenager who displays the slightest sign of irresponsibility may get a 15-minute lecture.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: parenting March 13, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura