Daly Focus Blog
Forty years ago, Dr. John Trent created the concept of LifeMapping as a way to help people break free from isolation, loneliness, and chaos and move into a place of connection, caring, and calmness.
I discussed this idea with Dr. Trent and his daughter, Kari Trent Stageberg, on our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Finding Real Purpose in Your Life.” LifeMapping helps you reach your full potential by recognizing positive and negative life patterns.
At the end of a shopping trip to Walmart, author Karis Kimmel Murray stopped by the shoe aisle with her daughter, Riley, who decided that she’d been sitting patiently in the cart long enough.
Karis allowed Riley to walk beside her, but Riley didn’t just want out of the cart, she wanted out of the store. And Karis stood between her and that goal.
To express her displeasure, Riley walked from one end of the shoe aisle to the other with her arms outstretched, knocking off every box of shoes within reach.
Anger is like fire. Harness it for something good, and you’ll create a better life for yourself. Misuse or lose control of it, and it’ll burn everything to the ground. That’s a good reason for children to understand the difference between bad anger and good anger.
Bad anger doesn’t improve our lives. It makes things worse. It protests even though nothing harmful or significant is happening. It turns our pet peeves into conflict and stirs up trouble for no other reason than to get our way.
The maternal instinct in women is soft and nurturing.
It’s also fierce.
The maternal instinct drives women to sacrifice everything for the sake of their families. I saw that kind of tenacity in my own mother. She took care of five children, worked two jobs, and strived to meet everybody’s needs the best she knew how. We didn’t have much in terms of material wealth, but her love for us was rich, and we were happy.
While running for president in 2016, billionaire real estate developer and reality television star Donald Trump made a bold promise concerning the Supreme Court that many of us considered almost too good to be true.
“The Justices that I am going to appoint will be pro-life,” he told moderator Chris Wallace during a heated debate with the Democratic Party nominee, former first lady Hillary Clinton. He correctly added that reversing Roe v. Wade would send the issue of abortion “back to the individual states.”
President Trump kept his promise, appointing three of the five justices who ultimately voted to overturn Roe in June of 2022.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Sharing the Gospel Through Hospitality,” we’re sharing Dr. Rosaria Butterfield’s dramatic conversion testimony.
Rosaria was professor of English and queer theory at Syracuse University in New York and lived proudly as a lesbian, a feminist, and an outspoken advocate for LGBT rights. In 1999, she took leave from her professorship to research a book she intended to write as a rebuke of religion from a lesbian feminist point of view.
I’ve had to overcome a lot. My mom died when I was nine. My stepdad abandoned me and my siblings within hours of her funeral. After that, I spent time in foster care, and a couple of years later, my biological father died of alcoholism.
No doubt you’ve survived some difficulties of your own. Struggle is universal. So are the solutions for overcoming it. Here are four ways to break free from your past:
Accept the fact that your suffering cannot be changed.
Years ago, John, a recent college graduate, asked Dr. Gary Chapman and his wife if he could move into their home for one year and observe their family. John’s family of origin had been toxic, and he wanted to experience firsthand what a healthy marriage and family looked like.
Dr. Chapman’s first reaction was to say no. Was their family healthy? He and Karolyn’s first years of marriage had been characterized by selfishness, hurt, and brokenness.
Today, Peter Mutabazi is an entrepreneur, an international advocate for children, and the founder of Now I Am Known, a corporation that supplies resources that encourage and affirm children.
Peter’s passion for advocacy began in a small village in Uganda on the border of Rwanda. His father was abusive, beat the family, and frequently told Peter that he regretted having him as a son. Peter didn’t even have a name until he was two years old!
The secret to success isn’t avoiding failure. It’s learning from your mistakes and continuing to move forward.
The television series Alone is a survival competition where participants survive alone in the wilderness for as long as possible. Contestants are given minimal equipment and must build their own shelters, start their own fires, and find their own food. The physical demands are brutal.
One of the contestants, Colter Barnes, lost 86 pounds over 67 days in the wild and had to be medically evacuated.
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.
