faith Archives

Great Advice

What’s the best parenting advice you’ve ever given – or received?

When Theodore Roosevelt was a young boy he asked his father for counsel on charting a career. Here is how he remembered the incident:

He gave me a piece of advice that I have always remembered, namely, that, if I was not going to earn (much) money, I must even things up by not spending it. As he expressed it, I had to keep the fraction constant, and if I was not able to increase the numerator, then I must reduce the denominator.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, family March 11, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Startling Photo

I received an email today from a Christian friend who lives in China. Attached to the note was the photo you see, which he took while walking on a busy city sidewalk.

Ironically, my friend is visiting the United States, and the photo was taken not on a Beijing street but in Washington, D.C.

The $50,000 bus billboard campaign is the work of a group called the Center for Inquiry. On their website they purport that they’re not arguing the existence of God in this ad, just His relevance in our lives.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, news March 7, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Charlie Sheen is My Neighbor

Admittedly, we don’t have much in common.

We were born years apart, he to parents of great means and me to parents grasping to make ends meet and an alcoholic father in search of meaning itself.

We’ve been going our separate ways ever since.

I’m happily married. He’s not. I enjoy a warm and loving relationship with my boys; the courts dictate when he sees his.

I attend church. He doesn’t. It’s not that he doesn’t believe in God.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture March 4, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Will Christian Adoption Be Banned?

I want you to meet Eunice and Owen Johns.

Mrs. Johns, 62, and Mr. Johns, 65, live in the United Kingdom. They’ve raised four children and have been foster parents to a total of 15. By every measure they’ve done a terrific job. From the beginning of their fostering adventure, they’ve seen their noble calling rooted in Christian conviction. They have epitomized and embraced the words of James: “to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world” (James 1:27).

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, homosexuality, news, policy March 2, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Ideal Age to Marry

I first met Jean Stephens in the summer of 1985 at a wedding in California. People often say that weddings are great places to meet people (for good reason!), but at the time I wasn’t interested in finding a girlfriend. It would be nine months before our first date, but we were married in August of 1986.

I was 25 years old.

According to the social science research, is that a good age to marry? It was for me – but how about the population at-large?

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, marriage March 1, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Praying For What You Have

Dr. E. Stanley Jones was a 20th century Methodist Christian missionary. A prolific author, he spent a considerable amount of his life in India laboring to spread the good news of the Gospel. He was a bold man whose actions earned him the nickname, “The Billy Graham of India.”

In one of his many books, Dr. Jones made a powerful observation regarding contentment.

“I don’t know of a thing that I want that I haven’t got,” he wrote.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith February 25, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Should Boys Wrestle Girls?

This is a story about three people: a 16-year-old boy named Joel Northrup, a 14-year-old girl named Cassy Herkleman and popular ESPN columnist, Rick Reilly.

For context, Joel and Cassy are high school wrestlers from Iowa; Rick is a talented and often humorous sportswriter, prone to zany antics. (He was so certain our Colorado Rockies wouldn’t make the playoffs in 2009 that he threatened to lick Denver’s Capitol dome if they did. They did – and he did.)

That said, this story is really more about the distinctives surrounding gender than it is about these three individuals – or wrestling itself.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pop culture February 23, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Writing in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, John R. Miller, a former U.S. Ambassador, reminded readers of some history behind President’s Day:

In 1968, the public-employee unions, seeking a three-day weekend, convinced Congress to move the commemoration of Washington’s birthday to the third Monday in February. This eventually led to what we now call President’s Day, which marks the birthday of not only Washington but of Lincoln and all the other presidents. By celebrating every birthday, we effectively celebrate none.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, staff February 21, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Your Sense of Humor

Don’t you find it interesting that babies laugh before they talk?

Everybody likes to laugh. In fact, it’s a healthy habit. “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” wrote Solomon, “but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength” (Proverbs 17:22).

Good parents and healthy children tend to see the humor in life.

Several months ago we received a letter from a young boy. I figured he wanted some advice on how to help his sibling break a bad habit.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, humor February 17, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

My Least Favorite and Most Important Broadcast

In the year since assuming my role as host of our radio program, I’ve always looked forward to my time in the studio with my colleagues, Juli and John.

That is until today.

Today’s program, “The Value of Standing for Life,” is probably the most difficult and least enjoyable one I’ve ever recorded. But, candidly, it may be the most important one, too.

Our broadcast today is about life and death. It’s about, among other things, the abortionist Dr.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, pro-life February 11, 2011 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura