Daly Focus Blog
For many of us, the issue of physician-assisted suicide was brought to our attention last year with the very public illness and death of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old woman who chose to end her own life with a lethal prescription after receiving a diagnosis of an aggressive form of cancer.
This pains me in so many ways, not the least of which is that it compounds the heartbreak of a horrible, terminal illness with the tragic choice of a young woman to take her own life.
I think almost every parent can relate to this scenario:
You give your 6-year-old a clear instruction to follow. But instead of doing what he’s told, he looks at you and, with a straight face asks, “Why?”
Believe it or not, how you respond to that question as a parent is more crucial than you might think.
There was a time in our society when a “Why do I have to?” from a child would get an immediate “Because I said so” from the parent.
From the serious to the light-hearted, here are some recent news articles on topics that impact faith and family that might be of interest to you.
– Obama’s Middle-Class Blind Spot, via The Wall Street Journal: The president’s proposed tax credit for families doesn’t extend to families with a stay-at-home parent.
President Obama is missing an opportunity to help all struggling families…
– Pope: Catholics need not breed ‘like rabbits’: USA Today reports on the controversial statement.
Have you ever ridden one of those amusement park rides that spin at dizzying speeds just before the floor drops out? They leave you glued to the wall, holding on for dear life.
Well, if you’ve ever had a teen daughter shock you with the announcement, “I’m pregnant,” I’m guessing you can relate.
You probably felt like your world was spinning, and the floor had dropped out from beneath you.
The shock is understandable.
The question is, how should a parent respond?
Four decades and 50 million innocent lives later, those of us who support the protection of the unborn were heartened to hear of the upcoming vote in the House of Representatives that would have banned abortion after 20 weeks. But now we’ve learned the bill has been pulled by the GOP leadership over some of the legislation’s language. Rather than have a public fight on the floor of the House, leadership has chosen to cancel the vote altogether.
Are you “blessed”?
There are many Christians, myself included, who would suggest that by the sheer nature of our Salvation in Jesus Christ, we are, indeed, a blessed people.
But if you asked a room full of people what it means to be “blessed,” I suspect you’d get a wide array of answers.
For some, to be blessed means to have health, wealth and a good family.
To others, to be blessed means to travel the world or climb a mountain.
Unfortunately, even good parents might one day see their adult children make poor choices. Here at Focus we’ve spoken with many heartbroken moms and dads who are grappling to understand and respond well to their grown kids’ decisions.
Here are four tips from our counselors on how parents can help their child get back on track.
1. Ease your guilt.
Every parent makes mistakes. However, as an adult, your son or daughter is now old enough to make their own choices and to take responsibility for them.
September 15, 1963, was a normal Sunday morning in Birmingham, Alabama.
Until 10:22 A.M.
Then everything changed.
Carolyn, a teenager at the time, was making her prescribed rounds through her church, retrieving paperwork from each of the Sunday school classes. On her way up the stairs, she smiled and said good morning to four young girls – Cynthia, Addie, Denise, and Carole – who were headed into the bathroom.
As Carolyn passed the church office, she heard a phone ringing.
Today’s news regarding the Supreme Court’s decision to grant certiorari to four marriage cases sets up the impending culmination to a decades-long cultural debate.
The outcome will either uphold a state’s right to define marriage or declare same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states.
However, regardless of the outcome, today’s news fails to recognize, appreciate and honor a key truth. Marriage is an institution that historically and culturally has always brought the two unique and complementary parts of humanity together into a lifetime, cooperative partnership that establishes and maintains the family.
Note: On Jan. 21, the GOP leadership pulled this bill and cancelled the vote. Please read my new post on what’s happened — and, more than ever, please contact your representative. -JD
***
Your help is needed.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are currently gearing up for a vote on a bill that would ban abortion (with a few exceptions) after 20 weeks’ gestation.
It’s called the “Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act” (H.R. 36) and it builds on the fact that 10 states have already passed local versions of the law since 2010.
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.
