Jim Daly

Holding on to the Hope of Heaven

John Burke
was an agnostic. He didn’t know if there was a God or if the afterlife was real.
The closest he got to spirituality was believing that Jesus was a good teacher
whose life somehow became the stuff of legend and myth.

Then John’s
dad got cancer, and John began to wonder more deeply about life’s big
questions. During that time, someone gave his father a book of original
research that coined the term “near-death experience.” When John read people’s
stories about bright lights, tunnels, and strange visions, it set him on what
became a 35-year quest to examine those experiences more deeply.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family

4 Things You Can Learn About Marriage from Tonight’s NFL Draft

Unlike recent NFL Drafts from such famed locales as New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, this year’s “virtual” iteration promises to be a more subdued affair. In the era of the coronavirus, there will be no traditional high fives or hugs – and no real stage with strobe lights and confetti.

Tonight’s annual extravaganza will be coming from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement – a space usually reserved for family time R&R.

Most analysts are expecting the Cincinnati Bengals to select Joe Burrow, last year’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback from Louisiana State University, with the first overall selection.

Except for hardcore fans, there’s usually only moderate interest outside the first or second round – but in thinking about the dynamics and drama surrounding the annual festivities, it’s struck me there’s some applicable marriage lessons to be found in the dynamics of the draft and sport itself.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage

A Conversation with My Son I Will Never Forget

The coronavirus pandemic has been very bad for many things – but it has given many parents – myself included – extra time to talk with their children.

Just the other day, I was chatting with one of our sons and a tender subject came up.

It involved the sudden and unexpected death of one of his friends. We’ve talked about it in the past and even prayed and grieved over it as a family, but we’ve probably never discussed it as deeply or as meaningfully as we did this time around.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family

Dealing with Depression During the Coronavirus Outbreak

With much
of the country weeks into a lockdown, calls to the National Mental Health
Hotline have increased by almost 900 percent.

The
uncertainty of these times is resulting in a steep rise in anxiety and
depression. For many, social distancing has turned into social isolation. Some
have turned away from people and toward food, alcohol, online shopping, and
pornography. Others are suffering from racing thoughts, sleepless nights, and irritability.

It becomes
a trap. When we’re anxious and fearful, we can’t concentrate, our creativity
and productivity go down, and it’s hard to see options.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events/ Family and Home Tags: Coronavirus, depression

Former NFL Star Benjamin Watson Wants to Help Small Churches During the Coronavirus Pandemic

We’ve just come through Easter, a time when many churches in America experience near record attendance. The coronavirus changed all of that this year, of course.

Congregations are being wonderfully innovative, and many are streaming their services on their websites or through social media channels. Some are even reporting that their online metrics suggest they’re reaching more with the Gospel than ever before.

It’s just like the Christian church to thrive in crisis!

But not every church is thriving and reaching more people.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events

Loving and Serving Your Spouse During the Pandemic

Most of us
have spent a lot more time at home than we would have imagined possible a few
weeks ago. The good news is that we’ve gotten plenty of extra time in close
quarters to spend with our spouse.

The bad
news … is that we’ve gotten plenty of extra time in close quarters to spend
with our spouse!

When
people are thrown together in stressful situations, the good and the bad
eventually bubble to the surface.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: love, marriage

Navigating eLearning and Screen Time During the Coronavirus Outbreak

Most
Americans have been on virtual lockdown since March. Everything from sports to
restaurants have been shut down for weeks. The one thing we haven’t lost is our
screens. Which means a lot of us have filled our days with video games and
online shopping while we binge on Netflix.

I get it.
This is a stressful time, and a little distraction is good for us. But spending
nearly every waking moment in front of a screen isn’t.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, technology

Presidential Feuds with the Press are Nothing New

History is always a good teacher.

If you were to visit the National Archives building in Washington, D.C., you’d see two separate statues just outside its Pennsylvania Avenue entrance.

One is a sculpture that contains a paraphrase of a quote from Confucius. It reads, “Study the past.” The figure is holding a closed book representing history’s previous events.

The other is a sculpture titled, “Future,” and at its base is a line from Shakespeare’s “Tempest” – “What is Past is Prologue.”

In other words, everything that’s happened contributes to everything that’s happening today and that will occur tomorrow.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: current events

Governor Cuomo Claims God Shouldn’t Get Credit for Defeat of the Coronavirus

Should God receive credit for the turning of the tide of the coronavirus global pandemic?

Not according to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Speaking earlier this week, the Empire State’s chief executive, who is Catholic, was blunt:

“The number is down because we brought the number down,” he told reporters. “God did not do that. Faith did not do that. Destiny did not do that. A lot of pain and suffering did that…That’s how it works. It’s math.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: Coronavirus, current events

Helping Your Marriage Survive the Coronavirus

We’re
several weeks into the coronavirus outbreak, and by now you’ve memorized a
dozen methods for keeping your body’s immune system strong.

But what are
you doing to keep your marriage strong?

When we’re
stressed, we strike out at the people closest to us, namely our spouse and children.
That’s especially true when you’re cooped up together under quarantine. Good
marriages can be strained, and bad marriages can be stressed to their breaking
point.

A couple’s
differences can either serve as triggers for conflict or as points of tension that
can strengthen the relationship.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage