Jim Daly

Mount Everest and Marriage: Braving New Heights Together

Every married couple faces an Everest – a mountain-sized struggle that can only be overcome by scaling the problem together. In Captain Harold and Rachel Earls’ case, the Everest was literal.

Harold was a cadet at West Point when he wrote his bucket list. The top two dreams were “get married” and “climb Mount Everest.”

In 2016, those dreams collided when Harold told his new bride of only a few months that he planned to travel to the other side of the world and climb the tallest – and most dangerous – mountain on earth.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage

The Censoring and Silencing of Conservative Speech

The late Democrat senator from New York Daniel Patrick Moynihan once famously observed, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”

But not according to Twitter, the social networking service with 330 million users.

As I mentioned last week, Focus on the Family’s Daily Citizen was blocked from the site and accused of “hate speech.”

The tweet in question simply stated, “On Tuesday, President-elect Joe Biden announced that he had chosen Dr. Rachal Levine to serve as Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of HHS.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: free speech

Understanding Your Child’s Love Style

Have you ever tried to push a fully inflated beach ball under the water?

You can only hold it beneath the surface for so long. Sooner or later, your strength will give out, and the ball will pop back up.

It’s a lot like parenting.

To explain how, we’ve invited Milan and Kay Yerkovich back to our microphones to discuss how to develop a deeper connection with your children by understanding their love styles.

Milan and Kay explain the coping mechanisms we develop in childhood to avoid relational pain.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: parenting

President Biden Champions Abortion – But the March for Life Goes On

On the eve of the March for Life, in what can only be considered as a poke in the eye to those of us seeking to protect preborn life, President Joe Biden rescinded the “Mexico City Policy” on Thursday – a safeguard that has prohibited the use of taxpayer money to fund abortions overseas.

What happened to your call for unity, Mr. President?

In a recent poll, over 77% of Americans oppose this action. Yet as he signed the executive order in the Oval Office, President Biden suggested the policy would ensure healthcare for women.

Abortion is not healthcare, but what about the health and care of those little babies, President Biden?

Fittingly, an icy, winter wind is blowing across Washington, D.C., today, less than 24 hours before the start of this year’s March – the annual commemoration of the Supreme Court’s tragic 1973 ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states.

I’m in our nation’s capital, absorbing the sights of National Guard troops and barbed wire – but still grateful for those who will be standing in solidarity for the innocent children who have no voice.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is forcing this year’s March to look very different than previous editions, when hundreds of thousands of people usually descend on this city.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: march for life, pro-life

Twitter Censors Focus on the Family’s The Daily Citizen

As I’ve noted before, Big Tech titans are the new emperors of the twenty-first century, wielding an inordinate amount of power by silencing individuals and organizations that don’t comport or cave to their political or social point of view.

In recent weeks, high-profile, outspoken individuals have been banned from social media, including former President Donald Trump and Mike Lindell, CEO and founder of My Pillow.

You can now add Focus on the Family’s The Daily Citizen to the list.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: free speech, the daily citizen

Teacher of the Year

On our program today, we’re airing a classic Focus on the Family Broadcast you won’t want to miss.

“Teacher of the Year” is a tribute to teachers, featuring a talk by Guy Doud, voted Teacher of the Year in 1986. His inspirational and humorous message highlights the powerful difference teachers can make when they reach out to students who feel like outcasts relegated to the sidelines of their school.

I’ll always remember Mrs. Bandy, the school nurse at my elementary school.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: children, education

What Wives Can Do to Bless Their Marriage

Ladies, today I’ve got a simple idea that’ll help you create a happier marriage: affirm your husband.

Right away, you may be thinking: “Affirm him? Where’s my affirmation?”

I get it. No doubt your husband has plenty of areas where he could improve. And praising him can be a challenge if he’s not reaching out to you in a meaningful way. But hear me out. Affirmation is the key that unlocks your husband’s heart. He craves respect – from his boss, from his kids, and from you.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage

How You Can Join the Pro-Life Movement

Focus on the Family has been unashamedly pro-life since our inception 44 years ago. The affirmation of human life is one of our foundational principles, and I pray that however long the Lord allows our organization to exist, it will remain so.

Each of us as individuals has an important part to play as well. It’s not enough to vote for pro-life candidates and ballot initiatives and then wish women with unplanned pregnancies, “Good luck.” We have to be ready physically, spiritually, and emotionally to walk alongside women in need.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: march for life, pro-life

Inauguration Day Thoughts

It’s been a unique Inauguration Day, beginning with now-former President Donald Trump’s early morning departure from Washington, D.C., and then President Joe Biden’s swearing-in on the western front of the Capitol.

At Focus on the Family, we began the day with a call to the nation for prayer – for President Trump and his outgoing administration and for President Biden and his team. If there was ever a time requiring God’s mercy and divine intervention in America, today’s events seem to cry out for it.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: culture, politics

Using Kindness to Open Doors in the Culture

I’ve been thinking about kindness a lot because I believe it lies at the heart of the Gospel. Have you ever met a believer who became a Christian as a result of judgment, condemnation, or ridicule? Me neither.

One of my favorite verses is Romans 2:4, which reminds us that it’s the kindness of God that opens people’s hearts to the message of God.

I often ask myself, “Am I reflecting God’s kindness? Or am I just being nice?” Scripture never tells us to be nice.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: culture, faith