Jim Daly

A Father’s Field of Dreams

There’s a degree of mystery surrounding my father’s life that will forever remain unsolved. I remember listening to Dad as he shared stories about his younger days playing baseball. Of particular interest were the stories he told from the year he played with the Detroit Tigers.

I can’t prove that he actually did play pro-ball with that team for several reasons: he’s dead, which complicates asking any follow-up questions. And, as I described in my first book, Finding Home, there’s a lingering issue regarding our real last name.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting

Bringing Up Girls

It’s been forty years since the release of Dr. Dobson’s first book, Dare to Discipline. Between then and now, several generations have come of age, but Focus on the Family’s founder has continued to offer his signature advice to parents with the same passion, precision and poignancy.

Dr. Dobson’s latest offering, his 33rd title, Bringing Up Girls: Practical Advice and Encouragement for those Shaping the Next Generation of Women, hit bookstores nationwide on April 13th.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting

Secrets of the Mountain

When it comes to finding wholesome family entertainment on network television, there are so few family-friendly options that when one comes along, I’m eager to support it. Thanks to a joint effort between Wal-Mart and Proctor and Gamble, Secrets of the Mountain, a made for TV movie, will air on NBC tonight (8 PM EDT).

Taking a page out of Hallmark Hall of Fame and the days of the Wonderful World of Disney Sunday night films, executives with both corporations have committed to helping fund “family-friendly” entertainment.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, pop culture

Heartbreak Across America

By now you’ve probably read or heard the news regarding Russian adoption in America.

“Future adoptions of Russian children by citizens of the United States, which are now suspended, are possible only if an agreement is reached,” said Andrei Nesterenko, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.

On a good day, international adoption is a complicated and high risk affair, not to mention an emotionally exhaustive endeavor for all parties involved. In recent years you’d need a scorecard to keep track of what countries have opened or closed or changed their adoption programs.

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

Planned Parenthood’s Pleasure Principle

A couple of months ago, the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) began worldwide distribution of a guide for young people entitled “Healthy, Happy and Hot.” The 20-page brochure advocates the sexual and reproductive “rights” for those who are infected with HIV with an emphasis on having “fun, happy and sexually fulfilling lives.”

Before commenting on the troubling aspects of this pamphlet, let me say that my heart goes out to those who are living with HIV or the AIDS virus.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: intimacy, kids, sex

Six Words to Change the World

Yesterday, President Obama wrapped up a 47-nation nuclear summit. Given the national attention to the summit, I found myself reflecting on something that occurred in 1979 during my freshman year in college. It was then that Mother Teresa was presented with a Nobel Peace Prize for her humanitarian work amongst the poorest of the world’s poor.

As she received her award, Mother Teresa was asked, “What can we do to promote world peace?” Her answer might surprise you.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: kids, parenting

Celebrate Family Tour

I’m thrilled to announce that next week, April 12th, Focus on the Family will be kicking off a 12-city “Celebrate Family Tour.” Starting with a gathering at the InterContinental Hotel in Dallas, we’ll be hosting live events around the country between now and the end of the year. At each stop along the way you’ll have the opportunity to experience a live radio show in the making, with co-host John Fuller and myself.

Next Monday in Dallas, where we’re expecting upwards of 1,500 attendees, our special guest for the program is best-selling author and marriage expert Dr.

Continue ReadingTopics: Focus Events Tags: events, family, promos

Tiger Woods and Billy Payne

Yesterday marked the opening of the famed Masters golf tournament at Augusta National and, more precisely, the official return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour.

Augusta National is a beautiful slice of the American South, but for lovers of the game, it’s more than just a picturesque course. In fact, it’s been called golf’s Garden of Eden. “If there’s a golf course in heaven,” Gary Player once remarked, “I hope it’s like Augusta National.” But then he added dryly, “I just don’t want an early tee time.”

How four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods will ultimately fare against the competition is anyone’s guess.

Continue ReadingTopics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, events, marriage, news, pop culture

A Case for Optimism?

Are you an optimist or a pessimist?

Somebody once said that optimists invented the airplane (Orville and Wilbur Wright) but a pessimist invented the parachute (Louis-Sebastien Lenormand).

Of course, rarely are things so simple and so straightforward, especially when you discover the parachute was actually conceived long before the introduction of the airplane! The “modern” parachute was created to escape from ill-fated hot air balloons. Two people might look at the very same thing but wind up coming to very different conclusions.

Continue ReadingTopics: Family and Home Tags: faith

Feeding My Time Capsule

Moms and dads know that some of the most enjoyable moments with kids will often come like lightning out of a clear blue sky. Secularists called it “serendipity”—chance encounters. But those of us who are Christians see them for what they are—gifts of insight and pleasure from our gracious and loving God.

I was reminded of this during a recent ski trip to Salida, Colorado. When Jean and Trent and Troy and I sat down to wait for a pizza at a local restaurant one evening, I decided to try something we hadn’t done before.

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