Daly Focus Blog
One of the most important responsibilities you have as a parent is passing your faith and values on to your children.
It may also be one of the most challenging tasks before you. And there’s a reason why.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, both the U.S. men’s and women’s 4 x 100 relay teams were expected to compete for the gold medal. Instead, in a shocking turn of events, neither team even made it to the finals.
Dallas Police Chief David Brown shared some very personal thoughts during a Monday news conference as he updated the media on the Thursday night attack.
“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” he said. “We are. You’re asking us to do too much. Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cop handle it. Not enough drug addiction funding, let’s give it to the cops.
If you’re a Christian, you’re aware that God desires to hear your praise and worship.
But what about your anger, or your discouragement, or your frustration that He’s not intervening in your life the way you wanted or expected?
Many Christians have a hard time believing God will tolerate such deep, often unpleasant emotions from His children. They might even say, “Oh, no, no, no. You can’t talk to God like that.”
But the Psalmists felt no such uncertainty.
The people of Dallas are in mourning today and with them, all of America as well.
That a rally purported to serve as a peaceful protest to police-involved shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota (read my statement on the deaths on Facebook) turned violent is a stark reminder that sin and evil rage across every corner of every community of the country.
Here’s what we know:
During a “Black Lives Matter” rally last evening in downtown Dallas, 12 law enforcement officers and two civilians were shot.
For many couples, marriage is mostly about the kids.
Well-meaning moms and dads spend so many years completely devoted to the task of raising their children that they often forget to be husband and wife. It’s a situation that may be manageable while the kids are still at home and there’s enough work to “float” the relationship along – but it can become unbearable after the kids move out.
That’s what puts empty-nest marriages at higher risk for dissatisfaction – and even divorce.
I’d say the most popular word in the average parent’s vocabulary would have to be “no.”
To be fair, it’s an important word for moms and dads. Used properly, it creates healthy boundaries for children.
But I think sometimes we over-do our “no’s,” too. We can be a little too protective. Remember Dory, the Pacific blue tang with short-term memory loss from the animated hit “Finding Nemo”? She reminded Marlin, the dad of mis-adventurous Nemo, “You can’t never let anything happen to him.
American patriotism hits a high point at about this time every year. Independence Day celebrations remind us of our nation’s rich history of liberty.
But we’re also confronted with some very dark chapters that can tarnish the national pride we feel.
That paradox brings to mind an important question: “Should we love our country?”
Author Eric Metaxas says a lot of people today interpret love for America as nationalistic chest beating. Our pride is really nothing more than tribalism, they say.
What does hiking a mountain have in common with parenting? As it turns out, a lot.
Adventurers who explore the Colorado Rocky Mountains can be in the wild for extended periods of time. That can be risky if the weather unexpectedly deteriorates. Without warning, hikers can face conditions that change from one extreme to the other, and their well-thought out plans can become uncertain at best, requiring constant course corrections.
Raising children can be an equally daunting challenge.
Music has the power to transport you back in time, doesn’t it?
Listen to an old song, and all the emotions come flooding back … it’s almost like you’re in your childhood home again, or studying for college finals in your dorm, or falling in love with your spouse all over again.
Fast-forward to today. I hope most of us are enjoying the great things about summer – the barbecues, road trips, and visits to the beach or mountains.
I love the way Ray Vander Laan illustrates the expanding influence of God’s kingdom when we Christians live in faithful obedience to Christ. He says every time we obey our King – in big or little things, whether in our families or throughout our communities – we extend His kingdom by a square inch.
That’s the example Jesus lived out before us, and one which He asks us to follow. He extended God’s kingdom by doing the will of His Father, by loving His neighbor, by loving His enemy, by touching the unclean, and by caring for sinners.
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.
