Jim Daly

To Reduce Poverty, Reduce Divorce

I returned late last night from speaking at Georgetown University’s Catholic-Evangelical Leadership Summit on Overcoming Poverty (#povertysummit on Twitter). While I still have to digest everything that took place, I want to share a bit about the experience with you.

It was an honor to speak to the more than 700 people who attended the conference. At the event, I was part of a panel responding to the thoughts Harvard Professor Robert Putnam presents in his book, “Our Kids: The American Dream in Crisis.”

In his book, Dr.

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

Free E-Book and Other Resources For Your Family

For years, Focus on the Family has been offering wonderful resources to help our friends with their marriage, parenting and faith journeys. I want to share some of the items we’re currently offering, or that will be available soon.

1. “Ready to Wed: 12 Ways to Start a Marriage You’ll Love” – Written by Focus marriage experts Dr. Greg and Erin Smalley for engaged couples, this book is full of helpful tips and wisdom to set soon-to-be newlyweds on a straight path toward a healthy marriage.

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: faith, family, promos

You’re Not “Just” a Mom

Here at Focus we hear from women who have an identity problem. When someone asks what they do, they say, “Oh, I’m just a mom.”

Moms often have a way of seeing their own shortcomings and minimizing the role they play in their kids’ lives. I don’t believe those perceptions are accurate, but I can certainly understand the factors that drive them.

A lot of young women don’t feel capable of being good mothers. Some had poor role models growing up, and now they fear they’ll repeat the same patterns in their parenting role.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, parenting

Kid President Is Pretty Awesome. So Is His Mom.

Have you heard of Kid President?

If you haven’t, I want to introduce you to him. His real name is Robby Novak, and he’s 11 years old. He stars in a series of inspirational and lighthearted YouTube videos, which have collectively been viewed tens of millions of times. I want to share one, “An Open Letter to Moms,” with you today in honor of Mother’s Day.

Robby has good reason to praise moms. His own mother, Laurie Novak, is a pretty incredible lady.

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Find Out What One Man Does When His Family Is Threatened

Picture a man named John on vacation with his family along the coast of the Mediterranean. They’ve just finished dinner and are enjoying a casual stroll to their hotel. The air is warm, the breeze is cool, and ocean waves are crashing into the shore. It’s like something from a postcard.

It’s at about that time John notices someone following them. A few steps later, another man appears from a side street up ahead. Now the man in front and the man behind start closing in.

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Three Ways to Help Your Kids Avoid Foolish Social Media Mistakes

One foolish mistake on social media can haunt a person for years. All it takes is one insensitive tweet, a misinterpreted picture on Facebook, or an unguarded moment captured on Snapchat.

Think I’m exaggerating?

A recent article in The New York Times profiled people whose lives have been derailed because of something they posted to social media.

There’s the example of 30-year-old public relations consultant Justine Sacco, who sent out a racially insensitive tweet to her 170 followers before boarding a flight to South Africa.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pop culture, technology

Two Ways to Help “The Drop Box”

After the national debut of “The Drop Box” we heard from many of you who were touched and influenced by the film. So for all of you who fell in love with Pastor Lee and the wonderful children he cares for, I want to share with you two ways you can help further promote the mission of the ministry.

1. Please vote and spread the word.

“The Drop Box” has been nominated in the Film/Television Impact category for K-LOVE’s annual fan awards.

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: adoption, pro-life, promos

Two Ways Couples Sabotage Their Marriage Before It Starts

Although the exact percentage of marriages that fail is hard to precisely peg, there’s no question divorce is a serious problem.

The question is “why?”

Every couple walks down the aisle dreaming of love, romance, and a life of happiness together. In fact, our marriage team here at Focus reports that 93 percent of Americans say a happy marriage is one of their chief objectives in life.

And, yet, the statistics also show a significant percentage of relationships will end in divorce, and about half of those will occur within the first seven years of marriage.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage

Reviving the Church to Change the World

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?” (Luke 14:34).

The dominoes of truth and morality are falling at an alarming speed in our culture. Nearly every day it seems there’s another attack upon Christian values and religious freedom. In my blog, in just the past few days alone, I’ve discussed several instances where the very foundation of our faith is being undermined (see here, here, and here).

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The Mother from Baltimore

By now you’ve likely seen the video of Toya Graham, the Baltimore mother who forcibly removed her teenage son from the Maryland rioting.

Ms. Graham is being applauded far and wide on social media – and even by the city’s police commissioner.

To be sure, it’s a gritty video. And while many of us may not necessarily advocate her choice of technique or language, there’s no question some tough love was certainly warranted.

In an interview following the incident, Ms.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: news, parenting