Jim Daly

Simple Habits to Embrace in Your Marriage

The wear and tear of everyday life takes a toll on a marriage. On any given day you may face challenges in:

your faith

your church

extended family relationships

recreational opportunities

sexual intimacy

friendships

household responsibilities

finances

hectic schedules

a never-ending stream of parenting decisions

fill in the ___

Whew! Is it any wonder most marriages could use some maintenance?

The question is how do you fill your marriage with good things without it all becoming just more things to juggle?

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage

Restoring Hope to Your Marriage

Ron and Opal Erickson call themselves “musicianaires.” Ron is an accomplished steel guitarist, and Opal is an accomplished vocalist. They’ve made beautiful music together for over 40 years, not only as musicians but as a couple.

They’ve also walked through the rubble of a marriage that seemed irreparably broken. Through God’s grace and wisdom, they survived adultery, rejection, and betrayal and created a new marriage forged in trust, love, and grace.

God has done such a remarkable work in their marriage that I wanted to share their story on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Restoring Hope to Your Marriage.”

Opal shares how she stayed true to God in the wake of Ron’s affair, and how He taught her to love her husband in a new way.

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Are You Afraid to Live?

Sooner or later, we lose the people we love.

That’s a very uncomfortable thought, but it’s true. Which begs an important question: “How do we live in the shadow of absolute loss and still enjoy a happy, fulfilled life?”

I like what legendary college basketball coach John Wooden had to say about that idea. He was 99 years old when a reporter asked if he was afraid to die. Coach Wooden didn’t have to stop and ponder his answer.

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Fight it Out

As the president of an organization called Focus on the Family, you might expect me to say something like, “Never argue with your spouse.” The truth is I believe that even the most healthy, well-rounded couples need to hash things out from time to time. The key is to disagree in ways that move your relationship forward.

To do that, first recognize that avoiding conflict doesn’t strengthen your marriage – it weakens it. That sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true. Unresolved conflict doesn’t magically disappear. It festers beneath the surface, deepening resentment and eroding emotional intimacy.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage

Evidence for the Existence of God

Do you ever wonder:

Is there a Creator?

If God is real, why do people suffer?

What does Easter have to do with the existence of God?

If God exists, why does He seem hidden or distant?

Can we deduce anything about God from scientific evidence?

Does our DNA reveal anything about God as a designer?

Can God be personally experienced?

On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Evidence for the Existence of God,” we’re talking with former atheist, Lee Strobel.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family

Loving Your Teen Daughter Well

Author Kari Kampakis says teen girls have it tough. Every day is a renewed battle against anxiety, toxic friendships, cyberbullying and pressures associated with social media.

Which is why teen girls need strong women in their lives to protect, encourage, and guide them – to support them in confronting adversity, so they learn to handle life with confidence on their own.

That’s why Kara encourages mothers to be strong parents instead of “buddy parents.” Though your daughter won’t often show it, she cares deeply about your opinions.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, parenting

God Loves You

If no one has told you lately, let me be the one to remind you: God loves you. How do I know that? It says so in the Bible.

Let me show you. Even if you’ve never opened a Bible in your life, you can find Genesis chapter one. Take a look sometime. Pay attention to how it portrays God’s love for you. You’ll notice a pattern. Each day, God speaks something into existence – light, land, or the sky. Then he looks at His work and declares it “good.” By the end of day five, God has deemed everything from the stars above to the animals surrounding us “good.”

But then comes day six.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith

Building Strong Father-Son Relationships

A father’s love is imprinted on the heart of a son.

As a father of two boys, that sentiment stops me in my tracks. I didn’t have a good role model for fatherhood growing up. My dad died an alcoholic, and my stepdad walked out on my siblings and me the day of my mother’s funeral. After that, I went into foster care for almost two years.

Maybe your dad didn’t leave a positive imprint on your heart, either.

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Communication is a Two-Way Street

Sometimes what you say and what other people hear can be two very different things.

Maybe you can relate to a young mother from Ohio who wanted her family to be a beacon of hope during the COVID lockdown. She handed chalk to her two boys – ages six and eight – and asked them to write messages on the driveway. She wanted delivery drivers and passersby to be greeted with encouragement and good cheer. Later, when she checked on her kids’ progress, she discovered boys had covered the driveway and sidewalks with messages like, “Stay away!” “Do not enter!” and “Get lost!”

Misunderstandings like that happen a lot in marriage, too.

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Creating a Shared Vision for Your Marriage

Do you and your spouse have a “shared vision” for your marriage?

Many couples don’t. Some are so focused on their responsibilities at work, at church, and around the house that they focus on their marriage only when there’s a problem to solve. Others expect marriage to improve naturally on its own, a straight line moving upward.

Neither approach is effective.

For more than two decades, Sean and Lanette Reed have been helping couples build strong marriages.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: marriage