How far into the future do you believe good parenting influences children? A week? A year? What if I told you that the choices you make today will affect your family for generations to come?

I see a visual reminder of how influence works every time my family goes camping. Our boys are grown now, but they become like little kids again every time we pull up to a lake. The first thing they do is hop out of the truck, grab a handful of rocks, and see how far they can skip each one.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 6, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

If you’re playing a game, it’s important to have a scorekeeper. It’s the only way to judge someone’s performance and determine a winner.

But in marriage, scorekeepers are destructive. When a relationship is defined by “winners” and “losers,” it’s only a matter of time before things fall apart.

Scorekeepers are easy to spot in a conflict. Their goal is to win. They don’t compromise, respect their spouse’s point of view, or resolve issues in a way that benefits the relationship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 5, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Making good decisions about your future requires wisdom, discernment – sometimes even divine intervention.

I’ll never forget a moment like that in my own life. I was the quarterback of my high school football team and at a crossroads. Scholarships were on the table, and I had dreams of making it to the pros.

But I was also serious about my faith and wanted it to influence my direction in life. So, right before one of my games, I prayed this prayer: “Lord, if you don’t want me to pursue college football, break a bone today … just don’t let it hurt.”

Jump ahead to the third quarter.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith October 4, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Is making others happy making you miserable?

Maybe you feel guilty when you say no to a friend, a family member, or your spouse. Maybe you’ve earned a reputation as someone who gets things done, so people keep asking you for help. And you agree to help. Even though your schedule is already full.

Author and speaker Karen Ehman knows just how you feel. She has struggled with people pleasing for years. One time, an old friend called to ask if her college-aged son could stay with her family a couple nights a week during his summer internship.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 29, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

It’s no accident that the World War Two generation earned the nickname “The Greatest Generation.” They fought a bloody war on foreign land so the fight would never come to our shores.

The war wasn’t won by the military alone, however. It was also won on the home front. A certain sensibility permeated society back then, which was, “We’re all in this together. Do your part.”

“Doing your part” meant each person made small sacrifices that benefited the whole country during one of the most uncertain times in our nation’s history.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 28, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

When authors Gabe and Rebekah Lyons got married, they were a successful, goal-oriented couple who had the next decade of their lives all planned out. Then their firstborn son, Cade, was born with down syndrome and everything changed … for the better.

At first, their son’s condition was a difficult adjustment. Gabe and Rebekah were confronted by the harsh reality that they weren’t in control of their lives as much as they thought they were. They also had to grieve the loss of dreams they had for their son.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 27, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

For couples to have a strong marriage, they have to spend time together. But that can be tough when life is so busy. One of the ways to solve that problem is to maximize everyday moments. How? Instead of waiting for the perfect circumstances to come along, take advantage of key moments that already happen every day.

The first is when you say goodbye in the morning. On a typical day, one or both of you will likely leave the house.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 26, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

It was just an old watch.

That’s what one man thought when he decided to have his Rolex appraised by the experts at Antiques Roadshow. The man, identified only as “David,” had bought the watch in 1974 for $345. He’d worn it just a few times in all those years and didn’t believe it had increased much in value. Boy, was he wrong.

The appraiser surprised David by telling him that the watch was worth at least $200,000.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 23, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

If you’re stuck in the wilderness and everything around you is thick with trees, true north is what gets you out. When you’re navigating the confusion of society, your spiritual and relational true north will guide you.

Jesus gave us His true north when he said that the two greatest things we can do are love God and love our neighbor (Matt. 22:37-40). He equated the two. Which means that when the world is spinning out of control, the way through is to cling to objective values that never change – like truth, love, and humble sacrifice.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith September 22, 2022 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura