Daly Focus Blog
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
That’s a worthwhile question for anyone to ponder – but especially a parent. Your answer has a tremendous impact on your health, your happiness, and the legacy you leave behind for your kids.
That was the conclusion of a coalition of doctors who conducted a study to determine just how important “happiness” and “a sense of meaning” were to a person’s overall well-being. Their discoveries surprised them.
Why are we so easily angered?
Anger can be good for us when it’s a protest against mistreatment in an abusive or threatening situation, or when it motivates us to seek safety from danger.
But we’re not always good managers of our anger. We feel threatened when we don’t need to be. We get emotionally worked up over mild grievances that don’t deserve a response. We use a fire hose to put out a match.
Even Christians, who believe in the fruit of the Spirit, get upset with the guy that cuts us off on the highway, or irritated when something doesn’t go our way, or frustrated when we feel like we’re not getting what we deserve.
How wealthy are you?
Before you answer with a dollar figure or a list of your assets, let me tell you a story. It’s about a wealthy father who wanted to teach his son a lesson about gratitude. To show his son just how poor other people could be, he arranged for him to spend some time in the country with a family who lived in an old, drafty farmhouse.
When the son came home a few days later, the father asked him, “Did you learn something about what it means to be poor?”
The son responded, “I sure did.
As we head into the final week of the NFL’s regular season, America is heartened by the encouraging news concerning the recovery of the Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin. Still listed in critical condition and in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, doctors have said the star safety is “neurologically intact” and showing “remarkable improvement.”
Hamlin’s shocking collapse on Monday Night Football, along with an unprecedented outpouring of love, support and even public prayer for the 24-year-old, has riveted the country.
Guys, how selflessly do you love your wife? Do you have a bit too much me, myself, and I in the mix?
Here’s a quick test to find out. Imagine that you and your buddies plan a get together at your house to watch the Super Bowl. The night of the big game, everybody shows up with drinks, pretzels, and pizza. You’re just settling in for the kickoff … when the phone rings. Your wife is on the other end.
Some of the most amazing people I have meet are those with special needs.
I think of Trevor Hendershot. He and his dad visited Focus on the Family a few years ago. Trevor is a vivacious young man with Down Syndrome who serves as a greeter for the Los Angeles Angels and the Anaheim Ducks.
Tyler Sexton is also a friend of our ministry. He has cerebral palsy and works as a physician specializing in pediatrics.
The family is under attack.
Two of the more disturbing examples are ideas that have gained acceptance more and more in recent years. The first is that dads don’t matter. The second is that kids get in the way of adult happiness. I’m here to tell you they’re both lies.
First of all, make no mistake, dads do matter. Every day at Focus, we hear from families all over the country. The stories they share confirm to me again and again just how crucial a father’s influence is in the lives of his children.
Most couples expect the skills for raising children to come to them naturally. Certain parenting instincts “kick into gear” when you become a mom or a dad, of course, but most of us are surprised by how challenging parenting can be and how much hard work and energy it requires.
It’s human nature to look for short-cuts or “formulas” to make the job easier. But there are no formulas.
God puts every parent on a journey to discover who their children are and what their children most need to become who they were designed to be.
America was formed in the fires of war. The American Revolution – fought between 1765 and 1783 – once and for all secured our independence from Great Britain.
But America was also formed in the fires of faith. In fact, it was an extraordinary and historic movement of faith in the 1740s that laid the groundwork for the outcome of the American Revolution. “The Great Awakening,” as it was called, swept throughout the thirteen colonies and united the American people around three crucial principles:
One, a belief in inalienable rights.
Author and speaker Kyle Idleman has always believed that God loves the whole world (John 3:16), but Kyle never fully understood Jesus’ dedication to individuals until his 2-year-old daughter became trapped under a fallen dresser. When Kyle found her and rushed her to the hospital, his focus narrowed and he forgot about everything and everyone until he knew she was safe.
Jesus ministered to people in the same way – one person at a time.
Jim Daly is a husband, father and President of Focus on the Family and host of its National Radio Hall of Fame broadcast. His blog, Daly Focus, is full of timely commentary and wisdom designed to help you navigate and understand today’s culture. His latest book is Marriage Done Right.
