Jim Daly

This Olympian’s Inspiration is His Brother with Cerebral Palsy

Get the tissues out, because this story will tug at your heartstrings.

Canadian freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau won gold at the Sochi Winter Olympics yesterday, the second of his career. And right there cheering him on was his older brother, Frederic. After the big win Monday, the brothers hugged, with Alex lifting Frederic over the fence so they could celebrate together.

Frederic’s support, and the manner with which he has dealt with his physical impediments have inspired Alex throughout his many years of training.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: friendship, news, pop culture

VIDEO: Brother and Sister’s Amazing Bond Captures the Heart of Family

You may have already “met” Trenton Cochran and his sister Lindsay via an interview that’s gone viral. Or perhaps you saw them on Fox & Friends last week.

Ten-year-old Lindsay has a rare condition, spinal muscular atrophy, which confines her to a wheelchair and limits her physically. But she doesn’t face her challenges alone. Big brother Trenton is always by her side, helping take care of her, standing up for her and being her best friend.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, news, parenting

Olympic Commercial Shows a Parenting Truth

Have you caught Olympic fever yet?

Here at Focus we have. Our staff is celebrating “Olympic Fridays” by wearing the red, white and blue. We watch and marvel at the athletes’ prowess – their talent, tenacity, discipline and courage.

And behind these dedicated men and women stand families who helped them achieve their dreams of representing their respective countries on a world stage after a seeming lifetime of training.

I want to share with you a commercial from Proctor and Gamble (P&G) that highlights some of the sacrifices these athletes’ mothers went through to see their children compete at the Olympic level.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: kids, news, parenting

5 SCOTUS Cases to Watch

History tells us U.S. Supreme Court decisions often have a far-reaching impact on issues we care about – things like life, marriage and religious liberties.

To that end, I wanted to provide you with a list our experts compiled of SCOTUS court cases to watch. I hope this short summary will help you navigate the news.

As always, we encourage Christians to pray for the things that go on in our government. Pray for our Supreme Court justices, that God would grant them wisdom as they hear these cases.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: homosexuality, news, policy, pro-life, religious liberty

Is It Wrong to Meet with Your Ideological Opposite?

I once met with a well-known homosexual activist. I remember feeling the Lord’s prompting to reach out to this man – and pushing off that meeting for months. (I recently shared more about this meeting with the Catalyst conference via video.)

You might have also heard in the news awhile back that I’ve met with abortion rights groups in hopes that we might find a way to realize their stated goal of making abortion more rare.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith, relationships

What to Do If Your 20-Something is Living in Your Basement

It’s a tough economy. Jobs are scarce. Many of today’s college grads are entering the “real world” with considerable student loan debt.

For many parents, what this means is that their adult children will “boomerang” or move back home with them after college.

Can you relate? I’d love to hear from you – both parents and the returning young adults.

Millennials face other consequences from their financial pressures, though. The harsh reality for many 20-somethings is that they believe they can’t afford to get married, because that would mean combining individuals who have a five- or six-digital student loan debt total between the two.

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

The Super Bowl’s Top 5 Most Family-Friendly Ads

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, the team here at Focus thought it would be fun to create a countdown of the night’s most family-friendly ads. After all, we love to celebrate all things that elevate family – even commercials!

It was also nice for us, as Broncos fans, to find a source of distraction as the contest deteriorated on the field. Nevertheless, a big “congratulations!” to all you Seahawks fans out there – it was a well-earned win.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, kids, marriage, parenting, pop culture

One of the Most Controversial Super Bowl Ads of All Time?

Amid all the hoopla surrounding this Sunday’s Super Bowl, I can’t help but think back to the 2010 game. That’s the year Focus on the Family debuted its now-famous ad featuring Pam and Tim Tebow. It still gives me a chuckle to think how some groups branded our innocuous commercial “inappropriate,” “offensive” and “hate masquerading as love” – all without ever seeing it!

These allegations led to an intense media blitz leading up to the game that had me speaking with and appearing on what seemed an endless number of media outlets.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: news, parenting, pop culture, pro-life

How Your Teen is Like Spanish-Speaking Buzz Lightyear

If you’re a parent, you’re probably familiar with the Toy Story movie franchise. The films highlight the secret lives of toys. Here’s a scene from Toy Story 3 featuring a Spanish-speaking Buzz Lightyear:

So Rex presses one simple button, and an entire personality is reset.

That’s how it sometimes feels to be a parent of a teenager. All of a sudden, you’re seeing a different side to your child’s personality that just wasn’t there before. And I should know – we now have a teenager in the Daly household.

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

Does the Size of Your Family Matter?

I’ve previously blogged about intentional childless ness, so today I want to address the logical “next step” to that topic: family size. If children are a blessing – which they are – can a couple have too many kids? Is there an ideal family size?

In his book, “What to Expect When No One’s Expecting,” Jonathan V. Last cites how a growing number of Americans want less. They want fewer kids and smaller families.

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