Daly Focus Blog
My friend Matt learned the hard way how important other people can be to our lives.
In college, he pulled into a convenience store, threw open the door, and ran inside for a quick purchase. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite get his Chevy into park. It clicked out of gear, rolled backwards into a pole, and bent Matt’s open door completely in the opposite direction.
Instead of asking someone for help, he pounded his door shut with a sledgehammer.
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “Celebrating Christmas As a Family,” we’re airing a recording of a conversation I had in the woods of West Monroe, Louisiana. That’s the location for the home and headquarters of the world-famous Robertson clan, otherwise known as Phil and Kay Robertson from A&E’s Duck Dynasty.
For five years and 130 episodes, the Robertsons invited viewers into their home and duck hunting business and introduced us to their zany family antics.
This time of year, the world is alive with Christmas lights and decorations. But for people going through dark times, the Christmas season may not seem very merry or bright. If Christmas is hard for you this year, I want you to know that you’re not alone. The very first Christmas was also difficult for a lot of people.
Like Mary, Jesus’ mother. She’s often portrayed as an adult woman who was ready to begin a family.
Opportunities to make a difference in people’s lives are all around you. All you need are an open heart and a willingness to act.
A person just like that rescued Shannon Jones after she got lost in a blizzard in the middle of Saskatchewan. Somewhere along her 25-mile drive to work Shannon became disoriented in whiteout conditions and got lost. She called 911 but was told no one could get to her. Shannon had no choice but to wait out the storm.
Imagine this: You’re the lead detective on an important case. Your job is to search for clues that reveal who, what, where, when, and why a crime has been committed. What evidence would you look for?
What if the case was finding proof for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ? Is there evidence for that?
On our Focus on the Family Broadcast “The Proof You Need to Believe in Jesus Christ,” we’re putting you in that lead detective scenario.
Despite what you see on commercials, Christmas isn’t about presents or a jolly old man in a red suit. It’s also not about food, festive decorations, or family get-togethers – even though those are all wonderful things. At its core, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, the greatest man who ever lived.
His story is the greatest ever told because it empowers us to hold on to our faith in tough times, to believe that a light of hope can still burn bright even when our world seems dark.
You’ve probably heard the mantra “no pain, no gain” before. People usually say it when they’re talking about exercise. But you can apply that phrase to other things, too. Like raising successful kids.
“No pain, no gain” refers to discipline, sticking with something even when it hurts, and success seems impossible. Kids need a lot of discipline in order to take risks and to keep going when things don’t work out very well.
The trouble is we Americans have become quite safety-conscious in recent years.
In part one, I shared four simple ideas to help you get organized for Christmas. In part two, I have another idea that can make your holiday season as stress-free as possible.
The mom who gave me this idea calls it her Christmas binder. It’s basically a notebook that keeps all of her Christmas needs in one place, so she doesn’t have to recreate her lists every single year. By the time the season gets underway, she already has a head start.
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy. But all the “stuff” – the lights, the decorations, the shopping – can be overwhelming and stressful. To make this season as stress-free as possible, keep these four tips in mind:
First, find out what’s important to your family. Sometimes we’re committed to long-held traditions that no longer hold the same meaning. Save your energy and resources for activities everyone will enjoy.
Second, figure out what’s important to you.
In John 10:10, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”
In December of 2012, five days before Christmas, Pastor Levi Lusko was confronted by the horrible truth of that verse when his five-year-old daughter Lenya died after a severe asthma attack. Since then, Levi has wrestled through questions and doubts that arise in painful moments.
He has concluded that the devil, the enemy of your soul, wants to rob you of every good thing associated with your life in Christ.
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.
