Daly Focus Blog
It wasn’t the first time that Karis Kimmel Murray was confronted with how to discipline her young daughter, Riley, properly, but it was one of the more memorable.
At the end of a shopping trip at Walmart, Karis stopped by the shoe aisle for a new pair of flip-flops. Her daughter decided she’d sat patiently in the cart long enough. Karis allowed Riley down, but Riley didn’t just want out of the cart, she wanted out of the store … and Karis stood between her and that goal.
Week ending May 8, 2018
The Marriage Builder (by Larry Crabb)
The Language of Love (by Gary Smalley & John Trent)
A Lifelong Love (by Gary Thomas)
All the Places to Go . . . How Will You Know? (by John Ortberg)
Fully Alive (by Larry Crabb)
Fire Road (by Kim Phuc Thi)
The Focus on the Family Guide to Talking with Your Kids about Sex (by J. Thomas Fitch)
Kingdom Marriage (by Tony Evans)
The Power of Prayer and Fasting (by Ronnie Floyd)
Courage for Life (by Ann White)
Sacred Marriage (by Gary L.
Mom, could you use some practical ways to place God at the center of your relationship with your children? Do you have the right identity balance between “mom” and “me”?
In answer to those questions and others like them, author Brooke McGlothlin has this suggestion for moms: STOP.
Submit your thoughts to Christ.
Tell yourself the truth.
Open your eyes to understanding
Persist in prayer
Moms can be passionate about creating the ideal childhood for their kids.
“Honey, does life get any better than this?”
That’s what Carol Kent asked her husband one October night as they strolled hand-in-hand along the St. Clair River, watching the beauty of the changing seasons. She believed they were entering a time of change themselves.
She was right about that … but not in the way she had hoped. Little did she know that they were about to face the darkest chapter their family had ever encountered.
It’s been over 46 years since my mother slipped from this life into the next.
I was just 9 years old when she died, and her death disoriented me in ways big and small. In a very practical way, her passing marked the abrupt end of my childhood. Already reeling from the abandonment of my father at 5, it came at the worst possible time, though it’s never a good time for a child to lose a parent.
Of the many calls, emails and letters we receive at Focus on the Family, those involving the tragic subject of spousal abuse are among the most heart-wrenching. They’re also inquiries that demand an unequivocal response with no room for misinterpretation.
I raise this issue today in light of the current controversy involving Southwestern Seminary President Dr. Paige Patterson. The former head of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Patterson has been rightly credited with helping lead a conservative theological revolution within the denomination at a time when progressives were attempting to liberalize the understanding of Scripture.
Most couples come into a relationship with a sense of idealism. They’re so much in love and so much alike and so happy.
Over time, though, they discover that they’re really not that much alike – and maybe not so happy, either. That’s when a marriage ends up being all about “me” and “my happiness,” instead of “us” and “our happiness.”
Dr. Larry Crabb says the central problem in marriages like that is “unrecognized self-centeredness.” We ask, “What can my spouse do for me?” rather than “What can I offer my spouse that would make a difference in their life?” Instead of ministering, we manipulate.
Early in their marriage, Dr. John Trent’s wife would get up early and cook him breakfast. One morning, he came into the kitchen and instead of bacon and eggs, he found a book. It was one of John’s textbooks from college.
She said, “Do you remember when you first got this book? You couldn’t wait to read every page. Now you use it as a door stop for your study.” She paused then said, “That’s what our marriage feels like.”
John’s wife had given him a word picture.
Yesterday’s announcement that the Boy Scouts of America will drop “Boy” from the name of its signature program is yet another sad development for the once storied and celebrated organization.
You’ll recall that the Boy Scouts announced in 2013 that they would be allowing openly homosexual scouts to join local troops. In 2015, they began accepting openly homosexual leaders. Since these changes, scout membership has dropped approximately ten percent. Many churches have decided to cancel sponsorship of troops.
Are faith-based adoption agencies – those that believe foster children and newborns fare best when placed in a home with a mom and a dad – threatened with extinction?
The outlook is ominous.
But first, let’s establish some facts. At any given time, there are more than 100,000 foster children available for adoption in the United States, meaning that there are always many more children waiting for their forever home than there ought to be. I am personally aware of what it means to be one of those waiting children, since that was me at one point in my own childhood.
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.
