Daly Focus Blog
“Take time to smell the roses.”
It’s a well-worn phrase. But phrases like that endure for generations because their wisdom is so profound. In this case, that simple bit of near poetry reminds us that we tend to miss the richness all around us because we rush so quickly by the flowers of life that we never notice their color, their beauty, or their wondrous fragrance.
Popular guest, Vicki Courtney, told me of one springtime when she was pushing her grandson along in his stroller.
In my role as president of Focus on the Family, I have the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people – from heads of state to ordinary people who’ve achieved extraordinary things.
Over the years, one thing has been affirmed again and again in my mind – people are what life is all about.
Dr. John Maxwell puts it this way: “God is in the people business, so we should be in the people business.”
Here at Focus, we take that directive seriously.
Some time ago I blogged about the “ideal” family size – does it matter how many children a couple has? In it, I took a look how many kids Americans think are ideal and why fertility rates are declining.
A recent article from The Washington Post brought that post to mind because it examines why some couples decide to have larger families.
According to Pew Research Center, 15 percent of all U.S. adults have had four or more children – and, as it might be expected, faith seems to play a role in the size of some families.
When I think of today’s and tomorrow’s radio guest, Sarah Kovac, I’m reminded of a story I once heard about two people strolling along the beach.
One was blind, the other was not.
At the top of a large sand dune, the blind man stopped and breathed in the salt air. “Isn’t this absolutely beautiful?”
“How can you appreciate any of this?” the sighted man asked.
The blind man smiled. “Can’t you feel the warmth of the sun or the sand between your toes?
It started out as a day filled with eager anticipation for a 3-year-old boy going to the zoo with his mom and siblings. We can imagine the happiness of the Saturday morning scene.
But the carefree adventure quickly took an ominous turn once the family made it into the park.
By now, you’ve heard what happened. Trying to get a better look at the endangered gorillas, the youngster somehow fell 15 feet into the enclosure’s water-filled moat.
Intimacy and sex are not the same thing.
That comes as a surprise to a lot of newlyweds. Most younger couples enter marriage thinking sex will be the easy part of their relationship … and feel caught off guard when it becomes one of the most complex. They don’t know going in that struggles related to sex are one of the top reasons for marital conflict.
That’s because newlyweds tend to assume they both want the same thing out of their sexual relationship.
One million.
It’s a big number. But on today of all days, that number takes on even greater value and significance.
That’s because today is Memorial Day, the day we remember over one million Americans who have died in war on behalf of us all.
That figure is astounding by itself, but it’s even more sobering when you reflect on this: behind every number is a name, and behind every name is a family whose entire world changed forever because that soldier didn’t come home.
Memorial Day weekend is hours away and, with it, the unofficial start of summer.
For many families, summer is a time to make memories and spend countless hours having fun together. But with all the activities that come with the longer, sun-drenched days come new opportunities for families to face injuries or hurts.
My friend Dr. Ed Leap, who serves on Focus on the Family’s Physician Resource Council, recently came up with a list of summer safety tips that I thought I would pass along.
When was the last time you shared your faith with someone?
I ask, not to shame those of us who haven’t talked to anyone about Christ in quite a while, but to draw us back to the journey.
We hesitate to talk to people about the Lord for any number of reasons. Maybe certain aspects of witnessing don’t fit our personality temperament. Or we don’t know what to say. Or we don’t feel we’re a good enough person to adequately represent Christianity.
For 40 years the United Methodist Church has supported the Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade decision – that is, until last week.
Delegates of the country’s third-largest religious body voted 445 to 310 to repeal the official resolution supporting the case establishing a constitutional “right” to abortion during its General Conference. They also voted to sever its affiliation with the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), an interfaith organization co-founded by the United Methodist Church.
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.
