Jim Daly

The Ordinary Voter Has Extraordinary Power

Outside of the Bluegrass State, the death of former Kentucky United States Senator Walter D. Huddleston earlier this month didn’t register many headlines. The 92-year-old broadcaster-turned-legislator, ill for several years, passed away quietly in his sleep.

First elected to the United States Senate in 1972, Huddleston, a moderate Democrat, eventually lost his bid for reelection in 1984 when a 44-year-old Republican judge named Mitch McConnell narrowly defeated him in a hotly fought contest.

Narrowly defeated is an understatement.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: events, government, policy, voting

Loving the Story of Your Marriage

Brad Rhoads didn’t think he had a problem with his marriage. He was putting a lot of energy and creativity into building a law practice. His clients and colleagues all thought he was attentive and engaged.

Not his wife, Marilyn. She thought Brad invested so much of his energy into his work that he had nothing left to invest in his marriage.

There was no affair, no huge blow-up. But Brad had taken his eyes off the Lord and his wife, and their relationship was suffering a slow leak.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, marriage

Developing a Love of Prayer in Your Kids

In our Welcome Center here at the Focus on the Family campus, children have the opportunity to leave their prayer requests with us.

One of my favorites is from a 9-year-old boy who wrote, “Please pray for my brother. He wets the bed. And pray for me. I share the bed with my brother.”

Some prayer requests are much more serious, like an 8-year-old boy who asked God to help his dad stop drinking, so he could be healthy again.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, prayer

Halloween Safety Tips for Families

Does your family go trick-or-treating?

It’s one of those issues good Christians can (and sometimes do) disagree on. In previous years, I’ve written about how Christians tend to think about Halloween in one of three ways:

They enjoy it, focusing on the fun and candy part of it.
They amend it, so their children can enjoy activities like a “harvest festival” or “trunk or treating” at church.
They ignore it by not acknowledging the day in order to remain true to their convictions.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: family, parenting

Encouragement for Moms

I want to introduce you to Erin Hawley, Focus on the Family’s newest author. Erin is a wife, mother to two young boys and also a practicing lawyer and professor of law. This following excerpt comes from her wonderful new book, Living Beloved: Lessons from My Little One About the Heart of God.

If you think of someone who needs this does of perspective, please consider passing it along. I’d also like to encourage you to pick up a copy of her book in our store – and let me know how this message resonate with you by leaving your feedback in the comments section below.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, mother, wife

Understanding How Your Teen Thinks

We had Jeramy and Jerusha Clark on our Focus on the Family Broadcast last year to talk about what’s going on in our teens’ brains. It was fascinating.

We learned that teenagers often can’t articulate what they’re feeling. They don’t recognize that they’re lonely and insecure, or that they need more attention from you. Since they can’t ask for specific help, they often express their emotions through behavior.

We have Jeramy and Jerusha back with us again to discuss the way teens think.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, parenting

Experiencing the Best Marriage for You and Your Spouse

According to some reports, Americans spent $72 billion on wedding ceremonies last year. That puts the average cost in the neighborhood of $30,000 per ceremony.

By contrast, most married couples will never invest a fraction of that amount into the marriage itself.

A successful marriage isn’t the by-product of an extravagant ceremony or an expensive honeymoon. If that were the case, celebrities would routinely set the standard for strong, healthy marriages.

A happy, fulfilling marriage isn’t about the big day, it’s about the every day.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage, relationships, wife

Discovering What It Means to Be a Man

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh became the first man to successfully fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. The flight took him thirty-three hours, thirty minutes and thirty seconds.

Lindbergh didn’t sleep for nearly 55 hours. His flight from New York to Paris required him to dodge storm clouds at 10,000 feet and skim over wave tops as low as 10 feet. He continually had to alter his altitude to keep ice from building on The Spirit of St.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith

Reverend H.B. London, Jr., Pastor to Pastors, Has Died at 81

It is with a heavy heart that I write to let you know that our friend and longtime Focus colleague, the Reverend H.B. London Jr., passed away this morning after a long and courageous battle with cancer. He was 81. He died at his home in Palm Desert. His beloved wife, Beverley, was at his side, as were other members of the London family.

Our feelings are conflicted because, on the one hand, we rejoice that H.B.

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Evangelism It’s Easier Than You Think

Jesus said to believers, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13 and14, ESV).

What did Jesus mean? Lee Strobel – well-known as the former atheist who wrote the best-seller The Case for Christ – says that Jesus meant if you’re going to follow Him, make people thirst for God. Shine His message of hope, grace, love, redemption, and eternal life into areas of darkness and despair.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, evangelism, faith