Jim Daly

Do You Want to Unlock the Secrets to Lifelong Love?

As Valentine’s Day approaches, we’re excited here at Focus on the Family because we’re working with congregations worldwide to exalt marriage this Sunday in an event we’re calling the Honoring Marriage Event.

It’s a time for churches to talk about God’s design for marriage – something we’re doing with special emphasis throughout the month of February here at Focus.

In fact, we think marriage is so important to the health and stability of the culture that we have an entire division of our ministry dedicated to helping husbands and wives strengthen their relationships.

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: church, marriage, promos, relationships

She Died and Lived to Tell About It

Give her an opportunity, and Pamela Christian will gladly tell you about the day she died.

It all began during an afternoon of tennis with some girlfriends. She had been battling stomach problems all morning, a problem she dismissed as indigestion. But after just a few practice swings she realized she was feeling short of breath and light headed as well, too much for the amount of exertion her warmup should have required of her.

In only a matter of minutes, she knew she was in trouble.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, news

Dr. Tony Evans’ Tips for a Better Marriage

There’s a war waging over your marriage … and a lot of days you probably don’t even recognize it.

The epic war movie “Saving Private Ryan” opens with one of the most riveting battle scenes in film history. It depicts in graphic detail the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. It’s a vivid reminder of the tremendous sacrifice asked of our soldiers and their heroic bravery.

But I think it also illustrates the intensity of the spiritual battle that’s waging for your marriage and mine.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage

How to Establish Healthy Boundaries with Your Teens

Dr. John Townsend hits a parent’s struggle during the teen years right on the head when he says it’s “because we’re needed the most and wanted the least.”

Our teenagers need us as much as ever in their final years at home before they venture into adulthood, but they don’t exactly want us interfering in their lives.

Remember when your teen was a 10-year-old? They were more likely to say, “Mom and dad, can you help me with this?” Teenagers, on the other hand, say, “I’m a grownup; I don’t need your help.”

The unofficial mantra of teenagers everywhere is “Come close.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, kids, parenting

Are Abortion Activists Going to Boycott Doritos?

Last night’s big Super Bowl win by our Denver Broncos continues to dominate conversation in the hallways here at Focus on the Family. After all, it was a plot almost too implausible for Hollywood. With his career on life support just three months ago, future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning rises off the bench on a cold January Sunday afternoon and rallies his team to a win in the final regular season game. Two playoff victories follow.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: pop culture, pro-life

Lee Strobel’s Amazing Stories

Kaing Khek Ieu didn’t deserve God’s grace.

In the mid-1990s, he was a teacher living in Cambodia when he was invited by a friend to attend a Christian leadership training event held by Christopher LaPel, a pastor living in Los Angeles but born in Cambodia.

In the midst of the services, Kaing Khek Ieu approached LaPel and said, “I don’t have any hope. I’ve done too many horrible things. God can’t forgive me.”

Christopher had never met the man, but assured him that no one is beyond hope.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith

What Has Marriage Taught You?

A colleague of mine was recently visiting some friends at an assisted living complex here in Colorado Springs. Sitting with men and women in the twilight of their lives, he asked them about their respective marriages. Many were now widowed but others were still married, some for fifty and sixty years.

What had marriage taught them about love and life?

What advice would they give to couples just starting out?

If they had to do it all over again, what would they do differently?

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, relationships

How to Manage Life’s Distractions

Rachel lost two years of her life.

Maybe the first thought that comes to mind when you read that sentence is that Rachel suffered some sort of tragic accident that threw her into a coma – or she bonked her head and lost two years to amnesia.

But neither of those are accurate, and what happened to her can happen to any of us.

Her life was filled with distractions.

If our to-do lists are never-ending, and we’re always thinking ahead to the next thing, and the next thing, and the next thing, then we can easily miss out on the real life that’s happening right in front of us.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting, relationships, technology

Why the Houston Grand Jury Indicted the Wrong Man

By now you’ve likely heard that David Daleiden, the pro-life investigator and founder of the Center for Medical Progress who last summer published a series of undercover videos exposing the morbid business of Planned Parenthood, has been indicted by a grand jury in Houston.

Let that sink in for a moment. Planned Parenthood was exonerated, and the person who brought to light their scandalous and potentially illegal activity has now been charged with a crime.

Should Parents Help with School Projects?

I remember my son Trent’s first science project when he was in fourth grade. Jean and I agreed that we needed to let him do the project on his own. After all, the whole point was for him to learn, right?

Well, at the end of the semester, we discovered not every parent shared that view.

The school had an open house, so the parents could see the work the kids had done. It was pretty obvious whose mom and dad had been involved in their child’s schoolwork – like the rocket ship that had been built from scratch by an actual astronaut!