Daly Focus Blog
Do you believe in miracles?
You should if you’re clinging to hope. Because success doesn’t always boil down to skill or hard work. Victory often requires something intangible – a miraculous intervention when the odds are stacked against you.
The “miracle on ice” on February 22, 1980, was a classic David versus Goliath tale of victory. That year, Russia was expected to win the Olympic gold medal in men’s hockey. Their players were the best in the world.
Do you have a fierce marriage?
Authors Ryan and Selena Frederick describe a “fierce marriage” as radically pursuing each other in light of Christ’s relentless love.
They experienced the truth of that idea firsthand two years into their marriage. After taking jobs in Switzerland, Ryan developed a persistent cough he dismissed as the flu. Doctors gave him antibiotics and painkillers and told him to return for a checkup in a few days. His health soon took a terrible turn for the worst, and he was diagnosed with a congenital defect called endocarditis, a life-threatening inflammation of the inner lining of his heart chambers.
In a horrifically tragic and ghoulish turn, a Canadian Parliamentary committee has recommended that its nation’s lawmakers legalize euthanasia for sick children whose deaths are “reasonably foreseeable” or who may be suffering with a disability or those who are in the country’s child welfare system.
Even worse – they think the children should be able to make the decision even without parental consent.
Canadian law already allows terminally ill and chronically ill adults to receive medical assistance to kill themselves, but expanding the legal coverage to include children is but one more heartbreaking development in the movement.
Single moms face unique challenges when it comes to raising boys. A single mom is always interacting with her son because she’s the only parent, but that doesn’t mean she’s connecting with him in the way she wants or in the way he needs. Unlike a mother and a daughter, who both relate to the female experience, the gap between a mother and her son widens as he grows older.
How can a single mom step more deeply into her son’s world?
I saw a video that powerfully illustrates the incredible influence that fathers have in the lives of their daughters. It captured a dad in his living room, watching a basketball game. He jumped and yelled in support of his favorite team.
Right beside him, his three-year-old daughter copied his every move. She jumped when he jumped. She clapped when he clapped. She even copied his expressions of excitement.
Then the mood changed. The dad started shouting at the television.
The phone company made me mad.
At least, I thought it was their fault. I couldn’t get them to understand that their customer service was terrible. They continually overcharged me and disconnected my boys’ phones even though I hadn’t asked them to do it. I had to call them repeatedly for months and had a terrible time getting my account straightened out.
I tried to stay patient, but I finally reached the end of my rope, and the poor customer service representative got the brunt of my attitude.
In order to stand at a wedding altar and say, “I do,” with confidence, individuals must first understand who “I” is. Genuine intimacy in marriage can only occur between two people who are sufficiently in touch with who God created them to be as individuals that they can give to the marriage as much as they receive.
A thriving marriages doesn’t erase individuality. It celebrates it and puts it to work in service of the relationship, molding two whole individuals into one, while keeping their individual flames burning bright.
They say behind every great man is a great woman. But just as often, great women take the lead.
In 1865, Emily Roebling married her husband Washington. He was the chief engineer who oversaw construction of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Two years into the project, he developed decompression sickness while he was working underwater. He was debilitated so severely that he lay bed-ridden for nearly a decade.
Meanwhile, there was still a bridge to be built.
Kirsten Watson’s husband, Benjamin, played for six NFL teams and won a super Bowl in 2005. Much of the time over those 15 years, she found herself on her own in a new city with no support and the responsibility for handling a household of seven children, including twins. At one point, her stress was so severe that she suffered from migraines and was told that her pain would continue unless she made some changes.
Maybe you can relate to the pressure Kirsten felt.
Bitterness will lie to you. It’ll trick you into believing that you build a better future by holding on to the past. The truth is the past eventually spills out.
That’s what happened between Stacy and Janet, who were friends from high school. They were so close for so long that Stacy asked Janet to be her maid of honor at her wedding.
On the big day, the ceremony was beautiful, and Stacy was all smiles … until the reception.
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.
