Daly Focus Blog
Why did you get married?
For yourself? Or for your spouse?
Be honest. It was for you, wasn’t it?
Don’t feel too guilty about that. The rest of us probably did the same thing. Most of us get married because the relationship makes us happy. We thought marriage to this person would make our lives better.
That’s not entirely selfish. God wants us to enjoy our relationships with our spouses, but He also has a larger purpose in mind.
This past Easter Sunday, Stephen Colbert’s animated television show, “Our Cartoon President,” not only lampooned the President (which is expected), but Colbert also had the nation’s chief executive talk crassly about severing a part of God’s anatomy.
Of course, his defenders will says it’s just a joke – satire on steroids. After all, how can we take a cartoon seriously?
Mr. Colbert is an entertainer, and as such, he understands how to get a strong response from a crowd.
Doesn’t it seem like connecting with your children ought to come naturally? So what do you do when it doesn’t?
Author Kathi Lipp says the “problem” is often a difference in personality. Our children have a unique way of seeing the world. Instead of hindering our relationship, what if their uniqueness became the very foundation upon which a strong connection was built?
Kathi says your child’s personality is a window into his or her soul. Although God doesn’t create children with cookie cutter personalities, there are a lot of commonalities:
Expressive.
From growing up dirt poor to becoming reality television superstars, Phil and Kay Robertson, of A&E’s Duck Dynasty, have persevered for more than fifty years together.
It hasn’t always been easy. Their first years together were defined by poverty and alcohol abuse so severe Miss Kay eventually kicked Phil out of the house. Phil says their transformation individually and as a couple was only made possible through repentance.
“We look at the word ‘repent’ as a bad thing,” Phil says.
Today is Good Friday, the day Christians remember Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. Sunday is Easter, the day we celebrate His resurrection.
The rest of the world spends this season conjecturing about who Jesus is or debating whether or not He ever existed.
Throughout the culture, the story of Easter is seen as having everything to do with personal faith and nothing to do with objective truth. Religion, it’s believed, doesn’t deal with facts, it deals with personal experience and feelings.
“Who am I?”
Deep down, that’s a question we’re all asking ourselves. Sometimes it’s answered for us by others … and not always in a good way.
Author Michele Cushatt remembers being 19, in college, and overhearing some fellow students talking about her. One of the boys in the group said, “Michele would be beautiful if she wasn’t so fat.”
She was crushed, embarrassed, and humiliated. Worst of all, his comment solidified what she already believed about herself: Beauty was out of reach for her.
In a surprise move yesterday, the retail giant Walmart announced that it will stop selling the controversial magazine Cosmopolitan at the checkout shelves in over 5,000 of its stores.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company will still continue to carry the magazine, but it’ll be housed in a less prominent part of the store.
Meggan Kring, a spokesperson for Walmart, said, “While this was primarily a business decision, the concerns raised were heard.”
Over the years, those concerns came from plenty of frustrated parents and organizations like Focus on the Family, but most recently from the National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCOSE).
“A true friend always lets you in and never lets you down.”
– Dr. Tim Keller
Are you an avoider?
A pleaser?
How about a chaotic or a vacillator?
Those are four of the five 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.
“Make each day a masterpiece.”
That bit of advice comes from Coach John Wooden, a legendary college basketball coach who was respected by millions of people. He died in 2010 at the age of 99.
He led the UCLA Bruins basketball team to 10 NCAA national championships in just 12 years, including an 88-game winning streak. He was the first person to be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, both as a player and a coach.
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.
