Daly Focus Blog
Just a few wayward sparks. That’s all it takes to start a fire capable of burning through an entire city.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 is proof of that. It is one of the largest disasters in American history. According to popular accounts from the time, Catherine O’Leary’s cow kicked over a lantern in a humble barn on DeKoven Street. What started as a small fire grew into an inferno that destroyed miles of homes and razed Chicago’s business district.
The murder of Robert Godwin, Sr., on Easter Sunday shocked the nation. The 74-year-old Ohio resident was walking home from a holiday meal with his family when he was shot and killed by a complete stranger.
The murderer recorded the killing on his phone and later uploaded it to Facebook where it was watched thousands of times.
After a two-day manhunt, the man who pulled the trigger took his own life as police moved in to arrest him.
I never knew my grandparents, but family friends – Mr. and Mrs. Hope – became something like surrogate grandparents to me. They led my mother to the Lord, and treated her, my siblings, and me as part of their family.
Some of my fondest childhood memories are visiting with “Grandpa Hope,” as we called him. He would sit in a big recliner in his garden atrium, play checkers with us kids and – like any good grandfather – lose on purpose often enough to build our self-confidence.
At the risk of stating the obvious, it isn’t easy being a Christian student in a public school these days
Every day, these young people go to classrooms and cafeterias where discussions center on sensitive topics like homosexuality, transgenderism, gender identity – and most of the time, the conversations are one-sided.
That’s partly because an increasing number of teachers and school officials suggest there’s only one right way to think about topics related to sexuality.
Now, I know that’s a big claim, so let me back it up by giving you an example of how the “new” sexuality is being promoted in public schools.
Many women who have been sexually assaulted endure a similar struggle: “God, where were you?”
That’s a gut-wrenching question with no easy answers, but it deserves a heart-felt response. Few people can offer hope and healing in the wake of sexual assault better than our guests on today’s and tomorrow’s programs, Leila Sommerfield and Kathleen Terrill.
They understand sexual assault as only survivors can, and they’ll be sharing exactly where they believe God was in the midst of some of their deepest suffering.
Humorist Erma Bombeck once said, “There is a thin line that separates laughter and pain.”
Chonda Pierce has been tip-toeing that line for a long time. She’s been doing stand-up comedy for 25 years and is the top-selling female comic in history. She has a unique ability to describe life’s most challenging moments all while making you laugh out loud with her humor.
Focus on the Family was privileged to have Chonda as a guest speaker at a recent chapel service here at the ministry.
Today is Good Friday, and many of us will be spending a portion of the day in church or at home, thinking reflectively about the sacrifice our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ made when He gave His life for us on Calvary.
It’s something American Christians can do without worry or concern, because we live in a nation where, despite some cultural opposition, we can worship freely and without persecution.
But around the world, there are fellow believers who are risking their lives every time they meet for corporate worship – especially during holidays like Holy Week.
Today is Maundy Thursday, the date marking the end of Lent and the beginning of the Easter Triduum—the three-day period leading up to Easter Sunday. The term “Maundy” stems from the Latin word “mandatum”—which means “commandment” and alludes to Jesus’ words as recorded in the 13th chapter of John’s Gospel: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
When you think about it, this is the essence of who Jesus is and why He came to earth, isn’t it?
Tomorrow is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter. Those holidays don’t mean much for a lot of families. It’s just another routine Friday followed by a warm spring day where kids get all the candy they want and hunt for colorful eggs.
There’s a deeper significance to those days that many people overlook. I remember years ago, back when video stores were still around. My wife and I went looking for a well-known film that told the story of Easter.
Laura Story and her husband Martin Elvington have often told people that their marriage went from the honeymoon straight to the E.R.! That wasn’t just a metaphor.
Barely two years into their lives together, they thought the world was open to them. They could do anything they wanted to do, and they were happily anticipating all that God may have had in store.
Within a few months of a big move to Atlanta for Martin to attend grad school, he began experiencing physical symptoms that went undiagnosed for nearly a year.
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.
