family Archives

Disciplining Your Kids with Grace

At the end of a shopping trip to Walmart, author Karis Kimmel Murray stopped by the shoe aisle with her daughter, Riley, who decided that she’d been sitting patiently in the cart long enough.

Karis allowed Riley to walk beside her, but Riley didn’t just want out of the cart, she wanted out of the store. And Karis stood between her and that goal.

To express her displeasure, Riley walked from one end of the shoe aisle to the other with her arms outstretched, knocking off every box of shoes within reach.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting October 2, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Encouraging Your Kids to Discuss Their Feelings

Anger is like fire. Harness it for something good, and you’ll create a better life for yourself. Misuse or lose control of it, and it’ll burn everything to the ground. That’s a good reason for children to understand the difference between bad anger and good anger.

Bad anger doesn’t improve our lives. It makes things worse. It protests even though nothing harmful or significant is happening. It turns our pet peeves into conflict and stirs up trouble for no other reason than to get our way.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 29, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Mom Time

The maternal instinct in women is soft and nurturing.

It’s also fierce.

The maternal instinct drives women to sacrifice everything for the sake of their families. I saw that kind of tenacity in my own mother. She took care of five children, worked two jobs, and strived to meet everybody’s needs the best she knew how. We didn’t have much in terms of material wealth, but her love for us was rich, and we were happy.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 28, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Overcoming Your Past

I’ve had to overcome a lot. My mom died when I was nine. My stepdad abandoned me and my siblings within hours of her funeral. After that, I spent time in foster care, and a couple of years later, my biological father died of alcoholism.

No doubt you’ve survived some difficulties of your own. Struggle is universal. So are the solutions for overcoming it. Here are four ways to break free from your past:

Accept the fact that your suffering cannot be changed.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Five Ingredients You Need for a Healthy Family

Years ago, John, a recent college graduate, asked Dr. Gary Chapman and his wife if he could move into their home for one year and observe their family. John’s family of origin had been toxic, and he wanted to experience firsthand what a healthy marriage and family looked like.

Dr. Chapman’s first reaction was to say no. Was their family healthy? He and Karolyn’s first years of marriage had been characterized by selfishness, hurt, and brokenness.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 26, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Showing Your Child Their True Worth

Today, Peter Mutabazi is an entrepreneur, an international advocate for children, and the founder of Now I Am Known, a corporation that supplies resources that encourage and affirm children.

Peter’s passion for advocacy began in a small village in Uganda on the border of Rwanda. His father was abusive, beat the family, and frequently told Peter that he regretted having him as a son. Peter didn’t even have a name until he was two years old!

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, parenting September 22, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

The Revitalization of American Masculinity is Our Nation’s Most Pressing Need

There is a staggering crisis among American men, and it demands immediate national attention. That is the focus of an important new report recently released by Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

The report, “The State of the Working (And Non-Working) Man,” explains that the number of American men out of work today is greater than it was in the wake of Great Depression. And what makes this crisis even worse, is that their idleness is largely voluntary.

Topics: Current Events Tags: family, news September 20, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Change What You’re Looking For

I’m reminded of a story about a hunter who owned an unusual bird dog. While other dogs barked, pointed, and fetched birds, this one walked on water. The hunter was so excited to show off his dog’s remarkable ability that he invited his friend on a hunting trip. Each time they shot a duck, the dog ran across the top of the water and fetched the bird.

For hours, the two men hunted. Yet, the friend never commented about the dog’s unusual ability.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: family, marriage September 19, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Break Your Dreams Free

Do you have goals, dreams, or ambitions you’ve kept hidden? Maybe it’s time to break them free.

Had you been walking by Henry Ford’s Detroit home one summer day in 1896, you might’ve thought he’d lost his mind. There he was, ax in hand, chopping away at the door frame and surrounding brick of his shed. What you actually would have been witnessing was history in the making. Ford had spent seven years building what he called a “Quadricycle.” Today, we call it a car.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: faith, family September 13, 2023 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Secular Concerns Can Be Solved by Faith-Friendly Solutions

What if many of the problems and concerns most often raised by secularists these days were solved by solutions regularly championed by people of faith?

School districts around the country, including those in my home state of Colorado, are shutting down buildings and institutions because of a lack of enrollment. Where are the students going? In some cases, they’re attending private or home schools – but more often, they’re not going anywhere because the boys and girls simply don’t exist.