Daly Focus Blog
“…to love and to cherish, till death do us part.”
Couples often recite vows like this at their wedding. But no sooner do they walk the gauntlet of flying rice afterward than the word “cherish” begins to fade from their vocabulary. They don’t mean for it to happen, but the months and years go by, they settle into the daily routine of life, and they wake one day with a marriage that’s missing something deeper and more satisfying.
Abby Johnson describes God’s mercy as “fierce” – that is, His mercy is marked by unrestrained zeal, intensity, and highly determined activity.
Abby experienced God’s “fierce mercy” after working for eight years as an employee and clinical director for Planned Parenthood. God transformed her life in 2009 when Abby assisted with an ultrasound-guided abortion. She watched in horror as a 13-week baby lost its life to the abortionist. In that moment, the scales fell from Abby’s eyes, and she realized the ugly reality of abortion.
Sexual intimacy in marriage can be complicated.
Many couples’ physical relationships are centered around one central question: What makes me feel good? Even couples who avoid self-centeredness often feel disappointed with their partner’s shortcomings. There are also physical changes, medical issues, and emotional challenges that interrupt our lives from time to time. As we get older, the realm of sex changes drastically within a marriage relationship.
Which can leave couples with a lot of questions.
We’ve got answers.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Trusting God That Hope Is on the Way,” our guest, Dove and Grammy Award-winning Christian alternative and rap figurehead TobyMac, is sharing his journey of faith, family, and music, and encouraging listeners to find hope in God through difficulty, loss, and tragedy.
TobyMac has suffered plenty of all three. His oldest son Truett, an aspiring rapper, died tragically at age 21 in 2019 after a drug overdose.
Instilling virtue in our children can be pretty serious business. After all, the adult world is a competitive place, and we want kids to be prepared.
Unfortunately, the desire to raise our children can lead to harsh standards that smother them. At report card time, a nearly straight-A student may be asked why they didn’t get that one grade a little higher. Or a teenager who displays the slightest sign of irresponsibility may get a 15-minute lecture.
I encourage you to join us for our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Accepting My True Identity in Christ” with guest Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.
It was in college on her path to academia and an earned Ph.D. in English literature, that Rosaria first noticed her interest in women. At age 28, she came out as a lesbian. Like many – perhaps most – who identify as homosexual, her pronouncement didn’t come with a political agenda.
Even when life is dark, one moment can change everything.
That was beautifully illustrated in a social media post watched over 30 million times in just a few days. The video captures the moment that a marriage was rescued.
In the video, Caitlin and her soon-to-be ex-husband are celebrating their three-year-old son’s birthday. The little boy’s eyes light up when he sees his cake, covered with candles. Then, Caitlin’s husband looks into her eyes … and his eyes lit up, with love for her.
Satan wants to destroy your marriage.
That’s no scare tactic. Satan hates marriage because a loving, committed couple who use their gifts to serve each other and their community is one of the most powerful forces on Earth. Strong, healthy, god-fearing marriages produce strong, healthy, god-fearing families and communities.
To corrupt marriages, Satan attacks couples through lies that promote unhealthy fairy-tale expectations and destructive relationship myths.
Dr. Greg Smalley and Dr. Bob Paul have seen these lies at work in many couples’ marriages.
Is a happy marriage possible?
I believe the answer to that question is yes. But there is a catch: happiness isn’t dependent on good things happening to you. It’s dependent on you choosing to be happy.
Author Kevin Thompson learned that happy marriages are no accident by observing his grandparents. They were married for 70 years! After such a long time together, a lot of people suggested that they were “lucky” to have so many things go their way.
Dr. Robertson and Muriel McQuilkin were thriving in life together. And then Muriel began forgetting things. Thus, began a harrowing – yet, triumphant – story of a love that endured the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. McQuilkin served for 22 years as President of Columbia International University before leaving that position to care for his wife, Muriel, for over a decade. Theirs is an amazing story of loyalty and devotion.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Love in the Midst of Alzheimer’s,” we’re featuring the McQuilkin’s honest and compelling story of dedication in the midst of tragic illness that will inspire married couples to keep the vows they made to love “for better or for worse” and fill caregivers with encouragement and hope.
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.
