Daly Focus Blog
I wake up every day with a desire to serve the Lord. I want other people to see Christ in me when I’m confronted with challenges. I want them to say, “Wow! I would’ve reacted entirely differently in that situation. What do you have that I don’t?”
But then someone cuts me off in traffic.
…Or my boys don’t behave the way I’ve told them to a dozen times.
…Or I’m exhausted after a long flight and an unexpected delay complicates my plans.
As soon as we announced that Vice President Mike Pence was planning to speak at our 40th anniversary chapel this coming Friday, reporters began asking why.
Focus on the Family has had a friendly relationship with Vice President Pence, who is an outspoken Christian, for years. His commitment to families and the preborn has been evident since his early days as an Indiana state representative, during his tenure as governor of the Hoosier State – and it’s remained steadfast in the White House.
For Ernie Johnson, Sr. – legendary baseball player and sports broadcaster – life’s most special moments were symbolized by a blackberry bush at one of his 8-year-old son’s Little League games.
The game was momentarily postponed when two of the outfielders got sidetracked. While looking for a ball that had gone over the fence, they discovered a blackberry bush and immediately forgot all about the ball, their teammates, and the game that was in progress.
Ernie loved baseball.
It’s quite a challenge to raise your children in front of a national audience. It’s even more of an accomplishment when parents everywhere admire you for how respectful and in love with God your children are.
That’s one of the most frequent responses Korie Robertson has gotten in the years since her family’s television show, A&E’s “Duck Dynasty,” first aired. She and her husband, Willie, have six children, three of whom they’ve adopted.
If you’ve seen the show, you’ve probably noticed that the couple’s children always answer adults with a “Yes, ma’am” or a “No, sir.” Fans often ask her how she teaches her kids to be respectful and to have a deep faith in Christ.
Back in February 2015 the world was rocked by the news that ISIS had brutally beheaded 21 Christian men on the shores of a beach in Libya.
As you may know, Focus on the Family serves the Middle East region out of its Cairo, Egypt office – so when we learned about this unspeakable act of hatred and violence, we felt led to help.
Focus Egypt went to work immediately ministering to the families of the murdered men in the immediate aftermath of the event and, later that year, building houses for the remaining family members.
A church in England has created a wonderful video, “This Is About That,” that illustrates some of the ways marriage reflects the gospel – and it’s definitely worth watching. Take a look:
I hope the truths expressed in this video help inspire you in your walk with Jesus, and in the ways you work to honor marriage in your life and community.
Joni Eareckson Tada says that suffering is “like a little splash-over of hell.”
Few people can talk about the intensity of suffering with more authority than Joni. A tragic accident fifty years ago left her a quadriplegic, requiring 24-hour care. She’s also survived a stage-3 breast cancer diagnosis, the removal of a 3-inch tumor, and months of chemotherapy that followed.
So when she talks about how to handle suffering in a way that enriches our lives and glorifies God, we all do well to listen.
What are you afraid of?
A lot of us were scared of the dark when we were little. There’s something about the lights going out that transforms ordinary shadows into dreadful monsters.
Years later, we still have our monsters, don’t we? Relational problems. Health crises. Significant life changes that are beyond our control. They’re more sophisticated than the creepy things we feared hid under our bed as children, but they haunt us just the same.
Back when you were a kid, you probably hid from your fears by pulling the blankets a little tighter.
Most people enter marriage with high expectations. They dream of long walks through the neighborhood every night and long walks along the beach in the summer. Every day will be romantic and exciting.
But somewhere between “I do” and “happily ever after” daily life settles into a predictable routine. And by “predictable” I mean “mundane” – dare I even say “boring.” Before long, discontentment kicks in, and we’re living in what I call the “when’s” and “if only’s” of life.
The call to forgive others lies at the heart of the Christian message.
But that doesn’t make it easy.
Forgiveness is tough. The human heart is wired for justice. When somebody sins against us, the hurt we feel is a cry for wrongs to be made right again. And when they can’t be, we often want the other person to suffer in some way that will help us feel that the debt has been satisfied. At least, we tell ourselves this is true.
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.
