Daly Focus Blog
If your marriage could use a little help, the next 31 days could change everything.
That may sound like a promise right out of an infomercial, but it’s closer to the truth than you might think.
You see, every relationship is something of a dance. Ideally, couples learn to sway and dip in unison and to move gracefully across the dance floor with each other. But, of course, we all know that toes get stepped on along the way.
Many people have asked me who I endorse in the contest for President of the United States. I can understand the curiosity behind the question, but it’s way too early in the process to be able to tell who will be the best pro-family candidate out of all of the ones who are running.
In fact, the substance and spirit of Tuesday night’s Republican presidential debate in Las Vegas made clear to me that for those of us who support a pro-family agenda in 2016, the strength of the field dictates that it’s premature to coalesce behind a single candidate (as some Evangelical leaders have recently done).
It’s Christmas time again, and I want to help you commemorate the birth of the Savior with a special Christmas story.
I think you’ll enjoy it, especially if you have children in the home. But before turning things over to our guest author and letting the tale speak for itself, I’d like to say a few words about how it ties into our ministry and why I think its simple message is so important.
During this season of celebration, we’re reminded that, for many of our friends, this time of year may not be as merry and joyous as it’s supposed to be.
Author and speaker J.John tells this story.
At the end of a long work day, an employee was leaving his factory, pushing a wheelbarrow through the gate to head home. Inside the wheelbarrow was a small box.
The security guard stopped the man and said, “What have you got in your wheelbarrow?”
“I’ve got a small box,” he said.
“I know you’ve got a small box,” the guard said. “What’s in the box?”
The worker replied, “The sawdust from the floor.
Have you reached the point where you’re afraid to turn on the nightly news or pull up your favorite news app on your phone?
Who could blame you? With every new headline, you risk being confronted with yet another report about an ISIS-led/inspired terrorist attack. Some days you may even hang your head low and wonder if the Lord’s light really is able to pierce through the darkness and change the hearts of people so committed to hatred and evil.
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”
It may be one of the most common questions we ask when we’re in pain. Maybe that’s because suffering is more than just an inconvenience. It shakes our lives to the core, leaving us so disoriented and confused that nothing seems to make sense.
Suffering is universal. At one time or another, all of us will have our world turned upside down. In fact, Scripture and life itself plainly teach that every one of us will take our last breath one day.
By now you’ve likely heard of the horrific and heartbreaking story involving Safyre Terry, an 8-year-old girl who lost her father and three siblings in a house fire back in 2013.
The fire, deemed arson, is still under investigation. The New York girl suffered burns on over 75% of her body and eventually lost her right hand and left foot. She now lives with her aunt.
Recently, Safyre expressed one wish this Christmas season:
She’d love to receive Christmas cards.
Although the music of the Stone Temple Pilots isn’t on my iPod, the death last week of its lead singer, Scott Weiland, caught my attention. The 48 year-old was found dead on his tour bus in Minnesota of a suspected drug overdose.
Sadly, the ascent and ultimate demise of Scott Weiland strikes an all too familiar ring. From Elvis Presley to Whitney Houston, drug abuse and celebrity excesses often lead to dark places. Of course, the rest of us aren’t immune to the scourge of modern-day vices either.
Do you have a daughter who’s a “crushaholic”? That’s a term that describes a young lady who is constantly seeking affirmation from boys.
I don’t have daughters myself, but my boys Trent and Troy are 15 and 13, so Jean and I are seeing the upheaval of the teen years up close. The physical, mental, and emotional changes can be intense.
Did I mention the emotional changes?
They can be especially pronounced in girls who tend to be emotional creatures by nature, more so than boys.
It’s been said it’s “easier to build a boy than to mend a man.”
I agree.
But a startling number of boys today are alone, left to figure out for themselves what it means to be a man. They don’t have a father in the home who will engage them.
Oh, dad may be there. But he isn’t present.
There are a lot of great dads out there, but too many men are disengaged. They don’t see manhood as a quality they intentionally bestow upon their son.
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.
