Daly Focus Blog
Years ago, when Jean and I moved into our current home, the truck was unloaded, and we pulled the lid off each box one by one and looked through every item.
So much stuff went into the trash that I thought it would be helpful to get one of those big trash bins used at construction sites. It was fantastic. I was throwing stuff away left and right.
That’s when the trash fairies showed up.
I’d spend an evening happily tossing one item after another into the garbage.
A man who knows that well is Tim Leatherman, the inventor of the Leatherman Tool. That’s a pair of pliers with additional tools stored in the handles, like screwdrivers, a saw, wire cutters, and a bottle opener. It’s like a Swiss Army knife that converts into a tool belt.
Tim came up with the idea during a vacation to Europe in 1975. Travelling on a budget, he rented the cheapest car he could afford. It broke down repeatedly throughout the trip.
What does a hero look like to you? Would you recognize one just by looking?
In comic books, heroes are easy to spot. They wear a mask or a cape and have superhuman abilities. In the real world, heroes often carry a badge and are trained to save lives. Then there are heroes like Darin Barton.
Darin was standing on a highway overpass in Denver, Colorado when a semi-trailer barreling out of control plowed into stalled traffic below him.
The great Winston Churchill once said, “Those who are unable to look back are unable to look forward.” For America to move into the future with our liberty intact, we must look backward and remember the principles of freedom upon which our country was built.
Looking backward is how Abraham Lincoln led America through the Civil War, one of our country’s darkest, most divisive, and bloodiest time periods. To keep the nation pointed in the right direction, Lincoln continually reminded the country of our noble beginnings.
It’s becoming controversial to take pride in America. Some say that a nation stained with injustice isn’t a nation worth celebrating. I would agree with that … if our country didn’t also correct our mistakes. And we do. The objective of a perfect society will never be obtained, so what counts is the direction we move.
Our Founders knew that building America would be a stumbling journey forward, toward our highest principles. And they gave us the greatest possible Constitutional framework with which to do it.
When Sheri Rose Shepherd was crowned Mrs. United States in 1994, the achievement felt the culmination of a long, hard journey.
People throughout her life stripped her of self-worth, driving their hate through her like a spike through her soul.
Her English teacher once told her, “Sheri Rose, you will never amount to anything in life.”
Another time, she received a gift in the mail from her mother. When Sheri Rose opened it, her birth certificate was inside with a sticky note that read, “I wish you had never been born.
If an area of your life hasn’t become what you’d hoped, you need an apocalypse.
The word “apocalypse” usually brings to mind catastrophic end-of-the-world scenarios. Earthquakes, toppled buildings, destruction everywhere. But the Greek word for “apocalypse” doesn’t mean “destruction.” It means “to uncover or to reveal.”
An apocalypse is what happens in a court of law. Everything is exposed and measured against truth. There are no secrets. Nothing is off limits because it’s embarrassing … or worse yet, incriminating.
There’s no easy way for doctors to tell patients they’re going to die, but some ways are better than others. At the very least, I’m sure that you’d prefer a doctor take the time to meet with you in person, explain your condition, and answer your questions.
So, you can probably imagine what Ernest Quintana must have felt when he received bad news about his health. He was in his hospital bed anxiously awaiting his diagnosis when the door opened.
“The loneliest place I’ve ever been in my life is not Afghanistan but in my own bed … with my wife’s back turned to me.”
That comment from veteran Chad Robichaux resonates with a lot of military couples who endure demands on their marriages that most civilians don’t understand.
After 9/11, Chad’s special ops unit did eight tours of duty in Afghanistan. Surviving the war-torn Middle East required good training and high levels of intense, adrenaline-fueled emotion.
When I think about living the Christian life, I am reminded of what Christ teaches in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
The young man in the story blew his inheritance on foolish living. When he returned home, broke and humiliated, he feared that his father would disown him or, if he were merciful, hire him as a servant. Instead, his father loved him and celebrated his return, rejoicing that his lost son was now found.
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.
