Daly Focus Blog
Throughout her 69 years, Norma McCorvey, aka “Jane Roe” of the tragic 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion in all 50 states, was a woman whose complicated and grief-laden life spanned the spectrum from abortion activist to pro-life stalwart.
The product of a broken home, Ms. McCorvey was repeatedly raped by a relative, dropped out of school when she was in the 9th grade, married at 16 and divorced shortly thereafter. She had three children, all by different men.
Kayla and Jeff got excited about all of the choices that were coming when they found out they were pregnant. Baby names. Nursery decorations. Pink clothes or blue?
But they could never have anticipated the gut-wrenching decision that doctors would soon confront them with about their baby.
Before they were married, Kayla and Jeff had been told that it was highly unlikely they’d ever be able to get pregnant. So the newlyweds were ecstatic – if not a little surprised – when a pregnancy test came back positive.
A recent video from the pro-life advocacy group Live Action shows that Planned Parenthood’s frequent insinuations that it provides widespread prenatal care for pregnant women are misleading at best.
The video highlights Planned Parenthood representatives, including its president, Cecile Richards, making the claim that women rely on Planned Parenthood for prenatal care. Yet when investigators tested those assertions by calling 97 facilities across 41 Planned Parenthood affiliates and asking for prenatal care, they found that only five of the facilities provided that service.
Every February the nation observes Black History Month and recognizes the many contributions of African Americans to the United States and the world. Here at Focus on the Family, it’s no different. We recognize the special commemoration during our monthly chapel service with our staff and through other special educational and celebratory activities over the course of the four-week period.
While reflecting on the celebration, I was reminded about something that happened last August on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal.
Author Leo Tolstoy once said, “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.”
Tolstoy’s profound insight is precisely why a successful marriage isn’t a matter of fate, chemistry, or a roll of the dice. Good relationships are about finding common ground in the midst of differences that naturally occur between two people.
The problem is, a lot of couples give up on each other too easily.
“And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29).
If we’re being honest, a lot of us would admit that we like the idea of loving our neighbors more than actually getting to know them and investing part of our lives into theirs.
I’m sure your family’s schedule looks a lot like mine. You’re busy with work and kids and everything that goes into making that all run smoothly. If you’re introverted, maybe just breaking the ice with the couple next door and starting a conversation is hard.
As I previously mentioned, I had the opportunity to travel to
Washington, D.C. last week to attend the 65th Annual National Prayer Breakfast. I usually try to “bundle” various activities and
meetings per trip, and this visit was no different. All in all, I spent nearly three days in the nation’s capital meeting with several members of Congress and with media.
During my visit to D.C., I was also able to tour the Museum of the Bible, which is located about three blocks from the Capitol.
We’re currently in the midst of National Marriage Week (Feb. 7-14), a yearly celebration that recognizes the importance of this most basic human institution.
We’re also living in an age where cohabitation rates are increasing, in part because our culture increasingly doesn’t value the importance of God’s sacred and foundational gift to men and women.
Too many couples simply don’t see the value in getting married. To them, “marriage is just a piece of paper.” From their vantage point, marriage doesn’t bring any added benefits as long as they’re “secure” in their relationship.
Step into any drug store this week and you won’t be able to miss the fact that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. The aisle filled with candy is beginning to grow crowded. The selection of cards is starting to get picked over. Open the paper or surf the Internet and you’ll see media outlets are beginning to run an assortment of holiday-related articles, from date ideas to odd gifts suggestions (“Name a roach to show your love,” anyone?).
Preparing a child for adulthood is pretty serious business for parents. After all, the adult world is a competitive place, and we want our kids to be ready for it, don’t we?
That’s why we expect our children to do well in school and in their extracurricular activities. We even want them to behave with their siblings and the neighborhood kids. We parents understand how important it is for them to make good decisions in life.
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.
