Daly Focus Blog
There are a lot of great dads out there, but many men are disengaged from their boys. They don’t see masculinity as a quality they offer to their sons. They see it as something boys figure out on their own.
That was my story. I didn’t have a father to teach me how to be a man. I had to figure it out by myself. But that journey wasn’t easy, and it’s why I can say from experience that leaving a boy in the hands of “trial-and-error” is not ideal.
Author Jeff Manion once decided to de-clutter his life. His goal was to throw out or give away five items every day. Over a period of six weeks, he got rid of outdated video tapes and DVDs, old sneakers, and more than a few things from the garage. At the end of that short period, Jeff succeeded in tossing out a total of 210 items.
He thought he’d feel relief. Instead, he felt disappointment – not because he missed the things he’d gotten rid of but because his life was no different in their absence.
Maybe you can relate to this exchange between author and speaker, Dan Seaborn, and his wife Jane.
Jane: I like hot tea.Dan: I like sweetened iced tea.
Jane:I don’t like to be sweaty.Dan: I love to sweat.
Jane: Yellow lights mean stop.Dan: Yellow lights mean floor it, baby!
Jane: He drives way too fast.Dan: She drives way too slowly.
Jane: I like grilled chicken.Dan:I like my chicken deep fried in oil and covered in Shake and Bake.
Pastoring can be a tough, stressful job.
Most of us don’t realize how true that is because we’re only with our pastors for an hour or two on Sunday mornings and have little understanding of the time and energy necessary to keep the church moving forward.
Did you know that the average pastor works 50 to 74 hours per week, doing all kinds of jobs – teacher, counselor, worship leader, business executive, even janitorial and maintenance work?
Infidelity is one of the top reasons why marriages end in divorce. That should come as no surprise. It’s hard to repair the gaping wounds that an affair rips into a relationship. Many couples choose to walk away. Even Christians often view infidelity as a “get out of jail free card.”
Josh and Katie Walters know firsthand the betrayal and devastation of infidelity. They now serve on staff at Seacoast Church, a multi-campus ministry in South Carolina, but six years into their marriage, Katie confessed that she was having an affair with one of Josh’s best friends.
The secret to winning in a team sport is no secret at all. Teammates share a common goal, and they work together to achieve it.
That commitment to unity is what makes marriage work, too. Working together as a team isn’t always easy. Joshua and Christi Straub are both experienced counselors, but even they overlook the importance of teamwork from time to time. Like the day Joshua came home and told Christi about all of the exciting projects he had going on at work.
Most toddlers share one thing in common – they want their own way. We’ve all seen the “throw yourself on the floor” tantrums that often shows up as a result. But what’s a parent to do when the kicking and screaming starts? We’d like to share a few helpful suggestions.
Most importantly, when your child demands his own way, don’t give in. If you do, he’ll learn that tantrums work and is more likely to throw a fit the next time he wants something.
For 20 years, Jessie Minassian has been a spiritual “big sis” to teen girls and young women. She offers encouragement about love, dating, loneliness, purity, and living out faith in relevant ways.
She’s joining me on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly to help teen girls create a godly identity – from which comes a well-balanced and happy life.
Jessie and I discussed how navigating family conflict can be like a paintball battle, why you may need to turn down the volume in your busy, noisy life so you can hear from God more clearly, and the positive impact of smiling more.
Tyrone Flowers knows firsthand the challenges that at-risk children face in our culture today.
His father was murdered when Tyrone was ten years old. After his mother made it clear that she didn’t want to be a mother, he lived with his grandmother and her 12 children. While she worked multiple jobs, Tyrone was raised by teenagers who were 10 to 15 years older than him, exposing him to drugs, sex and alcohol at an early age.
God calls many women to positions of leadership and influence. That’s a gift to any community because women are often more collaborative, participative and inclusive than their male counterparts.
If God has led you into leadership, I encourage you to listen to my conversation with author Deborah Pegues on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Deborah spent many years leading in the corporate world. She’s a CPA, a certified behavioral consultant, a Bible teacher, and an international speaker.
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.
