Daly Focus Blog
There aren’t many things more devastating than losing a child.
Pam Vredevelt and her husband have endured the incredible pain and grief of losing two children.
After nine years of marriage, Pam became pregnant for the first time. The baby was developing right on schedule, but at a routine check-up, Pam’s doctor said, “I’m not seeing any heartbeat. I think the baby is dead.”
They had three more children after that. Their youngest, Nathan, was born with Down Syndrome.
No one is beyond God’s reach.
Not even Kelly Stigliano. By age 13, she was sexually promiscuous and involved in divination, witchcraft, and the occult. She and her friends regularly smoke, drank, took drugs, held séances, and vandalized the neighborhood. By age 18, she was pregnant and suicidal.
Kelly married the father of her children and within two weeks she was caught in a cycle of abuse. At its worst, she begged her husband to kill her, so the abuse would end.
While the national media focused on D.C.-based controversies and character smears last week, at least 650,000 students were busy setting a different kind of example in their schools.
Courageous youth—kindergarten through college age— celebrated Bring Your Bible to School Day, an annual, religious-freedom event for students sponsored by Focus on the Family on Thursday, Oct. 4.
They shared their faith by highlighting its source—the Bible, sharing God’s Word with classmates throughout the day and talking about their experience on social media using the hashtag #BringYourBible.
When you first got married, did you assume your relationship with your spouse would remain pretty much the same from year to year? Many couples do. That’s probably why so many wind up shocked and utterly confused when life around them changes … and their marriage along with it.
According to our guests on today’s program, relationship experts Bill and Pam Farrel, the key is to recognize that changes are coming – probably sooner than we think – and to prepare for them.
Being a parent takes wisdom, courage, and heart. And being the parent of a girl often requires an extra measure of love and tenderness.
Our next edition of the Focus on the Family Broadcast will encourage you to trust God with your daughter and equip you to help nurture her relationship with God, with her family, and with the world around her.
We’re airing a special conversation we recorded a few months ago with Jonathan and Wynter Pitts, parents of four girls.
Is it possible to change your husband?
Well, yes and no.
Researcher John Gottman says that around 60 percent of the dynamics in a marriage will never change. When you marry somebody, you’re marrying them essentially as they are. A person who’s perpetually late may never care if they’re on time. A neat-freak will never feel comfortable with clutter.
Author Gary Thomas says that still leaves 40 percent for a relationship to grow, and for spouses to learn to approach their marriage in different ways.
If you’ve followed this blog for a while you probably remember me telling you about Bring Your Bible to School Day, an annual Focus-sponsored event that empowers kids to celebrate religious freedom and share the love of God with their peers by doing one simple thing: bringing their Bibles to school with them! Just a couple of weeks ago, I told you that Sadie Robertson author of the best-selling book Live Fearless and formerly a teen star on Duck Dynasty is serving as this year’s Honorary Chairperson for BYBTS.
“Why can’t they get their shoes on and get in the car?”
“Why do they always get out of bed at bedtime?”
“Why can’t they just do what they’re supposed to do?”
Do you ask yourself questions about your children like that? Do you get frustrated for not handling daily challenges as well as you’d like?
We’ve got help for moms who struggle to respond in a productive manner when their kids misbehave – moms who promised themselves that they would never yell at their children or speak to them harshly.
What do you think a typical week is like for your pastor? A few hours of study and a sermon on Sunday? The occasional hospital- or home-visit?
I recently talked with two couples – Marshall and Merrie Eizenga, and Sam and Pauline Doerksen – who say many pastors routinely experience stress akin to first responders.
The Eizengas served as pastors for 35 years in Ontario and co-direct the Kerith Creek Retreat Center in Alberta, Canada. The Doerksens were pastors for 22 years and co-direct the Kerith Retreat Center in Manitoba, Canada.
I’m sure you’ve heard the term “separation of church and state.” It usually gets tossed about by those on the political left when Christians engage in social issues in a public forum. We’re told that the “separation of church and state” requires that we keep our religious views to ourselves.
The late Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist had a different opinion. He said that “separation of church and state” as it’s currently used is a “misleading metaphor” that has proved useless as a guide to judging.
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.
