Daly Focus Blog
In this past Monday’s USA Today, columnist Gail Sheehy suggested that 50-year-old Mary Claire Orenic of Southern California may be “one of the happiest women in America” – at least according to Gallup’s Well-Being Index.
“I’m lucky to be married to a man I adore and living in a community we love,” she told the paper.
Gallup’s index evaluates the health of your personal and professional life, as well as your mental/emotional state and body mass index.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, news by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
In contrast to Halloween, few people will be celebrating “Reformation Day” today, the official anniversary of Martin Luther posting his “95 Theses” on the door of the Church of All Saints in Wittenberg, Germany. (The document was officially titled the “Disputation of Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences.”) Instead, many children (and some adults) will be donning costumes and participating in the time-honored tradition of trick-or-treating.
The topic of Halloween triggers strong reaction.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, events, faith, news by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
We’ve had a glorious fall in Colorado this year. The mornings and evenings have been cool and the days delightfully warm. Aspen trees have painted the forests bright shades of yellow and gold. But as an illustration of just how quickly the tide of life can turn, I thought I would share four photos with you. They were taken from the same location here on our campus over the course of the last six days. How do they strike you?
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Just over 60 miles north of my office in Colorado Springs sits Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos and the official headquarters of Tim Tebow mania. Excitement is not only growing in these parts, but fans around the country and even the world are rooting for the former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. A colleague recently returned from China and informed me that Tim’s #15 is the number one selling jersey in the Middle Kingdom.Never mind that the team is 2-4 this season, hasn’t been to a playoff game in five years and isn’t expected to qualify for the postseason this year either.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
When the late Ruth Handler conceived and created the first Barbie doll in 1959 (named after her daughter, Barbara), she was trying to come up with a simple toy that would resonate with preteen girls. The wife of Mattel’s co-founder and a savvy business woman, she quickly had a megahit on her hands. Over 350,000 dolls were sold in the first year.
Amidst the fame and fortune, though, controversy has continuously dogged Mattel’s franchise brand. Even in its early years, parents protested the doll’s unrealistic body proportions.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, kids, parenting, pop culture by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Are you an optimist or a pessimist?
According to some new research, individuals who regularly look at life from a positive perspective may likely do so because of “faulty” functioning of the brain.
In other words, those of us who are optimistic are, well, brain-damaged!
The study was conducted by scientists at the University College London. Based on the research findings, optimistic people tended to reject negative information, especially if it pertained to them.
As a self-acknowledged optimist, I’m inclined to reject these findings!
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
The gospel of Jesus Christ confronts and challenges the modern world with the statement that it alone has the answer to all man’s questions and the solution to all his problems. In a world that is seeking a way out of its tragedy and its troubles, the gospel announces that the solution is already available. In a world that is feverishly looking to the future, and talking about plans for the future, the gospel proclaims that the search is not only mistaken in direction, but is also quite unnecessary.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
By now you have heard that an estimated 26 Christians were killed in Egypt this past weekend. This is not the first time that Christians have been targeted in violent acts over there. Since the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo and its surrounding cities have become a dangerous place for followers of Jesus Christ.
The Associated Press is reporting that the ruling council and deputy defense minister are attempting to place the blame for the violence on the very people being persecuted:
At a lengthy news conference to present their version of the events, generals from the Supreme Council of Armed Forces showed footage of priests and a Coptic Christian activist they accused of instigating the violence on Sunday night with calls for demonstrations and storming the state television building.
Topics: Current Events Tags: church, events, faith, news, religious liberty by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
It seems like a scene straight out of Hollywood, but with a script almost too implausible to believe – even for fictional film:
At the time a pilot and CEO of a private jet company, former NFL player Scott Bolzan, slips on some oil at work, falls hard, hits his head on concrete and forgets everything.
And I mean everything.
Rushed to the hospital, a nurse informed him that his wife was on the phone. Not only didn’t he know who his wife was – he claims he didn’t even know what a “wife” was!
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
Do you know couples who live together outside of marriage?
So do I.
In fact, the narrative has become a familiar theme, even within the Christian church: twenty- and thirty-somethings have grown sour on the institution of marriage, for all kinds of reasons. But instead of swearing off romantic relationships (after all, “Love does make the world go ‘round”), couples have decided to move in together. Give it sort of a “test-run.”
No wedding, no ring, and presumably, no worries.
Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage, pop culture, relationships by Jim Daly with Paul Batura
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.Home
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