Daly Focus Blog
Have you had “The Talk” with your child? You know, the one about sex?
If not, why not? Maybe you feel nervous because you don’t know what to say.
I don’t blame you. The talk I had with one of my boys didn’t go quite as well as I’d hoped. I planned a weekend-long father/son getaway where I did my best to explain sex and sexuality in a way he’d understand.
Driving home, I asked him, “Any questions?”
“No.
In 1986, a crowd of over 100,000 people gathered in downtown Cleveland, Ohio for an event called Balloonfest ‘86. Organizers hoped to raise money for charity and to set a new world record by releasing 1.5 million balloons simultaneously.
But things went terribly wrong.
Balloon releases are typically harmless. Helium-filled balloons stay airborne until they fully deflate. Even in large numbers, they scatter to the wind and fall harmlessly back to Earth over a wide area.
Victor Torres understands drug addiction. By the time he was a teenager, he was addicted to heroin as a gang member on the streets of New York City.
He’s not alone. Self-medication is common in our culture. Whether it’s compulsive shopping, gambling, an unhealthy desire for sweets, sex, or drugs and alcohol, the number of people who seek an artificial escape from reality is staggering.
Millions of people in the United States are diagnosed with Substance Use Disorder each year.
Dad, don’t let your teenage daughter fool you.
She needs you.
I know her attitude may not always reflect that, but it’s true. She’s caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, hormones, and confusing messages that skew her sense of identity and self-worth. On top of that, her social world is topsy-turvy, and she’s growing, changing, and feeling awkward. With you. With everybody.
Along the way, you’ll be tempted to disengage from her and keep her at arm’s length.
To enjoy victory in life, remember: it doesn’t matter how long you’re in the lead … you have to finish well.
The last day of the 2023 Atlantic Coast Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships featured an unusual outcome in the women’s 400 meter relay. Duke University held the lead from the start. They were fast. Their baton handoffs were smooth and on point. They were picture perfect, even as the University of Miami nearly pulled in front on the final stretch.
The decision to marry someone “for better or for worse” isn’t just a choice that you make once on your wedding day – it’s a choice you make every day, several times a day.
Researchers say that the average person makes about 35,000 decisions a day. Just one of those choices is the choice to love your spouse. When you’re in the day-to-day grind of building your career and parenting your children, intentionality is key in expressing love to your spouse.
I’m a well-organized person. I like things neat and tidy. Generally, that quality leads to positive results in my life. But it can also lead to dashed expectations and conflict. Clutter around the house can really bother me, if I let it.
So can clutter in my schedule. My leadership team here at Focus on the Family helps me manage my time well, but my life is full, and I always have more to do than I have time to do it.
Most of us have been angry enough to say something spiteful. But a man named Charles Froling got so angry that he built an entire house to express his spite.
In 1908, Charles inherited a patch of land from a relative in Alameda, California. He planned to build a home there, but the city refused to grant him permission. Instead, they appropriated most of his land, so they could build a new city road. Charles appealed to his neighbor for help, but his neighbor was afraid that the city would take his property, too, so he chose not to get involved.
If marriage makes the headlines these days it’s usually for negative reasons, such as a recent survey indicating that while eighty-three percent of young people would like to get married someday, eighty-five percent of them think an official union isn’t necessary to “have a fulfilling and committed relationship.”
According to official statistics, marriage rates have dropped 60 percent over the last fifty years, and those cohabitating have risen exponentially. Not surprisingly, singleness is also going up.
Who is smarter? Albert Einstein? Or your neighborhood auto mechanic?
A lot of people would answer Einstein. But if Einstein’s car broke down on the side of the road, his ability to untangle physics’ greatest mysteries would be useless. In that moment, what he’d need is an understanding of the inner workings of the combustion engine.
Intelligence is relative to our circumstances. So is athletic ability. J.J. Watt, the former pro football player and Defensive Player of the Year, was a stellar athlete.
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.
