faith Archives

God Speaks Through Little Kids Books

Sometimes God has to use simple words to get through to me. Case in point.

One of the things I like to do after dinner is to engage the family in a brief time of devotions. Given the age of our boys, we’re reading from a children’s picture story version of the Bible. The other day I was reading the story of King Saul, David, and Goliath. Keep in mind that the editors of the children’s Bible condensed the whole 58-verse saga down to about eight illustrated pages with maybe six words on each page.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family, kids, parenting June 4, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

A Walk to Remember

One week ago, our staff at Focus on the Family gathered together for a time of corporate prayer. Like many Christian ministries, we’ve experienced a dip in financial support from our friends and partners due to these tough economic times. We happen to be about $5 million behind the budget right now. However, we did not gather to weep and wring our hands in fear, perplexed by our circumstances. Why would we? Whether in good times or when times get tough, our only hope is found in the Lord.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: events, faith, finances May 28, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

My First Commencement Address

I don’t know about you, but God seems to find new ways to stretch me. My latest stretching moment occurred earlier this month. The Honorable Bill Armstrong, former Senator from Colorado and now the president of Colorado Christian University (CCU), invited me to give the commencement address for the graduating class of 2009. Me? I had never done that type of thing before. Weren’t there more qualified people to do the job?

Talk about being outside of my comfort zone.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith May 28, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Thanks, Coach!

The official start to the football season is several months away, but I’ve got football on my mind probably because I just had the privilege of spending some time with Jim Zorn, NFL head coach of the Washington Redskins. Jim was hired by the Redskins franchise shortly after legendary head coach Joe Gibbs retired in January of 2008. Jim’s been a long time friend of Focus on the Family and, I might add, his daughter graduated from our Focus on the Family Institute.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: entertainment, faith, pop culture May 25, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Friends in Low Places

Michael Vick was released from prison today. At the time Michael’s story first broke back in April of 2007, there was an aspect of his situation that caught my attention: the power of friends and the need for strong accountability. Who can forget the tragic tale of Michael Vick, one of the best running quarterbacks in the NFL.

At age 24, Vick was offered a ten-year, $100+ million dollar contract. His inspiring performances for the Atlanta Falcon’s propelled him to the top of the game.

Topics: Current Events Tags: entertainment, faith, news, pop culture May 20, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Smile I Carry With Me

I know this is a tad early, but here’s a reflection with Father’s Day around the corner. As I said in my first book, Finding Home, life is wonderful . . . and life is hard. Having moved 23 times as a kid, I’ve experienced my share of both and prefer the good stuff this journey has to offer. Especially considering the train wreck that was characteristic of my childhood. My family put the “D” into Dysfunction.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, kids, parenting May 16, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Never Forget

Last year I blogged about a father who, while walking to McDonald’s with his four-year-old daughter, observed the erratic driving of an oncoming car. As the vehicle barreled down on them, with the impact just seconds away, this father instinctively knew what he had to do. Giving no thought to persevering his own life, he grabbed his daughter and held her above his head. His quick action prevented her from being crushed by several thousand pounds of steel.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith April 22, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Christians Under Fire In Iraq

About a month after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, two of us at Focus on the Family traveled to Baghdad, the capital of Iraq. Our goal was to determine whether or not open doors existed for Focus to minister to Iraqi families in that war-torn country. At 4:30 a.m., we piled into two GMC Suburbans and departed from Amman, Jordan for the 10-hour drive to Baghdad. Keep in mind, although the war had ended, Iraq was still very much a hotbed of violence.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: events, faith, religious liberty April 14, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Deficit of Family Values Impacts Financial Markets

If you are like most Americans, you’ve watched your retirement savings shrink with the plunging stock market. You might be one of the hundreds of thousands without work searching for a job as unemployment soars. And the forecast out of Washington, D.C. these days says we’re in for tough times. America isn’t the only country rocked by such economic turbulence. Countries around the world are in the same boat.

Which is why the current global economic crisis was the hot topic at last week’s G-20 summit of world leaders in London.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: church, faith, family, finances April 7, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

He Finished Well

Here’s a conversation stopper: try talking about the topic of death with dinner guests. See how long it takes before someone wants to change the subject. Death and dying makes us uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Even Christians, who have the promise of spending eternity with Jesus, don’t necessarily like to linger on the reality that death is a very real part of life.

They’re two sides of the coin.

As the saying goes, none of us gets out of here alive.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, marriage March 31, 2009 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura