Family and Home Archives

How a Strong-Willed Woman Can Be Used by God

Strong-willed men are usually held in high esteem. They’re viewed as bold leaders who live with conviction.

Strong-willed women, on the other hand, are often characterized as “bossy” or “controlling.”

Author Cynthia Tobias says that strong-willed women are trail blazers. Strong-willed women:

God doesn’t want to rid women of their personalities. He wants to direct their strong wills and use them for His purposes. When women submit themselves to the Lord, He can channel their strength into transforming their marriages, influencing their children in the right direction, and seeing God’s kingdom advanced in whatever other ways the Lord chooses to use them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family August 9, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Difficult Conversations for Men

It’s partially stereotype, but mostly true: Most men don’t communicate very well.

Generally speaking, men struggle to discuss things such as a pornography, addictions, financial trouble, anger, or depression.

There are three main reasons for this:

As common as poor communication may be among men, a stubborn unwillingness to improve is not without consequence. It can damage a man’s relationship with God, with his spouse, with his children, and with his friends and coworkers.

King David had a habit of not speaking up in his own household.

Topics: Family and Home August 5, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Forgiving the Past, Embracing the Future

The call to forgive others lies at the heart of the Christian message.

But that doesn’t make forgiveness easy.

The human heart is wired for justice. When somebody sins against us, the hurt we feel is a cry for wrongs to be made right again. And when they can’t be, we often want the other person to suffer in some way that helps us feel like the debt has been satisfied.

Much of our struggle comes from not knowing what forgiveness is and what it isn’t – or from naively believing that we can forgive the unforgiveable if we grit our teeth and try hard enough. We confuse “forgiving” with “excusing.” Our rationalizations leave us stuck in bitterness or holding grudges.

Topics: Family and Home August 4, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Changing Your Marriage Through the Power of Kindness

Today’s broadcast has me thinking a lot about one of my favorite verses in the Bible. In Romans 2:4, Paul tells us that it’s “God’s kindness that leads us to repentance.” That verse reminds me of how I ought to conduct myself toward others.

Kindness is a fruit of the Spirit – an expression of God’s nature through us – and one of the most powerful tools for Christians who wish to act as the hands and feet of Jesus to the world around them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage August 3, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Important Conversations to Have with Your Son

Once upon a time, our culture respected fathers and held them in high regard. And rightly so. Dads were role models. They invested in their boys, teaching them how to use hammers and saws, so they could help patch fences and build new barns. They taught their boys how to become men and were living examples for their daughters of how a real man should behave.

Once upon a time, children spent so much time with their dads that life’s values were naturally transferred from one generation to the next.

Topics: Family and Home July 30, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Preventing Parents from Guiding Gender-Confused Children is a Recipe for Disaster

It seems each day brings with it headlines and highlights of renewed attacks on the family, but especially on the autonomy and authority of moms and dads to nurture and raise their children according to their deeply held convictions and beliefs.

I recently came across a shocking report from the Journal of Medical Ethics making the claim that parents should not have the right to prevent their minor children from pursuing “gender affirming surgeries” – i.e., preventing biological boys and girls from surgically altering their bodies.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: sexuality, transgender July 27, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Appreciating God’s Design for the Human Body

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Appreciating God’s Design for the Human Body,” we’re exploring a familiar passage from the Old Testament. Psalm 139 expresses wonder at God’s creativity: “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.”

Our guest is best-selling author Philip Yancey, who shares how every aspect of the human body’s design points to the glory of God our Creator.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: life July 27, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Encouraging Marriages in Your Sphere of Influence

What’s your favorite song?

One reason it’s probably your favorite is because you enjoy hearing the vocals of the lead singer. But more than you realize, another cast of characters is just as important as the lead: the backing singers. Their chorus of voices harmonize with the lead and give the song a beauty, richness, and texture the main vocalist could never achieve alone.

What if every marriage had backing singers? Imagine a church where every follower of Jesus served as a backing singer to someone’s marriage – a chorus of voices uniting to strengthen the marriages of everyone around them.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage July 26, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Twenty-Five Years and Still in Love

Before Bob Kraning died in April 2020, he and his wife Carol were married for over sixty years. When it comes to enjoying a happy relationship, you might say that they had a lifetime of experience.

Whenever I hear about a couple like that, I can’t help but wonder, “What’s their secret?”

Bob provides answers in a recorded message we’re airing on our Focus on the Family Broadcast called “Twenty-Five Years and Still in Love.” Bob’s and Carol’s “secrets” are actually timeless truths available to all of us.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: marriage July 21, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Effective Habits to Embrace in Parenting

What kind of tools are in your parenting toolbox?

In a regular toolbox, like the one in your garage, you’ll find hammers, screwdrivers, and different sized wrenches – tools with very particular uses for specific problems around the house. There’s an old saying: if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything will look like a nail after a while.

There isn’t one tool to rule them all.

It’s the same with parenting. Some moms and dads only have one tool in their parenting toolbox that they use in every situation – like anger, overly strict rules, or permissiveness.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting July 19, 2021 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura