Daly Focus Blog
In a little more than a month, advocates for life will be gathering together for the annual March for Life in Washington D.C.
This year mark’s the 46th anniversary of the tragic Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in all fifty states. Year in and year out, those of us who believe that every life should be protected under the rule of law gather in the cold of January and protest this modern-day genocide.
Why do we do it?
Are you an avoider?
A pleaser?
How about a chaotic or a vacillator?
Those are four of the five the love styles you and your spouse likely see in your marriage. Their various combinations describe the core patterns driving a couple’s interactions and the problems they cause.
Avoiders and pleasers don’t experience much conflict, but for all the wrong reasons. Avoiders don’t like to have honest conversations because they get messy, and pleasers worry their spouse will get mad.
Dr. Kevin Leman humorously says of children, “We have seen the enemy, and they are small. They’re unionized. The ‘ankle-biter battalion’ is on the move, so you better have a game plan.”
I’m sure many parents would heartily agree with that assessment. To that end, Dr. Leman is with us on our program “Game Plan for Raising Well-Behaved Children” to share a wealth of practical tips that can bring order to the chaos in your home more quickly than you might think possible.
When news broke this past Friday night of President George H.W. Bush’s passing at the age of 94, press reports were quick to mention his “patrician” pedigree. The son of a United States senator, the New England-bred Mr. Bush attended an elite prep school and later Yale University.
Implied in such a reference is the insinuation that George Herbert Walker Bush began life with a lot compared to the average American, which wouldn’t be entirely untrue.
I could have been aborted.
I was born in the ’60s prior to Roe v. Wade, but even then many people felt my mother would have been justified to abort me. She was the perfect candidate. She was 42 and in a high-risk pregnancy. My dad was an alcoholic, and I was the fifth child of a marriage that was already struggling to stay together. I was born into a household in turmoil.
I could have been aborted.
“Our nation’s forty-first president, George H.W. Bush, was the embodiment of human decency, an honorable gentleman of great manners, class and grace. He was a man who exemplified the importance of faith, family and freedom. He selflessly dedicated his years to the service of his nation. He was a man who saw life in terms of missions to tackle and promises to keep. He was faithful to the end. His death yesterday in Texas at the age of 94 marks the completion of his earthly journey and the beginning of life eternal.In the passing of President Bush, America has lost a champion and the world has lost a friend.”
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis created Aslan, a great lion who ruled Narnia. Susan, a little girl who stumbles into the enchanted world through a magic wardrobe, asks Mr. Beaver if Aslan is safe.
“Safe?” Mr. Beaver replies. “Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King.”
God, whom Aslan symbolizes, isn’t safe, either. He has a “wildness” that we find unsettling. We prefer to think of God in terms we can more easily define, understand … or control.
Do you ever waste time with your spouse?
That may seem like an odd question. But your answer will get to the heart of what your relationship with your spouse is all about.
You see, some couples don’t do too well with “wasting” time with one another. Simply being together with no particular agenda and nothing to focus their attention on except their spouse is uncomfortable.
In other words, they have a hard time with intimacy.
Are you a fan of the predictably poignant but proudly and admittedly syrupy and sappy Hallmark Christmas movies?
The Hallmark Hall of Fame franchise, which dates back to 1951, is the longest running prime time series in television history. Although the specials have evolved over the years, the concept of using feel-good entertainment to market a company’s products has to go down as one of the most brilliant moves in the history of retail sales promotion.
When should parents say, “My child is old enough to be completely free as an adult”?
By the way, “Never!” is not a good answer.
It’s worth thinking through when your job is done as a parent. Your answers will guide you in how you approach raising your kids.
Children on their way to adulthood have always struggled against their parents. And parents have always wondered, “Have I done everything I could to prepare my child for adulthood?
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.
