Jim Daly

Interview Exclusive with Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Husband Derick on Being Expectant Parents

When a couple is expecting their first baby, it doesn’t matter that pregnancy and childbirth have happened billions of times before to other people – what matters is that it’s their first time. Just ask Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband, Derick.

They’re expecting their first baby, a boy, in March.

Fans of the popular show have watched Jill, 23, grow up for the past ten years on her family’s reality show “19 Kids & Counting.” Jill and Derick’s wedding episode was the series’ most-watched at 4.4 million viewers, and the night’s No.

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Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor

Glenn Stanton’s new book, “Loving My (LGBT) Neighbor: Being Friends in Grace and Truth,” is an important read. I was honored to write the foreword to the book, which I want to share with you today. -JD

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Not long ago, Glenn Stanton invited Jonathan Rauch, a noted author, journalist and gay rights advocate, to address members of our team at Focus on the Family. Glenn and Jonathan have been friends for some time despite representing opposite ends of the spectrum in the national debate over homosexuality.

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Focus’ Latest Movie: Saving Babies in a Broken World

Imagine you’re out walking one night. The cold wind penetrates your coat and you can see your breath in the air.

As you step forward under the moonlight, you stumble on a newborn baby that has been abandoned, alone and vulnerable, in an alley.

What do you do?

The scenario I laid out might seem improbable, but it’s exactly what happened to Pastor Lee Jong-rak of Seoul, South Korea.

Pastor Lee scooped up the baby, and the baby – and that experience – changed his life.

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From Chick-fil-A to the U.S. Senate

By now you likely know that South Carolina’s Tim Scott has become the first African-American Republican from the South to be elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.

Logic dictates that he won the seat because more people voted for him than voted for his opponent.

But there’s more to the story.

Isn’t there always?

How Tim got to the night of November 4th is a tale almost too good to be true.

But it isn’t.

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How Couples Can Work Through PTSD

Yesterday I wrote about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the perspective of military marriages – what might couples expect after a war veteran returns home. Today I’m continuing this two-part series by sharing how couples can work through PTSD in a way that will make the marriage stronger than it ever was before.

One thing to remember is that it’s not only war vets who can struggle with PTSD. Experiencing any sort of trauma, like living through a natural disaster or a school shooting, can trigger PTSD.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, relationships

Things to Remember About PTSD

With Veterans Day tomorrow, it’s hard for us at Focus on the Family to forget the many sacrifices the men and women of our armed forces make.

Colorado Springs is a military town. We have Army and Air Force bases here. NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is located within our mountains. Every May, Focus employees stand on our ministry’s balcony and watch the Thunderbirds perform at the Air Force Academy graduations. Huge cargo planes fly overhead and rattle our houses.

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Three Ways to Cherish the Differences in Your Spouse

They say opposites attract. And at first, the differences are what make each other loveable.

That’s why the introvert marries an extrovert.

The night owl ends up with a morning person.

The spender decides to get hitched with someone who’s really thrifty.

But after the wedding comes… life. And what was once cute is now irritating.

Why is she so soft with the kids? They need to learn some discipline or they’ll never grow up to be productive adults!

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Read Encouraging Stories of Marriages Rescued from Divorce

Back in May, I shared with you the news that the National Institute of Marriage (NIM) was joining Focus on the Family. What made this coming together so exciting was NIM’s specialty is crisis intervention for marriages that are on the brink of divorce.

Through multiple-day intensive marriage retreats for couples who are literally out of options when it comes to salvaging their relationships, the counselors at NIM are able to offer solid, biblical counsel to these couples that help them achieve hope and healing.

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Five Things Last Night’s Election Taught Us

Let the spinning begin.

Pundits and analysts from both sides of the political spectrum are deciphering, interpreting and calculating the impact of last night’s mid-term elections. Our own public policy analysts were up late into the night closely watching the returns from across the country.

What’s our take?

I’ve lived long enough and seen enough to subscribe to the old adage that rarely is anything as good as you hope for – or as bad as you fear.

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How to Have a Happier Family

On yesterday’s program, the first in our two-part broadcast, “Game Plan for Having a Happier Family,” our guest, author Dr. Kevin Leman, challenged parents with something of a brainteaser:

Imagine your 14-year-old son announces he just gave the $200 he earned last summer to his buddy.

With a proud grin, he says he is now the co-owner of a used motorcycle.

The question is, how would you react in that moment?

Would it send your blood pressure through the roof and become a source of conflict between you and your child for days on end?

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, parenting