broadcast Archives

What Kind of “Smart” is Your Child? Unlocking Their Potential

Each day on the daily radio broadcast, John and I have the privilege of interviewing a great variety of people – all of them uniquely gifted by God.

We’ve featured athletes and authors; singers and activists; theologians and politicians… and it’s wonderful to see how they contribute in their own areas, for the glory of God.

By now you might be asking yourself what this has to do with unlocking your child’s potential.

Here’s the link…

All of the luminaries we feature on our broadcast were, at one point in their lives, kids.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, kids, parenting December 8, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Listen to “The Best of 2014” Broadcasts

It’s “best of” time on the Focus on the Family daily broadcast! During the months of December through February, we’re going to be re-airing our best, most popular broadcasts of the year – the ones we heard back from our listeners the most on.

Here’s a rundown of the best of 2014 Focus broadcasts:

Dec 1-2 – Moving From Loneliness to Intimacy in Your Marriage I-II – Dr. David Clarke
Dec 3 – Serving God in Our Culture – Lecrae
Dec 4-5 – Overcoming the Obstacles of Cerebral Palsy I-II – Lisa Sexton and Dr.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast December 5, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Who’s the Better Christian?

Let’s try to guess which of these two men is doing more to expand the Kingdom of God.

We’ll call the first guy Kevin. Kevin gets up every morning at 5:30 a.m. and gets ready for a long commute into his downtown office where he works in middle management in the banking industry. He works hard because he has a family to support: a wife, three kids and a dog.

Calvin is our second guy – “Pastor C,” as the kids in youth group call him.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, church, faith, pop culture December 3, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

What Marriage and Volcanoes Have in Common

Mount Erebus in Antarctica is one of the most active volcanoes on earth.

The region averages fifty-eight degrees below zero in the winter and on an especially balmy summer day the temperature can nudge toward four below. Combine those frigid temperatures with hot gases escaping from ground vents around the volcano, and massive ice structures form, towering forty to fifty feet high.

They’re an oddly beautiful sight in such an unforgiving landscape.

And they exist because of opposite forces coming together.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, marriage December 1, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Happy Thanksgiving!

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (I Chronicles 16:34)

It’s a wonderful thing to live in a nation that, once a year, sets aside an official day of thanksgiving. We certainly are a blessed people, and there is much to give thanks for. I hope you and your family are enjoying the day.

If you are looking for something to do with your family that will emphasize the themes of thanksgiving, forgiveness and friendship, may I suggest listening to today’s broadcast, “Squanto: A Thanksgiving Drama”?

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast November 27, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Teaching Kids to Be Grateful

Isn’t it strange that in a nation nicknamed the “land of opportunity” that so many struggle to find happiness?

I think, in part, that’s because we haven’t learned the discipline of gratitude. I’m not talking about the brief moments here and there where we acknowledge God’s blessings. I’m talking about living a life of gratitude.

Maybe gratitude is difficult because cynicism is too easy.

By nature, I’m an optimist. But it’s easy to turn pessimistic from time to time.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith, parenting November 24, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Backward Logic of Perfectionism

Many of us strive for excellence. But for other folks, excellence isn’t good enough. They want perfection. As noble as that goal sounds, it’s actually a very unhealthy way to live.

Oh, sure, perfectionists look great on the outside. Just ask today’s broadcast guests Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory. Self-acknowledged perfectionists, they’ll tell you they tend to work harder than everyone around them, excel at most things they try, and appear confident. But underneath that polished exterior is a fragile self-image.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith November 17, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Interview Exclusive with Jill (Duggar) Dillard and Husband Derick on Being Expectant Parents

When a couple is expecting their first baby, it doesn’t matter that pregnancy and childbirth have happened billions of times before to other people – what matters is that it’s their first time. Just ask Jill (Duggar) Dillard and her husband, Derick.

They’re expecting their first baby, a boy, in March.

Fans of the popular show have watched Jill, 23, grow up for the past ten years on her family’s reality show “19 Kids & Counting.” Jill and Derick’s wedding episode was the series’ most-watched at 4.4 million viewers, and the night’s No.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, parenting, pop culture November 14, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

From Chick-fil-A to the U.S. Senate

By now you likely know that South Carolina’s Tim Scott has become the first African-American Republican from the South to be elected to the United States Senate since Reconstruction.

Logic dictates that he won the seat because more people voted for him than voted for his opponent.

But there’s more to the story.

Isn’t there always?

How Tim got to the night of November 4th is a tale almost too good to be true.

But it isn’t.

Topics: Current Events Tags: broadcast, faith, family, news, policy November 12, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How Couples Can Work Through PTSD

Yesterday I wrote about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from the perspective of military marriages – what might couples expect after a war veteran returns home. Today I’m continuing this two-part series by sharing how couples can work through PTSD in a way that will make the marriage stronger than it ever was before.

One thing to remember is that it’s not only war vets who can struggle with PTSD. Experiencing any sort of trauma, like living through a natural disaster or a school shooting, can trigger PTSD.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, marriage, relationships November 11, 2014 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura