Jim Daly

How The Church Can Help Children with Special Needs

I started my blog a few days ago with this comment: “Every life is precious. Young and old, weak or strong, planned or unplanned.”

It’s true, and I believe every word of it.

But to be perfectly candid, I worry that statements like that get tossed about too easily.

Yes, all life is precious, and we should proclaim that boldly from the rooftops. But the flip side of that boldness is the humility that compels us to roll up our sleeves and come alongside the weak, the elderly, and special needs children and the families who care for them.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: church, kids

What You Need to Know About Human Trafficking

NOTE:

To view the first ever major pro-life conference for evangelicals in conjunction with the March for Life that’s taking place this Thursday and Friday, please click here.

These numbers are gut-wrenching to me:

The average age of children enslaved in the commercial sex industry in the United States is 13.
The human trafficking black market generates between 5 to 9 billion dollars every year in the United States.
There are an estimated 100,000 women and children each year who are entrapped in the commercial sex industry.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith, pop culture

Incredible Stories of Life

Every life is precious. Young and old, weak or strong, planned or unplanned.

Every January here at Focus on the Family, we observe Sanctity of Human Life Month. The idea that God has woven His image into the very fabric of every human life is a fundamental teaching of the Bible and is core to who Focus on the Family is as an organization.

In fact, one of our foundational principles reads: “We believe that human life is created by God in His image.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, kids, pro-life

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

As the nation pauses today to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I’d like to share something very special with you.

Several years ago, the earliest recorded sermon of Dr. King was discovered. At the time he delivered it, February 28, 1954, he was still a seminary student. The site was the Second Baptist Church of Detroit. He titled it “Rediscovering Lost Values.”

It is a work of timeless oratorical genius.

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Have You Ever Heard of “The SLED Test”?

The SLED Test is a conversation piece, originally developed by Stephen Schwartz in his book, Moral Question of Abortion, that uncovers a few ways to logically discuss the value of human life.

The acronym SLED stands for size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependency. From this thought process, we can share the reality that personhood is not defined by any of these four things.

Now, anyone who has talked with an abortion advocate knows that the dynamics of real conversation many times make it impossible to give a four-step argument like the SLED Test.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: family, kids, pro-life

The Perfect Way to Spend Valentine’s Day

Do you have plans for Valentine’s Day?

It’s a day for romantic dinners, flowers, chocolate, and clothing the world in red.

But this year Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday, and we have an additional idea in mind.

At Focus on the Family, we believe that weekend offers the perfect opportunity for congregations to unite in conveying one important message – marriage should be honored by all. As Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all” (ESV).

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Two Ways Football Teaches Us About Life

Are you a football fan?

Well, whether you like the game or not, two of the NFL playoff games this past weekend provided both the young and old with some lessons about life.

One good. One bad.

First, the bad.

Saturday night’s AFC Wild Card contest between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals set a few records, but not the kind you want.

More fans were arrested during the game than ever before, including one guy for urinating on someone.

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What Your Middle Schooler Needs from You

The middle school years are a critical time in a child’s development, but it can be a difficult time for parents.

Middle schoolers are leaving behind elementary school and entering a larger environment with more classes, more students to rub shoulders with, and more responsibility. They’ll also face pressures they’ve never had to deal with before.

Helping your child through these changes is no easy task, but with a little guidance from our guest on a recent program, Dr.

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Hope for Teen Moms

Have you seen the popular MTV programs “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant”? I’ve never watched a full episode myself, but I’ve managed to catch a random segment or two to keep a pulse on the culture and the messages being sent to our kids.

If you’re not familiar with these shows, they’re so-called “reality” TV programs that follow the lives of young girls between the ages of 13 and 16 who are pregnant, having babies, and involved in intimate relationships.

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

It’s Now Illegal to Say “God Bless America”?

Have you noticed that many of our cultural elites who demand tolerance in the public square are actually extremely intolerant of anything they don’t agree with?

That came to mind again the other day when I learned that the federal government had issued yet another directive to thousands of public school districts and universities nationwide. This latest one—issued on New Year’s Eve—is one of a steady stream of top-down orders from the federal government that have been sent to schools in the form of “Dear Colleague” letters from the Department of Education and its Office for Civil Rights.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: events, policy, pop culture