May is National Foster Care Month.

Nearly 400,000 children in the United States are in foster care, which means they’ve been separated from their families – in some cases, permanently – and need a safe, healthy place to live.

Unless you’ve lived as a foster kid like I did, or know a family who is involved in foster care, you’re probably not aware of how difficult these circumstances can be for children. We in the Christian community have a wonderful opportunity to come alongside these children and help them thrive.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 17, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Sometimes – perhaps most of the time – what keeps us from success … is us. It’s not other people and circumstances that keep us from a better career or a better marriage. It’s us. We hold ourselves back. We’re bound by mental and emotional barriers, like imaginary ropes around our ankles that convince us we can only stray so far in a new direction.

Negative thoughts are powerful enough to hold back an elephant. Literally.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 14, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Kirsten Watson’s husband, Benjamin, played for six NFL teams and won a super Bowl in 2005. Much of those 15 years, she was on her own in a new city with a household of seven children, including twins. At one point, she was so stressed she suffered painful migraines that doctors said would continue unless she made changes.

Maybe you relate to the pressure Kirsten felt. Motherhood is beautifully rewarding, but it has its challenges. According to one Barna study:

Eight in 10 moms feel overwhelmed by stress.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 10, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Jason Smith, a middle school principal in Kentucky, met his daughter for the first time when she was in the sixth grade.

Her name was Raven. She’d been sent to Jason’s office after getting angry in the cafeteria and throwing food at a fellow student. When Jason sat Raven down, he asked her, “Would you act that way at a restaurant?” Her answer surprised him. She had never eaten in a restaurant, she said, because she’d spent her entire life in the foster care system.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 9, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

While on vacation in Italy, Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott visited Michelangelo’s famous statue of King David. So did thousands of other people that day. To escape the crowds, the Parrotts explored a nearby hall called “Hall of the Prisoners.” On display were several unfinished statues that Michelangelo labelled “The Captives.” The incomplete works were emblematic of mankind’s struggle to feel integrated with God, with ourselves, and with the people around us.

Our relationships can only be as healthy as we are.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 3, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Parenting children is one of the greatest blessings a man or woman can experience.

But it has its challenges.

Parenting can be overwhelming, embarrassing, and messy, too. That’s why praying for and with your children is so important. Their fate is ultimately in God’s trusted hands. He loves them more than we can and knows better than we do what they need.

My hope for you is that you’re able to approach prayer more out of confidence than fear.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family May 2, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Isn’t it strange that in a nation nicknamed the “land of opportunity” so many of us struggle to find happiness? Maybe it’s because our society is driven by envy rather than gratitude.

Psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud explains why people controlled by envy find happiness so elusive. It’s because envious people believe they need what they don’t have. They tell themselves, “If only I had that car, or that job, or a different relationship, life would be so much better.” In reality, even after they get what they crave, nothing changes.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family April 30, 2024 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura