Daly Focus Blog
Let me ask you a question. How do you think Christians should engage a culture that often stands in direct opposition to God’s truth?
There are likely as many different answers to that question as there are people to respond to it. In my view, that says a lot about the creativity and passion of the Christian community.
But, however we strive to influence the culture, I hope there’s one underlying value that guides all we do and say: Jesus offers salvation to everyone.
Let me ask you this: Which part of your marriage relationship do you believe will develop the deepest intimacy?
Here are your choices:
Sexuality
Emotions
Spiritual connection
They each have their place, of course, but all things considered, spiritual connection with our spouse will create a deeper, more meaningful connection than the other two areas.
Here’s why: The benefits of spiritual intimacy naturally spill over into the other two areas. A spiritually connected couple will tend to have deeper emotional and sexual connection with one another.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
