Daly Focus Blog
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?
Alexandra Kuykendall knew she had to do Christmas differently.
Her job required a significant amount of her time, and her children and husband wanted a good chunk of the rest. Add to that visitors who were staying in her home and the usual accoutrements of Christmas – food, gifts, decorations, etc. – and she was overwhelmed.
After the holidays, even a non-committal, “Fine,” felt like a lie when friends and co-workers asked her, “How was your Christmas?”
She encountered something all of us go through at one time or another at Christmas.
It’s easy to forget the origins of the holidays we celebrate. For a lot of people, Thanksgiving is about family, football, and pumpkin pie.
That’s all good stuff. But it’s also good to remind ourselves of the true origin of Thanksgiving and to remember how grateful we should be to live in a nation that has been immeasurably blessed by God.
While you’re fixing your Thanksgiving feast today, or heading over to Grandma’s in the car, tune into our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Remembering the Pilgrims’ Journey.”
Professor Jay Milbrandt, a professor at Bethel University in Minnesota, is with us to peel back the layers of history and get us back to what the first Thanksgiving was all about.
Despite the seemingly unprecedented animosity directed towards people of Christian faith these days, religious persecution is not a new concept.
The Pilgrims who first established the Plymouth Colony in 1620 had encountered more than their fair share of religious bias prior to leaving England. They came here seeking religious liberty—one of the very same principles that would later be enshrined in our Constitution.
I recently had the opportunity to interview an expert on the Pilgrims for the Focus on the Family Broadcast.
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.
