Daly Focus Blog
Thanksgiving is still more than a week out, but Christmas music is already playing in some local stores. It’s too early, some say, but I love it. For me, the music of Christmas conveys the message of Christmas.
Christmas is about hope – something we’re all searching for.
C.S. Lewis turned Christmas into a powerful metaphor in his classic novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. A little girl named Lucy stumbles into the wintry land of Narnia through a magic wardrobe.
A study by Josh McDowell revealed:
Seventy-nine percent of men in the evangelical church use pornography at least once a month.
Fifty-five percent of marriages are negatively impacted by pornography.
That’s astonishing data considering that pornography:
Breeds disconnection rather than intimacy.
Deepens secrecy.
Creates distrust.
Destroys marriages.
Many women are suffering because their husband uses pornography. They feel isolated, ashamed, hopeless, and helpless. They’ve tried everything they can think of to fight for their marriage – like being more sexual with him; being more patient, forgiving, or gracious; or creating a more loving environment – all to no avail.
Ryan and Kayla North are co-founders of One Big Happy Home, an organization that offers practical strategies, guidance, and resources for caregivers whose adoptive children are dealing with trauma, behavior challenges and attachment issues.
Over the past 10 years, the Norths have fostered nearly 30 children. They currently have six kids – two biological and four adopted – ages 22 to 13. But foster parenting wasn’t part of the Norths’ original intent for their family. They assumed they’d follow a more traditional path.
What does the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and the saying “if you cross your eyes, they’ll get stuck that way” all have in common?
They’re all lies that most of us have believed at some point. Fortunately, these untruths and others like them, are mostly harmless.
But many other lies prevent us from flourishing in some area of our lives. It’s important to examine lies through the lens of Scripture.
To do that, Gary Thomas is joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to help you dismantle the prominent lies of this age and discover true freedom in Christ.
Author Mandy Majors and her husband, Matt, knew their parenting had to shift into a different gear when their nine-year-old daughter asked where babies come from. It turns out her daughter’s friend had watched a sexually graphic video at home then shared details about it at school.
Mandy and her husband admit to overreacting to the situation by immediately saying no to all technology. Unfortunately, when they bubble-wrapped their daughter and tried to control her every move, a wall went up between them, and their connection and communication suffered.
According to data from the Guttmacher Institute, established in 1968 as a subsidiary of Planned Parenthood, one in four women in the United States have an abortion. Evangelical Protestants have abortions at approximately half that rate, which is a better percentage overall but still uncomfortably high.
Author Camille Cates has experienced both sides of the abortion issue. When she entered high school, she gave in to pressure to be sexually active and became pregnant. Though raised in a Christian home, her parents suggested that she have an abortion.
For more than 45 years, elementary students across America have had a legal right to attend elective offsite Bible classes during their public-school day. “Released time” laws allow students to attend religious training opportunities of their choice.
Bible2School (B2S) is one such program. Located in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Idaho and Texas, B2S isn’t extracurricular; it takes place during the school day and, according to the Supreme Court, is a protected Constitutional right in all 50 states.
Some people are “quietly” broken. They’ll put a smile on their face and tell you, “I’m fine,” but they feel lonely, depressed and inadequate.
For many, that brokenness began with a trauma that caused them to doubt their worth. Others felt wounded by a parent who wasn’t physically or emotionally available. For these reasons and many others, children become adults who chase the approval of others.
What they need – what we all need – is “The Blessing,” a concept introduced on Focus on the Family decades ago by Dr.
The stress of daily life takes a toll on even the happiest couples – which is why marriage and family counselor Dr. Randy Schroeder says seeking marital happiness is unrealistic. A better approach is to pursue consistent marital satisfaction. How? Good habits.
Dr. Schroeder offers four “daily essentials” for creating good habits in your marriage:
“Goodbye, I love you.” Whoever leaves the house first should initiate this.
“Goodnight, I love you.” Whoever goes to bed first should initiate this.
At what age do children become adults, 16, 18, 21? Answers among parents likely vary widely.
Psychologist, author, and expert in adolescent and family relationships, Dr. Ken Wilgus, says adulthood isn’t a moment in time as much as a process of growth that he calls “Progressive Emancipation,” which he describes as “marshaling an orderly retreat out of your teenagers’ lives.” In other words, parents should deliberately work their way out of their parental responsibilities by the time their child leaves home.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
