broadcast Archives

John Ortberg on How to Make Important Decisions in Life

We know which road Robert Frost took in his famous poem, “The Road Not Taken.”

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.

But the choices we face in real life don’t seem nearly so romantic or easy. In fact, important decisions are often the most anxiety- and fear-producing experiences in life.

Fortunately, we have our faith in Christ, right? Well, that ought to give us more confidence, but seeking God’s will can sometimes intensify the pressure even more.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith March 8, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Gary Smalley Has Died

My friend Gary Thomas Smalley died last night. He was surrounded by his family, including his son and my Focus colleague, Greg, who had just returned hours earlier from a speaking engagement about marriage.

How fitting, I thought, that on the very day Gary was to receive his eternal reward, his son was picking up where his father had left off, loving and ministering to Christian couples by helping to enrich their marital relationships.

It’s impossible to sum up 75 years’ worth of living into a few words, but let me tell you just a little bit about the man I knew and loved – and the author and personality so many of you appreciated from afar.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, news March 7, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Parenting Your Kids with God’s Grace

Here’s an important parenting question:

What if your hands were empty, but I asked you to give me one of the apples you were holding?

That’s not a trick question, a riddle, or some odd math problem from your junior high days. It’s a simple question that makes an equally simple point.

We can’t give away something we don’t have.

How does that concept relate to parenting? In this way: We can’t parent our children with God’s grace if we haven’t embraced it ourselves.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, parenting March 7, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Do You Have Time for a Great Story?

I think stories are one of the best ways to communicate life lessons. Cold, hard logic speaks to our sense of reason, but stories engage us at a heart level. Reason may give us the “why” for something, but the heart gives us our “want to.”

It’s why Jesus often communicated through stories. “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable” (Matthew 13:34).

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast March 3, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Steps to Healing the Anger in Your Marriage

Dave and Linda’s story is all too common, one that’s repeated again and again across thousands of marriages.

It works like this: They have a disagreement and erupt into conflict. They think they’re angry with each other about the specific issue they’re fighting about, but they’re not. There’s something much deeper at work.

It’s like the time Dave came home from work thirty minutes late. Linda was furious and gave him an earful the second he stepped inside the front door.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage March 1, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Three Lies That Keep You Unhappy

Happiness is serious business in America.

Our Declaration of Independence says it plainly: We all have the right to pursue happiness. And pursue it we do. We leave no stone unturned in our search for true happiness.

People marry because they’re happy and divorce because they’re not. Advertisers promise happiness to us if we’ll just buy their car, their beer, or their latest technological gadget.

But do we ever stop and ask ourselves – as believers who live in a land of abundance and opportunity, and who have virtually every material blessing right at our fingertips – why are so many of us miserable?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith February 29, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Graduate from College Without Going Into Debt

To go into debt, or not to go into debt?

That is the question – one many college students ask themselves as they think of how to afford a college education.

You hear horror stories about twenty-something college graduates leaving school with a four-year degree in one hand and a load of debt in the other they may spend the next couple of decades trying to repay.

Is it worth it?

And if it is, what’s the best way to keep the debt at a reasonable level relative to future earning potential?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family February 26, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Speaking Up When the Culture Wants Silence

Should Christians befriend members of the homosexual or transgendered community?

Should Christians engage in the political process?

If so, what hope should we place in the government for resolution to society’s problems?

Should Christians attend a friend’s same-sex wedding? What if the ceremony is for a parent’s son or daughter?

I frequently get questions like these when I travel and have an opportunity to meet you, friends of Focus on the Family. I appreciate hearing your perspective because it helps me keep a finger on the pulse of the family and the Christian community.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, church, faith, religious liberty February 25, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Family Expert Who Didn’t Know a Thing About Families

“I’ll never forget the day when I said to God, ‘I’ve done everything I know to do, and it’s not working.’”

You might expect to hear a comment like that from the average husband or wife trying to learn how to build a successful family. But would it surprise you to know that the person who said those words is now one of the most respected family experts in the world and has been married nearly 40 years?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, family, marriage, parenting February 22, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Staying Married When You Feel Like Leaving

It was while she sat on the beach that Vicki realized her life was crashing down around her.

She watched up and down the coastline as families played together, building sand castles, splashing in the waves, creating memories.

But Vicki sat there alone, sobbing. Her kids were hundreds of miles away with a babysitter. Her husband, Bill, was back in their hotel room, sick, trying to survive withdrawals from his drug addiction.

The weight of her emptiness and loneliness was crushing.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage February 16, 2016 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura