Jim Daly

Guest Post: Your Teen Wants to Watch “13 Reasons Why”? Here’s How to Respond

By: Danny Huerta

Friday’s release of the second season of 13 Reasons Why, the popular teen television drama, is bound to generate enormous interest – and controversy.

According to a Northwestern University study, the show’s highly-rated first season on Netflix significantly increased conversations among teens on difficult topics, but not necessarily in positive or healthy ways.

The same study also revealed that almost 80% of teens and young adults who watched the show felt it helped them understand the ripple effect of their behaviors, but it didn’t necessarily inspire them to reach out and repair relationships with those they hurt.

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What to Do When You and Your Spouse Are Different

When Jean and I entered premarital counseling, we were goo-goo-eyed and knew that we were meant for each other. We enjoyed most of the same things and were alike in almost every way.

When we finished our last session a week later, that had all changed. We were both thinking, “Wow, we are nothing alike,” and we were wondering, “Are we going to be okay?”

At some point, every couple begins to recognize their differences. And something strange happens when they do: The whole idea of “two becoming one” gets turned into, “My spouse should become more like me.”

How do couples manage their differences effectively?

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, husband, marriage, wife

Thriving in Your Role as a Dad

Do dads have to be perfect?

The answer to that question seems obvious: No.

But what if the answer is yes?

Nobody’s perfect, of course. We all fall short in word, thought, and deed every day. That’s why we need God’s grace.

But hold on. Even if the goal isn’t literal perfection, can’t every dad improve somewhere? This isn’t condemnation, this is a call for men to rise up and thrive as fathers. After all, being a dad is one of the most important jobs a man will ever have.

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The Trump Administration Is Right. Taxpayer Funds Should Not Support Abortion.

We applaud today’s action by the President and the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) in keeping this Administration’s pledge to American taxpayers that no funds would go directly, or indirectly, to support abortion.

HHS’s announcement that it will be bringing back a Reagan-era regulation dealing with family planning funds and abortion responds to the cry of millions of Americans who want their government to support life, not death. Six in ten Americans oppose taxpayer funding of abortion.

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The Recipe for Cooking Up a Happy Marriage

Some of the best influence on my boys’ future marriages takes place in our kitchen. That’s where Jean, I, and our sons gather to prepare the evening meal and catch up on our day.

Okay, Jean does most of the cooking, but the rest of us help out where we can. Most importantly, we’re all together. We talk about life. We talk about goals. We talk about success and failure. We laugh a lot. We’re doing more than fixing and eating dinner – we’re immersing our boys in relationship.

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Returning to a Godly Perspective on Sex and Romance

One of the most powerful forces God created for humanity exists in the realm of love, sex, and romance. The potential for both pleasure and blessing is virtually immeasurable. So is the potential for destruction.

As a group, Millennials and younger generations don’t tend to believe that. A significant percentage see sex as a purely physical experience. That shouldn’t surprise anyone. From an evolutionary standpoint, there isn’t anything sacred about sex. If there is no God, then sex is strictly biological.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, husband, intimacy, marriage, wife

Veterans Teach Vandals a Valuable Lesson

When’s the last time you read a news story with a happy ending?

After all, as a general rule of thumb, it’s the noise that makes news.

It’s human nature.

Maybe it’s because bad news makes us feel better about ourselves. Our lives could be worse – just look at that sad and sordid story.

But then there’s Heard County High School in Franklin, Georgia, population 993.

In a nod to tradition, seniors in the high school there regularly try and pull off a prank this time of year.

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Disciplining Your Kids with Grace

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.

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Focus on the Family Best Seller List

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.

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Why Moms Should STOP

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.

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