Jim Daly

Can Any Two Adults Raise a Child?

Can you be a parent without the hassle of a romantic relationship?

According to some people, you can – and should.

Modamily is a company that helps introduce people with no romantic interests or intentions for the purpose of raising a child together. It’s like a dating website, but instead of looking for love, users are looking for someone they can parent with. Proponents advocate it’s actually a better move for children, because it skips the “divorce nightmare.”

Modamily founder Ivan Fatovic explains: “All a child needs to develop and grow is attention, encouragement and love.

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

VIDEO: A Father’s Sacrifice

It’s one of the most well-known and well-loved Bible verses, the Gospel boiled down to a few words.

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son… ” (John 3:16).

At the core of our faith we see a Father’s sacrifice, and we see the second person of the Trinity giving His life for us.

The video I’m sharing with you today echoes these themes. In it, the Vander Woude family shares the deeply moving story of how its patriarch, Thomas S.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting, pro-life

“Submissive Wives” Need Not Endure Emotional Abuse

Some weeks ago I shared three thoughts about submission in marriage. Today I want to expand a bit on the third point, “A husband’s authority over his wife is not absolute.” It read:

Just like the husband ultimately submits to God, a wife must make her ultimate allegiance to God, too. This means that whatever leadership her husband extends over the home is limited to what is God-pleasing and good. In other words, if a husband wants his wife to do something that is clearly immoral or unethical, the wife can echo the words of Peter in Acts 5:29 when he said, “We must obey God rather than men.”

So with this, we have certain bases covered: “leadership” does not equal dictatorship, and God is the ultimate authority in the Christian home.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: husband, marriage, wife

How to Avoid This Leading Cause of Divorce

Mary Hunt was cheating on her husband. Her tryst, though, wasn’t with another man – but it had the power to destroy the marriage just the same.

The secret Mary hid from her husband was about her financial infidelity – to the tune of $100,000 in credit card debt.

Money problems are one of the leading causes of divorce in our nation. Granted, most couples don’t carry a credit burden as deep as Mary and her husband’s.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: divorce, finances, kids, marriage

Businessman’s Kindness Towards Girl with Autism Hope-Renewing

You may have seen the headlines:

– Hotel guest leaves nasty letter for parents of crying baby

– Panera Bread kicks out toddler with disability over orthopedic shoes, mom says

– Restaurant bans kids at night, joins others in adding child-free policy

Sometimes it seems like the culture is making our job as parents more difficult. While I understand that some moms and dads can be overly permissive, there are signs that the general public’s tolerance towards children seems to be waning.

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

My New Book at Half Price

I spent part of this past weekend recording the audio version of my new book, The Good Dad: Becoming the Father You Were Meant to Be. It’s always fun to see a project come to fruition and this latest book is no exception.

The book will be officially released in late April. However, the publisher has informed us there’s a special running between now and April 21 on ePub pre-orders. Normally priced 9.99, the ePub price is currently $4.99 (available for Kindle, Nook and other eBook devices).

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting

Is Yelling the New Spanking for Parents? 5 Tips for Screaming-Prone Moms and Dads

Parenting children at any stage can be a real challenge. From the toddler who throws a lay-flat-on-the-floor-and-cry tantrum to the school-age brother and sister who won’t stop fighting, parents regularly navigate a wide array of situations that require dealing with unacceptable behavior.

The Today Show recently ran an interesting post exploring a growing trend among parents to manage these discipline issues through screaming rather than spanking. Maybe this tendency is due to a growing reluctance among some moms and dads to use spanking as a tool of discipline.

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

The Father Who Wished His Son Had Never Been Born

Peter Lanza is still reeling at his son’s death.

That’s understandable because Peter’s son was Adam Lanza, the young man who killed his own mother plus 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life in December 2012.

In a series of interviews with The New Yorker’s Andrew Solomon, Peter breaks his silence and opens up about his son.

Yet there’s only one line in the 7,600-word article that’s making headlines: “Peter declared that he wished Adam had never been born.”

Wow.

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

Compromise Not Always the Best Answer to Marriage Disagreements

Many people think that learning to compromise is one of the keys to a successful marriage.

Would it surprise you to learn that Focus marriage experts Dr. Greg Smalley and Erin Smalley disagree?

According to the husband-wife team, compromise – an agreement where each person makes concessions – may not be the best way to help ensure long-term satisfaction in a marriage.

“I hate the word ‘compromise,’” explains Greg. “I don’t want to settle. I want to reach for something better.”

That’s why, instead of compromising, the Smalleys have found that it’s best to find a solution that feels great to both of them.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, husband, marriage, wife

Did You See What This 8-Year-Old Boy Did?

If you were 8 years old and found a $20 bill in a parking lot of Cracker Barrel, what would you do with it?

Many people have asked themselves that after they watched a video featuring Myles Eckert, a young boy whose soldier dad was killed in Iraq just five weeks after Myles was born.

The influence of a father – even one who has been gone so long – runs deep, and it prompted Myles to do something beautiful on that chilly February morning: He decided to take that $20 bill and “pay it forward.”

Watch the moving piece below:

Myles inspired a blogger at Dad Matters, too.